The more earbuds I review, the less I care about sound quality

The more earbuds I review, the less I care about sound quality. That probably sounds strange coming from someone who reviews audio gear for a living, but after testing more pairs than I can count, my priorities have changed.

So when someone asks me which earbuds to buy, I don’t start by talking about sound quality anymore. I start by asking how they’ll actually use them.

The best-sounding earbuds aren’t always the best earbuds for that person. More often than not, the right pair is the one that fits naturally into their day. Sound quality still matters, it just isn’t the first thing I compare anymore.

What does your day look like?

Before I recommend a pair of earbuds to anyone, I ask two questions. First, do you have an iPhone or an Android phone? That helps narrow the list pretty quickly, especially if you’re already invested in an ecosystem or care about support for higher bitrate Bluetooth codecs. The second question matters far more. What does your day actually look like?

I’ve learned more from asking that second question than I have from comparing two pairs of earbuds side by side.

If you spend two hours a day commuting, you’ll probably appreciate great ANC. If you run outdoors, open-ear earbuds or a great Transparency mode might matter more. If you’re in meetings for half the day, microphone quality is probably higher on your list than squeezing out another couple of hours of battery life. And if you’re constantly taking your earbuds in and out, a compact charging case can make a bigger difference than almost any spec sheet.

Once I know how someone will actually use their earbuds, the shortlist usually becomes obvious. That’s when I start comparing sound quality. Not before. There isn’t one pair of earbuds that’s perfect for everyone. The best pair is the one you’ll actually enjoy using every day.

Don’t buy features you’ll never use

That’s also changed the way I think about features. Some of the most impressive earbud features are also the ones I use the least. Take ANC, for example. My AirPods Pro 3 have some of the best ANC I’ve ever tested. But if you watched me use them throughout the week, you’d probably think I bought them for Transparency mode instead. I’m walking the dog, cycling to work, or grabbing a coffee, and I want to hear what’s going on around me. The ANC is fantastic when I fly, but I only fly a handful of times each year.

Battery life is another good example. Twelve hours on a single charge sounds impressive, but if you’re putting your earbuds back in the case every night, are you ever going to notice the difference? On the other hand, if you work long shifts or spend half your life on planes, suddenly that extra battery life becomes a feature you’ll actually appreciate.

That’s something I’ve learned after reviewing so many pairs of earbuds. I don’t care who has the longest feature list anymore. I care about the features I’ll actually use.

Now compare sound quality

Don’t get me wrong. I still love comparing how different pairs of earbuds sound. Sitting down with a new pair and listening to my favorite tracks is one of the best parts of this job.

The difference is that sound quality usually isn’t where I start anymore. By the time I’m comparing how two pairs sound, I’ve already ruled out the ones that don’t fit someone’s life. Maybe one fits better. Maybe another has the smaller charging case. Maybe one makes more sense for an iPhone, while another is a better match for Android.

Once I’ve narrowed it down, that’s when sound quality becomes the deciding factor. If one pair sounds better than the other, that’s probably the one I’ll recommend. But only because I’ve already figured out that either pair would be a good fit in the first place.

The more earbuds I review, the less interested I am in finding the “best” pair. I’d rather help someone find the pair they’ll still be happy using six months from now. Funny enough, that’s made me care less about finding the best-sounding earbuds and more about finding the right earbuds.