Bose might be well-known for its noise canceling headphones and home audio products, but the brand’s outdoor-focused Bose SoundLink Flex Bluetooth speaker aims to bring similar quality to the trails. With a robust exterior and the ability to survive drops into water, this speaker seems to have the perfect set of features for adventurers.

Does it sound good enough to earn a spot on your carabiner?

Editor’s note: this Bose SoundLink Flex review was updated on June 26, 2023 to ensure the timeliness of the information within.

What’s it like to use the Bose SoundLink Flex?

The Bose SoundLink Flex can survive a dunk in salt water, but sand can also get through the front grille.

The design and build of the Bose SoundLink Flex reflect its intended outdoor use cases. Bose boasts its grille is steel and powder-coated, and it is indeed sturdy. Dropping it on the pavement will give it a few scuffs, though. Overall, the speaker feels solid, with no odd shapes or extra bits sticking out to snag on your clothes or vegetation while hiking.

Bose claims this Bluetooth speaker floats—that’s a stretch. If you were to drop it in a lake or accidentally kick it into a pool, you could quickly grab it again, but you can’t exactly play music in the middle of the deep end like you can with the UE WONDERBOOM 2. However, the ability to survive a quick plunge in water is useful because this speaker gets dirty rather quickly. It picks up smudges and fingerprints, and dust can get through the front grille—all things a quick dunk can wash off. However, once sand or other non-dissolvable debris makes it behind the grille, removing it is difficult—I still hear a little sand rattling around this unit whenever I shake it.

The Bose SoundLink Flex puts all its buttons on top, but there is no clear physical distinction between each one.

The Bose SoundLink Flex weighs only 589g despite the solid build, but it might add more bulk than you want for intense mountaineering. For leisurely treks and beach trips, however, it certainly won’t get in the way. A carrying strap on the right side of the speaker lets you attach the SoundLink Flex to a backpack, jacket, and many other items. You’ll have to supply your own carabiner or clip, though. It can also twist around and end up facing backwards, a position that muffles the sound. An integrated clip would avoid this problem, but also remove some flexibility. You can’t replace the loop yourself if it breaks or frays, either. Finally, you’ll find the USB-C charging input on the left side.

How do you control the Bose SoundLink Flex?

The control buttons go across the center of the top of the speaker. They’re mushy, and no backlights illuminate them, but the power and Bluetooth sync buttons have small white LEDs to indicate that the speaker is on and connected. The multi-function center button lets you play, pause, and skip content, while volume down and up flank it to either side. This looks sleek, but there is no physical distinction between the buttons. I’d appreciate more distinct controls—as it stands, it’s possible to accidentally tap the multi-function button when looking for something else.

How do you pair the Bose SoundLink Flex and use the Bose Connect app?

The Bose SoundLink Flex distinguishes between instruments and vocals well, which is good for listening to tunes at home with the speaker nearby.

The Bose Connect app (iOS/Android) syncs the Bose SoundLink Flex with your phone and other devices. It’s pretty easy to use. When you tap the “Bluetooth” icon, it lists your currently connected devices, other devices the app remembers, and a button to edit the list. Note, too, that the Bose Connect app is not the same as the Bose Music app that some of its other products require.

You can use the app to enable Party Mode, which allows two compatible Bose Bluetooth speakers to connect and play the same content. It’s not strictly necessary, though, as pressing the Bluetooth and volume up buttons simultaneously also allows you to connect to other Party Mode devices. You need to enter Party Mode before enabling stereo mode.

Within the app’s settings, there’s a product tour feature, which is useful for studying the controls. An auto-off timer is sure to be helpful for those who like to fall asleep listening to music. Plus, you can enable or disable voice prompts here. Pressing and holding the center button activates your phone’s assistant, but it’s not that useful, especially if you’re closer to your phone than the speaker. You could just say “OK Google” or “Hey Siri” to your phone instead. If you tend to stream content from a device farther away than your phone and don’t want to leave your seat, it could be useful (as long as that device has its own virtual assistant). There is no EQ in the app, so if you want to adjust your tunes, you’ll have to choose a third-party option.

What Bluetooth codecs does the Bose SoundLink Flex support?

