Brooklyn-based audio manufacturer Grado today announced a new pair of wired headphones, the Signature S150, which it calls “the most accessible entry” into its expanding Signature Series.

The new model uses technology from Grado’s high-end HP100 SE and S950 headphones and includes a newly developed 44mm paper composite driver, which the company claims delivers a “full-bodied, musical presentation”.

As part of their “lightweight” construction (the headphones weigh 220 grams), the S150 use a new single-piece housing with a padded leather headband. “Refined mechanical components”, including matte-black polymer gimbals, stainless-steel height rods, and reinforced junction blocks, provide “improved stability, adjustability, and durability”.

Like Grado’s more upmarket headphones, the S150 use a detachable cable system, with 3.5mm sockets in each headphone housing. Their cable also comes with a 6.3mm adapter.

The new headphones feature with Grado’s ‘F cushions’, which feature internal acoustic slits to promote airflow and “contribute to the headphone’s open, detailed presentation”. The S150 are also compatible with the company's other headphone cushions, which allow for further customisation.

The Grado S150 will be available in late November for £295 / $295, and we look forward to getting them in our test rooms.

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If you were to anthropomorphise wireless headphones, they would probably look a bit like Lady Gaga – possibly Harry Styles, if you’re Gen Z.

Why? Because they are constantly reinventing themselves to meet today’s tastes.

A new chipset here, reworked drivers there, the occasional complete reinvention (think the current rise of open earbud designs) – there’s always something new.

Earlier this year that continued with the launch of the Audio-Technica ATH-AL5NC, the firm’s first open-back wireless headphones.

Exciting? 100 per cent.

What Hi-Fi? has long championed the, at first glance, contradictory category, since New York-based Grado made it a thing in the early 2020s.

But as the team and I started to think about which rivals to compare with the new Audio-Technicas, it struck me: have there actually been any new open-back wireless headphones launched since the second-generation Grado GW100x we reviewed all the way back in 2022?

Dear readers, please correct me if I’m wrong, but among mainstream audio firms, I don't think there have been any. Even if there have, they haven’t been reviewed by What Hi-Fi?.

Which led me to another key question: why aren’t there more of them?

After revisiting the Grado GW100x and using them as my primary home headphones for a while, truthfully, I still don’t have an answer. For a specific type of listener, they still make complete sense.

Yes, there are some annoyances inherent to the form factor for people sharing your space, as we mentioned before. I listened to Gunship while my wife tried to read in the same room, and she did complain about the sound leakage.

But open-backs make up for this in multiple ways, chief of which is their audio.

Four years on from their launch, the GW100x still sound great – especially considering their sub-£250 price.

Clean, open and enthusiastic, the Grado’s rapidly became my go-to pair of home headphones after getting my feet tapping along to Peter Gabriel’s One by One (Darkside Mix) within seconds of connecting them to my phone.

Then they delighted me with their more natural soundstage when I switched gears to Eddie Vedder’s stellar track Hard Sun, giving it room to breathe, as good music deserves.

More than anything, though, it was the fact that a few weeks in, I realised I was wearing them for whole work days at a time without fatigue. No pinch, no distractions, just music throughout the day, uninterrupted and joyous to hear coming from the GW100x.

I couldn’t sum it up any better than our senior staff writer, Harry McKerrell, who said in our review, four years ago:

“The idea of a pair of Bluetooth-ready, and therefore supposedly portable, headphones that don’t fold away, leak sound and feature no noise-cancelling puts them in a strange, somewhat contradictory position compared with the market leaders from Bose, Sennheiser and Sony. But if it’s simply great untethered sound you’re after for quiet spaces, such as your garden, you’ll struggle to find better than these brilliant-sounding Grado on-ears.”

As I continued using them, however, I did come to wish for one thing to be added to the mix that would make them even better…

Better connectivity

Former What Hi-Fi? magazine editor Jez Ford, our current global technical editor, Ketan Bharadia, and I have all talked about the limitations of Bluetooth for some time.

It’s a format that is lossy, unreliable, heavily compressed, and often poor quality. There is a reason that serious music fans prefer wired headphones over wireless – even wireless cans that support hi-res aptX codecs.

In the past, we accepted Bluetooth as a limitation you had to put up with if you wanted to enjoy the freedom and convenience wireless headphones offer. If you’re out and about, it’s a fair trade.

But in 2026 and for the purposes of this article specifically, things are a little more complex.

Wireless open-backs make sense primarily for home use. And there’s no denying that, as good as the Grados sound compared with other wireless sets, you can get a much better experience if you remove Bluetooth from the equation.

Putting aside how they compare to my standard home desktop setup – which features a Chord Mojo 2, Hifiman HE400se and my laptop or phone streaming Tidal – just plugging the GW100x in using the included 3.5mm cable leads to palpable audio improvements, adding another level of sharpness and weight to the sound.

The groove of Funkadelic’s Good to Your Earhole became remarkably more infectious and fun the moment I added the cable, and it felt like a compromise removing it.

When the GW100x first came out, this was fine as Bluetooth or cabled were the only options available. The chips used by most headphone providers didn’t support wi-fi and even if they did, the connectivity is a power hog, so you definitely wouldn’t get a day’s full listening wirelessly that way.

So if you wanted wireless playback, that was the sacrifice you had to make. There was no middle ground.

A few weeks ago, though, Qualcomm unveiled some new technology that could fix, or at least alleviate the problem, in the shape of its Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 platform. This is a new platform of advanced chipsets that have the XPAN tech we have talked about many times before.

The technology is designed to let headphones scale the quality they are streaming responsively, depending on network conditions.

So, in theory, if I had my GW100x in my lounge, next to the router, it could deliver 24-bit/96 kHz lossless audio over wi-fi; but then it could intelligently scale down when I move away and the connection becomes less stable, forcing it to switch back to Bluetooth – kind of how the SCL6, or Airia as it’s now called, tech from MQA works.

The tech is new, and we’re yet to test any headphones with it, and yes, it probably won’t bring the wireless performance in line with wired, but it could help close the gap between the two, making the switch less jarring. And that makes it a compelling idea, especially for wireless open-backs.

For me, this feels like an ideal launchpad for headphone makers thinking about dipping their toe in the open-back wireless headphone market – one I really hope they take advantage of given how much I have loved my month revisiting the Grado GW100x.

The idea just makes sense, at least for me.

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Audio giant Bose has bought fellow US company Skullcandy, a headphone maker known for its brash, youth-oriented designs.

It might seem an odd fit, but their respective differences might well complement each other. The two will combine Bose’s “audio expertise, technology, and global reach with Skullcandy’s design, understanding of its consumers, and authentic community connections to create new products and experiences and accelerate growth,” says Bose.

The two have collaborated previously during a multi-year partnership. Over the summer, they released the Skullcandy Crusher 1080 ANC (pictured), which feature Bose’s active noise cancellation (ANC) tech.

Skullcandy will remain a separate brand within Bose’s portfolio, much as Beats has since being acquired by Apple in 2014.

Indeed, the acquisition has echoes of the Apple/Beats deal, with an established market leader snapping up a youth-oriented upstart with a strong reputation in sports and plenty of athletes as ambassadors. Skullcandy is big in board sports, gaming and fitness.

Bose says the deal will allow it to reach previously untapped markets.

“For more than 60 years, Bose has been committed to delivering incredible audio experiences however and wherever people choose to listen. As we work to reach even more people, we’re expanding how we do that, not only through Bose products, but through technology partnerships and a growing portfolio of brands,” Lila Snyder, chief executive officer of Bose Corporation, said in a statement.

Skullcandy’s CEO said the deal was “a win for Skullcandy and our fans”, allowing it to bring Bose’s “audio expertise and technology to our products”.

As well as giving Skullcandy access to its technology, Bose will share resources, global distribution, and commercial relationships while allowing it to “continue evolving in ways that are authentic to its identity and consumers”, Bose said.

Skullcandy will continue to be based in Park City, Utah. Financial details of the deal haven’t been disclosed.

The deal was announced just a week or so before Halloween, which is a time for both skulls and candy. But will it end up being a trick or treat for the two brands? Skullcandy products don’t have a particularly great reputation in terms of sound quality, so hopefully some Bose tech will improve both its audio and ANC capabilities.

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Check out our Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) review

We’ve said it before, but there is no shortage of noise-cancelling headphones on the market these days. If you are willing to part with a three-figure sum for a pair of over-ear headphones with solid active noise cancellation, you’re likely to find yourself spoiled for choice.

The Bose QuietComfort range has a storied history when it comes to noise cancelling technology – in fact, the company was among the first to release ANC headphones, after its owner got frustrated with the sound of an aeroplane engine during a flight.

Recently, Bose has released the QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen), which put in a smooth sonic performance with expectedly refined noise-cancelling. But these cans have been born into tough circumstances, with the five-star Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 5 already waiting in the ring.

The Sennheisers earned a glowing review from the What Hi-Fi? review team for their sonic talent, impressive battery life and comfortable design. So, with two solid options in the same price bracket, which should you go for?

Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) vs Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless: price

The Bose Quietcomfort Headphones (2nd Gen) launched at a price of £300 / $359 / AU$550. Given they were only released in August 2026, we haven’t yet seen them selling at a reduced price just yet.

The Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless are also a fairly new pair of headphones, released just two months prior to the Bose. They launched at a price of £330 / $400 / AU$750 and, similarly, we haven’t yet seen any significant reductions in price.

So, without sale prices adding an element of flux to this comparison, the Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) take the lead for being the more affordable set.

**Winner: Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen)**

Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) vs Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless: build & comfort

The updated QuietComfort Headphones have seen several design updates from their first generation, including a new headband, improved clamping force for a more secure fit, and new oval-shaped earcups with plusher cushioning. The headphones are available in five colourways: Black, White Smoke, Eucalyptus Green, Dewdrop Mint and Rosewood Mauve.

We thought the 2nd-gen QC headphones were a very comfortable pair of headphones, but most significantly, they remained so across a range of head sizes. In our review, we said "these headphones fit firmly, without becoming constrictive, even on the very largest and smallest of What Hi-Fi? reviewers’ heads.”

Thanks to their roomy earcups, which are angled so your ears won’t touch the grille cloth, our ears didn’t ache over longer listening sessions, either.

The headphones sacrifice a more premium feel for lighter weight (just 230g) and foldability. There is no capacitive touch strip built into the earcups, so all controls are done via built-in buttons on the earcup or by using the Bose app. The right earcup also features a USB-C input for charging and audio playback up to 24-bit/48kHz, alongside an LED indicator showing Bluetooth and battery status.

The Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless have shaken off the slightly-too-functional look of the previous Momentum models by including “little touches, such as the headband’s attractive fabric exterior” and metallic badges which we think “go a long way to making the Momentum 5 Wireless feel more premium”.

The earcups are plenty large enough, but feel a little looser on our heads than the Bose headphones. This is, no doubt helped by the Momentum 5’s weight of 290g, which isn’t particularly light by class standards. With less internal space inside the earcup than the Bose, we also find that our ears begin to heat up slightly and ache during longer listening sessions.

The Sennheiser’s earcups swivel but don’t fold down completely like the QC headphones. Their larger surfaces do, however, come in handy when using the responsive, built-in capacitive touch controls for volume, playback and ANC. Like the Bose, these headphones can use a wired connection, allowing playback up to a slightly higher resolution of 24-bit/96kHz.

It’s a close match for these headphones when it comes to their design, as each seems to fill in the other’s gaps. So, here, we call it a draw.

**Winner: Draw**

Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) vs Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless: features

In terms of battery life, the QC Headphones can provide a fairly standard 24 hours with ANC switched on, which falls to 18 hours once the immersive modes are enabled via the Bose companion app.

Immersive Audio is Bose’s take on spatial audio, and these headphones feature three main immersive modes: ‘Still’, which keeps audio in place relative to the listener’s head; ‘Motion’, which tracks head movements and reconfigures the soundfield accordingly; and ‘Cinema’, which is similar to the Still mode, but with dialogue optimisation and a ‘wider’ soundstage.

We found the ‘Still’ and ‘Cinema’ modes interesting, despite a slightly more “processed” sound, but due to a lagging response to movement, ‘Motion’ mode left us feeling disoriented, and we prefer keeping these modes turned off.

From the Bose app, users can also make tonal adjustments using a three-band equaliser and configure their own ‘modes’, combining ANC, equalisation and immersive settings.

When it comes to wireless connectivity, the QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) feature Bluetooth multipoint for connecting two devices simultaneously, and support Bluetooth 5.4 for standard AAC and SBC codecs. There are no high-quality codecs available here.

In our review of the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless, we said that battery life was “a nice feather in Sennheiser’s cap”, boasting an impressive 57 hours with ANC switched on – a figure which towers over most price rivals, let alone the Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen).

Sennheiser’s companion app gives users access to Dolby Atmos-optimised immersive listening options with optional head-tracking, adjustable ANC and an eight-band equaliser. We find Sennheiser’s immersive audio somewhat less enveloping than the Bose equivalent, but it certainly sounds more natural and is less distracting.

Unlike the Bose, however, the Momentum 5 Wireless also feature optional ‘on head detection’, which enables smart pause, holding calls and power-saving mode when the headphones are taken off. Handy.

The headphones also offer a wider range of Bluetooth codec support, with standard SBC and AAC codecs alongside higher-quality aptX HD, aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive options. The headphones currently support Bluetooth 5.4, but a firmware update scheduled for later this year promises to bump this up to Bluetooth 6.0 with LE audio for reduced latency, improved battery life and potentially better sound quality.

We were pleased to see higher-quality Bluetooth codecs included in the Sennheiser headphones. At this price, we think it’s a shame that Bose didn’t include these options at their price.

For the cherry on top of their fully-loaded feature set, the Momentum 5 Wireless also support Bluetooth Multipoint for simultaneous connection to two devices.

**Winner: Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless**

Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) vs Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless: ANC & call quality

In an ever busier world, solid ANC performance has become a vital characteristic of a good pair of wireless headphones. Bose has quite the reputation when it comes to ANC, so we were pleased to hear that the company wasn’t resting on its laurels and had made “subtle upgrades” to the ANC of the new QC Headphones, especially to account for any gaps in the earcups' seal for listeners with glasses.

Like the flagship QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen), the QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) feature ‘Quiet’ and ‘Aware’ modes, as well as the option to adjust the amount of ANC to your taste, or turn it off completely.

‘Quiet’ mode provides full-fat noise cancellation, while ‘Aware’ mode lets environmental sounds in, so you can remain aware of your surroundings. The headphones also feature ActiveSense technology, which smoothes sudden spikes in environmental sound while using ‘Aware’ mode.

In our review, we said that the ANC performance of the QC headphones (2nd Gen) did a “sterling job, effectively countering the low-frequency rumble of trains, as well as the hubbub of traffic and ambient chatter”. We also found that ‘Aware’ mode worked well, letting a touch more external noise in than the Sennheiser’s ‘Transparency’ mode.

But how did the Momentum 5 Wireless perform?

We said that the Sennheisers' ANC put in a “good performance”, keeping “most noises – traffic, wind, the hum of air conditioners – at bay”. We did note, however, that the overall effect was “more like a softening of sounds rather than a complete exclusion – something which the Sony and Bose manage more effectively”.

Taking the Sennheisers to the gym, we said: “The ANC results in a softening of the hubbub of a busy public space, even if harsher noises, such as clanking weights, can penetrate through.”

‘Transparency’ mode, which is Sennheiser's version of ‘Aware’ mode, is highly effective, but doesn’t quite bring the same level of clarity to environmental sounds as Bose managed.

In terms of call quality, however, the Sennheisers do a better job of blocking out surrounding sounds than the Bose headphones and leave voices sounding slightly more natural on the other end of the line.

**Winner: Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen)**

Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) vs Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless: sound

Sonically speaking, these two headphones are of fairly different characters, but they do have some things in common.

Both headphones offer rich, smooth performances, with ample detail and texture in the middle and high frequencies. We described the Bose’s midrange as “tightly controlled but nonetheless expressive”, while the Sennheisers impressed us with “naturalness and insight that gives even more premium alternatives a run for their money”.

In both cases, using a wired connection provided a palpable uplift in dynamics and midrange sweetness.

Both headphones handle high frequencies responsibly, too, providing ample shine and sparkle without overwhelming the sonic balance. Even during the most raucous punk rock tracks in our music library, both of these headphones kept their cool, delivering our music with maturity and a satisfying degree of detail.

These headphones begin to diverge when it comes to bass performance. During testing, we found that the Momentum 5 Wireless sounded a little too rich, and noted that “some listeners might prefer a tauter reproduction at the lower end”, which we think the Bose provide.

Both headphones struggled somewhat to “clip along” during songs with propulsive central rhythms, but we found this to a lesser degree with the Sennheisers. During driving, rhythmic tracks, the Bose left us “feeling somewhat left behind”, while the Sennheisers simply favoured a “more relaxed presentation”.

The most notable difference, however, is in the way that these headphones handle dynamics.

Listening to the QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen), we found ourselves craving “a greater degree of dynamic subtlety and nuance”. Large jumps in volume were convincingly rendered, but “finer dynamic details felt less explicit than we would expect” at the price.

The Sennheisers, on the other hand, teased out dynamics ably, with a performance that was subtle and delicate, “bringing out small-scale dynamic shifts superbly”. Overall, we simply enjoyed listening to the Sennheisers' peformance more at this level.

**Winner: Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless**

Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) vs Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless: Verdict

With virtues in slightly different places, both of these wireless over-ear headphones put in a respectable performance, with each having its specific advantages and designs that will suit many prospective buyers.

While the Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) are slightly cheaper, weigh less, feature a foldable design and have stronger ANC performance, sound quality plays a vital part in our assessment, and the Sennheisers prevail in this regard.

With more nuanced dynamics and a greater sense of fun, plus the fact that they feel more premium and have almost twice the battery life, the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless are our preferred pick at this price.

*Overall winner: Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless**

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Bose has something of a storied history when it comes to active noise cancelling headphones. Back in 1989, the company became one of the first to commercialise noise-cancelling headphone technology after its founder allegedly developed a mid-flight gripe with the noise of an aeroplane’s engine.

As such, Bose kicked things off with noise-cancelling headphones designed for pilots. It wasn’t until the year 2000, with the dawn of the QuietComfort series, that the technology made its way into the consumer market on terra firma.

The current flagship model from the series, the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) were awarded four stars by our review team for a smart folding design, superb noise cancellation and effective spatial audio. The headphones missed out on a fifth star, beaten by sterner competition with better sound quality and battery life.

We now have the updated standard over-ear models, the QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen), in for testing. Can these deliver a more appealing performance at a more appealing price?

Price

The Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) are priced at £300 / $359 / AU$550, sitting under the flagship Ultra (2nd Gen) model that originally cost a more premium £450 / $450 / AU$700. Having been on the market a while longer, we have seen the Ultra (2nd Gen)’s price drop to around £320 / $399 / AU$494, which puts some pressure on the performance of the new standard model.

Turning up the heat yet further, the headphones’ closest price rival outside of the Bose family are the five-star Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless (£330 / $400 / AU$750), which we praised for their “comfortable design”, “impressive battery life” and “refined presentation”. At a slightly lower price point, Sony has also recently introduced the WH-1000XM4C, a reborn version of the Award-winning original WH-1000XM4, which have just gone on sale for £219 / $300 / AU$450.

These formidable rivals mean the QuietComfort headphones (2nd Gen) have their work cut out for them, if they wish to stand out from the crowd.

Build & comfort

There is good sense behind making a pair of wireless headphones light and compact. Whether they are being chucked into a tote-bag, worn around your neck, or packed into a rammed suitcase, generally the smaller and lighter a pair of headphones can be, the better. In this area, the Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) excel, weighing just 230g in a neat, foldable design.

They are a comfortable pair of over-ear headphones to wear, with soft pleather lining the headband and earcups. Across our test team, we found these headphones fitted firmly, without becoming constrictive, even on the very largest and smallest of What Hi-Fi? reviewers’ heads.

Additionally, the earcups are satisfyingly roomy and make our ears feel nicely isolated from the outside world. The sloped interior of the earcup means our ears don’t rub up against the internal grille, as we find happens with the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless.

These headphones feel breathable compared to rivals, and we find that even on a hot summer’s day, we are quite comfortable wearing them for extended listening sessions.

Our test pair arrive in the Dewdrop Mint finish, with a satisfyingly colour-coordinated headband and earpads. But if a minty-fresh look isn’t your thing, there are four other finishes available: Black, White Smoke, Rosewood Mauve and Eucalyptus Green.

By price standards these wireless headphones look a little basic, and lack the visual flair of rivals like the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless. Details such as the Sennheisers’ fabric headband and metallic badges go a long way to give an impression of luxury, which is something that these Bose headphones lack.

Unlike the Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen), the standard model doesn’t feature capacitive touch controls, but we enjoy the simplicity of the built-in buttons, as well as the fact that we don’t accidentally end up skipping songs while brushing our hair out of the way or readjusting the headphones.

The right earcup features three buttons: a central button for playback and call controls, flanked by buttons for increasing and decreasing the volume.

The left earcup has a button for controlling Bluetooth as well as a ‘shortcut’ button, which can be assigned to cycle through immersive modes, access voice assistant (on compatible devices) or control Spotify via the Bose control app. Buttons are responsive and easy to find, so after a while, we find ourselves using the controls instinctively.

The right earcup also has a USB-C input for charging and wired audio playback (up to 24-bit/48kHz), alongside a small LED indicator showing Bluetooth, charging, and battery status.

It is worth noting that because the USB-C connection is slightly inset on the side of the earcup, larger-fingered members of our review team find the provided USB-C cable somewhat challenging to unplug.

In terms of battery life, the QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) can run for 24 hours with ANC enabled – less than half the 57-hour battery life of the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless. Switching on the QuietComfort’s immersive modes will reduce their runtime further to 18 hours. After which, a full charge will take three hours.

While 24 hours of battery life isn’t an insignificant figure, it is clear now that Bose lags well behind the best of the competition.

Features

The QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) support Bluetooth 5.4 for standard AAC and SBC codecs, as well as Bluetooth Low Energy, which uses significantly less power than regular Bluetooth for short-range connectivity.

At this price, we are a little disappointed to find that Bose hasn’t included support for hi-res codecs such as aptX HD or aptX Adaptive.

Bluetooth multipoint connectivity is supported, alongside Google Fast Pair for Android users, and we find that connecting to devices and switching between them is a breeze thanks to the Bose app.

What’s more, our connection to our smartphone remains stable throughout testing, and we experience no dropouts, even when passing through busy areas such as train stations and shopping centres.

Bose’s immersive audio settings have by now become something of a hallmark of the more up-to-date QuietComfort Headphones, offering access to the company’s take on spatial audio.

There are three immersive audio settings – ‘Still’, ‘Motion’ and ‘Cinema’ modes – that can be explored via the Bose control app.

‘Still’ and ‘Cinema’ fix audio in place, keeping your music in position even as you move your head (‘Cinema’ provides an extra boost for voices, clarifying dialogue in dense film soundscapes), while ‘Motion’ lets your music move with you, tracking head motions and reconfiguring the stereo field accordingly.

We find that ‘Still’ mode works well, adding a sense of depth to our music, despite a slightly more processed sound. ‘Motion’ mode, on the other hand, becomes distracting due to a slightly laggy response to movement, causing us to feel disorientated while listening to music on the go.

