We are more than half-way through the year, so it seems like a good time to take a step back, survey the sonic landscape at our backs and take stock of what we’ve heard during 2026.
More specifically, which headphones we have had the privilege and often pleasure of hearing throughout the year. As somebody who works on the audio side of the great hi-fi/AV divide, I spend a lot of my time listening to headphones and earbuds, thanks in part to the fact that so many brands are desperately trying to make this massive market their own.
Whether it has been for reviews, comparisons or my own personal interest, these have been the headphones that have impressed – and occasionally frustrated – me over the past seven months.
A hero’s return: the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless
Where they excel
- Wonderfully rich, smooth and undemanding sound
- Chic, attractive design
- Very healthy feature set
Where they struggle
- Alternatives are more fun-focused
- Don’t fold away
At last, the Momentum Wireless have returned. The fifth iteration of Sennheiser’s heralded Momentum over-ear line has been a long time coming, so when they arrived earlier this year, expectations were high.
Happily, Sennheiser has managed to deliver the goods. The Momentum 5 Wireless are excellent premium over-ears, acting as a timely reminder to the likes of Sony, Bose and Apple that Sennheiser is still here, and, crucially, still up for the fight.
They are a little different to their competitors, especially in the sound department, prioritising a rich, smooth and refined presentation that can take a little while to warm up to. Once you click with them, though, you’ll find this to be a deeply rewarding pair of over-ears, especially if you like the sort of expressive, detailed midrange the premium Sennheisers so effortlessly exhibit. Oh, that midrange…
The earcups could feel a little more luxurious, the noise-cancelling isn’t Bose-beating, and having them fold away completely would be nice, but this is a five-star return for a brand that was just slightly in danger of being forgotten by the mainstream market.
Rivals, take heed: Sennheiser is back, and it means business.
The sonic standounts: Sennheiser HDB 630
Where they excel
- Unbelievably refined, detailed sound
- That aptX dongle is a gamechanger
- Comfortable, plush design
Where they struggle
- Pretty boring to look at
- Some might find them a bit bulky
- Not cheap
Technically, technically, we reviewed the Sennheiser HDB 630 last year; but the supremely gifted premium headphones only landed on my desk in 2026, so I think I’m still on relatively firm ground when I say that they are, unequivocally, the best wireless headphones I’ve heard this year.
Scratch that: they might be some of the best wireless cans I have ever heard, full stop. They might not look particularly special, but the sound they produce certainly is.
£400 / $500 / AU$1000 isn’t pocket change, I grant you, but our entire test team is rarely so effusive when it comes to heaping praise upon a product. From top to bottom, we are huge admirers of the HDB 630 – and if you hear them for yourselves, you’ll understand exactly why.
They are fun, dynamically adept and musically expressive – all ingredients that make listening to any set of over-ears a joy – but it’s the amount of textural detail and sonic precision the HDB 630 exhibit that really leaves us feeling bowled over. These are headphones that make the masterful Sony WH-1000XM6 sound almost vague and a bit slipshod by comparison, and that’s really saying something.
Part of that signature comes from Sennheiser’s clever BTD 700 USB-C dongle that you plug into your device’s USB-C port to give it aptX Adaptive powers. This means that any source device, including your iPhone, gains hi-res streaming up to 24bit/96kHz, even if it wouldn’t natively support it. Really clever stuff.
Add in 60 hours of battery life, very solid noise cancelling and a luxurious fit, and the HDB 630 are 2026’s headphones to beat.
The tricky second album: Apple AirPods Max 2
Where they excel
- These are the best AirPods Max yet
- A lovely blend of style and performance
- Integration with iOS is a huge bonus for Apple fans
Where they struggle
- Haven’t quite kept up with the competition
- If you’re not an iOS user, forget it
I didn’t end up testing the Apple AirPods Max 2, but I did spend a good deal of time listening to them when making comparisons with the likes of the Sony 1000X The Collexion (below) and similar premium contenders.
And you know what? They’re pretty good. The AirPods Max 2 give you that familiar Apple signature which blends smoothness and refinement with a crisp, sparkling treble that lovers of the original Max will recognise, all boosted by better punch, dynamics and precision than their predecessors.