The Bose SoundLink Flex supports Bluetooth multipoint, but it does not reliably switch between devices.

The Bose SoundLink Flex uses Bluetooth 4.2 and supports only the standard SBC Bluetooth codec. The maximum range according to Bose is up to 9 meters. While the speaker itself retains a reliable Bluetooth connection, the Bose Connect app is flaky. Sometimes it says there’s no connection even though music is playing through the speaker. Additionally, there is no aux input available if you want to overcome the shortcomings of codecs in general.

The speaker also struggles to switch between devices over Bluetooth multipoint. Like many other speakers and headphones, you must manually pause and play content; there is no automatic switching. As a result, sometimes the speaker never realized content had paused on one device and did not switch over to another.

How long does the battery last on the Bose SoundLink Flex?

The Bose SoundLink Flex supports USB-C charging, but there is no aux input.

Bose claims that the SoundLink Flex can last for up to 12 hours on a fully charged battery. There is a USB-C to USB-A charging cable inside the box, but you have to supply a power adapter. Our standard battery test uses music played back continuously with a 75dB (SPL) maximum output level measured 1 meter from the front of the speaker—the Bose SoundLink Flex lasted 11 hours, 59 minutes. That means Bose’s claimed battery life is quite accurate and the speaker will last a day at the beach or through a long hike in the mountains.

How does the Bose SoundLink Flex sound?

The SoundLink Flex struggles to produce any sub-bass notes, like all portable speakers of this size.

The Bose SoundLink Flex sounds fine for what it is: an outdoor speaker meant for the trail with a small group of friends. I also have a JBL Flip 5, and the Bose speaker reproduces all frequencies with relatively the same volume level compared to JBL’s speaker. This kind of frequency response makes it easy to hear all instruments on a track.

The main drivers are on top of the speaker, and the bass driver sits at the bottom of its backside. So be careful not to let this speaker sink into soft surfaces, or you may lose out on some low notes. Bose claims its “PositionIQ technology” helps the speaker detect its orientation to adjust the sound accordingly. Whether that’s a marketing spin or not, like any speaker moving through space, the sound will change slightly as it swings from your backpack, for example.

As long as you remember that most Bluetooth speakers aren’t for audiophiles with studio monitors, you’ll enjoy how the SoundLink Flex sounds.

Lows, mids, and highs

The Bose SoundLink Flex’s volume levels and design fit the use case of a hiking speaker well.

The South Asian-style violins in Duniya Te Pyar Mile come through without sounding too quiet or even distorted, which happens with many other speakers. Noor Jehan’s vocals stand out, and the bass drum does not mask the clapping. The strings of the sitar come through distinctly from the beats of Alla Rakha’s tabla and Prodyot Sen and Kamala’s tanpuras in Ravi Shankar’s Raga Khamaj. You might notice the lack of sub-bass notes at a party, however, because people tend to expect these when they think of dance tunes.

On the other hand, in the orchestral qawwali Man Kunto Maula as sung by Abi Sampa, Sampa’s vocals are easy to hear, but the handclaps that keep the time of another concurrent rhythm get lost. In fairness to the Bose SoundLink Flex, these claps usually only come through particularly clearly with an accurate pair of headphones, like the AudioTechnica ATH-M50x.

Can you use the Bose SoundLink Flex for phone calls?

The Bose SoundLink Flex does its best if it’s close to you, but it won’t energize a loud indoor party or big outdoor gathering.

Yes, the Bose SoundLink Flex works for voice calls. The microphone lets you leave intelligible voicemails, but it transmits pretty much all background noise. You can press the center button during ringing to answer the phone or hold it to reject the call. Pressing it during conversation ends the call. The microphone also works to contact your voice assistant when you press and hold the middle multi-function on the Bose SoundLink Flex.

There is no dedicated “place a call” button, however. Bose claims the SoundLink Flex can be a “speakerphone,” but to do that, you’ll still have to dial using your phone or ask your voice assistant via the center button.

Bose SoundLink Flex microphone sample (Wind):

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As of December 21, 2022, nearly 75% of votes fell into either the “OK” or “Good” categories with almost 1000 votes total. That’s pretty standard for most Bluetooth speakers.