We end up switching all immersive modes off, as they ultimately distract us from enjoying our music.

Through the Bose app, which is intuitively laid out and easy to use, you can also create and save your own personalised ‘modes’, with modifiable features including the amount of ANC, enabling/disabling wind blocking and immersive settings.

A three-band equaliser is also accessible within the app, with +/- 10 points of treble, mid and bass control. The range of adjustment is subtle, but large enough to be practically useful. Even at the equaliser’s upper bounds, we find that tonal changes avoid becoming unpleasantly extreme.

ANC & call quality

Between the first and second generation of QuietComfort Headphones, Bose says it has made subtle active noise cancellation improvements, as well as including the option for ANC to be switched off.

With ANC switched on, users have access to two settings: ‘Quiet’ and ‘Aware’.

‘Quiet’ is the fully-fledged noise-cancelling option. Using a six-microphone array to detect and cancel unwanted external sound, the Bose do a sterling job, effectively countering the low-frequency rumble of trains, as well as the hubbub of traffic and ambient chatter.

Even in a bustling city centre, music takes centre stage, and podcasts, too, are delivered with only minimal interruption from the most shrill of nearby voices.

The engineers claim to have made improvements to the headphones’ noise-cancelling array in order to compensate for gaps in the earcup’s seal when wearing glasses. Bespectacled members of the What Hi-Fi? review team agree that the ANC remains highly effective with glasses on, and we notice no discernible difference in performance with or without glasses.

If the heavy hand of ‘Quiet’ mode isn’t your cup of tea, selecting ‘Noise Control’ lets you toggle how much ANC you want to apply. We find that dialling the noise cancellation back alleviates the suction-cup feeling that Bose’s intense noise-cancelling processing can cause.

The headphones’ ‘Aware’ mode does what it says on the tin, letting external sounds in, so you can remain aware of your surroundings. Nonetheless, Bose has taken pains to ensure that sudden environmental sounds won’t deafen us using their ActiveSense technology, which allows the ANC to kick in automatically to soften sharp spikes in ambient noise.

We find that the setting works well, and even the slam of a car door doesn’t overpower our music. Compared to the Momentum 5 Wireless’ version of Aware mode, the Bose headphones let more sound in, keeping us well aware of the wider world.

Testing the QuietComfort Headphones’ call quality, we find that the built-in microphones do an excellent job of filtering out environmental noise and wind sounds, even while standing near to a busy main road.

Compared with the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless, which deliver voices with a more full-bodied, natural sound, the Bose leave our voices sounding somewhat tinny on the other end of the line. But despite the slight tonal imbalance, our voices remain clear and comprehensible.

Sound

Like the premium QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen), these wireless headphones sound a little uptight right out of the box. But given some time to warm up, they offer a smooth and well-balanced sound. Indeed, the QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) handle even the very most extreme test tracks in our Tidal music library with a cool, mature hand.

We begin testing with Geese’s 100 Horses and find that overdriven bass and shambling drums are rendered with pleasing low-frequency weight, richness and a good degree of texture. Guitar parts and percussion, meanwhile, are appropriately detailed and capable of sparkle without overwhelming the sonic balance.

Further into the song, when Cameron Winter’s vocal harmonies fill the soundfield, the QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) showcase their tightly controlled but nonetheless expressive midrange, and we feel every last drop of emotion in Winter’s warbling tone.

We know that these headphones will be used wirelessly most of the time, but we enjoy the uplift in dynamics and clarity that comes with using a wired connection to our source device.

These headphones also provide pleasing separation between instruments. In the dense, funky arrangement of Superman's Big Sister by Ian Dury & The Blockheads, Wilko Johnson’s jagged rhythm guitar remains sharply defined against a busy backdrop of saxophones, slapped bass and orchestral strings, which all occupy their respective places with clear-cut authority.

We feel that the QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) could provide a greater degree of dynamic subtlety and nuance. Listening to Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 in D Major, large jumps in volume are convincingly rendered and arrive with impact, but the composition’s finer dynamic details feel less explicit than we would expect at this price.

In terms of rhythmic drive, we feel that the QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen) could do a little more, too, with a performance that is somewhat less propulsive and energetic than price competitors. In a piece such as 100 Horses, which should carry you along with its rhythm, we find ourselves feeling somewhat left behind.

Verdict

Bose has tackled its second generation of QuietComfort Headphones with an ambitious attitude that sees features of the flagship Ultra model trickle down to the standard model. In terms of functionality, this approach has expanded the QuietComfort Headphones' horizon, with a truly impressive feature set for the price.

Despite missing out on a class-leading sonic performance, these wireless headphones are nonetheless capable and articulate. Paired with their ergonomic, foldable design, they are worthy of consideration for music fans on the move.

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Build 4
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless review

Also check out our Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) review

Our pick of the best wireless headphones for every budget

When Apple added active noise cancellation to its eartip-less AirPods 4, it worked so well that both new-generation AirPods 5 models have active noise cancelling as standard now.

The new Apple AirPods 5 also promise 50 per cent improved ANC and better sound than before, a new custom EQ, all while retaining a familiar design and many of the features that made these wireless earbuds so popular.

It’s certainly more a case of evolution than completely rehauling a tried-and-tested design, but are the new AirPods 5 still competitive in today’s growing open earbuds market?

Price

As before, there are two AirPods 5 variants, but the delineation between them is now less clear-cut. In the AirPods 4, the pricier model had ANC, the cheaper model didn’t – simple, right?

In the AirPods 5, the differences come down to on-stem volume control, a wireless charging case, and an extra hour of battery life. We’re not sure if these are crucial enough differences for buyers to make a clear choice, and we wonder why Apple didn’t just make a single version of AirPods 5 that had all the complete features.

The base model of the AirPods 5 cost £119 / $129 / AU$219, while the step-up version with the wireless charging case – which is the sample we are reviewing here – is yours for £139 / $149 / AU$249. There’s less of a price gap between the two than in previous generations, and it once again makes us question why Apple felt the need to make two versions. We fully expect the cheaper model to go down in price for the holiday season to make it a more attractive proposition.

On the plus side, the AirPods 5 are less expensive than the previous generation: the ANC model launched at £179 / $179 / AU$299 in 2024, while UK buyers can save a whole tenner on the standard AirPods 4’s original price (£129 / $129 / AU$219).

Build & design

Place the two generations of AirPods side by side, and you’ll find them to be identical in design. The AirPods 5 have the same ‘semi-open’ design as the AirPods 4 so you are aware of your surroundings when wearing them, with no silicone eartips to create an acoustic or ANC seal.

How comfortable and effective the design is proves, as before, to be entirely dependent on the shape of your ears – they either don’t sit securely for some members of the What Hi-Fi? review team, while others found wearing them perfectly comfortable.

Getting the ‘nozzle’ of the buds pointing towards your ear canal at all times without being dislodged is the tricky bit, especially if you want the best sound quality. Apple’s always-on Adaptive EQ aims to keep the sound consistent to account for different ear shapes, although this doesn’t help if the buds don’t stay in your ears.

Those who don’t like the feeling of eartips burrowing in will appreciate the less-intrusive design, though, and the buds are small and lightweight enough to wear for long hours. They also have an improved IP57 rating for water and sweat resistance, which is ideal for those who wear these buds while commuting, running or exercising.

The base model features force-sensitive controls, where you pinch the stems to control music playback, change noise modes and accept calls, while gesture controls – a nod or a shake of the head – can be activated to accept or reject incoming calls.

The pricier AirPods 5 model features all of the above and adds the swipable volume controls from its Pro sibling, meaning you can swipe up and down on the buds’ stems to change volume. As we found with AirPods Pro 2 and Pro 3, it’s swift and intuitive in use.

Both charging cases look identical from the outside: small, pocketable, with a USB-C charging connection. The pricier model (clumsily called AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case) has wireless charging capabilities, working with Qi-compatible and Apple Watch chargers, and the case emits a sound to indicate low battery status or when you’re trying to locate it using Find My. The standard model can only be charged with a USB-C cable, which neither model provides in the box.

Features

The AirPods 4 were already so stacked with features we’re not sure how they have space for more, with Apple continuously bringing flagship-level features down to its standard line with every iOS update. The AirPods 5 and Pro 3 models are almost identical in features these days thanks to sharing the same H2 headphone chip, with only the hearing aid, hearing test and heart rate sensors now reserved for the flagship.

The cheaper AirPods 5 model gets the bigger upgrade here, with it now having pretty much the same features as its bigger brothers: with ANC ability comes adaptive audio and transparency modes, the conversation awareness mode that lowers media volume when it detects you’re speaking, and all AirPods running on the H2 chip (the 4, 5 and Pro models) now feature live translation.

The AirPods 5 continue to support personalised spatial audio with dynamic head tracking and other iOS-centric features such as easy switching between connected iOS devices and compatibility with the updated Siri AI. These are all useful to varying degrees and work as well as expected.

We would recommend downloading the latest version of iOS 27 when using the AirPods 5 for the best performance, as we initially found a few instances of lag in our review sample. We’re talking mere milliseconds here, but it’s noticeable when we’re used to a seamless, intuitive feedback with Apple products – although these issues ironed themselves out after the software update.

The iOS 27 update also brings with it a more orderly AirPods settings interface, adjustable adaptive audio, and a three-band custom EQ. Available in the Audio & Routing section in the AirPods’ settings, you can adjust the low, mid and high frequencies to customise the sound when music is playing.

The adjustments are subtle, and it’s a nice feature to have, but you can’t save multiple presets; alternatively, you can simply leave it on Apple’s recommended default EQ.

The most disappointing part of the AirPods 5 experience is battery life. The AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case offer just five hours on a single charge, with 22 hours in total with the charging case. It’s worse on the base AirPods 5 model, with a measly four hours unchanged from the previous generation.

A five-minute charge in the case does give you an hour, but dipping into the case continuously for extra juice means you’ll be needing to charge the ’Pods more regularly overall. With the AirPods 5’s ANC powers and feature set matching those of traditional premium wireless earbuds, they’re lagging behind the eight hours quoted on the AirPods 3 and Sony WF-1000XM6. Even cheaper ANC buds such as the Sony WF-C710N offer 8.5 hours on a single charge.

We know the demands of these extra features and improved ANC performance put additional pressure on the battery life, especially in a more open design, but we would hope that Apple would counteract those power-hungry updates with a larger battery capacity.

ANC & call quality

It’s taken us long enough to get to the real heart of the AirPods 5 design: improved ANC. We were impressed with how effective the noise-cancelling was when we reviewed the AirPods with ANC, and the same is true in the AirPods 5.

For a design without any eartip seal, the full noise-cancelling mode does a great job at quietening the sound of traffic, train engines and general hubbub around you. Higher frequency noises will be heard clearly, as is expected for this kind of earbud design, and we find the lower frequencies are suppressed even more on the AirPods 5 than on the AirPods 4 with ANC.

It’s a more obviously powerful effect too. If you want a more natural blend of environmental awareness and your music, the adaptive audio mode does a fine job of automatically adjusting the ANC levels according to the noise around you. You can now fine-tune the level of adaptive audio; move the slider left or right depending on whether you want more transparency or more noise-cancelling. It’s a subtle but useful addition to have.

Call quality is another high point, with our voices sounding clear and detailed, with only a slight hardness around the edges. What’s impressive is how the AirPods 5 don’t transmit any surrounding noises to the caller. We were on a very busy road with rush hour traffic when testing voice calls, and the other person on the line couldn’t hear any hint of cars passing.

The AirPods 4 with ANC have a similar silencing effect, although voices sound a little thinner and sibilant compared with the more solid sound of the AirPods 5. For their noise-cancelling prowess and excellent call quality, the AirPods 5 are highly recommended if these are your priorities.

Sound

We’ve been fans of Apple’s recent sonic balance: detailed, agile, natural, open. With every generation, the standard AirPods have had a knack for knitting music together in a way that sounds immediately enjoyable, even if they don’t necessarily trouble the class leaders when it comes to absolute clarity, dynamism or insight.

The AirPods 5 exhibit many of the same sonic characteristics of the older AirPods 4, and it doesn’t take us long to enjoy our Tidal and Apple Music playlists in the earbuds’ airy soundscape.

Apple doesn’t give specifics, but it has updated the innards of the AirPods 5 by way of a new “multiport acoustic architecture”, and the result is a sound that has greater extension and weight in the lower frequencies. For such an open design, the amount of power and heft to the sound is quite impressive.

The outside world will intrude upon your music or podcast listening if you don’t have any kind of noise-cancelling turned on, but even still, we find ourselves enjoying the amount of detail and spaciousness you get with the AirPods 5.

The enhanced bass power comes to the fore when listening to the taut, fast bassline in Ice T’s Addicted To Danger, which sounds more menacing and muscular than before; while Max Richter’s The City Was A Chaos instrumental is admirably delivered with deep punchiness and increasing scale and intensity. Highs have plenty of headroom to soar too, with no hint of sharpness or brightness to disturb our listening.

Dynamically, there is enough variety to hold our attention, although the AirPods 5’s open design still doesn’t hold a candle to their eartip-equipped sealed counterparts when it comes to outright punch and dynamic contrast.

With certain songs, we find the AirPods 5’s newfound weighty balance can overpower more delicate, subtler moments at times. The finer details and nuances of The Unthanks’ singing in Here’s The Tender Coming are a little subdued. Voices are less prominent in the mix than before and as a result don’t sound quite as clear; we find the leaner sound of the older AirPods 4 with ANC delivers a sweeter and more agile presentation.

Many will find the older AirPods 4 to have a lightweight sound in comparison to the AirPods’ more full-bodied presentation, and it simply depends on which balance you prefer.

Verdict

An open design will always have its compromises when it comes to outright dynamic punch and clarity, but the AirPods 5’s more powerful and weightier sound does a fine job of keeping the music front and centre even as you’re constantly aware of your surroundings.

This fifth-generation model is a fairly gentle evolution that aims to bring wider iOS ecosystem features to all price points, while those using older generations of AirPods will find it a much bigger and more satisfying update. The AirPods 5’s highly effective ANC performance in this kind of open earbud design is the biggest draw here, and we’ve yet to encounter an open alternative that sounds this good.

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Features 4
• Build 4

MORE:

Our pick of the best wireless earbuds for all budgets

Read our full Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation review

Check out our AirPods Pro 3 review if you want the very best earbuds from Apple

I'm excited for Apple's newly announced AirPods 5 – but one major issue has me scratching my head

If you’re worried about the environmental impact your headphone habit is having on the planet – or just fancy a pair you can repair yourself – the Fairbuds 2 wireless earbuds could be for you.

They are made by Fairphone, the Dutch manufacturer who specialises in modular, repairable and eco-friendly designs. And they add impressive audio specification to the bargain.

Such as support for LDAC, Sony’s hi-res audio codec. There is also a new 11mm dynamic driver with an organic bio-cellulose diaphragm, and tuning by Rotterdam-based studio Form Follows Frequency.

Fairphone claims that the driver is lighter and responds faster than that in the original Fairbuds, and that it delivers a brighter, crisper treble. We are also promised “a rich, balanced sound out of the box, with deeper bass, warmer mids and clear highs.”

They are well-specified in other regards, too. You get 40 hours of total battery life (including the case), active noise cancellation, IP54 water resistance and Bluetooth 6.0 complete with Multipoint for connecting to two devices at once.

They are also 37 per cent smaller than their predecessors, with a charging case that’s 32 per cent smaller.

But it’s the buds’ eco credentials that will appeal to many. They are made with SGS-tested, PFAS-free plastics and silicone that come in direct contact with your skin, and many components are replaceable by users, including the earbuds and batteries within the case. Unlike other earbuds, the batteries and components are not sealed behind glued-shut cases. So if they fail, you can just swap them for a new one.

They are also made with about 49 per cent “fair and recycled materials” – those produced under fair working conditions as part of Fairphone’s Living Wage Bonus and Workers’ Voice programmes.

They’re also completely e-waste neutral.

Fairphone went back to the drawing board for this pair of in-ears, saying they are “completely re-engineered for all-day comfort across a wider variety of ears”. This better fit should also improve passive noise cancellation, while active noise cancellation comes via a six-mic array that claims to block noise by up to 45dB.

The Fairbuds app has also had a refresh, with a new design, and new features including new audio presets, customisable equaliser settings, and a tips and tricks section.

Despite these improvements, the Fairbuds 2 are actually around 20 per cent cheaper than their predecessors. They are out now in the UK (coming 2nd November in the US), and cost £99 / $119 (around AU$190). They come in Forest Green or Horizon Black.

Fairphone claims that less than 15 per cent of small electronics such as earbuds are ever reused or responsibly recycled, with around 40,000 tons of headphones being thrown on the scrapheap each year. Anything that can help can only be a good thing.

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Our guide to the best wireless earbuds around

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Lord Byron once said, “Always laugh when you can; it is cheap medicine.” Nice though the Baron poet’s advice is, some circumstances simply aren’t fit for a giggle. In such cases, a cheap, top-notch pair of headphones might be a more suitable tonic to your ills.

Sony's five-star WH-CH520 headphones have been sitting pretty as our ‘best cheap’ pair of wireless headphones for a couple of years now. Recently, Sony has released a next-generation sequel in the form of the WH-CH530, which promise “a major sonic boost” on the previous model, for almost the same launch price.

The eagle-eyed among you will be sure to notice that these two budget headphones look almost identical. Their similarities aren’t just cosmetic, either; there is a significant amount of hardware shared between designs – as if choosing a pair of headphones wasn’t complex enough…

The new Sony WH-CH530 is another five-star success, but what are the differences between the two models, and is it worth the upgrade? We put the two in a side-by-side test to help make your decision.

Sony WH-CH530 vs Sony WH-CH520: price

The Sony WH-CH530 are yours for £50 / $70 / AU$100. As they are a new pair of headphones, we haven’t yet seen any notable price reductions on them.

A couple of years their senior, the predecessor WH-CH520 launched at £49 / $59 / AU$79, and we have seen sale prices as low as £25 / $34 / $58. For context, that’s about the cost of a new hardback book in all territories – not too shabby for a five-star pair of headphones.

**Winner: Sony WH-CH520**

Sony WH-CH530 vs Sony WH-CH520: design

Much has remained the same between these two Sony designs. Besides an inscribed, rather than printed, Sony logo on the headband, a smaller, central power on/off and Bluetooth button and L/R labelling inside the earcups (rather than on the headband), the new WH-CH530 look more or less identical to their predecessors.

The same materials have been used between designs (plastic and pleather), and even the drivers are the same 30mm full-range dynamic variety that we saw in the WH-CH520. In terms of colourways, both headphones come in standard Black, White and Pink options, but Sony has swapped out the Blue, Beige, and Yellow finishes of the older WH-CH520 for new Mint, Cobalt, and Coral finishes for the WH-CH530.

The new headphones weigh around three grams more than the previous model, bringing them to a total weight of approximately 150g, but we would be lying if we said they felt appreciably different on our heads. Both on-ear designs have a reassuringly snug fit that is made more comfortable by pleather ear-cushioning and headband lining.

Both sets of headphones also feature a three-button strip of built-in controls for powering on/off, Bluetooth pairing, skipping forwards and backwards, volume up/down, and answering, ending and rejecting calls. The central button on the WH-CH530 is slightly smaller, but remains easy to locate and makes little difference to the headphones’ easy operation.

So, with very little having changed between designs, we are going to have to call a draw.

**Winner: draw**

Sony WH-CH530 vs Sony WH-CH520: features

When it comes to features you can expect from a pair of wireless headphones at this price point, we have often found that beggars can’t be choosers. In the case of the WH-CH530, however, there’s a surprisingly ambitious feature set at your disposal.

Wireless connection is via Bluetooth 6.0, with support for Auracast sharing and Google Fast Pair for Android devices. The WH-CH530 also have Bluetooth multipoint connectivity for simultaneous connection to two devices, and are compatible with SBC, AAC and LC3 codecs. LC3 is the standard codec for Bluetooth Low Energy, which uses less power than regular Bluetooth for short-range connections.

Beyond the physical controls available on the right earcup, the WH-CH530 can also be used with Sony’s Connect app. The app features a 10-band equaliser with saveable presets so you can customise the sound, the option to set a maximum volume, a ‘Find Your Equalizer’ hearing test to identify your ideal EQ settings, access to Sony’s Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE) (which improves the quality of lower-res, compressed files), and support for immersive 360 Reality Audio tracks from compatible streaming services.

The WH-CH520 also do well in terms of features for their price, but don’t quite reach the heights of the newer model. The headphones support the older Bluetooth 5.2 version and multipoint connectivity, plus Fast Pair for Android Devices. Notably, though, they don’t support Auracast and they are compatible only with SBC and AAC codecs.

The older Sonys can also be used with the Sound Connect app. While this grants users access to DSEE, 360 Reality Audio and ‘Find Your Equalizer’ features, the available equaliser includes five, rather than 10 bands, and does not offer the option to limit the maximum volume.

When it comes to battery life, both headphones boast impressive figures, with the WH-CH530 pulling just ahead, at a maximum of 55 hours of music playback compared with the WH-CH520’s 50 hours. Both headphones charge via USB-C and can run for an hour and a half on a three-minute quick charge. Neither set accepts wired audio.

Of course, neither the CH520 nor the new CH530 feature active noise-cancellation; if you do want ANC powers, you'll have to pay extra for Sony's step-up CH-730N headphones.

For the longer battery life and the wider spread of features, the WH-CH530 takes the lead here.

**Winner: Sony WH-CH530**

Sony WH-CH530 vs Sony WH-CH520: sound

Given that these on-ear headphones are so similar in design, it comes as no surprise that they have a lot in common in terms of their sonic character.

Both Sony models deliver a balanced and engaging listening experience. The bass is deep and solid, while the midrange is highly detailed, with the WH-CH530 offering a touch of extra clarity and expression.

High frequencies are handled by both headphones with impressive control for this price point. Even the jangly, aggressive guitars of 1970s punk rock stay smooth and clear without sounding shrill, while retaining all of the raw power and energy we would hope for.

But there are crucial differences between these headphones. Namely, the digital signal-processing tweaks that Sony has made to the WH-CH530 have resulted in a marked improvement in dynamics and rhythmic drive.

In our review, we describe the WH-CH530 as “sensitive enough to convey subtle shifts in volume” while also sounding “animated and impactful” during pieces with a wider dynamic range. Compared with the WH-CH520, which we thought sounded “a little inhibited”, the improvement here is obvious.

Although both headphones lack somewhat in terms of headroom, which is not altogether unusual at the budget price, this is to a much lesser extent for the newer model.

Rhythmically, too, the WH-CH530 outperform their predecessor. While testing, we “find ourselves pulled into the songs we listen to, toes tapping and heads bobbing” thanks to an appropriately robust sense of rhythmic drive. Compared with their older sibling, the new headphones give songs a healthy dose of additional punch.

While both headphones feature the same drivers, advancements in digital signal-processing have meaningfully elevated the sonic performance of the WH-CH530 above their predecessor. Consequently, choosing a winner in this section is simple.