They are also incredibly easy to use if you have an iPhone, thanks to their native integration within the iOS ecosystem, and they still have that look and feel of a premium product that you would be proud to own. We can see why the Max continue to enjoy such a stellar cultural cachet – they just look the business.
They’re not perfect, admittedly. The Max 2 are better than the originals, but they have fallen behind more recent rivals for dynamic punch, rhythmic precision and overall insight. Plus, we just cannot abide that ridiculous carry case, and rather wish that the battery life had been boosted a bit beyond 20 hours. The Sony WH-1000XM6 give you 30 hours, after all.
The thing is, the AirPods Max 2 feel like six of one and half a dozen of the other. They are certainly some of the best headphones, in objective terms, ever made by Apple, a brand that has only relatively recently started to trouble the class leaders when it comes to pure sonic performance.
On the other hand, the Max 2 had a chance to close the gap on their rivals. Instead, it feels as though that chasm has widened a little. For their failure to properly keep up with the pack, some might see this as a missed opportunity for Apple.
The in-ear kings: Sony WF-1000XM6
Where they excel
- Sound is class leading
- These are the most detailed and refined WF-1000 earbuds yet
- So many high-performance features
Where they struggle
- That fit is not for everyone
- Nor is the new rectangular aesthetic
I have such a complicated relationship with the Sony WF-1000XM5 and, now that there’s a sequel, it is carried over to the Sony WF-1000XM6.
On the one hand, I really like them. I love how detailed, refined and musical Sony’s flagship buds are. I admire that Sony continues to push the sonic boundaries for its flag-bearing buds, and that it seems to improve their capabilities with every passing generation, both in terms of sonic performance and accompanying features.
The WF-1000XM6 are, in so many ways, the apex of what Sony can do from a form such as this, with a sound so textured and rich it practically glitters inside your ears.
My problem remains that fit. I couldn’t get the WF-1000XM5 to stay inside my ear holes, and I can’t get the WF-1000XM6 to do so either. Sony revamped the design of its sixth-gen buds, offering up a new charging case and dropping the teardrop design of the older model in favour of a more rectangular, boxy configuration; but it kept on with its memory-foam eartips.
It might be a personal thing, but I just cannot get them to stay put, especially if I’m walking, gymming or, heaven forbid, going for a run.
Fit issues aside, the XM6 really are something special. Of all the buds I have heard in my time at What Hi-Fi?, they rank somewhere towards the top, outshining the likes of the Technics EAH-AZ100, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) and the Apple AirPods Pro 3.
If you can get them to fit, breathtaking sound will be your reward.
The missed opportunity: Sony 1000X The Collexion
Where they excel
- Class-leading clarity, precision and detail
- That lovely spacious soundstage
- Excellent ANC and voice calls
Where they struggle
- Punch and dynamics are beatable
- Can’t justify their price rise over the Sony WH-1000XM6
- Exterior is prone to marks
Ah, what could have been.
Sony billed its super-premium wireless over-ears as being “the best-sounding headphones it had ever made” when it lifted the lid on the 1000X The Collexion (£550 / $650 / AU$900) earlier this year. While there's an extent to which we agree with that statement, there’s also a lot we find hard to endorse fully.
These are some of Sony’s clearest and most spacious-sounding cans – we’ll give The Collexion that. I spent weeks with the premium headphones clamped over my ears, and their clarity, textural refinement and cinematic soundscape impressed me every single time I booted them up for a listen.
For that clean, open ‘hi-fi’ sound, these really are among Sony’s finest, and that’s before even mentioning their admirable noise cancelling and excellent voice calls.
Across all parameters, though, are these Sony’s best-ever wireless headphones? I’m not so sure.
When you can get the Award-winning Sony WH-1000XM6 for less money (£400 / $450 / AU$699), and get a good deal more punch, dynamism and rhythmic spark thrown into the bargain, not to mention a similar battery life and better noise cancelling, it becomes hard to see exactly how to justify buying the more costly Collexion cans.
For the What Hi-Fi? team, The Collexion are a great concept, but we can’t quite square the execution with the elevated price tag. Like England at every major international tournament, we are left wondering what could have been.
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