Should you buy the Bose SoundLink Flex?

The SoundLink Flex is a durable speaker and a fine adventure buddy.

If you enjoy outdoor adventuring, throwing small parties, or singing in the shower the Bose SoundLink Flex makes for a good companion. It distinguishes between instruments and vocals quite well, and its loudness levels suit hikes in nature. Furthermore, the microphone and ability to pull up your voice assistant via pushing and holding a button are both handy. However, don’t expect this speaker to pump out enough oomph for a big party.

Bose SoundLink Flex Bluetooth Speaker

• IP67 rating
• Powerful Bass
• Highly portable

The Bose SounLink Flex is a sturdy Bluetooth speaker with IP67 rating for water and dust protection. It can travel well in your backpack and is loud enough for a mimi party and provides powerful bass to pump up your tunes. Bose is also using a feature called PositionIQ to ensure the speaker can be used in all sorts of positions.

$129 at Amazon

Save $ 20.00

$149 at Best Buy

$149 at Bose

$149 at Walmart

What should you get instead of the Bose SoundLink Flex?

The JBL Flip 5 is a similarly rugged and outdoorsy Bluetooth speaker, but note that it does not sound as clear as the Bose SoundLink Flex. You don’t get a microphone, but it is cheaper than the Bose. Heck, you can even get the newer JBL Flip 6 for less than the SoundLink Flex and you get the same IP67 rating.

The Clip 4 doesn’t include many features but it’s a rugged everyday speaker.

Similarly, the JLB Clip 4 is designed for outdoor adventures and boasts an IP67 waterproof rating. It’s smaller than the Bose and does not have a microphone, either, but it fits the niche of a hiking speaker and shower buddy quite well. Be aware that it cannot pair together two speakers as the Bose does. Bose also offers the SoundLink Micro, which has a microphone and a similar form factor to the Clip 4.

Frequently asked questions about the Bose SoundLink Flex

Google has created the Pixel Buds A-Series for those who don’t want to think about their earphones while using them. For a reasonable price, Google packs in a bevy of features like touch controls and a good fit into this Android-friendly set of earbuds to make productivity and life easier. When we first used the Google Pixel Buds A-Series, we found one significant flaw that might make you pause, but Google has since resolved this issue. How does this pair of budget earphones hold up to the competition?

Editor’s note: this Google Pixel Buds A-Series review was updated on February 21, 2023, to address a FAQ about updates and suggest the Jabra Elite 4 and Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro as Alternatives.

What’s it like to use the Google Pixel Buds A-Series?

Super lightweight, the Google Pixel Buds A-Series has a design that invites you to take it anywhere.

The Google Pixel Buds A-Series is cheerful in its execution, from the Tamagotchi-esque charging case to the lightweight earbuds with wings resembling bug antennae. This is the most achievable aesthetic when working with a somewhat budget product. White is the color labeled on the box, but it’s not a pun on translucence. They’re opaque with a G on the housing where the touch controls reside. Dark Olive is the other colorway.

The exterior of the Pixel Buds A-Series charging case is plastic, as are the earphones, with rubber hits where necessary. The rather flimsy lid doesn’t exactly inspire long-term confidence, but it hardly feels disposable. All told, it’s a pretty lightweight affair. It feels like Google has done you a favor by trimming excess weight, though I wouldn’t drop the case from great heights. The charging case has a USB-C connection, and I was surprised to discover it also has a magnet, meaning it won’t get yanked off your PC tower by the cable, and you can hang your niece’s artwork on the fridge with it. That’s pretty neat.

The compact case fits discreetly in any pocket.

The box and supplied guide provide very little information for a company whose mainstay is organizing information. I had to Google everything, including how to pair the earphones. Once connected, though, these are some of the most comfortable earbuds I’ve ever worn. The Pixel Buds A-Series is light enough that it sometimes feels like there’s nothing in my ears, and the earbuds’ pressure vents ensure long sessions don’t leave you with vertigo. It ships with small, medium, and large silicone ear tips, so you’ll have some leeway to figure out the right fit.