**Winner: Sony WH-CH530**

Sony WH-CH530 vs Sony WH-CH520: verdict

Looks can be deceiving, and, indeed, it would be tough to tell the Sony WH-CH530 and WH-CH520 apart from the outside, with their remarkably consistent designs. Inside the WH-CH530, however, the addition of extra features and the tweaks to digital signal-processing have provided a palpable sonic boost over their predecessors, improving dynamics, detail and balance – all without incurring a price hike.

It’s often said that good things don’t come cheap, but we count the Sony WH-CH530 as a marked exception to the rule. They are a fine budget buy.

*Overall winner: Sony WH-CH530**

MORE

Read our Sony WH-CH530 review

Want ANC? Consider the step-up Sony WH-CH730N

Then, why not check out our pick of the best wireless headphones tested by our expert reviewers

Sony has a formidable line-up of wireless headphones, offering talented performances at various levels, from flagship noise-cancelling over-ear options such as the Sony WH-1000XM6, to the budget but nonetheless class-leading WH-CH730N.

The most affordable wireless headphones in the line-up are the new Sony WH-CH530 on-ear headphones, which replace the five-star WH-CH520. From the outside there is little to differentiate between the two models, apart from some minor cosmetic details.

On the inside, there isn’t too much difference either. The drive units are the same, but Sony claims to have made advancements in the digital signal processing and algorithms used inside the headphones, promising a major sonic boost over the previous model.

The question is, will the changes made between designs prove worthy of a new model?

Price

The Sony WH-CH530 are currently available for £50 / $70 / AU$100. Their predecessor, the WH-CH520, were released at a similar price of £49 / $59 / AU$79, but having been on the market a while longer, that figure has since fallen as low as £25 / $34 / $58.

If you do want a pair with noise-cancelling, you’ll have to pay more for Sony’s step-up pair, the CH-730N, which are yours for £100 / $180 / AU$230.

It goes without saying that these figures aren’t exactly pricey for a pair of well-equipped, wireless on-ear headphones. In fact, the WH-CH530 face such scarce competition at the price that their main rival remains the older Sony model.

Build & design

It would hardly be reasonable to expect a premium build at this price, and indeed, the WH-CH530 have a relatively spartan appearance. That is besides their vibrant range of colourways, which includes Black, White, Cobalt, Mint, Pink and Coral options.

Our test pair arrive in Coral, and they are impressively radiant – so eye-catching, in fact, that we find them catching stray glances as we wear them while on the London Underground.

The headphones feel somewhat plasticky to touch, but we could level the same accusation at headphones far further upmarket; materials like plastic are often chosen for their cost-effective resilience and lighter weight. With a quoted weight of approximately 150g, these headphones aren’t going to bog you down. It is worth noting, however, that they do not fold down or include a transport case, so some caution is necessary while packing them into bags.

Despite their plasticky feel, we find the WH-CH530 are a well-built pair of headphones for this budget level. Their on-ear (rather than over-ear) design fits securely across the various heads of the What Hi-Fi? testing team, and their adjustable headband is robust, clicking between sizes with a reassuringly solid feeling.

We find the medium-thickness pleather padding on the underside of the headband and the earpads to be fairly comfortable, but we also find that the firm fit of these on-ear headphones can cause aching ears among the larger-headed members of our test team during longer listens, though we suspect this small gripe would ease with longer-term use.

The fact that the earcups swivel slightly helps with finding a more comfortable fit, too, and the pleather lining does a good job of mitigating unpleasant ear warming, in all but the very hottest of listening conditions.

The trade-off of a somewhat tighter fit is that these headphones do a reasonably good job of keeping outside sounds out, which is important as the CH530 don’t feature active noise cancellation. Loud sounds will make it through the earcup’s barrier, as will any high-pitched screeches, but for everyday street wear, we find the passive noise isolation to be ample, allowing our music and podcasts to take centre stage in most environments.

Features

For headphones of their price, the WH-CH530 have a fairly comprehensive feature set.

Wireless connection comes via Bluetooth 6.0, with support for Auracast and Google Fast Pair for Android devices. The WH-CH530 also support Bluetooth Multipoint, for simultaneous connection to two devices, and they are compatible with SBC, AAC and LC3 codecs – LC3 is the standard codec for Bluetooth Low Energy, which uses less power than regular Bluetooth for short-range connections.

It’s a shame that Sony didn’t push the boat out and include high-resolution codecs such as aptX HD, but as the Rolling Stones famously sang, “You can’t always get what you want”, and Sony tends to reserve higher codecs such as LDAC for its more premium models.

Sony claims a connection range of 10 metres for the headphones, and we don’t encounter any problems with connectivity within this radius.

Physical controls are housed on the right earcup, in the form of a three-button strip. Controls include Power on/off, Bluetooth pairing, skipping forwards and backwards, volume up/down, and answering, ending and rejecting calls. Skipping between songs is done by holding buttons either side of the central button for a couple of seconds, and we find ourselves accidentally raising the volume (which requires a single, unsustained press) from time to time.

Besides this small hiccup, however, we find that the buttons are responsive, large enough for most fingers and easy to use.

A single microphone handles calls, which is aided by AI-assisted noise reduction. When we test the call function, we find that our voices come across with a fairly full-bodied and clear sound that is perfectly acceptable for the price. We have no trouble hearing or being heard by the people we are speaking to.

While the built-in physical controls are all well and good, for further functionality, users can turn to the Sound Connect app, which is available for iOS and Android. The app provides a stable and intuitive control interface.

It features a 10-band equaliser, with set presets alongside personalisable EQ slots. The equaliser offers a useful range of tonal modification, and we enjoy the flexibility provided here.

Other features include the option to set a maximum headphone volume, a ‘Find Your Equaliser’ function, which runs a hearing test to help you identify your ideal EQ setting, and access to Sony’s Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE) – a proprietary Sony upscaling technology, which claims to restore frequencies lost during lossy audio compression. We find the feature works well, and adds a sense of air to our music.

Sony has also made the Sound Connect app compatible with certain immersive audio apps, such as 360 Reality Audio Live, Artist Connection and Nugs.

The headphones charge via a USB-C input on the right earcup. It is worth noting that this input does not accept audio, however, and can only be used for charging.

The WH-CH530’s battery life comes in at an impressive 55 hours for music playback, which drops to 35 hours for calls. We aren’t sure that even the most intense long-distance romance would require a 35 hour phone-call, but if it did, Sony claims these cans would be up to the task. After a full charge, we get through four days of frequent listening without needing to reach for the charging cable.

When the battery does eventually deplete, a fast charge of just three minutes will give you up to 1.5 hours of listening. Testing this function, we find that the Sonys give us more than enough charge for our similarly timed commute to work.

Sound

Given that these headphones are essentially the same design as their predecessors, we were intrigued to see whether Sony’s digital signal processing tweaks would deliver on their promise of a sonic boost. We are pleased to report, they most certainly do.

Right off the bat, the WH-CH530 establish themselves as a well-balanced, expressive, and frankly, surprisingly enjoyable listen for the price. They offer more insight than we are accustomed to in this budget price range, with an energetic, musical sound that keeps us interested in our music library.

Streaming Shrine by Chat Pile from Tidal, formidable, grungy bass arrives with a good degree of crunch and low-end power, while a tightly tuned kick drum hits appropriately hard, offering a well defined, thumping rhythm. Despite the power of the bass, these headphones do well not to overwhelm the midrange, and the gleam of guitars goes on undisturbed, but heartily supported.

The WH-CH530’s midrange is expressive by price standards. Listening to John Martyn’s Solid Air, the singer’s voice is well-textured and detailed enough to convey a real sense of subtle rasping tones when Martyn pushes his voice to its limits. Across frequencies, these headphones put in a nicely integrated performance, and the mid and high frequencies flow effortlessly into one another, without a defined or uneven-sounding border.

High frequencies, too, are lucid and expressive. The WH-CH530 bring the cymbals of Sonny Rollins’ I’m An Old Cowhand to life, allowing them to shine alongside a busy, energetic saxophone. Notably, these headphones balance shine and substance well, and the saxophone resists becoming shrill, retaining a sense of body even in combination with bright percussion. Admittedly, fine detail is somewhat reduced in the high frequencies, but for headphones at this price, these Sonys put in a solid effort.

Dynamically, clear improvements have been made over the previous model, and the WH-CH530 are sensitive enough to convey the subtle shifts in volume of Debussy’s Le Rappel Des Oiseaux with compelling gravitas. In pieces with a larger dynamic range, such as Stravinsky’s The Rite Of Spring, the WH-CH530 sound animated and impactful, even if they don’t quite have the headroom to provide the jumps in volume we would expect to hear from a more premium set of headphones.

During classical pieces and rock songs alike, these headphones pleasingly keep up with rhythms and don’t let us lose track of the pulse of our music. We find ourselves pulled into the songs we listen to, toes tapping and heads bobbing.

Verdict

The Sony WH-CH530 are highly talented performers within their price range. While Sony didn’t make many changes between this and the previous model, the work it has done has resulted in a small but definite step up in performance.

Considering that they’re pretty comfortable, sensibly specified and have a seriously competitive battery life, we think anyone searching for a pair of headphones that will be kind to both their music library and bank balance should pay serious attention to these budget Sony headphones.

Review published: 14th October 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 4
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Sony WH-CH520

Want ANC? Consider the step-up Sony WH-CH730N

Best wireless headphones 2026: reviewed and rated by our in-house experts

Wireless headphones have changed the way we listen, but not necessarily for the better. Because perhaps more than any other device category, they embody the shift to convenience over quality that's an unfortunate byproduct of some advances in personal listening.

True, the best wireless headphones sound very good indeed – almost as good as the best wired headphones, in fact. But to hear them at their best requires not only high quality sound files, but for both your headphones and digital music source to support a good quality wireless codec.

With so many competing codecs around – some of which are only supported by a tiny proportion of smartphones – this is easier said than done.

Surely there must be an easier way. And as of late 2025, there is, courtesy of the Sennheiser HDB 630.

These cans don’t just sound great, they include an ingenious solution to the codec clash problem plaguing so many wireless listening sessions. They come with a wireless dongle that's bursting with codecs. That way, even iPhone owners can enjoy the delights of the various flavours of aptX via their wireless headphones.

The HDB 630 quickly earned rave reviews, lodged themselves in our various lists of best headphones (including best over-ear headphones, best wireless headphones and best noise-cancelling headphones), and recently won a coveted What Hi-Fi? Award.

Here’s the story behind how they were made.

Research and you will find

The wireless headphone market is fiercely competitive, so making a pair that stands out and genuinely does something new is a very tall order. Rather than just offering the usual glut of minor upgrades and a tweaked design, the Sennheiser team went big on the research. And they discovered some interesting tidbits.

"Our research showed that, on average, audiophiles only listened to music for one, or maybe one-and-a-half hours a day. And we asked ourselves why that was – these people love music, so why aren't they listening to it for longer?" says Wee Hong Kuan, Sennheiser's Senior Product Manager.

They worked out it was due to what's involved in getting top quality sound.

"The best sound relies on being tied to a home system with an amplifier, so we asked ourselves: What can we do about this?" he says. "How can we cut loose this audiophile sound without losing the quality they demand? How can we get them listening not just for 90 minutes a day, but all day, wherever they are?"

Like other headphone makers, Sennheiser is obsessed with sound quality, so it was already hard at work on that front. But it realised this is only one side of the coin. Its research revealed another startling statistic: less than 16 per cent of phones are compatible with aptX Adaptive, and less than 1 per cent work with aptX Lossless. Having the best-sounding headphones in the world isn't much use if the sources feeding them audio aren't up to the task.

Which is where the dongle comes in.

An ingenious solution

The BTD 700 brings support for up to 24-bit/96kHz hi-res quality via the best wireless codecs (including aptX Lossless and Auracast). And it brings them to any Bluetooth headphones – just plug it into your music source and connect it to the headphones over Bluetooth. It went on sale a few months before the HDB 630 launched, but the decision to bundle the two together was a canny one.

To realise just how much of a gamechanger it is, it's worth considering the sheer number of Bluetooth codecs there are available: you’ve got SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless, LDAC, LHDC, L2HC, LC3, LC3+... It's an alphabet soup dumped on top of a word salad, followed by acronym crumble and initialism custard. Talk about making a meal out of it.

How many people know which codecs their phone or laptop supports? And whether their headphones support the same ones? Chances are, not many.

To make things more complicated, even the same model of certain Android phones will support different codecs depending on where they're sold – some Samsung Galaxy S handsets sold in the UK have Samsung Exynos processors instead of those made by Qualcomm, and so don't support Qualcomm's aptX codecs, for example.

Plug in the dongle, and all of this complexity disappears. Sennheiser estimates that it ups the percentage of phones able to support aptX Adaptive to over 80 per cent (that remaining 20 per cent accounts for all the Lightning port-based iPhones that are still in use, which don't work with the dongle's USB-C connection).

"That's the purpose of the BTD 700 – to erase these worries," says Kuan. "You don't have to worry about which codec your phone supports. You just need to make sure it has a compatible USB-C port." And that your headphones support the best codecs, of course.

This wasn't actually the first time Sennheiser bundled a dongle with a pair of headphones, though its previous offering was aimed more at business folk than audiophiles. The Accentum Special Edition (which are still on sale) come with a USB-A dongle for lower latency video calls on a PC. Though perhaps it could've done with a sound boost – the dongle-less version only scored three stars in our review.

Nevertheless, Sennheiser applied learnings from the Accentum model to the BTD 700.

A dongle isn't the most exciting product to look at – it's a dongle – but a lot of thought went into its design. Sennheiser added a groove near the USB-C connector to allow it to fit a phone that's wearing a case, and it had to be slim enough not to block vents or other ports on any phone, tablet or PC with which it's used.

The downside, of course, is that it's yet another thing to carry, and due to its compact size, it could be easily lost. Some users have taken to carrying it in a coin pouch when not in use, which isn't ideal. (Kuan recommends keeping it plugged into the HDB 630’s USB-C port when not in use.)

And of course, it's still limited by Bluetooth's bitrate, which posed a quandary for Sennheiser. "We had a decision to make," Kuan says. "Did we want high resolution but in a compressed format? Or to maintain a lower resolution, but lossless? That's the trade-off that we had to make. To achieve true hi-res lossless playback, a higher Bluetooth bandwidth will be needed to support that resolution. Which requires industry effort."

Even without the dongle, the HDB 630 fared very well in our review, thanks to their excellent sound quality and customisable features – like the parametric equaliser, which lets you not only input an exact number of Hz for your tuning preference rather than adjusting a slider, but also share your tuning via a QR code for anyone to scan and try out your preferences.

It's a compelling package that just goes to show, when you do your research, the rewards speak for themselves.

MORE:

Read our Sennheiser HDB 630 review

Check out the best wireless headphones

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• Check out our best wired headphones buying guide

It appears that sightings of people with cables hanging out of their ears are on the up, which must mean wired headphones are back in fashion, right?

Whether or not there’s any longevity in this latest trend remains to be seen, but it does feel like more headphone manufacturers are adding wired options to their model ranges, as an alternative to wireless earbuds.

However, because the 3.5mm headphone socket has become rarer on modern smartphones, you’re more likely to come across a pair with a USB-C connection than a 3.5mm jack, just like the Sennheiser CX 80U.

Now, with this category of headphone, you do need to bear in mind that some of the manufacturer's costs needs to be assigned to the built-in DAC (digital-to-analogue converter), which takes the digital signal from your source’s USB-C output and converts it into analogue for your ears, as well as a pair of amplifiers.

So when you look at the price of the Sennheisers, you’d be forgiven for wondering if this leaves any room to make an in-ear headphone that’s up to scratch sonically? Let’s find out.

Price

At just £35 / $40 / AU$59, the CX 80U sit firmly at the budget end of the wired earbuds market. The closest comparable pair that we have tested and rate highly is the USB-C-equipped SoundMagic E80D, which will set you back £39 / $44 / AU$66.

Design & comfort

Cheap and cheerful is the name of the game here, and that’s reflected in the build quality and plastics used in both the headphone cable and earbuds.

They’re a lightweight design, and the buds themselves are tiny, which means that although they can be a bit finicky to get to grips with, they do fit snugly and don’t protrude out of your ears.

Add the soft silicone eartips into the equation, which come in small, medium and large sizes, and everything adds up to a comfortable, discreet fit with good passive noise isolation.

There is some cable noise, which isn’t exactly unexpected given the design – what could be useful here is a rubber clasp that can keep the left and right earbud cables connected so there’s less rustling about when you’re on the move. This is something you do get with the SoundMagic E80D.

Features

Given their asking price, you won’t be unboxing the Sennheiser CX 80U expecting a long list of features.

There’s obviously the USB-C connection for your smartphone, tablet or laptop, inside of which sits the DAC, which converts all the digital files you feed into them.

Speaking of which, the DAC can support hi-res files up to 24-bit/96kHz natively and will downsample anything higher. We think this level of compatibility is going to be more than enough for most users.

The inline remote control is housed on the cable for the right earbud. You can answer calls, play, pause and skip tracks through different combinations of tapping and holding the button.

There aren't any volume controls on the remote, though – you’ll need to use your source device should you need to turn it up or down. And, being particularly picky, we’d like a simple travel pouch to keep them protected.

Sound

We plug the USB-C connector into an iPhone 15 Plus and are immediately taken aback by the surprising level of maturity and sophistication that greets us.

For the money, you might be expecting a slight imbalance at one end of the sound spectrum, either scratchy, wince-inducing highs or fat, blobby bass, but the CX 80U produce nothing of the sort.

In fact, what greets us is brilliantly judged sound that’s both rich, detailed and surprisingly sophisticated for the money.

15 Step by Radiohead is a tricky test of timing, and the Sennheisers pass with flying colours. Not only do they hold on to and organise all the different musical threads that intertwine throughout the track, but they also extract an impressive amount of information from them.

There’s a fine sense of space around the different elements too, and a sense of expression and natural tone from the vocal that poorer-performing in-ear headphones at this price just wouldn’t be able to provide.

And as we’ve mentioned, there’s no obvious bias in their tonal balance: highs sound crisp but never harsh. Bass notes have a wholesome flavour but don’t arrive at your ears overpowered and lacking definition.

We switch to Arctic Monkeys’ I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor and the Sennheisers display musicality in spades.

You’re encouraged to tap along to the brisk, pointed drum play. The CX 80U showcase speed and agility, and that goes for the accompanying electric guitar play too. The track is off to a frenzied start, but these earbuds don’t find themselves flapping. It’s a very mature sound for the money, and an even more rewarding listen than the SoundMagic E80D.

Each thwack from the drum kit sounds solid, the bassline is precisely cut and easy to follow, and the vocal is natural and expressive – the headphones do a great job of capturing Alex Turner’s northern swagger and keeping your attention all the way to the end of the track.

Verdict

If you’re tired of charging or losing your wireless earbuds, or just want to relive a time when wired earbuds were all the rage, we seriously recommend the Sennheiser CX 80U.

You might not be expecting much given the price, but we think you’ll be shocked – in the best way possible.

Review published: 9th October 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 4
• Comfort 5

MORE:

Also consider the SoundMagic E80D

Best wired earbuds: top in-ear models tried and tested by our experts

Ask anyone 'Who makes the best wireless earbuds?' and they'll probably mention Sony, Bose and Sennheiser. But it was Technics that won the most recent What Hi-Fi? Award for best premium pair – that honour went to the stunning EAH-AZ100, which have now fallen to their lowest price ever.

Keen to see what all the fuss is about? This is the perfect time – they're now just £180 at Amazon, a discount of £79 on their RRP, and a tenner cheaper than their previous low price during Prime Day over the summer. Get in.

A pricey option at the time of their release, the Technics nonetheless landed themselves a stint as our best premium pick on our best wireless earbuds page.

With a 10mm “Magnetic Fluid Driver”, these earbuds have a clear, spacious sound that gives each part of a composition ample breathing room.

Reviewing the EAH-AZ100, we were struck immediately by their “clear and open sound“ and “superb amount of detail”. Digging, deeper, we found them to be punchy, present and dynamically impactful – a combination that ultimately earned them a five-star review.

Complementing their sonic merits, the Technics are also small, light, and comfortable to wear over long periods of time. Touch controls for audio modes, playback and volume are fully customisable, so you can use them any way you please.

A strong and stable Bluetooth connection (with support for SBC, AAC, LDAC and the LC3 codec) means you are unlikely to find yourself grieving a wired option, especially given the earbuds’ impressive 10-hour battery life with ANC enabled.

Used alongside the charging case, their battery life rises to 28 hours.

Nobody, it seems, can keep up with the class-leading noise cancellation of Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen), but the Technics make an honourable attempt, with an effect “like heavy snowfall muffling the world”.

They also feature an Adaptive mode, which automatically adjusts noise-cancelling based on your environment. Alternately, of course, you have the option to dial the intensity up or down yourself.

For a cherry on top, these earbuds include three-way Bluetooth Multipoint connectivity, allowing for connection to multiple devices at once, as well as support for Auracast transmission.

Conventionally, the main drawback of a premium product is its price, but given that these headphones are now available for £180 from Amazon, in this instance, you can have your cake and eat it.

MORE:

Read our full Technics EAH-AZ100 review

Visit our best wireless earbuds 2026: seven sensational pairs reviewed and rated by our experts

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It’s not often a new product announcement catches us off guard, but the news that Sony was launching the WH-1000XM4C came as quite a shock. A huge brand reviving a classic pair of wireless headphones is something we haven’t really seen before.

But you can see why Sony chose this particular pair. The original WH-1000XM4 were hugely popular, so much so that they’re the first and only pair of wireless headphones to currently be featured in the What Hi-Fi? Hall of Fame.

They’re also one of the few models you regularly see when you’re in the wild, which shows the general public were quite fond of them too.

Nostalgia is all well and good, and we’re excited to have them back, but is this new version of a six-year-old model still competitive? Let’s find out.

Price

Thankfully, Sony’s seen sense when it comes to pricing the WH-1000XM4C. £219 / $300 / AU$450 keeps them away from flagship rivals from Bose, Sennheiser and Technics and positions them as an ‘entry-level’ proposition for Sony’s premium range of wireless headphones.

There’s a big enough gap between the new model and the step-up WH-1000XM6, which launched for £400 / $450 / AU$699 last year. Don’t forget Sony also now has a top-of-the-range offering, the 1000X The Collexion, which cost £550 / $650 / AU$900 and went on sale in May 2026.

Ironically, the biggest competition for the WH-1000XM4C at the time of writing is Sony’s very own WH-1000XM5, which we first tested at £380 / $399 / AU$550 back in 2022. This older flagship pair, which succeeded the XM4, can currently be found for almost half price. This puts them in the same ballpark as the new WH-1000XM4C and they will probably stay there until end-of-life, which Sony has told us is likely to be around February 2027.

Design & build

To all intents and purposes, the design and build of the WH-1000XM4C are virtually identical to that of the original model. During testing, we have a pair of the original XM4 on hand, just so we can compare the two, which gives us an excuse for a quick game of spot the difference.

The changes are subtle, with the Sony logo now more of a silver colour than rose gold. You also get the letters ‘L’ and ‘R’ stamped on the inner mesh of each earcup so you immediately know which way round they need to be. The model name has been removed from the bottom edge of the headband, and the ‘custom’ button has been renamed ‘NC/Ambient’ which better reflects its function.

