If you only want one pair of earbuds, they should be wireless. Completely wireless, or so-called true wireless. The best have become so good and have such a long battery life that there is no longer anything to worry about. Eight to ten hours in the earbuds themselves is no longer uncommon, and with a few extra charges from the case, you have everything you need.
Noise reduction and ambient sound
Many earbuds effectively shut out noise. Sometimes a little too effective, and then it’s good to have the option of letting sound in from the surroundings. This is most often called somthing like ambient sound. This means that microphones pick up sound from the outside and send it into your ears, so that it almost sounds as if you have nothing in your ears at all.
Even if a lot of noise is shut out mechanically, low-frequency noise is not as efficiently attenuated. Therefore, it is nice if the earplugs also have active noise reduction (ANC), which phases out the bass frequencies too.
All but one of the participants in this test – Belkin SoundForm Freedom – have both noise reduction and ambient sound.
Other features
Some earbuds have features that set them apart from others. For example. that you can use the app to find them if you do not remember where you put them. Some have so-called Sidetone, where you can better hear your own voice during mobile calls and video conferencing.
Many hearing aids have their own app with an equalizer (EQ), where you can adjust the sound yourself. It can be helpful if one’s own preferences are not completely satisfied as they are from the factory. Again, only Belkin has chosen for forego the app.
True wireless earbuds in the premium class
Here we test the five new pairs of earbuds in the lower premium class below GBP 200, which we have received on the test bench. If you are missing someone, it is very possible that we have already tested them. Check out our test archive for other products.