Equipped with an IPX4 rating, you can feel safe knowing you won’t destroy the A-Series during a sweaty workout. The buds can’t take a dip in the pool or officially resist dust, but this rating will save you from the occasional splash of water. Designed like a jack-of-all-trades, the Google Pixel Buds A-Series does a little of everything, aiming to be your one main set of true wireless earphones at a budget price. It almost achieves this, but it’s just too quiet (more on that in a bit).

How do you control the Pixel Buds A-Series?

With properly sensitized touch panels, you can control your music and field phone calls directly from the Pixel Buds A-Series, without the need to draw your phone. When you pair the Pixel Buds A-Series to an Android device, you can even access the Google Assistant with just your voice, so long as you download the Pixel Buds app (more on this in the next section).

The touch controls work effortlessly, though you can’t customize them. Google Assistant activates through voice commands or by pressing and holding either earbud’s G logo. On an iPhone, your mileage may vary, as you’re limited to out-of-the-box settings.

Should you get the Pixel Buds app?

Pixel Buds for Android devices clearly show features like battery life monitoring and how to access the A-Series functions.

You don’t have much choice in the matter: Google makes you download the Pixel Buds app (Android only). It automatically pops up when you pair the A-Series to your Android phone, and it’s one of the best aspects of these earphones. Seamless Android integration is one of the selling points of the Pixel Buds A-Series.

Like the Apple AirPods Pro series, you can track your earphones’ location, which is excellent for such a small item. The app lets you turn on Bass Boost, activate in-ear detection, and learn touch controls. It’s Google, so remember that it’s collecting data when you allow access to features like Find Device, which tracks the location of your buds. All of these features work as intended.

Adaptive sound is Google’s solution to noise cancelation.

Using the Pixel Buds app is the only way to adjust EQ modes and toggle the Adaptive Sound setting.

Adaptive Sound is available in the Pixel Buds app and compensates for the auditory masking that occurs naturally while out in the world by — get this — using auditory masking. This is a practice we all do already: when you’re in a loud subway, you turn your music up. These buds do it for you, turning up the volume of your audio as your environment gets louder and turning things down as it gets quieter. It’s also probably why the buds don’t have any manual commands to adjust the volume.

Other earphones use a combination of sound isolation and active noise cancelation (ANC) to solve this problem, effectively reducing how much noise is competing with your ears. By contrast, Adaptive Sound competes with outside noise by being louder than it. I have a real love/hate relationship with its implementation.

For phone calls, Adaptive Sound works well. Since many of us aren’t making phone calls from ideal environments, an algorithm that knows to crank the volume in response to a noisy truck driving by is smart — it lets you stay focused on the conversation.

For music, I find Adaptive Sound distracting. It wrecks musical dynamics because it’s like constantly turning the volume knob back and forth. If a song’s chorus arrives just as I leave a loud construction zone, suddenly, the music will sound disproportionately quiet as the volume drops in response to the environment. Finally, Adaptive Sound also turns on with a perceptible delay, which makes the volume changes all the more noticeable, and it’s best toggled off.

How does the Google Pixel Buds A-Series connect?

With a solid connection and integration with your Android device, the buds allow you to work or play anywhere.

It connects quickly and stays connected using Bluetooth 5.0. During subsequent uses, it easily connects to my Android device and maintains stability throughout.

Your Bluetooth codec options are AAC and SBC, which are okay, but nothing to write home about. Most people wouldn’t notice a difference between codec performance on the A-Series, particularly if you’re streaming lossy audio. It only poses a real problem when you introduce video streaming and latency, which is more difficult to predict from one device to another.

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How’s the battery on the Google Pixel Buds A-Series?

Google claims you get 5 hours of music playback and 2 hours, 30 minutes of talk time. A 90-minute phone call will leave the buds a little more than 50% charged. Our battery test yields 4 hours and 44 minutes with constant music playback peaking at 75dB(SPL), which lands at the lower end of the average for wireless earphones.

Again, it charges via USB-C but doesn’t support wireless charging. For that, you’ll need the newer, more premium Google Pixel Buds Pro.

Does the Google Pixel Buds A-Series block out noise?

The majority of the isolation is somewhat effective in the upper-frequency range.