The button positioning hasn’t changed, so you’ll still find this and the power/pairing button towards the lower edge of the left earcup. The USB-C charging socket is on the right cup.

The key difference is internal, but not where you might think. The driver is the same 40mm unit that was used in the original XM4.

It’s the battery that has seen the biggest change. Or should that be smallest? Sony has added a smaller battery which is now removable and means the headphones now comply with the EU battery regulation (EU) 2023/1542.

This new regulation comes into force in February 2027 and stipulates that portable batteries need to be able to be removed by the end user. This wasn’t possible with the original XM4 model. And before you ask, yes, the smaller battery does mean you get shorter battery life, but more on that later.

Generally speaking, though, the headphones look and feel virtually identical. According to the specs, there’s only one gram difference in terms of weight, with the new model being a tiny bit lighter, but you’re not going to notice this either in-hand or, more importantly, on your head.

These headphones feel just as sturdy as we remember them. The black finish of our review sample has an identical matte texture, which is smooth and premium-feeling. The plastic buttons feel the same quality, as does the padding on both the earpads and headband.

We find the WH-1000XM4C comfortable for both short and long listening sessions, which is just what you want for headphones of this type, especially if they’re going to be your main travel buddy. They don’t grip your head as strongly as their pricier WH-1000XM6 siblings, but it’s still very good for daily use.

The WH-1000XM4C are hinged and fold up properly, which is great news if you prefer this kind of portability over the store-flat design of the WH-1000XM5. They come with a sturdy carry case (the design of which has been tweaked ever so slightly) which includes a 3.5mm headphone cable inside for wired listening.

Sony has introduced a new lavender finish for the XM4C, which goes with the standard platinum silver (which Sony claims is a little lighter than before) and black options. There’s no midnight blue variant, which is a finish Sony introduced for XM4 during its life cycle.

Features

As we touched on previously, the introduction of a smaller battery has affected the battery life of the WH-1000XM4C compared to the original model. It’s down from 30 hours to 27 hours with ANC on, although we don’t think it's likely to put too many buyers off.

The headphones feature Sony’s DSEE Extreme engine, which has been around since the original XM4 and aims to upscale compressed music to near hi-res quality. It also adds a splash of artificial intelligence technology (called Edge-AI), which claims to analyse and give a more accurate presentation of the music being played.

The WH-1000XM4C get Bluetooth 6.0 support and offer Multipoint Bluetooth, but there’s still no aptX or aptX HD support. This isn’t a major surprise as Sony’s headphones tend to steer clear of these codecs, instead favouring their own LDAC option for higher-quality streaming from compatible sources.

The usability features at your disposal with the original model make a return, such as Speak-To-Chat and Quick Attention. The former enables their transparency mode by just speaking, while the latter lowers the volume of your music when you cover the right earcup so you can quickly hear your surroundings.

They’re both nice to have but not imperative to the user experience.

Noise-cancelling & call quality

The headphones are once again powered by the same HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1, which featured on the XM4 (which has since been superseded in newer models like XM5 and XM6) and call upon Sony’s Personal NC Optimiser to maximise the noise cancelling performance.

Give the NC/Ambient button a long press to kick the Optimiser into gear, and the Sonys will run a quick auto-calibration program by firing a couple of test tones in the direction of your ears before the algorithm works out the best ANC for your listening environment.

And we can report that the noise cancelling from the WH-1000XM4C is very competitive. We certainly have no real issues using them out and about, and whether they’re given the task of subduing a coffee machine and chatter in a busy cafe, or the drone and rumble of a bus engine, the Sonys do a very good job.

Yes, the ANC systems of more expensive wireless headphones are more finessed when push comes to shove, but you can’t really argue with what you’re getting for the money here.

With phone calls, it’s a similar story. Our voices come through with a good level of clarity and expression. Exterior noise doesn’t intrude too much, and we don’t sound robotic, distorted or muffled, which can happen with poorer-performing mic systems. We actually think the XM4C do a slightly better job of suppressing wind noise than their predecessors.

Sound

It doesn’t take long for us to remember why we were such huge fans of the original Sony WH-1000XM4. It was the impressive and infectious sense of musicality that got under our skin, and the WH-1000XM4C delivers it in spades.

We start with a blast of electronic dance music in the form of Turn On the Lights Again by Fred Again… and Swedish House Mafia, and it’s not long before our head is bobbing along in agreement with the headphones and their infectious sense of timing.

They’re a hugely enjoyable and entertaining listen. There’s something about the way they combine dynamics, detail and rhythm that keeps you entertained from the first second to the last.

The deep, wallowing bass notes that surface as the track progresses impress with their depth, but they’re dextrous and neatly defined.

Sprinkle in an open, precise vocal and some punchy, projectile electronica, and we soon find ourselves caught in a musical trance.

We take that energy and add a huge dollop of attitude by playing Rage Against The Machine’s Killing In The Name, and the WH-1000XM4C deliver more of the same.

We are talking powerful, solid drum thwacks, tight guitar strings and an expressive vocal all sat on a quiet background. The opening salvo of the track delivers explosive drum play, a tidily delivered guitar riff and a couple of clear, nicely defined taps on a cowbell.

The XM4C sound as balanced as you could hope for from a pair of wireless headphones at this level. You can access a ten-band equaliser through Sony’s Sound Connect app should you want to play around with their sonic balance, but we really don’t think it’s necessary.

Compared to the original XM4, the WH-1000XM4C do sound better – Sony has tightened the bass ever so slightly, sharpening and cleaning the edges, and you’re also getting a slightly more open sound.

But this hasn’t been done at the expense of cohesiveness or bass weight: there’s still plenty of heft in reserve, but we think it’s better controlled this time around.

They’re just so fun and musical, whatever your sonic taste. We switch to the slow-burning Day One track from the Interstellar OST, and there’s a real delicacy to the piano playing at the start of the track. The low-level dynamics from each keystroke really shine through.

Background noise is kept to a minimum, and when the rest of the orchestra starts to bleed into the picture, you can hear the Sonys step in to extract an impressive amount of detail. Edges of notes are nicely defined, and it’s a convincing presentation.

When the track starts to swell from below and stretch up high courtesy of the strings and organ, the headphones move on the same trajectory, delivering a rocketship’s worth of dynamics.

Verdict

A 1000X model is normally introduced as a flagship proposition from Sony, so seeing the WH-1000XM4C arrive in 2026 as an ‘entry-level’ premium model takes a little getting used to, but listen to them and it all makes sense.

If you don’t want to stretch into that upper tier of wireless headphones where Sennheiser, Bose and even Sony themselves sit, the WH-1000XM4C are going to be more than enough headphone for most people.

They’re a great blend of performance, features and comfort at a competitive price. An easy recommendation at this level.

Review published: 5th October 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Features 5
• Comfort 5

MORE:

Also consider the Sony WH-1000XM5

For a cheaper pair, read our Sony WH-CH730N review

Best over-ear headphones: wired and wireless pairs tested by our in-house experts

Talk about big shoes to fill.

The Award-winning WH-CH720N may not have been Sony’s most premium over-ear wireless headphones, but these budget cans proved that great sound and stellar noise-cancelling were available at a sensible, affordable price. For pure sound-for-pound value, few contemporaries came close.

Following such excellence is like walking on stage after Jimi Hendrix has just played his iconic Woodstock set, or donning the famous Number 10 jersey after Lionel Messi bade farewell to that peerless Barcelona side. That is the task of the WH-CH730N, Sony’s successors to the excellent CH720N and the brand’s most affordable headphones to feature active noise cancellation.

Thankfully, the new Sony WH-CH730N appear to be up to the task. With a new look, an expanded feature set and a fine-tuned sound, they appear to have everything that it takes to pick up the gauntlet laid down by their predecessors and really run with it.

Price

We have some bad news for our US readers: the WH-CH730N are more expensive than their predecessors. The WH-CH720N launched at $129, whereas the WH-CH730N have arrived at $180, making them around $50 more if you’re in the States.

Don’t be too glum, as it’s not all bad news. If you live in Australia, the WH-CH730N are actually cheaper than before, dropping from AU$250 to AU$230, while UK readers can rest easy knowing that the new cans are priced at £100, the same initial RRP as their forebears.

At this level, the WH-CH730N are reasonably short on competition. The excellent Austrian Audio Hi-X25BT remain a quality pick at £129 / $129 / AU$255, but they don’t offer active noise cancellation (ANC). If you want to go cheaper, the new budget WH-CH530 on-ears are now available at £50 / $70 / AU$100, but also don’t have ANC, while the step-up Sony WH-1000XM4C have launched at £219 / $300 / AU$450.

Build & comfort

This is where we thought the WH-CH720N could stand to be improved, and lo and behold, this appears to be where Sony has been putting in the hard yards.

The new cans’ more premium look and feel belies their modest outlay, with their predecessors' basic plastic ear cups replaced by larger, more oval alternatives that have a greater air of quality about them. The on-cup button controls still feel a little cheap and plasticky, but they do their respective jobs just fine, and that’s what really matters at this kind of money.

Better still, the new budget Sonys are more ergonomic to live with thanks to their new folding capabilities, a talent that was lacking in the rigid WH-CH720N. We’ve spent time taking the WH-CH730N out and about on our travels – on a train to the office, in a bag on the way to work, on dog walks – and we haven’t perceived any glaring points of weakness or concern.

Even those hinges, which swivel from side to side and now up and inwards, feel like they could repeat such motions for many years before giving up the ghost.

Comfort-wise, we’re in good hands. Both the headband and ear cushions are reasonably forgiving and well padded for headphones of this type and price, while a reasonably slim profile and light overall weight of just 207g means they’re not much of a burden during extended wear. The clamping force is nicely judged, too, with our sample pair clinging nicely to our skull as we take them for a brisk walk with Juno the What Hi-Fi? hound in tow.

The WH-CH730N are a little heavier than before, yet not to the extent that your head suddenly feels like Atlas straining to hold up the heavens. Plus, their ear cushions are now fuller and plusher, which aids comfort and improves passive noise isolation.

Internally, not much has changed from one generation to the next. The CH730N retain the same 30mm dynamic drive units as the last-gen model, with Sony promising improved sonic tuning to squeeze out even more performance from an Award-winning formula.

Features

Modest price, monster battery life.

The WH-CH730N boast a huge 50 hours of battery life when ANC is in play, which extends to a gigantic 75 hours with noise cancelling switched off – which certainly surpasses the previous generation’s figures. Better still, a three-minute quick charge will grant around an hour of playback, a useful facility if you’ve run out of juice and need to get your headphones back in action in a hurry.

Despite their modest outlay, the new over-ears also pack the kind of extra – dare we say premium – features to make a money-conscious buyer feel positively spoiled. Bluetooth Multipoint lets you stay connected and switch between two devices on the fly, whereas Sony's ever-helpful DSEE sound upscaling algorithm cleans up low-quality, heavily compressed audio files.

There’s even support for 360 Reality Audio, Sony’s own take on spatial sound, from supported streaming services such as Amazon Music Unlimited, a feature we wouldn’t expect to find for a pair of over-ears at this kind of money. Add active noise cancelling into the mix, and you’ve got a set of headphones that do a lot for not much cash.

The only thing that might raise a few eyebrows is the absence of any higher-quality codecs, such as aptX HD or LDAC, but given the budget price at which we’re operating, the omission is understandable.

Delve into the comprehensive Sony SoundConnect app, and you’ll find even more tricks and treats to enjoy. Aside from an intuitive 10-band equaliser and ANC mode toggling, you can set up a shortcut to the likes of Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon Music via a ‘Quick Access’ button, or use a ‘Battery Care’ setting to extend your headphones’ lifespan by stopping charging before the battery gets completely full.

ANC & call quality

Sony has claimed clearer voice calls for the WH-CH730N thanks to its updated AI noise reduction algorithm, which seeks to enhance human speech while dampening the clamour of the outside world.

The new headphones’ noise cancelling has been improved, too, with a refined V1 processor and ‘Dual Noise Sensor' technology working alongside an array of four beamforming microphones and thicker, more isolating ear cushions to keep environmental noise at bay.

As far as noise cancelling goes, we’re granted a satisfactory experience. Naturally, the flagship WH-1000XM6 cans are more powerful, but the WH-CH730N keep the general background hum of life – distant chatter, buzzing light fittings, passing traffic – nicely subdued.

The barrier they provide, however, isn’t impenetrable, and while this is a good sound-per-pound performance, blind spots arise. Sit in an office with a few chattering co-workers, and you’ll soon realise that, while nearby voices are softened, speech is still often discernible.

If you don’t want the full details of your colleagues’ plans to redecorate their downstairs bathroom or their kids’ upcoming school play, it might be worth saving up for a more premium and capable ANC pair.

What about voice calls? In this regard, Sony’s wallet-friendly noise cancellers are excellent, with human speech conveyed in a clear, natural and emotive manner. We get a firm sense of the headphones pushing voices to the fore, all while effectively minimising intrusive background noise as we conduct our testing next to a busy road.

Sound

For a few brief, sickening moments, we fear that Sony has taken a good thing and ruined it. Out of the box, the new WH-CH730N don’t seem to have the energy, presence or clarity of their Award-winning predecessors, and that’s enough to make a grown man shed salt tears.

Thankfully, our fears are soon allayed. The new-gen headphones’ default tuning is a little muffled and bass-heavy, but once we dive into the Sony app and switch them to the ‘Clear’ equaliser setting, things quickly sound far more open and revealing. We’d urge you to do the same, and while you’re there, make sure DSEE upscaling is up and running, because for us at least, it wasn’t switched on right off the bat.

After making the aforementioned tweaks, and giving them plenty of running-in time to really loosen up, our consternation turns to elation as it becomes clear that Sony has done it again – the WH-CH730N are stellar cans and then some.

Let’s be clear that this is evolution rather than wholesale reinvention, with the WH-CH730N taking everything we liked about the WH-C720N and refining it to superb effect. The newer headphones are clearer, more natural-sounding and a little more full-bodied than before, offering a presentation that expertly rides the line between punch and precision.

Like the brand’s best offerings, the WH-CH730N just seem to tune straight into the emotional intent of each song they play and then reveal it with enthusiastic élan. From artist to artist and track to track, Sony’s budget noise cancellers sound effortlessly involving regardless of what is played through them.

Feeling sad? The WH-CH730N bring a rich, sombre melancholy to Johnny Cash’s Hurt. Need a pick-me-up? Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal is as sharp and snappy as Jacko’s pristine white suit. Want to headbang until your nose bleeds? Trivium’s Like Light To The Flies pulses with thrilling intent.

Admittedly, these are headphones that slightly prioritise entertainment over out-and-out insight, but at this level, that’s both understandable and expected. That said, instrumental textures are still conveyed with power and depth, with the Sonys capably filling in the gaps to prevent music from sounding blocky or unsubtle.

Best of all, Sony’s budget belters have a double-sided trump card. Dynamically, they’re hugely expressive, while rhythmic patterns are revealed with all of the agility of a Border Collie at Crufts. Put the two together, and Tool’s progressive Forty Six & 2 becomes a three-dimensional powerhouse as the WH-CH730N convey every subtle dynamic variation while tracking interlocking bass and guitar strands with zealous precision.

Verdict

These Sony headphones are a delight. If your budget doesn’t stretch to the upper echelons of the market’s premium players but you still want decent noise cancelling and an expressive, deeply engaging sound, these are great-value headphones.

The Sony CH730N retain the same articulate, entertaining character that we so admired in their highly recommendable predecessors and elevate it to new heights, while still keeping it at a price that is acceptable to many. For a budget pair, they come highly recommended.

Review published: 2nd October

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 5
• Features 5

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Best over-ear headphones: wired and wireless pairs tested by our in-house experts

Cambridge Audio has announced a special-edition twist on its affordable Melomania A100 wireless earbuds.

The new Melomania A100 SE offer a twist on the standard buds, bringing Dolby Audio and a new blue finish into the mix.

The special edition buds use the same Class A/B amplification found in Cambridge’s established CX and EX lines, paired with a set of 10mm neodymium drivers to deliver what the brand characterises as “deeper bass, richer mids, and crystal-clear highs” designed to “make music feel even more alive”.

The new earbuds also benefit from dedicated Qualcomm Kalimba digital signal processing for a more refined, less distorted sound, while Snapdragon Sound helps achieve a more stable low-latency connection. The Melomania A100 SE also support the higher-quality aptX Lossless and LDAC codecs for accepting files up to 24-bit/96kHz.

As before, adaptive hybrid noise cancelling is featured, with a standard setting sitting alongside a transparency mode for letting in more of the outside world. A six-microphone array, meanwhile, aims for “exceptional call clarity” on the go.

The new buds’ Dolby Audio spatial sound capabilities are accessible via the Melomania Connect app, delivering spatial audio with a “natural, lifelike presentation” for movies, music and games.

The special-edition buds grant more playtime than their standard counterparts, with 6.5 hours from the buds and up to 39 hours of total battery life available with noise cancelling switched off.

Cambridge’s latest wireless earbuds also come equipped with touch controls which can be customised via the accompanying app.

The Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 SE are available this October in black, white or blue finishes, priced at £129 / $149/ €149. For context, the standard edition of the A100 launched last year at £119 / €139.

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When Technics set about making plans for its new flagship wireless headphones, the EAH-A1000, it knew it couldn't just enlarge the 10mm Magnetic Fluid Driver used in the five-star, Award-winning EAH-AZ100 wireless earbuds and call it a day.

The magnetic fluid technology – an oil-like substance with magnetic properties that reduces the rocking vertical movement of the diaphragm without adding mass – worked successfully in delivering a clear, detailed and low-distortion sound in the AZ100 buds. But the larger 40mm drivers required in an over-ear model proved a greater challenge.

As part of the pre-launch briefing of Technics' new EAH-A1000 over-ear wireless headphones, I got a chance to hear from Technics' headphones and acoustic departments in Tokyo about the trial-and-error process for developing the new flagship headphones' drivers, along with an extensive look at all the elements inside them – so here's a closer look at the new drivers of the A1000 headphones.

Magnetic fluid driver: the next chapter

Planning for the EAH-A1000 over-ears started pretty much after the AZ100 buds, with the question: "Can magnetic fluid work in a 40mm driver?"

A larger driver results in greater excursion, more possibility for flexing, and more scope for distortion. Simply using the same tech in a bigger driver "didn't deliver the sound we were aiming for," says Technics. The magnetic fluid sits between the voice coil and driver magnet, and is able to precisely support the driver's movement so it is more consistent, but too much damping could limit the natural expression of music.

While excited by the potential of the magnetic fluid technology, Technics' goal wasn't to simply build a larger driver, says Riku Takeda, acoustic engineer at Technics. It was to "create a new over-ear headphone driver that could go beyond hi-fi speaker performance."

The main aim for this new driver was to reduce distortion as much as possible for a clearer, cleaner sound, but without sacrificing the power, detail or natural resonances of music. And so the newly developed 40mm drivers in the A1000 feature a combination of technologies, all with the aim of delivering an immersive listening experience.

The first of these new technologies takes inspiration from the brand's own hi-fi speakers, with the modified magnetic fluid drivers enhanced with an SST (Symmetrical Surround Technology) Edge. This is a similar technology used in Technics' flagship SB-R1 speakers.

This surround's distinctive shape ensures that a symmetrical volume of air is displaced by the backward and forward movement of the driver. The cuts in the surround increase the flexibility of the edge, while also reducing distortion.

"No compromise on shape; no compromise on material"

Additionally, the diaphragm of the driver is made of a "pure carbon fibre" material, chosen for its lightweight and rigid properties that ensure fast, responsive performance. Technics further clarifies that this 'pure' carbon fibre material isn't composed exclusively of carbon fibre, but it refers to a "non-composite, non-laminated" diaphragm construction. A very thin but stiff layer, essentially.

As larger drivers naturally flex more as they move, Technics settled upon a complex shape consisting of a cone and a raised dome to further stabilise the movement of the driver.

This posed another challenge, as the mould for this complex geometry (in the relatively small dimensions of a headphone driver) was difficult to produce in mass quantities consistently without deformations.

The team experimented with alternative shapes and materials to get a more stable, consistent moulding, with a long trial-and-error process – but every 'solution' resulted in a less-than-ideal sound. A flatter cone geometry would make things simpler, but it resulted in a less powerful, muddier and less clear sound. A laminated structure would improve moulding stability, but it delivered a narrower soundstage compared with the pure carbon fibre material.

Ultimately, Technics decided that the compromises to the sound quality were simply "not acceptable to us", and ploughed ahead with these two necessary elements of the complex shape of the diaphragm, with some solutions, to achieve the desired sound that Technics wanted. This included strengthening the carbon fibre material itself by changing the direction of the fibres woven in, and adding a 'rib' to the dome to add stability.

Technics says it's a combination of all these different technologies, not just one element, of the new driver that is key to delivering accurate bass, clear highs, and a natural spatial expression from the A1000 headphones.

The development doesn't stop at the drivers themselves. The new 'baffle flat structure' minimises the uneven surfaces around the driver to reduce the effect of unwanted reflections, while an 'acoustic control chamber' behind the driver helps to manage airflow.

These combine to deliver a "natural sound field with clear imaging" and to ensure the sound is balanced without emphasising any specific frequency range.

Sound quality is just one aspect of the Technics EAH-A1000. Every product in Technics is guided by three philosophies: sound, technology and design.

The design of the headphones and all the necessary features (connectivity, ANC, call quality) need to be up to scratch, too, with Technics acknowledging that "personal audio" products such as headphones have huge demands from customer expectations these days. Over-ear headphones are more visible than earbuds, too, so achieving the design and style of the premium A1000 to a high level became even more important.

The design of the new over-ears – from the slender 'flow arm' structure, the headband's clamping pressure, and evenly distributed plush memory foam cushions – has been given as much care and attention by the Technics team.

We're shown various prototypes of different ear cushion shapes, arm structures and variations in the spun metal plate with the Technics logo adorned (check out the gallery above) – examples of more trial-and-error processes undergone by the design team to achieve the 'right' look and feel for the EAH-A1000 headphones.

The philosophy remains the same

Ultimately, though, anything that affects sound quality will need final approval by the acoustics team, as for Technics, the sound philosophy is most important.

"If sound quality isn't achieved to our high standard level, we don't bring it to the market," says Technics. Every audio product, including the EAH-A1000, is subject to the approval process by Technics' internal Sound Committee, which includes Yu Tanaka, who was responsible for the magnetic fluid driver in the A1000 and set the targets for the headphones' sound quality, and Technics' brand director Michiko Ogawa, who has the final say. If those sonic targets aren't met, they would simply postpone the launch until they were happy with the sound performance, I'm told.

Technics' head of headphone business, Kazunori Otsu, says that in the 60+ years of Technics' lifetime, "high quality music experiences" have progressed from in the home, with dedicated hi-fi separates, to almost anywhere in everyday life thanks to portable headphones.

He states that while the "way we listen to music has changed" over the years, "Technics' passion has not."

MORE:

Read our Technics EAH-A1000 review

Technics is celebrating 55 years of its legendary SL-1200 turntable with a limited-edition design

Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) might be over a year old now, but they are gaining new sonic powers. The bad news? Not all the features are available to all users.

The latest firmware update is called 10.12.12 and it brings four new features to play.

First up, Bluetooth LE Audio support. This next-gen version is more efficient than standard Bluetooth, and supports the LC3 codec which has better sound quality than the standard SBC you find with bog-standard Bluetooth. It’s worth noting, however, that some don’t think it delivers on this promise.

The greater efficiency could help prolong battery life too, though Bose hasn’t commented on this in the firmware update notes, so any gain is likely to be marginal. And LE Audio opens the door to Auracast, which lets devices broadcast to multiple headphones at once, so you could tune into a news channel in an airport lounge, for example.

The downside? Bluetooth LE Audio doesn’t work with Apple devices, so this is for Android and Windows users only.

The update also brings 5.1 spatial audio with head tracking to compatible Android devices, and higher-quality gaming and voice audio over a wired USB-C cable from a compatible PC or mobile device. It also brings improved USB compatibility with web conferencing applications, for when you’re taking care of business.

Other big headphone makers also support Bluetooth LE Audio on select models such as the Sony WH-1000XM6, though the recently unveiled Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 will get it only via a future firmware update.

Still, Bose’s move is proof that once you buy a pair of wireless headphones, they can keep getting better. If you’re not using an iPhone, that is.

Keep an eye on the Bose app to see when the update is available. It should download automatically, but you’ll need to keep your headphones connected to your device while it transfers, which can take up to 40 minutes. Then actually installing it can take another 15 minutes.

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The best wireless headphones around

Technics has a new pair of flagship over-ear wireless headphones. The EAH-A1000 follow 2022's EAH-A800, and aim to rival the Sony WH-1000XM6, Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) and Sennheiser HDB 630 as the best wireless headphones around.

Four years is long time in the headphone world – cans age in dog years. But thankfully Technics has brought its latest pair bang up to date on the technical front – these are no annual iterations, but a complete overhaul of the previous model. Technics says it "reconsidered every element" of the over-ears, with highlights of the new model including a new 40mm Magnetic Fluid Driver and acoustics technologies developed for the hi-fi brand's speakers.

The driver was developed to have precise control in order to deliver low distortion with an expansive soundstage. It uses Technics' magnetic fluid technology as found in its Award-winning EAH-AZ100 wireless earbuds – this material has both magnetic and liquid properties, and is placed between the voice coil and driver magnet to suppress unwanted vibrations and distortion.

The driver's performance is enhanced by the inclusion of an SST (Symmetrical Surround Technology) Edge, which is taken from Technics' flagship hi-fi speakers. This reduces distortion by improving the symmetry of the edge's back and forth movement as it supports the diaphragm. It's made of carbon fibre which is rigid yet lightweight, and its cone shape suppresses flexing to enable a fast response and stable movement.

Technics says that the two technologies work in tandem to "preserve the sense of scale in the bass and the spacious soundstage associated with over-ear headphones" while reproducing music how the artist intended.

A redesigned acoustic path preserves the air movement from the driver all the way to the ear, while a new Baffle Flat Structure reduces uneven surfaces around the driver to limit unwanted reflections, creating a natural sound field with clear imaging.

Airflow is managed by an Acoustic Control Chamber behind the driver, which should ensure a balanced sound. And Adaptive Noise Cancelling adjusts to your environment and fit, with three feed-forward microphones and one feedback mic on each side to detect and suppress noise from different directions.

The fit has also been re-engineered. The new Flow Arm headband is square at the slider but triangular at the hanger. As you can see from the pictures, it perches on the outside of the earcups like a luxuriously draped moustache.

The movement of the ear cups, refined headband shape and improved slider-based adjustability should distribute pressure evenly across your noggin, allowing you to wear them for longer periods without becoming uncomfortable. This will be helped by the memory foam earpads.

The headphones fold up into a ball for stowing in a bag.

They support high-quality audio via the LDAC codec and through wired listening over USB Audio. The battery is good for 45 hours with ANC on before needing a recharge, and like the Award-winning EAH-AZ100, they support three devices via Bluetooth Multipoint, instead of the standard two.

The Technics EAH-A1000 go on sale from 30th September for £399 / €449 / $449. They come in Black and Platinum Greige finishes (a mix of grey and beige).

Technics might be renowned for its turntables, but it does a nice line in headphones too – the EAH-AZ100 wireless earbuds won a What Hi-Fi? Award, while the A1000's predecessor pair (the EAH-A80) scored four stars. You can find out how the new EAH-A1000 headphones fare in our full review.

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Read our Technics EAH-A1000 headphones review

Same tech, different form factor: our Technics EAH-AZ100 earbuds review

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Technics might be a legendary name when it comes to turntables, but it has less household status when it comes to wireless headphones. The brand has been aiming to change that, and last year it came one step closer with the five-star EAH-AZ100 wireless earbuds, which beat out established rivals from Sony, Bose, B&W, Apple and Sennheiser to nab a coveted What Hi-Fi? Best Buy Award in 2025.

To see if they can repeat that success in the tough premium over-ears category, Technics has imbued its new flagship wireless headphones – the EAH-A1000 – with a refined design and plenty of new driver technology inspired by its hi-fi speakers and five-star earbuds. Has it done the job?

Price

The Technics EAH-A1000 launches at £399 / $449 / AU$699, which puts it right in the midst of some fiercely competitive territory. The class leaders in this bracket include the five-star Sennheiser HDB 630 at £400 / $500 / AU$1000, while the Award-winning Sony WH-1000XM6 can be found for £349 / $450 / AU$699.

Bowers & Wilkins’ Px7 S3 and Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) are also available at the same kind of money, so consumers aren’t short of high-quality choices at this premium end, where mainstream players mingle.

Design & comfort

These are a rather lovely pair of headphones. Where the predecessor EAH-A800 looked quite blocky, the EAH-A1000 has a much sleeker, more elegant look. The metal accents and refined contours on the headphones make them look and feel quite luxurious, as does the generous padding on both the headband and ear cups.

The headband is easy to adjust, and the inside of the ear cups is quite roomy, with plush memory foam ear cushions that hug your head quite snugly, but without any undue pressure. Technics has paid quite a lot of attention to the design and comfort of the A1000, with care taken over the metal ‘flow arm’ slider and hinges, and the angle of the ear cups so that there is an even pressure across the head when wearing them.

The headphones feel robust but also quite lightweight, and we find them to be a comfortable fit across the review team’s head sizes, even for those who wear glasses. Compared with the relatively slim profile of the Sony XM6 or Sonos Ace Ultra, the larger ear cups of the A1000 do stick out a fair bit, but overall they’re so nice and comfortable to wear that we don’t mind once they’re on our head.

The headphones fold up into a ball, too, which makes them easy to carry in a bag. They’re available in black or the nice silver/white colour of our review sample; Technics calls this colour ‘Platinum Greige’, but we’re going to ignore that.

Instead of any touch controls, Technics offers physical controls that are easy to use on the right ear cup. There are buttons for power and Bluetooth pairing, another one for changing the noise mode, and a multi-function slider control for changing volume, playing and pausing music, and summoning voice assistants.

They all work instantly with our commands, although we feel the slider control’s action could be more definite and feel more precise. It feels a little like a loose tooth on our sample, which mars the otherwise classy experience of using the A100.

Features

We must commend how swiftly the A1000 pairs with our source devices, with the connection remaining stable throughout our testing and reconnecting to our iPhone 16 without a hitch. Like their EAH-AZ100 earbuds counterparts, the A1000 over-ears feature three-way multi-point Bluetooth, which means you can be connected to three sources simultaneously and switch between them seamlessly – rivals are still limited to two devices only.

The A1000 supports the LDAC codec, allowing for higher-quality streams from compatible smartphones or portable music players such as the Sony NW-A306 and Astell & Kern SR35. Be warned that using the higher bandwidth LDAC disables certain features (such as the aforementioned three-way connection) and has a knock-on effect on battery life.

When listening using the standard AAC/SBC codecs, as we do for the majority of our testing with an iPhone 16, the battery life is an impressive 45 hours with ANC turned on. Turned off, this extends to a massive 90 hours. Those numbers are strong – they easily surpass the 30 hours offered by the Sony WH-1000XM6 and rivals from Bose and Bowers & Wilkins, although the Sennheiser HDB 630 still takes the lead at 60 hours with ANC turned on. We barely had to recharge the A1000 during our time with them, but a 15-minute charge does handily give you four hours of juice.

You can listen to the Technics EAH-A1000 using a wired USB-C connection, too – just note that the headphones need to be powered on to listen in this mode. You get two cables included in the hard carry case: a USB-C to 3.5mm audio cable, and a USB-C to USB-C lead for audio and charging.

We must commend how swiftly the A1000 pairs with our source devices, with the connection remaining stable throughout our testing and reconnecting to our iPhone 16 without a hitch. Like their EAH-AZ100 earbuds counterparts, the A1000 over-ears feature three-way multi-point Bluetooth, which means you can be connected to three sources simultaneously and switch between them seamlessly – rivals are still limited to two devices only.

The A1000 supports the LDAC codec, allowing for higher-quality streams from compatible smartphones or portable music players such as the Sony NW-A306 and Astell & Kern SR35. Be warned that using the higher bandwidth LDAC disables certain features (such as the aforementioned three-way connection) and has a knock-on effect on battery life.

When listening using the standard AAC/SBC codecs, as we do for the majority of our testing with an iPhone 16, the battery life is an impressive 45 hours with ANC turned on. Turned off, this extends to a massive 90 hours. Those numbers are strong – they easily surpass the 30 hours offered by the Sony WH-1000XM6 and rivals from Bose and Bowers & Wilkins, although the Sennheiser HDB 630 still takes the lead at 60 hours with ANC turned on. We barely had to recharge the A1000 during our time with them, but a 15-minute charge does handily give you four hours of juice.

You can listen to the Technics EAH-A1000 using a wired USB-C connection, too – just note that the headphones need to be powered on to listen in this mode. You get two cables included in the hard carry case: a USB-C to 3.5mm audio cable, and a USB-C to USB-C lead for audio and charging.

ANC & call quality

The EAH-A1000’s adaptive ANC performance uses four mics per side to adjust the noise levels according to your surrounding environment. In the app, you can choose the level of ANC on a scale of 0 to 100, or leave it in adaptive mode – curiously, we find that the adaptive mode does a better job of reducing rumbling traffic noise than full ANC.

The A1000’s noise-cancelling does a fine job of damping down surrounding noises – from train engines to traffic noises – enough that we can concentrate on our music. We spent a long-haul flight from Tokyo to London with the Technics headphones acting as a good buffer between our music and the plane’s engines (the plush cushioning helps here too), although frequent flyers might want even deeper, low-frequency rumbles to be silenced.

However, we are more aware of the sudden whoosh of passing cars and of background chatter here than on rivals, with the Sony XM6 dealing with such midrange and high-frequency noises more effectively. You can also feel the pressure of Technics’ ANC technology working hard when in adaptive ANC mode, which some may not like compared with Sony’s more natural, less-processed effect.

The customisable Ambient/transparency mode keeps you aware of your surroundings in a way that doesn’t feel too artificially amplified, while a further ‘attention’ mode enhances voices, so you never miss train announcements. The latter’s effect is more obviously processed, and we think the standard Ambient mode does the job well enough.

Call quality is a high point on the A1000, with our voices coming through clearly and with next-to-no background noise seeping through. We stand on a busy road during rush hour, and the caller on the other end can’t hear any traffic noise distracting from our voice. The Sony XM6 rival makes our voice sound fuller and more natural, but they also allow more background noise to cut through.

Sound

The biggest update Technics has made in its new flagship over-ear headphones is to do with the newly developed driver technologies. The Magnetic Fluid Driver technology worked so well for the AZ100 earbuds, it’s being used here again, albeit modified for the larger 40mm drivers in the A1000 over-ears. This aims to keep the movement of the driver consistent and reduce unwanted vibrations, without adding unnecessary mass.

The diaphragm is made of a lightweight yet rigid pure carbon fibre material, which, coupled with the driver’s cone shape and the SST (Symmetrical Surround Technology) Edge taken from Technics’ hi-fi speakers, aims to deliver a fast, accurate response with reduced distortion.

A redesigned acoustic control chamber further helps to manage airflow, with Technics promising a more natural soundfield for its “high precision music reproduction” to flourish.

Put it all together, and we’re met with a sound that is clear, spacious and very detailed.

Play Fallin’ by Alicia Keys, and her vocals soar in an open and roomy soundstage. The rough and raw edges of her singing come through with clarity and refinement, and the top notes have plenty of headroom to shine. Switch to Limit To Your Love by James Blake, and there is a satisfying amount of depth and solidity underpinning both his voice and the deep, plunging bass. The A1000’s presentation is full-bodied, with ample detail to voices and instruments giving them an immediacy that holds your attention.

Every instrument in The Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Take Five is fairly easy to place, with the robust, tuneful saxophone appropriately taking the spotlight, while the sharper hi-hats and snares in the background hit with crispness but don’t intrude unduly upon the composition. The overall sound is clean and clear – Technics has done a fine job at keeping distortion levels low, which means we don’t mind listening at louder volumes, either.

There is a sweetness and smoothness to the sound. This characteristic doesn’t attempt to gloss over any cracks or try to smother any harder edges; it simply makes for a refined balance that is appealing to listen to from the get-go.

While not obviously lacking in energy, we do wish the A1000 had a bit more verve and attack when required. The rival Sony XM6 and Sennheiser HDB 630 headphones counter with a more propulsive, driven sense of rhythm that sounds more musically coherent, with low-level dynamics handled with a bit more agility. The start and stop of notes could be more precisely defined on the Technics, with bass notes, while deep and fulsome, sounding just a touch soft around the edges.

They are simply more comfortable staying on the polite, gentler side of the fence rather than getting their hands dirty.

Despite this, the A1000’s sense of organisation and level of detail retrieval is admirable, and they don’t ever lose composure when confronted with more complex or busy recordings. They make the difference between a hi-res and low-res recording clear, but handle those lower-quality recordings with the same refined brush – it’s a quality that means we’re happy to listen to the headphones for hours on end.

Verdict

Technics’ EAH-A1000 are a fine pair of headphones. Their comfortable, elegant design and that refined, smooth presentation have plenty of appeal. There are many who will fall for the A1000’s charms, and we wouldn’t find much cause to deter them. At this level, however, the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Sennheiser HDB 630 rivals deliver just that bit more rhythmic precision and dynamic subtlety, leading to a more involving listening experience.

There’s plenty that Technics has done right with its new flagship over-ears. If they could combine just a bit more grit and punch alongside that sweet, open presentation, they could be on to a winner next time.

Review published: 29th September 2026

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Build 5
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Sony WH-1000XM6

Also consider the Sennheiser HDB 630

"This is the headphone we set out to create from the very beginning" – a closer look at the development of the new driver technology inside the premium Technics EAH-A1000 wireless headphones

Best wireless headphones: reviewed and rated by our in-house experts

Nothing has announced its latest pair of over-ear wireless headphones, the Headphone (1) Pro.

Following on from the original Headphone (1) and its more affordable Headphone (a) counterparts, the new Headphone (1) Pro sit atop the brand's over-ear range as its most advanced cans yet.

Aimed at audio enthusiasts seeking "the most detailed and customisable listening experience, the Headphone (1) Pro feature a triple driver architecture designed to more effectively cover the sonic spectrum.

Nothing teases punchy bass thanks to the headphones' bass dynamic driver, accompanied by textured vocals from a dynamic midrange unit and crisper highs courtesy of a new treble 'xMEMS' driver. For higher-fidelity playback up to 24-bit/192 kHz, you can connect to the new flagship cans via USB-C.

Nothing promises its best-ever active noise cancelling courtesy of the Headphone (1) Pros' 10-mic array and more isolating ear cushions. The brand's 'Clear Voice Technology', meanwhile, uses two mics on each side of the headphones to keep voices sounding clear and crisp.

What about battery life? The Nothing Headphone (1) really excelled in this area, granting a whopping 80 hours of playtime with ANC switched off and around 35 hours with noise cancelling turned on.

The more powerful Headphone (1) Pro don't quite match those numbers, but with 68 hours of playtime with ANC off and 30 hours with it on, plus four hours of listening from a 5-minute charge, they're hardly doing badly.

The Headphone (1) Pro are controlled using the Nothing X app, from which you can access a range of fine-tuning tools to personalise your experience.

This is an unashamedly Nothing pair of headphones in terms of looks, with the flagship cans sharing a similar design language with their more affordable forebears. The rectangular earcups return, boasting scratch-resistant glass which grants a glimpse of the drivers housed beneath.

Nothing also promises more even weight distribution thanks to a wider headband and thicker padding, as well as titanium arms and softer ear cushions to further aid user comfort. They're even IP52 rated, granting protection against water splashes and some dust ingress.

The Nothing Headphone (1) Pro are available now in Black or White finishes, priced at £349 / $399. That's a figure that puts them firmly in the mix with the likes of the Sony WH-1000XM6 (£349 / $400 / AU$699) and Sennheiser HDB 630 (£400 / $500 / AU$1000).

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These are the best wireless headphones you can buy

Bose has become the latest company to jump back on the wired earbuds bandwagon, announcing new Bose Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds. Notably, the earbuds will still feature Bose’s QuietControl active noise cancellation.

Bose says the new earbuds will connect to compatible devices with a 128cm USB-C cable and draw power from the source, mitigating the need for a dedicated, rechargeable battery, despite the inclusion of ANC.

ANC is delivered by two microphones on each earbud, which “continuously monitor, react to, and minimise surrounding sound”.

Three listening modes are available: ‘Quiet Mode’ is the full-fat ANC option, ‘Aware Mode’ lets surrounding sound in when listeners want to stay tuned-in to their surroundings, and ‘ANC Off Mode’ does precisely what it says on the tin.

Each earbud includes soft silicone eartips in small, medium and large sizes, alongside medium and large stability wings. Bose suggests that listeners “mix and match the components to find a fit that feels both comfortable and secure”.

Despite their retro inclinations, the wired earbuds feature Bose’s proprietary SoundDesign digital signal processing, which the company claims delivers “crisp, clear audio with support for lossless audio listening”. The earbuds can accept source input at any sample and bit rate, with playback output fixed at 24-bit/48kHz.

Bose claims that a wired connection enables low latency performance, “keeping sound in sync while watching videos, gaming, or creating content”.

In the absence of a dedicated app, sound controls for volume, playback, call functions and cycling ANC modes can be accessed via an in-line remote with “tactile physical buttons”.

A dedicated microphone on the back of the remote handles calls, and "minimises unwanted noise from contact with clothing”, allowing users to “speak naturally without holding the remote close to [their mouths]”.

The earbuds also have an IPX4 rating for water resistance and come with a zippered carry case.

According to Raza Haider, president of Bose Premium Consumer Audio: “Wired earbuds are experiencing a cultural renaissance, and when we decided to bring them back, we knew we had to make them even better than before. Technology has come a long way since our last wired earbuds, allowing us the opportunity to bring our latest advancements to the category and set a new standard for what wired earbuds can be.”

The Bose Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds are now available to pre-order for MyBose customers at a price of £99 / $99 / AU$170, with general availability starting 15th October. Finishes include Black, White Smoke and limited edition Dewdrop Mint.

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Sennheiser and Sony make some of the best wireless earbuds around, so when a new pair from either brand launches, it's big news indeed.

Sennheiser's latest, the Momentum True Wireless 5, do not disappoint. Their crisp, detailed sound and impressive battery life helped them earn a five-star review, but are they better than Sony's five-star WF-1000XM6? That's what we're here to find out.

We've compared every aspect of the two pairs to help you decide which is right for you. Ready? Let's go.

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 vs Sony WF-1000XM6: tech specs comparison

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 vs Sony WF-1000XM6: price

When it comes to price, there really isn't much to choose between these two pairs. The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 launched at £250 / $300 / AU$480, which is very similar to the XM6's launch price of £250 / $330 / AU$500.

However, the XM6 went on sale back in February 2026, whereas the Sennheisers only launched at the start of September, meaning that the Sonys are much more likely to be discounted.

Indeed, they already have been. Last summer's Prime Day saw the XM6 drop to £199, and with both Amazon Prime Big Deal Days and Black Friday coming soon, expect plenty more drops where that came from.

It's too early for a major deal on the Sennheisers, though we could see a small discount this side of Christmas.

** Winner: Sony WF-1000XM6 **

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 vs Sony WF-1000XM6: build & comfort

Sony and Sennheiser have strong legacies in the wireless earbuds space, so it's hardly surprising that both pairs stick to the respective brands' tried-and-tested designs.

The Sennheisers have had a few subtle tweaks to freshen up the design. They're now rounder and more similar in shape to a baked bean. The Momentum True Wireless 5 have a new case too, which is taller and slimmer than its predecessor, and made of speckled plastic.

Both pairs are comfortable enough to wear for long sessions, though we have found the XM6 (like most Sony 'buds) split opinion – some people get on with them fine, others struggle to get a secure fit even after trying the various sizes of bundled eartips.

Both pairs offer XS, S, M and L tip choices, though we'd predict that most users will find the Momentum TW 5s' fit more secure and forgiving than that offered by their Sony rivals.

With an IP54 rating, the Sennheisers are protected against dust and water splashes, whereas the Sonys only have water protection. If you're heading to the beach, the Momentum True Wireless 5 are the safer bet, as they'll offer a more reliable shield against small particle ingress.

Both pairs of buds feature touch controls which can be customised using the respective mobile apps, both of which are in-dept and a pleasure to use.

Do note that the Sennheisers come in far more finishes – five, to the Sony's rather measly two.

** Winner: Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 **

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 vs Sony WF-1000XM6: features

These new Sennheisers support spatial audio with Dolby Atmos, while Sony's wireless buds have their proprietary equivalent 360 Reality Audio. Both features work well, especially the dynamic head tracking, though Atmos is the more widely supported format, so you'll find more spatial content to listen to using Sennheiser's 'buds. Plus, you'll have to have your ears 'analysed' to use 360 Reality Audio, something which some users might find to be an unnecessary hassle.

The Sonys counter with the longer battery life, on the buds at least – you get eight hours of playtime from the buds alone, and only six from the Sennheisers. The Sennheisers do last an hour longer when you factor in recharges from the case, however, offering 25 hours of use to the XM6s' 24 hours. These figures are all with active noise cancellation turned on. Turn it off, and the Sennheisers go for a marathon 40 hours in total)

For higher-quality listening, the Sennheisers support the aptX Adaptive codec, while the Sonys have LDAC. The Sennheisers also support a more recent version of Bluetooth: 6.0 compared to 5.3 on the Sonys. Bluetooth Multipoint comes on both pairs for seamlessly switching between connected devices.

Sony's DSEE Extreme processing boosts the sound of lower-quality files – handy if you're listening to compressed formats like MP3. But for the longer total battery life, more advanced Bluetooth and more widely used audio standards, the Sennheisers take this round.

** Winner: Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 **

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 vs Sony WF-1000XM6: ANC & call quality

Sennheiser and Sony have been in the noise-cancelling game for quite some time now, and their flagship pairs of earbuds pack some mighty impressive ANC credentials.

Both pairs pack four mics in each earbud, while the Sonys add the brand's third-gen HD Noise Cancelling processor QN3e and Adaptive NC Optimiser, which automatically adapts the ANC algorithm to your fit and environment.

The Sennheisers' new shape is designed to provide better passive noise isolation. In our Momentum True Wireless 5 review, we found the noise cancellation "powerful yet not overdone" and more natural-feeling than some rival buds' ANC.

"The shrillest highs and most booming lows will penetrate," we concluded, "but for softening or excluding most external sounds, from general chatter to humming air conditioning, they confidently make the grade."

The WF-1000XM6 also fare very well in this regard. Testing them on planes and trains (but sadly not automobiles) for our XM6 review, we wrote that "they impressed us with their consistency and ability to extract both low-frequency rumbles of carriages and aeroplane engines, but also more high-pitched screeches and whistles that crept into our environment."

For call quality, however, there's a clearer winner.

The Sonys combine AI beamforming, bone conduction sensors, extra mics and a wind noise reduction design to devastating effect. They "do a great job subduing and minimising background noise, including tricky-to-handle wind noise – voices come through loud and clear with a great level of detail," as we wrote at the time.

While the Sennheisers' microphone plates and acoustic chamber are configured to reduce the effect of wind, and they handle calls competently, we found that "voices can sound a little muffled when compared with the natural clarity of the Sony WF-1000XM6."

A win for Sony on this one.

** Winner: Sony WF-1000XM6 **

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 vs Sony WF-1000XM6: sound

And so to sound.

Sennheiser's flagship pair contain the brand's signature 7mm TrueResponse dynamic drivers, which helps the sound stay clean and balanced.

Playing Massive Attack’s Paradise Circus, the Sennheisers "confidently track clacking drums, scattered hand claps and glassy synths" with plenty of insight and clarity. They excel in the midrange too – witness Hope Sandoval’s breathy whispers – and have no trouble staying organised and composed when faced with trickier compositions. Their bass, meanwhile, is weighty yet precise, adding a natural anchor to the frequencies above.

The XM6 also sound excellent, full of a natural warmth while also boasting impressive levels of detail and insight.

As we wrote in our review: "Everything that you expect to be present in a pair of flagship wireless earbuds is there: a fantastic sense of timing, an expressive midrange, weighty yet well-defined bass and crisp, nicely controlled highs. The Sonys cover all the bases and then some".

Through the Sonys, Tom Odell's Black Friday has plenty of delicacy and subtlety, and as fingers slide up the acoustic guitar's neck, "you can explicitly hear the little shifts in dynamics and the fine details in the gentle piano play, both of which mix beautifully with the sweeping strings that flow alongside both instruments."

Bass is powerful but controlled, and their rhythmic abilities are second to none.

So both pairs sound pretty great, but how do they compare side by side?

Both sets handle dynamics superbly, even with their somewhat contrasting approaches. As we wrote during our review of the Momentum TW 5, the XM6 "are more expressive in how they keep the underlying pulse of Radiohead’s Burn The Witch ticking away, but the Sennheisers' agile, nimble sound means that the track's relentless sense of attack isn't lost for a moment".

Side-by-side, the Sennheisers are also prone to sounding a bit more etched than the Sonys, particularly in the high frequencies, but this can be somewhat negated via the provided in-app equaliser.

The XM6 come across as more natural at this end of the frequency range, whereas the Sennheisers can sound a little hard-edged with cymbal strikes or shrieking strings. It's not a dealbreaker, but it is something to consider when weighing up your purchase.

This one is as much about taste as objective quality. The Sennheisers are sparklingly clear, especially through their superb midrange, with a natural smoothness and poise that we find to be a delight. If that's your kind of thing, they're a complete no-brainer.

For us, the Sony WF-1000XM6 just grab and hold our attention more effectively thanks to their more expressive, grippy sound. It's a close one, but the XM6s' masterful blend of analysis and entertainment is yet to be surpassed.

** Winner: Sony WF-1000XM6 **

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 vs Sony WF-1000XM6: verdict

It's a close run thing, but for sound, call quality and features, we just about prefer the Sonys. And given that they've been around since February 2026, they're more likely to see decent discounts than the much newer Sennheisers.

The Momentum True Wireless 5 are still a five-star pair, however, with a robust design, packed feature set and nimble sound. If their sonic personality sounds like your kind of thing, they're well worth considering, because they could definitely be the buds for you.

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Read our Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 review

And our Sony WF-1000XM6 review

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We didn't know what to expect from the Sonos Ace Ultra. Having not quite hit the target with its Sonos Ace wireless headphones in 2024, we were hoping that the US company would take the lessons learned from its debut over-ears and come up with something a little more competitive the next time around. From sound quality to noise cancelling, we knew that Sonos could do better.

And it has done better. Much better, in fact, with the Ace Ultra unequivocally demonstrating that Sonos is capable of competing in the ultra-competitive space of premium wireless headphones. From better audio to an expanded, refined feature set, this is everything that the Ace Ultra have done to improve upon their somewhat middling predecessors.

Sound's about right

How good they sound is what matters most, and this is the area in which we felt the most let down by the debut Sonos Ace.

Sonos' first wireless headphones missed the sonic mark, with a sound that we described as "listenable and inoffensive" without exactly setting the world alight. Clarity and insight were somewhat mediocre, detail levels were just about acceptable, while a lack of spaciousness and dynamics further hindered our affection for what we called a "simplistic and safe sound".

The new Ace Ultra aren't perfect, but most of the criticisms we levelled at their predecessors have, to an extent, been rectified. The sophomore cans are more powerful, assertive and self-assured than before, like a spotty teenager that's been hitting the gym for six months and discovered the wonders of face wash.

As we wrote in our review: "These headphones sound far more self-assured than their de facto predecessors, with a rich, full-bodied sound that brings a muscular, confident presence to the tunes we feed them."

Dynamics and overall insight aren't yet good enough to trouble the mighty Sony WH-1000XM6 or superlative Sennheiser HDB 630, but this bolder, more muscular sound is certainly a step in the right direction. When the Ace Ultra 2 rock up in a few years, we're expecting the full five stars, Sonos.

Expanded Sonos integration

We're fully aware that ecosystem integration is a massive part of why you may want to buy a Sonos product, and the Ace Ultra are no different. Like the Ace before them, a significant chunk of their allure comes from their ability to play ball with newer-generation Sonos soundbars and wireless speakers.

Like the original Ace, the Ace Ultra feature Sonos' TrueCinema calibration tech, which uses spatial software to tailor your headphones’ acoustics to your room, externalising audio away from your head to create a sound that more closely matches your listening space's real-world characteristics. It works well for us, and certainly helped Blade Runner 2049 sound more purposeful, immersive and cinematic as a result.

The Ace Ultra also add Sonos’ new 'headphone linking' feature, letting you transfer sound to the Ace Ultra from most current Sonos products working under the Sonos 27 operating system, including the Arc Ultra, Ray, Beam (Gen 2) and new Beam Ultra soundbars, and the Era 100, Era 300, Move 2, Play and Roam 2 wireless speakers.

We struggled to get the feature to play ball with the Play on a domestic network, but taking the headphones into our London office and connecting them up to the same system as the new Beam (Gen 2) soundbar worked a treat.

We were able to swap audio from Blade Runner 2049 from the Beam onto the headphones by pressing and holding the Ace Ultra’s content key for around five seconds. To get sound back onto the soundbar, we simply held the button down again, and the second-gen Beam took over audio duties once more.

If you share with housemates, live with a partner and kids or have neighbours who object to your Sonos soundbar pumping out blockbusters at 1am, that could be a really handy feature when you want quick and easily accessible personal listening at the touch of a button.

Cool and comfortable cans

In fairness to 2024's Sonos Ace, a lack of comfort was never something with which we took major issue during testing. If anything, we always found the Ace to be a nicely made and easy to get along with pair of headphones, blending a lightweight, minimalist design with solid ergonomics and nicely padded vegan leather earcups.

It's a similar story with the Ace Ultra, albeit a slightly better one. While their general form and size are practically identical to their forebears, the newer over-ears' earpads have been upgraded with new ‘Rebound’ memory foam cushions, designed to improve comfort via a plusher, more forgiving fit.

These things often vary from person to person, but we also found that they're resistant to heating our ears, a real bonus during those longer listening marathons. Even at this level, that's not always a guarantee.

A cheaper initial price

Well, what a nice surprise this was.

The original Ace launched at £449 / $449 / AU$699 in 2024, but their price has since dropped in the intervening years to a more modest £299 / $299 / AU$449.

The Ace Ultra, on the other hand, landed at £399 / $449 / AU$699, a lower figure than their stablemates which puts them in direct competition with the Award-winning Sony WH-1000XM6 (£400 / $450 / AU$699) and the excellent five-star Sennheiser HDB 630 (£400 / $500 / AU$1000).

Sonos has confirmed that it will keep the older Ace on sale alongside the new step-up model, rather than pitching the Ace Ultra as a direct replacement. That means that Sonos lovers have a more appealing choice of things, as they can either save a bit of cash on the now-cheaper original Ace, or get the Ace Ultra at a competitive opening RRP.

For the record, we'd go for the Ace Ultra every time.

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Being a set of premium wireless earbuds has never been tougher. Standing out from this packed crowd is like jostling for a place on a packed rush-hour tube train, with both the quality and quantity of the competition making it ever harder to show that you’ve got what it takes to be chosen for glory. Sony, Bose, Technics, JBL and many others are all jostling for position, and that’s before we even get to Apple and its colossal share of the in-ear market.

Into this fray steps the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 earbuds, the sequel to the headphone brand’s impressive – but not quite chart-topping – Momentum True Wireless 4 from 2024. The usual promises of acoustic upgrades and bolstered feature sets abound, but the Momentum TW 5 don’t just have to top what came before – they also need to compete with the vast array of high-class alternatives all vying for consumer attention.

Quite appropriately given its product naming conventions, Sennheiser does have one thing on its side: momentum. The recent over-ear HDB 630 and Momentum 5 Wireless have deservedly gained five-star plaudits, and if Sennheiser can translate that success to the earbuds market, then it might have found the key to standing out in this brimming, bustling crowd.

Price

The Momentum True Wireless 5 are undoubtedly premium earbuds. At £250 / $300 / AU$480, they sit alongside the five-star Technics EAH-AZ100 (£259 / $299 / AU$499) and the more recent Sony WF-1000XM6 (£250 / $330 / AU$500) in terms of their standard RRP.

That being said, more established alternatives are starting to drop in price as time wears on. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) started life at £299 / $299 / AU$450, but have sunk to around £229 / $249 / AU$349 at the time of writing.

Build & comfort

On the surface, Sennheiser has given its Momentum True Wireless 5 earbuds a subtle makeover to distinguish them from their five-star predecessors.

For a start, the buds’ shape has been tweaked, with Sennheiser opting for a rounder, more bean-like form tapering to a narrow nozzle on which a pair of silicone ear-tips sit. That’s a visible change from the more squared-off nature of the Momentum True Wireless 4, although in terms of size and weight, there’s not much of a noticeable difference.

The case has been updated, too, though whether you consider the new design an upgrade or a step backwards will likely depend on taste. The new case is taller and slimmer than its squatter, squarer predecessor, with Sennheiser ditching the textured fabric covering in favour of subtly speckled plastic.

Sennheiser claims that its new buds’ more rounded configuration and slightly tweaked ear tip shape have enhanced their comfort and security, although from our testing, there isn’t a huge difference from one generation to the next. That’s no disaster – the Momentum True Wireless 5 fit nicely without discomfort over long hours, just like their predecessors did.

Naturally, this depends on who you are and what you’re doing. For everyday use, we don’t have many instances of the flagship buds falling out entirely, though more strenuous activities – running, using an exercise bike, etc – may loosen the seal. The Momentum TW 5 don’t have the handy in-ear stability bands of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen), so if you’ve got one eye on sporting endeavours, the Bose may be worth considering instead.

If you are struggling to find your perfect fit, Sennheiser does provide a simple ear-tip fit test via its companion app. The buds are furnished with a healthy array of ear-tip sizes – extra small, small, medium and large – though if we were being all Goldilocks about it, we’d maybe have liked an extra large option.

The Momentum True Wireless 5 also carry an IP54 rating for protection against dust and splashes of water, a certification which sees them get one over on the IPX4 ratings of their Sony WF-1000XM6, Technics EAH-AZ100 and Bose QC Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) rivals. From sweaty workouts to a brief trip out in the rain, we find that our test pair make good on their durability claims.

Touch capacitive sensors are located at the rounded tip of each bud, and during our test time, the Momentum TW 5’s touch controls are responsive to our commands. You can also customise your buds’ extensive touch functionalities via the accompanying app or, if you prefer, simply turn them off altogether.

Features

New features for the Momentum True Wireless 5 include spatial audio with Dolby Atmos support, which works well to create that more immersive audio signature on supported tracks such as Pearl Jam’s Future Days and Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean. Head tracking is also convincingly rendered, keeping the audio fixed to a central point as we turn from side to side.

Battery life has been upped, with the TW 5 boasting 12 hours from the earbuds on a single charge, and a very impressive 40 hours in total with the charging case – this is with ANC turned off. Those figures will drop when ANC is back in play, however, to roughly six hours on the buds and a total of around 25 hours with the case.

Those numbers are still admirable, but not unbeatable. The Technics EAH-AZ100, for instance, will grant up to 10 hours on a single charge with ANC on and a total of 28 hours with the case, whereas the Sony WF-1000XM6 grant six hours from the earbuds and 24 hours in total under the same circumstances.

Away from battery figures, Sennheiser has one eye on sustainability, meaning that, with a standard screwdriver, you can open the earbuds and replace the batteries yourself. Sennheiser also offers a battery protection mode which limits the maximum charge level to roughly 80% in a bid to prolong the cells’ overall lifespan.

The Momentum TW 5 boast Bluetooth 6.0 for more efficient, low-latency transmission, while aptX Adaptive codec support is also on the menu.

On the subject of Bluetooth, we use the buds’ Multipoint capabilities to switch quickly and easily between two connected devices: our Lenovo work laptop and an iPhone 15. If you have a Google device, you can use Fast Pair for a near-instant connection, while Windows Swift Pair performs the same function for Windows sources.

Most of the aforementioned features can be accessed or toggled on or off via the in-depth and well-laid-out Sennheiser SmartPlus app. From its ample potential for customisation – be it changing your buds’ sonic tuning or dialling up/down your ANC levels – to its myriad helpful hints, it’s a strong app for getting the most out of your earbuds.

ANC & call quality

The Momentum True Wireless 5 pack in eight sensors in total, combining six microphones and two bone conduction voice sensors backed by AI-optimised voice processing for handling hands-free calls. The microphone plates and acoustic chamber are also configured to reduce the extent to which wind and general bluster intrude on your voice calls when you’re out and about.

When we test their active noise cancelling capabilities by standing in a busy street, we discover that voice calls are competently handled. The Sennheisers do well to dampen the clamour of whooshing cars and swirling winds, yet voices can sound a little muffled when compared with the natural clarity of the Sony WF-1000XM6.

Noise cancelling reaches a similarly decent level. The newly shaped eartips have been designed for better passive attenuation, working with each bud’s four-mic array to deliver impressive levels of sonic exclusion.

Noise cancelling feels powerful yet not overdone, and while the Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen) remain the gold standard if you’re looking for that all-encompassing vacuum effect, Sennheiser’s effort is a strong one if you prefer a more natural ANC experience.

We take the Momentum True Wireless 5 out and about in town, on the train and into the office, and find it tricky to expose any glaring blind spots. The shrillest highs and most booming lows will penetrate, but for softening or excluding most external sounds, from general chatter to humming air conditioning, they confidently make the grade.

Sound

To help them compete with the likes of Sony, Bose, and Technics, Sennheiser’s premium contenders come equipped with the brand’s signature 7mm TrueResponse dynamic drivers, designed to deliver both "remarkable detail" and "exceptional precision, clarity and dynamics".

Sonically, those promises ring true. The Sennheisers sparkle like a freshly waxed floor, with a sound so clean and unblemished that you’d be happy to eat your proverbial dinner off it. This is the same kind of balance we heard from the brand’s recent Momentum 5 Wireless over-ears, translated to its flagship wireless earbuds with remarkable precision.

Through the Sennheisers, Massive Attack’s Paradise Circus becomes a rich tapestry of interwoven textures as the flagship buds confidently track clacking drums, scattered hand claps and glassy synths. The Momentum True Wireless 4 were refined and detailed, but for instrumental insight and overall clarity, this latest generation puts them firmly in the shade.

Sennheiser’s recent Momentum 5 over-ears excelled in the midrange, a quality which has translated over to their in-ear counterparts. Listening to Paradise Circus spotlights this talent in the middle frequencies as the Momentum True Wireless 5 keenly unveil the breathy whispers of Hope Sandoval’s enchanting performance.

The Sennheisers have the instrumental chops to trouble the class leaders, but they’re also happy stepping away from the stage and wielding their baton at the front of the orchestra. Organisation and control come naturally to the premium buds, so that tricky compositions such as John Williams’ epic Duel Of The Fates and Ludwig Göransson’s eerie, panic attack-inducing Troy sound convincingly three-dimensional as opposed to flat or jumbled.

The Momentum True Wireless 5 take a precise approach to their presentation, but that’s not to say that they’re all facts and no feelings. The rival Sony WF-1000XM6 sound more textured and expressive, but the Sennheisers’ natural dynamic handling deserves adulation, evidenced by how they capture the mounting dread and terror of Troy’s inexorable crescendo.

Rhythms, too, are handled well. Again, the WF-1000XM6 are more expressive in how they keep the underlying pulse of Radiohead’s Burn The Witch ticking away, but the Sennheisers’ agile, nimble sound means that the track’s relentless sense of attack isn’t lost for a moment.

The flagship buds certainly draw the ear to their sparklingly clear midrange, but there's plenty of weight and precision in the bass, too. Switching on the ‘Bass’ boost toggle via the Sennheiser app will put more weight into the deeper frequencies, but it will come slightly at the expense of some low-end tautness, and isn't something we found was necessary during our testing.

They can also sound more etched than the Sony WF-1000XM6, especially at the highest of high frequencies. The Sony Award-winners sound more natural at those tricky upper reaches, whereas the True Wireless 5 can occasionally come across as slightly hard-edged when replicating crisp cymbal strikes or edgy, screeching strings.

We don’t find this to be a dealbreaker during our testing – and the effects can be negated via the in-app equaliser – but it’s worth noting if you find that particular sonic aspect usually grates on your ears.

Verdict

Sennheiser’s recent success in the over-ear headphones category has translated seamlessly to its latest pair of flagship wireless earbuds. If spaciousness, detail and precision are at the top of your sonic wishlist, the Momentum True Wireless 5 are a Christmas gift come early.

Review published: 24th September 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 5
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Sony WF-1000XM6

Also consider the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen)

Read our Technics EAH-AZ100

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Wireless headphones are about to get more advanced, thanks to Qualcomm’s next generation of processors. Its Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 platform promises better active noise cancellation (ANC), greater power efficiency and, of course, oodles of AI. It could also help wireless headphones and earbuds sound even better.

Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 offers twice the AI capabilities of the Snapdragon S7 Gen 1 Sound platform, uses up to 40 per cent less power and is 30 per cent smaller. Which should mean headphones featuring it have longer battery life and are more responsive to your surroundings. The smaller size should also let manufacturers use larger drivers and more components without making the headphones unduly bulky.

Qualcomm processors are used in headphones from Bose, Cambridge Audio, Sennheiser, Bowers & Wilkins and more, so we should see these advances in some of the biggest models of the year.

Qualcomm also bigs up the platform’s multi-core processing, which will let headphones simultaneously perform AI, audio, communication and wellness-sensing capabilities. And it uses what Qualcomm calls ‘integrated micro-power wi-fi’ to provide a more robust wireless connection with cloud-based audio and personal AI without impacting battery life.

It will support Bluetooth 7.0 and Higher Bands, XPAN and lossless, low-latency sound.

ANC promises to be up to twice as effective as in the previous generation, and is designed for “consistent, real-world performance, not just ideal conditions”. While its promises sound familiar – ANC that automatically adjusts to changes in fit, movement, and environmental noise isn’t exactly new – we should see advances in performance. In other words, it should do all this better than the current generation of wireless headphones.

We are also promised “stronger performance in challenging scenarios, including low-frequency noise, dynamic environments, and open-ear designs.”

Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 will also see the debut of Snapdragon Sound Apps and Agents, which is effectively an app store for headphones. Powered by software ecosystem MicroEJ, it will expand your headphones’ capabilities through third-party support. Qobuz, Roon and infotainment/connected audio company Cinemo are confirmed as launch partners.

Of course, how good and useful all this is depends on how manufacturers implement the tech at their disposal. We should see the first headphones to feature Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 to roll out soon, so stay tuned for our reviews to see how they fare.

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After months of rumours, speculation and quite a few leaks along the way, Beats’ latest flagship wireless headphones have officially arrived.

The Beats 360 have been in the pipeline for a long while, but the all-new flagship cans have now definitively broken cover, pledging to bring “the best sound and most refined comfort in Beats history” along with them.

Built around a bespoke acoustic platform, the flagship over-ears boast an all-new acoustic architecture with bespoke drivers developed exclusively for the 360. The drivers employ three-layer diaphragms and dual neodymium magnets to create what Beats calls “powerful bass and incredible precision across the tonal range with ultra-low distortion”.

The 360 are also equipped with what Beats describes as its “most powerful noise-cancelling technology”, complemented by a transparency mode that lets users hear their surroundings more readily.

An Adaptive EQ setting works to dynamically adjust acoustic frequencies based on the wearer’s fit for a more personalised sound experience, while Dolby Atmos spatial audio with head tracking promises “deep, immersive audio across music and movies”.

The flagship Beats deliver around 32 hours of battery life with noise-cancelling switched off, and up to 32 hours with ANC and spatial audio on. Thanks to the headphones’ ‘Fast Fuel’ capabilities, a five-minute charge provides an hour of playback via USB-C.

The Beats 360 are powered by a custom Beats chip for integration across both Apple and Android ecosystems.

That means Apple users get iOS integration, one-touch pairing, access to Apple’s Siri voice assistant and automatic switching between devices, as well as ‘Find My’ capabilities to help locate your headphones using your iPhone. Android users, conversely, benefit from the likes of Android Fast Pair and the ‘Find Hub’ product locator for a smoother user experience.

The 360 are the first over-ear Beats headphones to come with an IPX4 sweat and water resistance rating, so you should be able to take them out in the rain without fear of damage, with Beats promising "an exceptional level of durability" from its latest wireless cans.

The headphones’ ear cushions are acoustically engineered to form an optimal seal that enhances sound isolation and helps deliver a “rich, immersive” audio signature. The flagship Beats also feature interchangeable ear and headband cushion kits to help users make their headphones feel like their own.

The Beats 360 are available now in four core colours – Black, Cloud, Pink or Sky – while cushion kits can be purchased separately across Black, Cloud, Pink, Sky, Navy or Volt options.

The headphones themselves will set you back £300 / $350, while the standard cushion kits will cost £50 / $50 per set. At that kind of money, Beats is pitching the 360 to rival the Sony WH-1000XM6 (currently £359 / $400), the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless (£330 / $400) and the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 (currently £319 / $429).

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Sonos’ first foray into premium wireless headphones left us feeling cold. Sonos was already riding high thanks to the success of its Era 100 and Era 300 wireless speakers and a raft of Award-winning soundbars, but translating those sonic successes to the mediocre-sounding Sonos Ace headphones in 2024 proved a bridge too far, to our ears at least.

As we wrote at the time, the “Ace's safe sound is put to the sword by several rival headphones that are more exciting, more detailed, dynamic and expressive across the board. Both their ANC and call quality can be bettered, too”.

These are the issues that the Ace’s follow-up, the new Ace Ultra, must rectify if Sonos is to become a major player in consumer audio’s most contested arena. Sonos has pledged “rich, detailed audio” from the Ace Ultra, aiming to make up ground against a plethora of premium wireless alternatives, all backed by seamless integration within the expanded Sonos ecosystem.

A tempting proposition for Sonos lovers, but has the brand learned its lessons from the original Ace?

Price

Sonos’ sophomore over-ears will set you back £399 / $449 / AU$699 at launch, putting them up against two strong contenders at this price: the Award-winning Sony WH-1000XM6 (£400 / $450 / AU$699) and the excellent five-star Sennheiser HDB 630 (£400 / $500 / AU$1000).

The original Ace launched at £449 / $449 / AU$699, but their price has since dropped to a more modest £299 / $299 / AU$449. To be clear, Sonos says it will keep the Ace on sale alongside the new step-up model, rather than pitching the Ace Ultra as a direct replacement.

Build & comfort

While we weren’t necessarily that keen on how the original Sonos Ace sounded, we found it hard to fault their design, praising the cans’ minimalist aesthetic, comfortable fit and premium feel.

Happily, those qualities have translated across to the new Ace Ultra. Sonos’ second effort hasn’t deviated much from the original over-ear’s clean, understated design language, with the Ace Ultra sporting a pair of clean, smooth plastic earcups adorned with a shining Sonos logo and complemented by exposed metal arms.

The minimalist aesthetic won’t suit all tastes, but in terms of how the headphones actually feel, it’s hard to complain. The plastic is solid and durable, the metal hinges shine with a polished presence, and the buttons and toggles are responsive and reasonably tactile during operation.

That said, we would ideally like the Ace Ultra to fold away as the Sony WH-1000XM6 do, rather than simply having the earcups swivel horizontally on their hinges, but that won’t be a dealbreaker for most.

Elsewhere, the Ace Ultras’ soft ear cushions and padded adjustable headband make them a pleasure to live with. The earpads have been upgraded for the Ace Ultra, with the new ‘Rebound’ memory foam cushions, designed not only to improve comfort levels but aid passive noise reduction – we found they offer a plusher, more forgiving fit.

They’re capable of keeping their cool, too, and even as wearing sessions turn from minutes to hours, the Sonos over-ears resist the urge to heat our ears and turn our listening from serene to sweat-inducing.

As before, the ear pads attach magnetically, meaning you can remove them easily and buy replacements from the Sonos store for around £40 / $40 if they begin to wear out over time. You can also replace the headphones’ battery yourself, adding to the headphones’ impressive sustainability credentials.

How about controls? Where the likes of the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless and Sony WH-1000XM6 have implemented predominantly haptic on-unit systems, Sonos has stuck to its guns and gone for tactile buttons on the side of each of the Ace Ultras’ earcups.

A physical toggle for quickly adjusting your noise-cancelling mode is located at the base of the right earcup, while a ‘content key’ lets you control volume, pause music, and even answer calls by either sliding the toggle up and down or pressing down in the centre. In terms of its basic ergonomics, it’s a simple toggle to use, and our only issue would be that it can sometimes force your hand into a slightly odd position when performing certain commands.

While the Ace Ultra might look similar to the original Ace on the outside, scratch beneath the surface and you’ll find a fresh set of Sonos-designed 40mm dynamic drive units. The new drivers incorporate a dual-ring magnet motor structure, designed to significantly reduce distortion and deliver a clearer, more detail-rich sound alongside a punchier, fuller bass signature.

Given the lack of overall clarity and bass punch we bemoaned in the original Ace, it’s pleasing to see Sonos attempting to rectify such issues when it comes to the Ace Ultra’s internal hardware. We’ll get to that below.

Features

As with all of its products – even a pair of headphones – much of the Ace Ultra’s appeal comes from their willingness to play ball with the extended Sonos ecosystem. Even if the Ace Ultra don’t end up scaling the loftiest of lofty heights sound-wise, we understand that much of their appeal comes from their intra-brand compatibility.

This includes using Sonos’ 'headphone linking' feature, allowing you to transfer sound to the Ace Ultra from most current Sonos products working under the Sonos 27 operating system, including the Arc Ultra, Ray, Beam (Gen 2) and new Beam Ultra soundbars, and the Sonos Five, Era 100, Era 300, Move 2, Play and Roam 2 wireless speakers.

We give the feature a whirl using the Beam (Gen 2) soundbar that’s currently housed in our test room. Using the Sonos app to get everything working under the same network, we’re able to swap audio from Blade Runner 2049 from the Beam onto the headphones by pressing and holding the Ace Ultra’s content key for around five seconds. To get sound back onto the soundbar, we simply press and hold the button again, and the second-gen Beam takes over audio duties once more.

Sonos’ TrueCinema calibration tech also returns, which uses spatial software to tailor your headphones’ acoustics to your room, granting a more cinematic experience when watching Dolby Atmos-soundtracked movies. The headphones then ‘externalise’ the audio out of your head while the tech creates a more balanced reproduction that matches the real-world dimensions and characteristics of your listening room.

TrueCinema is quick to set up via the app – for us it takes around two minutes – and once we have it switched on, we notice that Blade Runner 2049 sounds impressively cinematic thanks to the headphones’ purposeful placement of spoken dialogue, whooshing spaceships and humming engines.

Away from fancy linking capabilities, the Ace Ultra boast a very healthy 35-hour battery life with noise cancelling activated, a figure that’s up from the 30 hours of the original Ace and five more hours than the Sony WH-1000XM6 can manage under the same conditions. As before, you also get three hours of playback from a three-minute boost.

The higher-quality aptX Lossless Bluetooth codec is supported for streaming files up to 16-bit/44.1kHz, while native support for 16-bit/48kHz resolution is available via the wired USB connection. Both USB-C to USB-C and USB-C to 3.5mm cables are included in the box.

Alongside TrueCinema, the Ace Ultra support Dolby Atmos spatial audio content with head tracking from platforms such as Tidal, Amazon Music and Apple, though there’s no toggle in the app to actively switch it on and off.

Listening to a Dolby mix via Tidal, the bass drum kicks at the outset of Billie Jean do sound a little deeper and more recessed, while the snares seem to echo within a more spacious backdrop, but the differences are relatively subtle when comparing against a standard stereo recording. David Bowie’s Heroes seems to work more effectively, with the Ace Ultra working to make those arcing guitar effects soar far higher than they usually would.

The effects of head tracking are far more noticeable, with the headphones able to quickly and smoothly transfer audio from earcup to earcup to simulate the effect of having your music playing from a fixed point.

ANC & call quality

We weren’t exactly bowled over with how the original Ace handled noise cancelling, so we’re happy to report that Sonos has made marked improvements to the new Ace Ultra in this regard.

The new over-ears offer standard full ANC alongside a more transparent ‘Aware Mode’. Within Aware Mode, you can also choose to toggle a Voice Boost setting which, as the name suggests, spotlights external voices to keep you aware of, say, announcements on public transport.

Sonos has pledged that the new headphones are twice as effective at blocking unwanted noise compared with the original Ace, with the Ace Ultra housing 10 microphones – up from eight – backed by an adaptive ANC system that continuously monitors your surroundings to deliver the best experience possible.

Such efforts have paid dividends. The Ace Ultra have dramatically closed the gap between their Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) rivals, so that the general hum and rush of the outside world is impressively damped down – if not completely removed – when donning the Ace Ultra.

Piercing highs and sonic boom lows will still penetrate your serene bubble, but this is a vastly improved experience, and the Ace Ultra do a far better job of making the clamour and clutter of environmental noise feel more subdued.

Nearby voices and general chatter are still audible, but rarely to the extent that they feel bothersome or overly intrusive. For quelling the general hum and pulse of the world as it turns, though, the Ace Ultra are up to scratch, and certainly a good deal better than the original Ace.

Call quality is capably handled, too, but it doesn’t quite keep pace with the headphones’ improved noise cancelling. Taking our Sonos test pair out for a call next to a busy main road reveals the headphones’ capacity to make voices sound clear and well spotlighted, but they let in a good deal more environmental noise than the more isolating Sony WH-1000XM6.

Sound

This is more like it.

While the original Ace’s rather lacklustre sound was something of a damp squib, the new Ace Ultra are a firm step in the right direction. Sonos hasn’t arrived at the enlightened echelons of sonic Nirvana just yet, but it has imprinted a few eager footsteps on the path to better audio.

While the original Ace sounded timid, almost apologetic in their presentation, the Ace Ultra benefit from a much-needed dose of self-belief. These headphones sound far more self-assured than their de facto predecessors, with a rich, full-bodied sound that brings a muscular, confident presence to the tunes we feed them.

That newfound punch and power comes to the fore during a listen to Björk’s Army Of Me which, through the Ace Ultra, pulsates with a raw and assertive energy befitting the track’s original intent. The premium cans grant that massive drum beat perceptible heft, while Björk’s insistent calls that “if you complain once more / you’ll meet an army of me” have the weight and urgency to have us rethinking our current life choices.

This isn’t the subtlest presentation you’ll ever hear – and certainly not as insightful or layered as the breathtakingly detailed Sennheiser HDB 630 – but the fullness of the Ace Ultras’ delivery is undeniably satisfying, like a big old burger shovelled down after a rowdy night on the town.

Instrumental textures are weighty and assured, and while the HDB 630 fill in the gaps in between with more delicacy and precision, the Sonos have enough textural insight to feel adequately well-rounded. To return to our burger analogy, you can discern the taste of sharp pickles and tangy onions as opposed to nothing but fat, meaty beef.

That bottom bun isn’t too soggy, either, by which we mean the Sonos over-ears do well to keep their bass reproduction in check. The Ace Ultra aren’t short on lower-end clout, yet they do well to prevent those bass frequencies from sounding rumbly or lacking definition.

A wired connection helps to further firm up the bass just a tad, with a physical tether giving the Sonos over-ears a slightly lighter, clearer presentation than via Bluetooth. It isn’t night and day by any means, but it feels as though the Ace Ultra are painting with a finer, lighter brush when listening with the provided cables.

Wired or wireless, though, the Ace Ultra aren’t quite the finished article. Rhythmically, they’re not the most agile premium headphones we’ve ever clamped over our ears, nor are they the most precise. Leading edges of notes don’t cut through with the razor-sharp precision of the Sennheiser HDB 630 or Sony WH-1000XM6, robbing Stevie Wonder’s Higher Ground of its peppy potential when played via the Ace Ultra.

Dynamically, there’s also room for improvement, and while we can’t fault the headphones’ power, everything tends to sound a little one-size-fits-all. Listening to Hans Zimmer’s Jack Sparrow from the Pirates Of The Caribbean soundtrack highlights this comparative deficiency, as those raucous, swooping strings aren’t quite communicated with the jaunty abandon as befits the track’s off-kilter namesake.

Again, the class leaders from Sennheiser and Sony are simply more expressive and engaging in this regard, delighting in how they reproduce every arcing rise and swooping fall of the strings as they swell and break throughout the Pirates score. The Ace Ultra are the gentle lapping of waves on a shore – their rivals, by contrast, are like a cresting musical tsunami.

Verdict

The Sonos Ace Ultra are a significant improvement on the original three-star Ace. They haven’t reached that fifth star yet, but thanks to their powerful sound, improved noise cancelling and compatibility with the wider Sonos ecosystem, this is a far more compelling demonstration that Sonos could one day contend with the best of Sony, Sennheiser and Bowers & Wilkins.

If you’re a devotee needing a pair of wireless headphones to go with your Sonos soundbars and wireless speakers, we wouldn’t dissuade you from adding the Ace Ultra to your collection.

Review published: 22nd September 2026

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Build 4
• Features 5

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Bose's Ultra Open Earbuds may go down as some of the most important wireless earbuds of their time.

They're not the best-sounding buds you can buy for £299 / $299 /AU$449, nor are they the most feature-laden, but given the market's trajectory over the past few years, it's hard to ignore their substatantial influence.

Since the Ultra Open Earbuds launched in early 2024, various brands, including Huawei, JBL, Shokz and Sennheiser, have tried to emulate their off-ear design, all to varying degrees of success and acclaim.

Bose wasn't the first brand to make an open pair of earbuds, but it was one of the first to show that the concept could really have legs, with the US brand's original effort standing tall as one of the best of its type we've ever tested.

With their blend of unobtrusive comfort and surprisingly satisfying sound quality, Bose's trailblazers remain the finest exemplar of what the rapidly expanding open market can be. Having lived with the Bose Ultra Open, I know just what they're capable of.

Bose has recently announced a sequel, the Ultra Open Earbuds (2nd Gen), and in my book, that's cause for celebration. Despite their imperfections, I've always been in the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds' corner, with a second-gen sequel representing the ideal opportunity to rectify the quirks and missteps of the fantastic yet flawed first-gen buds.

Second time's a charm

Before we get to that, we need to understand what makes Bose's original open effort so impressive, and to do that, we must understand what they were designed to do in the first place.

The thing is, not everyone likes the feel of a traditional pair of wireless earbuds, especially when it comes to having a foam or silicone tip burrowing into their ear canal.

For some users, they can become uncomfortable over time, while for others, they can fall out or cause discomfort during exercise. In-ears also tend to isolate you from the outside world, so for those of us who spend time running on busy roads, dodging traffic and pedestrians as we go, the idea of a more aware alternative is appealing.

Just the other day, I stepped out into what I thought was a quiet country lane during a quick 5K, only to jump like a stabbed rat back onto the verge upon realising that a pick-up truck the size of a tank had been there the entire time. With open buds, such risks are negated by virtue of having more environmental noise filtering into your ears, keeping you more attuned to your surroundings as a result.

For runners, gymgoers and ordinary wearers with sore ears, the Ultra Open Earbuds solved most of their problems, providing a comfortable 'clip-on' fit that rarely became wearing or unstable no matter where we went or what we were doing.

They sounded good, too, with a far meatier and more detailed signature than almost any open pair before or since. They were, in essence, the most viable alternative to the established in-ear configuration that we'd yet heard.

Open to improvements

Despite their clear virtues, the Ultra Open Earbuds were not, and indeed are not, without their quirks and quibbles.

For starters, they're still a sonically compromised pair of earbuds. Despite Bose's best efforts, sound quality is always going to suffer if you don't have a sealed fit, and while the Ultra Open Earbuds exhibit a musical, entertaining sound with a good sense of timing and decent cohesion, they're not the clearest or most insightful performers you'll find at this kind of money.

Speaking of money, Bose's trailblazers were simply far too expensive at launch. When they arrived in 2024, the buds would set you back £299 / $299 / AU$449, meaning that they were essentially going up against not only Bose's own QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (£300 / $299 / AU$450) but Sony's flagship WF-1000XM5 (£259 / $299 / AU$419) and the staggeringly popular AirPods Pro 2 (£249 / $249 / AU$399). That's a premium price tag for earbuds without noise cancelling or class-leading sound.

Thankfully, it looks as though at least one of my rather specific prayers has been answered. While writing about my experiences with Bose's open hopefuls at the time, I wrote that, "While I still support the open concept, I don't think its comfort benefits make up for the inevitable sonic sacrifices it incurs. Drop it down by £100 / $100 / AU$150? That's a different story."

And wouldn't you know it? That's exactly what Bose has done. The Ultra Open Earbuds are set to launch at a far more reasonable £180 / $199 / AU$350, with discounts that are almost exactly in keeping with my own requests. Does Bose religiously read my articles? Do I influence corporate policy? If so, can we get a sequel to the SoundLink Max Bluetooth speaker, please, and maybe a branded T-shirt while you're at it?

Money aside, any sonic improvements to the second-gen open buds are always gladly received. Lower-end frequencies are always going to be compromised when you don't have a proper seal, but any improvements to the quality of the bass from the sequel would be more than welcome.

There's power and weight to the original Ultra Open Earbuds, but as I wrote at the time, there's a hollowness that put me in mind of a "bucket being hit at the bottom of a well". Filling in those textures with more richness and authenticity would really complement the excellent sonic foundation Bose has already built.

Bose has teased “improved sound and call quality" for its sophomore effort, with the second-generation earbuds also using newly engineered drivers to deliver “deeper bass and higher volume” than their predecessors. Someone at Bose has definitely been reading my letters to Santa...

Great sound and a comfortable, easygoing fit, all for a much lower price? I'm listening.

Do you know why I like the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds so much? Competent innovation. Bose tried to do something different with its trailblazing buds, but rather than simply relying on the open gimmick to shift units, they doubled down on a decidedly premium product that, while somewhat overpriced, had the quality to back up its innovation.

It isn't just the fact that the Ultra Open Earbuds are different – it's that they're genuinely good at what they do. Not perfect, but a very admirable first effort.

While many rivals have tried to emulate its success, Bose's effort remains the best of its type that we've heard over the past five-or-so years. The Ultra Open Earbuds are the most viable alternative to traditional in-ear alternatives, and now that Bose has dropped the price and is teasing serious sonic upgrades, the sequel could well prove to be a five-star success.

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There is no singular perfect album for testing a pair of headphones. Of course, certain recordings have earned a legendary reputation among hi-fi enthusiasts – Steely Dan’s Aja or Massive Attack’s Mezzanine, for instance – but it would hardly be appropriate, nor particularly enjoyable, to listen to the same tracks, time and time again, with each new product that enters the What Hi-Fi? test rooms.

A perk of the perpetual hunt for stimulating and effective test tracks is that you sometimes stumble upon pieces of music that leave a lasting impression. A recent personal example involves the avant-garde compositions of Ivan Wyschnegradsky.

Before we delve into Wyschnegradsky’s work, a bit of background on the man himself, who was almost as peculiar as his music.

Born in Saint Petersburg in 1893, Wyschnegradsky studied harmony, composition and orchestration as a young man, before entering law school. But before he would complete his law studies, at the age of 23, Wyschnegradsky experienced a ‘spiritual vision’, which is said to have inspired most of his later work.

Composition alone, however, would prove insufficient to convey his mystical experience.

Alongside music, Wyschnegradsky wrote theoretical articles. One of which, titled La Loi de la Pansonorité (The Law of Pansonority), outlined his belief that music represented a separation of sounds from a continuous fabric of the universe. This separation, the composer believed, rendered musical art "artificial and anti-continuous”.

In his efforts to rectify the situation, and draw closer to a “pansonorous” music, he adopted some interesting tactics, including tuning two pianos a quarter-tone apart – half the size of the smallest traditional step between piano keys.

And that is exactly what you can expect to hear throughout Étude Sur Les Mouvements Rotatoires, 24 Préludes.

So, why does this strange product of divine afflatus make such a good test for a pair of headphones? I think it has something to do with unfamiliarity.

In the midst of unusual scales, chords that sound almost, but not quite, out of tune, and occasionally violent staccato rhythms, one's ear (at least for those accustomed to the western musical tradition) is drawn out of its comfort zone and into a state of heightened alertness.

Suddenly, properties of the music beyond the melody, such as rhythm, dynamics and the spatial qualities of the recording, become auditory anchors. Holding on to them for dear life, you are likely to notice certain crucial, but all-too-often overlooked features of your headphones’ performance.

In the first of the 24 Préludes Dans L'Échelle Chromatique Diatonisée À 13 Sons, Op. 22, En Quarts De Ton Pour Deux Pianos, the swelling glissandos ought to convey a pulse-like rhythm, if your headphones’ dynamic response is up to scratch. Similarly, busy parts in the bass and abrupt discordant stabs will test how your cans keep up with rhythms and fast transients across the frequency spectrum.

In the third Prélude, weighty, somber chords should drag you along with their galumphing rhythm. The main melody of this piece, which draws somewhat closer to conventional harmony, but with a jazzy slant, should let the headphones’ midrange sing, as rich piano notes interact, warbling and beating while their pitches converge.

The fourth Prélude provides an altogether more energetic test than the third, with a defined beat and booming low-frequencies. While the two pianos veer occasionally into more chaotic rhythms, there should be a clear sense of pulse here. If your toes are tapping, as they will surely be relieved to do after a sombre start, that’s a good sign that your headphones are providing a low frequency kick with plenty of rhythmic acuity.

Further on in the album, the 16th Prélude begins with a sparse, melancholic melody. Thanks to the conservative use of chords at the start of this piece, the reverberation surrounding each note is clear and provides a palpable sense of the space in which it was recorded. Dynamically sensitive and texturally detailed headphones will shine with this track, offering a moment of tranquil immersion.

It must be said that this is not exactly a workout album (besides the fourth Prélude, which could probably work quite well for those intent on pumping iron to 20th century classical music).

But for anyone looking to explore a particularly strange corner of avant-garde classical composition, or hoping to put a new pair of cans to the test with something more than a little bit different, Ivan Wyschnegradsky’s Étude Sur Les Mouvements Rotatoires, 24 Préludes could be just the ticket.

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FiiO has introduced its new flagship planar magnetic over-ear headphones, the FT15.

Following in the footsteps of the brand's established FT5 cans, FiiO bills the new over-ears as being aimed squarely at listeners "who want to explore the detail in their favourite recordings".

The FT15 use a set of 101mm planar drivers which, thanks to their generous surface area, aim to provide a "broad, open soundstage" with a tangible sense of scale. Central to the driver is an ultra-thin diaphragm, designed "to respond rapidly to the music" and provide a "precise, refined reproduction".

A diamond coating is added across the face of the diaphragm to increase rigidity, creating a blend of stiffness and lightness in pursuit of more accurate driver movement.

The drivers also feature FiiO's own uniform 'magnetic field' design, which employs custom contoured, high-strength magnets to help suppress diaphragm breakup and distortion for a cleaner, purer audio signature.

The headphones' cable uses monocrystalline copper and is cryogenically treated for a smoother signal transfer. The FT15 include a 4.4mm balanced connection, alongside 6.35mm and XLR-4 adapters, to give greater flexibility across a range of sources such as DACs and headphone amplifiers.

The FT15’s earcups are made from black walnut, so that each pair has its own unique appearance thanks to the variations in the wood's natural grain.

A carbon fibre headband complements the cans' wooden construction, chosen to keep the headphones' overall weight down to facilitate greater listener comfort.

The FiiO FT15 are available now, priced at £499 / $500 / €500. We don't get many planar headphones through our doors, but in terms of open-backed designs, the F15 sit between the Award-winning Grado SR325x (£250 / $250) and the superb Beyerdynamic T1 (3rd Generation) (£699).

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Bose has expanded its open-ear range with the new Bose Sport Open Earbuds and a second-generation sequel to the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds.

The US brand says the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds (2nd Gen) offer its flagship open-ear experience, while the Sport Open Earbuds have been “engineered for running, workouts and outdoor adventures”.

Central to both new models is a completely open design, which combines a transducer with a “tightly controlled acoustic structure” to deliver sound “precisely to your ear with minimal leakage”.

Unlike bone conduction designs, Bose says the earbuds “deliver sound through the air near the ear… resulting in fuller, more natural sound with a comfortable, pressure-free fit”.

The new Open earbuds have been designed with environmental awareness in mind, and as you might expect from open buds, neither offers active noise cancellation.

The Bose Sport Open Earbuds use custom-designed dynamic drivers to deliver “full, balanced audio”. The earbuds feature a C-shaped, flexible cuff with a matte silicone finish, which wraps around the ear for a stable fit, remaining “comfortable and secure” during workouts.

The Ultra Open Earbuds (2nd Gen) also build on the cuff-shaped design of their first-generation predecessors, teasing “improved sound and call quality”, an expanded feature set – including immersive audio settings – and a longer battery life.

The second-generation earbuds also use newly engineered drivers to deliver “deeper bass and higher volume” than their predecessors.

Both models feature Bose's AI-driven Speech Clarity technology that separates human voices from background noise, bringing what the company calls “Bose’s best call-quality experience” to its range of open-ear earbuds. Both pairs also feature an Auto Volume function, which adjusts the volume of music in response to changes in background noise.

In terms of battery life, the Sport Open Earbuds offer up to seven hours of playback on a single charge, plus an additional 22 hours with their “pocket-friendly” charging case. The Ultra Open Earbuds (2nd Gen), conversely, grant up to nine hours of playback from the buds and an additional 19.5 hours from the case.

Both pairs support Bluetooth 5.4, with standard AAC and SBC codecs, alongside Bluetooth Multipoint for simultaneous connection to two devices. Both also support Google Fast Pair for quick and easy connection to Android devices.

Each set also offers the option to set up customisable shortcuts for Spotify Tap, engaging your phone’s voice assistant and cycling through Bose’s Immersive Audio settings (Ultra Open Earbuds only).

The Bose App can be used to control both models and features a three-band equaliser, Auto Volume control, and touch control configuration.

Both pairs of earbuds will be available in Black or White Smoke finishes. The Sport Open Earbuds will also launch in limited-edition Eucalyptus Green, while the Ultra Open Earbuds (2nd Gen) will be available in limited-edition Cherry Chocolate, Olive Green and Sky Pink colourways.

The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds (2nd Gen) will be available on October 1st for £300 / $299 / AU$450, while the Bose Sport Open Earbuds are set to launch on October 15th, priced at £180 / $199 / AU$350.

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Headphones, quite literally, come in all shapes and sizes, and are made in an equally broad range of materials. Alongside the usual plastics and metals, Audio-Technica has been making wooden headphones for three decades. Wood is not uncommon in the headphone world, and it is easy to see why: it brings visual warmth and individuality, but it can also play a structural and acoustic role. Each tree species has its own density, stiffness, grain structure and resonant behaviour, all of which become part of the enclosure surrounding the driver.

Audio-Technica’s approach has long been material led rather than one-size-fits-all. Since the ATH-W10VTG of 1996 — the first model in its W-series wooden-headphone line — the company has explored different timbers and finishes across its catalogue.

The limited-edition ATH-WP900SE is its most recent wooden-headphone release, based on the existing ATH-WP900 portable closed-back design. Aside from the visual and internal changes — which I will come to shortly — the most significant departure is the move from maple to solid ash. It is the first time Audio-Technica has used ash in one of its headphones, selected in part for its longstanding association with guitars. That connection is made explicit through the involvement of Japanese guitar maker Fujigen, which applies the three-tone sunburst lacquer to the earcups.

Build & design

I admit, I wasn’t familiar with the Fujigen name before this review, but I have of course seen countless guitars from other brands rocking attractive finishes. In the case of the Fujigen sunburst lacquer on the WP-900SE, it’s quite remarkable to see in person. The three-tone finish gives the solid-ash housings a depth and richness that is difficult to convey in product photography, while the grain ensures each pair will look slightly different. These really are a thing of beauty, and you would be hard-pressed to find a noticeable seam across the outer earcup enclosures.

The move to solid ash for the housings isn’t just for cosmetic purposes either. In a closed-back design such as this, the earcup forms part of the acoustic chamber around the driver — its material, internal volume, shape and damping can all influence resonance, airflow and, ultimately, the sound you hear.

Inside, Audio-Technica has made more substantial changes over the standard WP900 than the exterior suggests. The WP900SE uses a newly developed 53mm dynamic driver, paired with a revised voice coil, reworked ventilation behind the driver and a redesigned acoustic port. The driver is also set at an angle towards the ear, a configuration intended to improve the relationship between driver, ear and earcup seal.

Audio-Technica says the changes improve linearity, reduce asymmetric diaphragm movement and unwanted resonance, and give bass notes greater control. The new headphone has also been tuned with the attack, texture and sustain of stringed instruments — particularly guitar — in mind.

The frequency range of the WP-900SE is quoted as 5Hz–50kHh, with a 37 ohm impedance, 98dB/mW sensitivity and 1,000mW maximum power input. It is therefore not difficult to drive in the traditional high-impedance sense, though it will still benefit from a capable source. I primarily used a MacBook Pro feeding a Chord Mojo DAC/headphone amplifier, which provided a clean, controlled starting point. I also listened via the headphone output of Marantz’s CD 50n network CD player.

Elsewhere, the WP900SE’s construction is predominantly plastic, so there is some expected creaking as the earcups swivel. And while this does help to keep the headphones light — they come in at approximately 235g — it can mean they don’t necessarily feel their $1,199 price tag. I certainly didn’t from my first impression alone. I have handled less expensive models that feel more overtly premium before a note is played.

The clamping force is well judged, while the combination of memory foam and synthetic leather on both the headband and the earcups keeps the WP900SE comfortable over extended listening sessions. What I also appreciate is the size of the earcup opening, as it completely enveloped my ears. Too often have I worn over-ear headphones where the ear cups either still slightly push down on my ears, or the cut out is a little too small and so squishes my ears from the sides. Hats off to the Audio-Technica design team, then, for producing a genuinely comfortable set of cans.

There is also a generous range of headband adjustment, with clearly stepped increments on each side making it easy to match the fit precisely. The closed-back earcups and generous pads provide a worthwhile amount of passive isolation, helping to reduce the distraction of nearby household noise. There is no active noise cancellation, however, so don’t expect the WP900SE to completely block out the world around you.

Indeed, in my testing, whilst listening at my desk at home, I could still hear my partner talking on a call. I couldn’t always make out the exact words being said, but noise did still creep through. The Audio-Technica cans are therefore best considered a portable audiophile headphone rather than a direct rival to dedicated travel models from Bose, Sony or Sennheiser.

The swivelling earcups make the WP900SE slightly easier to travel with, although considering only a soft case is supplied, you’ll definitely want to be careful throwing them into a bag. Given the delicacy of the lacquered ash housings, a fitted hard case would likely offer greater protection.

Audio-Technica supplies two detachable 1.2m cables: a conventional 3.5mm stereo lead and a 4.4mm five-pole balanced lead, both terminated at the headphone end with the company’s A2DC connector. The latter will be particularly useful for owners of compatible digital audio players and balanced headphone amplifiers, while the 1.2m length means the WP900SE can be used as a genuinely portable set of headphones. A pouch, Fujigen cleaning cloth and handwritten serial-number card complete the limited-edition presentation.

Both supplied cables are sensibly chosen for the WP900SE’s intended use. The 1.2m 3.5mm lead is the obvious everyday option for a laptop, portable DAC or conventional headphone output — and indeed, the 3.5mm option was the one I used most with the Chord Mojo and MacBook Pro — while the 4.4mm balanced cable is a welcome inclusion for owners of compatible digital audio players and headphone amplifiers. Neither cable is overly stiff or unwieldy, and I heard no appreciable cable noise during listening. The A2DC connectors attach securely too, although their proprietary nature may make replacement options less straightforward than with the more widespread 3.5mm or dual-mini-XLR systems.

The real question however, is does the Audio-Technica WP900SE sound as good as they look? Let’s find out.

Listening sessions

The WP900SE were an absolute joy to use, not least because they prompted me to spend more time with artists that should already have been fixtures in my everyday rotation. Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, The Who and plenty more all found their way into the listening queue.

On several occasions, I actually had to remind myself I was reviewing the headphones, because I was getting so lost in what I was listening to. I’m no stranger to using headphones, but using the Audio-Technica pair was the first time I can immediately remember paying much closer attention to the music, rather than simply using a familiar track to isolate myself from the outside world.

Whilst I was shuffling through the aforementioned artists, the immediate observation I made was that the presentation consistently sounded clean, detailed and nicely weighted. The WP900SE also served up an inviting openness for a closed-back design, giving instruments room to breathe, while retaining enough rhythmic snap to keep the performances moving.

Take Elvis’ gorgeous ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ and his sultry vocal is given real body and intimacy, with enough texture to hear the subtle shifts in breath, phrasing and resonance behind each line.

There is enough weight behind each pluck of the double-bass strings to make it feel as though the headphones themselves are vibrating, which in turn lends the performance a more lifelike, ‘you are there’ quality. The backing singers can clearly be placed to the left, while the light taps on the snare drum and guitar occupy the right; Elvis himself remains solidly centred between the ears.

Naturally, I had to turn to home turf and spend some time rocking out with the WP900SE, so on went AC/DC’s ‘Hells Bells’. Brian Johnson’s vocals — or, perhaps more accurately, his screeches — cut through with just the right amount of bite. The Audio-Technica headphones handle the upper frequencies well, allowing that edge to come through without becoming overly harsh or fatiguing.

The reverb around the guitars is easy to hear, while Phil Rudd’s drums and Cliff Williams’ bass lines keep the track anchored, maintaining a clear sense of rhythm and layering beneath the vocal and guitar work

It is not quite the same story when the genre switches to dance. Listening to ‘Danceteria’ — arguably the best track on Madonna’s Confessions II, even if it lacks some of the je ne sais quoi of ‘Hung Up’ and ‘Sorry’ — the WP900SE reveals a slight reluctance to fully let go as the tempo rises. Madonna’s voice remains clear as day, and there is enough bass weight to give the track some physical presence, but the headphones stop short of delivering the sense of drive and excitement that makes this kind of music properly take off. There is rhythm here; it just feels a little too restrained to make you want to get down and boogie.

Conclusion

If the bulk of your music listening is vocal-led and rich in real instruments, the Audio-Technica ATH-WP900SE are a wonderful companion to have. They are capable of revealing subtle details in recordings and place an excellent emphasis on the midrange in particular. They can show signs of weakness if you stray too far from that formula, such as with bass-heavy dance tracks, but are, on the whole, an enjoyable listen.

They also look fantastic, with the Fujigen-applied sunburst finish making them feel genuinely special, even if the largely plastic construction does not immediately scream $1,199. Comfort is excellent, the supplied 3.5mm and 4.4mm cables are welcome, and the compact closed-back design makes them practical beyond the listening room — provided you can live without ANC and a proper hard case.

The WP900SE will not be the obvious choice for someone seeking maximum bass slam, wireless convenience or a true travel headphone. But for listeners who value vocals, guitars and well-recorded instruments — and want a portable wired headphone with real personality — the WP900SE is much more than a beautiful limited edition. It is a pair that makes you want to keep listening.

Tribit's latest wireless earbuds aim to bring a considerable stack of features – including active noise-cancelling – to a more budget-friendly price point.

The new FlyBuds C3 cost less than £50 / $40, yet they promise a feature set that Tribit hopes can surpass the Award-winning Sony WF-C510 (tested at £55 / $60 / AU$110).

Before we get to that, the new FlyBuds C3 promise high-quality audio from their 10mm drivers. Each bud also packs a six-microphone array and AI-powered noise reduction for handling voice calls, with Tribit promising clear call quality which spotlights human speech while filtering out background noise.

Noise-cancelling is on board, something we wouldn't always expect to find from such a budget-friendly pair of buds. The FlyBuds C3 offer standard ANC alongside a transparency mode for keeping you more aware of your surroundings when you're on the go.

Tribit's latest delivers up to eight hours of playback from the earbuds, dropping to six hours with ANC switched on. Those numbers rise to 35 hours of standard playback with the charging case in play, or 25 hours in total with noise-cancelling on.

Customising your experience is done via the Tribit app, from which you can access 10 preset equaliser modes, a fully customisable EQ, and an 'XBass' toggle for granting a bit of extra low-end punch.

You can also manage your Bluetooth Multipoint connections for switching easily between two devices, or toggle the buds' low-latency mode if you want a smoother, more responsive experience for gaming or watching videos.

Tribit has vowed to prioritise wearer comfort from its new buds, with the FlyBuds C3 weighing in at just 4 grams, making them even lighter than their 4.6-gram Sony WF-C510 rivals. They're also IP55 rated, meaning they can handle sweat, light rain and dust particles without much fuss.

The Tribit FlyBuds C3 are available now in black or white finishes, with an official RRP of £50 / $40 / €50.

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Sport-focused audio brand Shokz has launched its latest pair of wireless earbuds, the OpenFit Air 2.

Billed as a lightweight set of buds that blend a secure, easygoing design with "powerful open-ear audio", the OpenFit Air 2 are built for users who want an unobtrusive fit that won't get in the way no matter the length of your workout sessions.

Each bud is equipped with a dual 'Bassphere' driver system, designed to produce "rich bass" and a "full, expansive soundstage". For toggling your sound to your liking, four preset equaliser modes – Standard, Vocal, Bass and Private – are available.

Like the bulk of Shokz's established earbuds, the OpenFit Pro employ an open off-ear design, with an over-ear hook for aiding greater stability and security during runs and workouts.

At 7.2 grams per earbud, the OpenFit Air 2 are also billed as the lightest ear-hook buds that Shokz has ever made, and they should be protected against splashes of water and dust ingress thanks to their IP55 certification.

You needn't be caught out if you're on a long run and your mum calls you in for your dinner, because the OpenFit Air 2 incorporate a dual microphone system combined with an AI noise reduction algorithm to keep voices clear while reducing background noise.

The sporty new buds grant hours of playtime on a single charge, rising to 50 hours in total with the charging case in play. If you're in a hurry, you can squeeze three hours of listening time with a speedy 10-minute quick charge.

Further features include Bluetooth Multipoint for connecting to multiple source devices simultaneously, as well as Fast Pair and Swift Pair for a one-tap connection to Android and Windows devices respectively.

The Shokz OpenFit Air will be available from September 16th in Black, White or Ice Blue finishes, priced at £129 / $130.

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The new AirPods 5 are out now. Like their predecessors, they come in two variants, but unlike their predecessors, both pairs have active noise cancellation (ANC). So what's the difference? Well, the pricier pair have some extra features to set them apart from their cheaper siblings.

We've now reviewed the AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case (the pricier of the two new variants), and can tell you how they stack up against their predecessors, the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation. Read on and find out.

Apple AirPods 5 vs AirPods 4: specs comparison

Apple AirPods 5 vs AirPods 4: price

Before Apple's September launch event, price rises were heavily rumoured – the firm has recently upped its prices on certain products, after all. And while the new iPhones got a price hike, thankfully the new AirPods went the other way.

The AirPods 5 start at £119 / $129 / AU$219 for the base model, rising to £139 / $149 / AU$249 for the variant with the wireless charging case. Both of which compare very favourably with the launch prices of the corresponding AirPods 4 models (£129 / $129 / AU$219 and £179 / $179 / AU$299 respectively).

Apple no longer sells the 4 models, but you can still pick them up at other retailers while stocks last. At time of writing, the AirPods 4 with ANC are only £10 cheaper than the new flagship AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case, so there really isn't much in it. At those prices, we would buy the new model over the old.

Keep a look out around sales time though, when the price of the AirPods 4 with ANC could drop more steeply to shift stock.

** Winner: Apple AirPods 5 **

Apple AirPods 5 vs AirPods 4: design

The AirPods 5 are virtually unchanged from their predecessors in terms of design, but there are some tweaks.

The pricier variant of AirPods 5 have a slightly recessed area on the stem so you can feel the on-bud volume controls. Otherwise, they are nigh-on identical visually to their predecessors.

Both pairs of AirPods 5 also have improved dust- and water-resistance: IP57, compared to the IP54 of the AirPods 4 range.

Both the AirPods 5 and 4 have an open-ear design with no eartips. That means their fit might be an acquired taste – some people love it, while others struggle to keep them in their ears.

The new pairs weigh the same 4.3g of the AirPods 4, which makes them barely noticeable in your ears.

All in all, it's another winning design, as we found in our review. But do check the fit before you buy.

** Winner: Draw **

Apple AirPods 5 vs AirPods 4: features

The headline news for the AirPods 5 is that both pairs feature active noise cancellation. Whereas the AirPods 4 come in one variant with the feature, and one without.

Apple claims the ANC has been improved, and is now 50 per cent more effective than the same feature on the AirPods 4. It claims this is "the best ANC in an open ear design".

Transparency mode – which allows in some outside sounds to keep you aware of your surroundings – is also more natural, Apple says. And you can use a slider to adjust the balance between noise cancellation and allowing in outside sounds, which is a neat feature.

Live Translation is now available on both pairs of AirPods 5 (on the 4 range, it's only available on the AirPods 4 with ANC, not the base model). Like the AirPods 4, they will work with the new, more conversational Siri AI.

In terms of battery life, the AirPods 5 are disappointing. The cheaper model offers four hours of use, while the model with the wireless charging case ups that to five hours (all with ANC enabled). Which is no improvement on the underwhelming figures from the AirPods 4 models.

The total battery life (including the charging case) is 20 hours from the AirPods 5, and 22 hours from the AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case. The AirPods 4 with ANC only last 20 hours, while the non-ANC model extend that to 30 hours.

The pricier model of AirPods 5 has a wireless charging case that works with Qi and Apple Watch chargers, while the cheaper model relies on wired USB-C charging.

The newer models also have all the features of the AirPods 4 range, including Spatial Audio, Conversation Awareness, adaptive audio and Find My features. They also run on the same H2 chip as the AirPods 4 models, and use the same Bluetooth 5.3 tech.

** Winner: Apple AirPods 5 **

Apple AirPods 5 vs AirPods 4: noise cancellation

Apple claims the AirPods 5 cancel 50 per cent more noise than their predecessors. While we aren't able to verify that exact claim, we can confirm that the ANC is very impressive, especially considering there are no eartips to help with passive noise isolation (i.e. bunging up your lug holes so no outside sound gets in).

General background noise like traffic and office chitchat is made much quieter, though higher frequencies do slip through the net. But the lower frequencies are definitely blocked more comprehensively than on the AirPods 4 with ANC.

The effect is much more powerful, too. Again, that's made all the more impressive by the buds' design.

We found the AirPods 4 with ANC's noise cancellation worked very well indeed. They get around the lack of a seal offered by eartips by targeting low-end frequencies. "The rumble of engines on the road, the grinding hum of trains, the exhaust fan in the kitchen – it all disappears. It’s quite impressive," we wrote in our AirPods 4 with ANC review.

While you're not encased in a bubble of silence as with the best noise-cancelling earbuds, they do cancel enough noise to make your music clear without the need to crank up the volume and potentially damage your hearing. It's also a much more natural and comfortable experience than some more suction-y forms of ANC.

In summary: AirPods 4 good, AirPods 5 better.

** Winner: Apple AirPods 5 **

Apple AirPods 5 vs AirPods 4: sound

The AirPods 5's new multi-port acoustic architecture and next-generation adaptive EQ claim to improve sound quality, with "richer, more detailed sound across a wider range of ear geometries". Personalised Spatial Audio should also be more immersive and dynamic.

So Apple says. But do the claims stack up?

Yes, but the sound is not without fault. You get the same trademark Apple sonic balance (detailed, agile, natural, open), but it's taken on a step from the previous generation. Not a massive step, admittedly, but the improvements are there.

We noted "greater extension and weight in the lower frequencies" in our AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case review. And the amount of sheer grunt these buds deliver is definitely impressive, especially given their semi-open design.

There's detail and spaciousness in spades, while highs have plenty of headroom and never sound hemmed in. The sound is noticeably more heavyweight than the AirPods 4, though sometimes that can tip the balance and obscure some of the finer detail of a track.

The AirPods 4 pleased us with their "clarity and detail, agility and balance, along with a focus on voices that make them immediately appealing to listen to," we wrote in our AirPods 4 with ANC review.

They offer plenty of space between instruments, with plenty of textural detail and depth. High notes soar without a hint of brightness, while they remain dynamically engaging throughout.

They do sound a little lightweight compared to the newer, weightier siblings, though their leaner sound is better suited to certain tracks – lending them a sweeter, more agile presentation.

The new model is an improvement, though some may prefer the delicacy of the AirPods 4's balance, with certain tracks, at least.

** Winner: Apple AirPods 5 **

Apple AirPods 5 vs AirPods 4: verdict

The AirPods 5 have more features, more power and more punch, which goes some way to overriding the compromises of a semi-open earbud design. They're not a massive improvement on the previous generation, but they do sound more satisfying.

Their weightier sound can tend to overwhelm the more subtle details in some tracks though, so fans of genres like classical might prefer the more delicate balance of the AirPods 4. Especially if the older pair drop in price, which we're expecting them to.

All eyes on the sales...

** Overall winner: Apple AirPods 5 **

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Read our Apple AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case review

And our Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation review

I test headphones for a living but can’t make sense of the AirPods 5 launch

It’s not often I’m left bemused by an Apple launch, but the recent unveiling of the AirPods 5, its latest ‘open’ wireless earbuds, has left me scratching my head. It just doesn’t make any sense.

You see, the AirPods 5, like AirPods 4 before them, come in two flavours. But unlike the previous generation, which were clearly distinguishable by price (there was £50/$50 between AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC) and by the cheaper model's lack of noise-cancelling, they have more in common this time around.

Both pairs now offer the same ANC, the same acoustic architecture, the same H2 chip, the same sound modes and the same IP57 rating. And there was nothing said during Apple’s video event to suggest they won’t share the same sound quality.

And this time around, there is only £20/$20 between the two models. Spending that little bit extra gets you better battery life and more useful features, so you can hopefully see where I’m coming from?

Maybe I’m a sucker for specs, but the AirPods 5 Wireless Charging Case as they’re known (and doesn’t that name just roll off the tongue?), just seem the obvious buy.

To me at least, it feels like you’re actually getting shortchanged if you go for the standard AirPods 5 model. And the fact that the cheaper model can only muster four hours of battery life per charge is verging on the laughable in this day and age, as one of my colleagues has already pointed out.

Having the volume swipe feature on the force sensor on the pricier model shouldn’t be underestimated either. This gives usability a big boost and is something I use all the time on my ageing AirPods Pro 2.

So why is Apple offering both? Now, who am I to question Apple’s business plan - they seem to be doing a pretty good job of making money without my input – but is it really cost-effective to be selling two pairs of earbuds so similar in price when one pair is at a disadvantage? I can't wait to get both pairs into our test room to find out which pair is the better buy.

What do you think? If you’re an Apple fan, do you find the cheaper pair of AirPods appealing, or would you rather just spend a tiny bit extra to get the all-singing, all-dancing model? Let us know in the comments below.

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