It’s clear that isolation is not a priority of the A-Series, but then again, it never really was on any model of the Pixel series. The pressure vents might compromise the seal, even more so than other earbuds with the same technology, like the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro or Sony WF-1000XM4. Since these earbuds never promised any real isolation, it’s not surprising there is very little. Google has designed the A-Series to keep you aware of your surroundings rather than isolated from them.

How does the Google Pixel Buds A-Series sound?

The Google Pixel Buds A-Series sounds okay if your buds run firmware version 233 or later. Initially, the A-Series volume output was way too quiet before firmware version 233 (which we address in the next section).

Through the mids, the A-Series (in cyan) does a solid job but gets a little wobbly in the highs and seems to abandon the bass.

The A-Series has two frequency response options, one with Bass Boost off and one with it turned on. You don’t get any other EQ adjustments. Throughout the higher mids, the default setting follows our headphone preference curve (the pink line on the chart). The treble frequencies past 3kHz are a little wonky, while mids and bass below 400Hz are surprisingly quiet. If you could turn it up to an adequate volume, treble notes would sound too loud relative to the bass and mids.

One suspects this default frequency curve isn’t for music — it’s for speech. Imagine wearing the Google Pixel Buds A-Series during a Zoom call. You want to hear people’s voices and cut out the sibilance (those ear-piercing s sounds). Speech intelligibility doesn’t come from the bass region, so there’s no point in having an especially audible low end. If anything, turning down the bass means de-emphasizing the sounds of folks loudly jostling in their desks during meetings.

This might be the first time we recommend you turn on Bass Boost with any earphones.

Turning on the Bass Boost adds a bit more oomph to the audio. It adds a little more than the SoundGuys ideal, but this EQ is still much more suited to music than the other one. Due to the pretty neutral mids of the A-Series, I don’t find it too obnoxiously amplified, even with added bass. Maybe the bass and treble sound is a bit hyped for more analytical listeners, but some people like that.

Lows, mids, highs

With the default EQ, Free by SAULT sounds inaccurate on the A-Series. There is an overemphasis on the highs and a one-dimensionality that results from not being able to hear any low end. With Bass Boost activated, I can suddenly hear the kick drum, the bass line, and more emphasis on the pad synthesizer during the chorus.

All of this is, unfortunately, undercut by the fact that these are just about the quietest earbuds I’ve ever tried. The Google Pixel Buds A-Series is often too quiet with my phone, even at max volume. You’ll be constantly straining to hear things completely.

How’s the microphone on the Google Pixel Buds A-Series?

Tap the buds for touch controls, including one to play/pause, two to skip, and three to return to the previous track.

Each earbud has two mics, and they pick up voices well. Voices come through sounding more or less like how they sound in real life, with a drop in overall resolution. The buds also do a good job of blocking out external noise. They do such a good job that sometimes they might mistake your voice for noise. In the demo, the A-Series rejects off-axis noise from a fan, but with fan noise, it also cuts out part of the voice. In a quiet environment, this would not be an issue.

Google Pixel Buds A-Series microphone demo (Non-standardized):

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Should you buy the Google Pixel Buds A-Series?

While Android integration is excellent, and the comfortable wings make the A-Series a great proposition, it’s offset by the disappointingly quiet volume.

Unfortunately, many of the issues we had with the previous two iterations of the Pixel Buds series are still unresolved with the new A-Series, and this wouldn’t be our first choice to recommend. However, if you’re deep into Google’s Android ecosystem, you won’t hate these earbuds — you may like other pairs better. However, These earbuds offer some advantages over AirPods, especially when considering the A-Series has superior isolation. Whether or not it’s worth the money comes down to what you value in a set of earphones.

The connectivity is great and seamless. There’s integration for features like Google Assistant and finding your earbuds if lost. The Google Pixel Buds A-Series is lightweight and comfortable, which makes it easy to wear for long periods. However, the difficulties we ran into alongside some performance tradeoffs are things you should consider before buying.

Google Pixel Buds A-Series

• Terrific Android integration
• Low price
• Multiple fun colors

Rich sound, for less.

If you like the Pixel Buds line but think they are too pricey, the Pixel Buds A-Series should be on your radar. They have the core features you need at a price you'll love.

$93.02 at Amazon

Save $ 5.98

$99.99 at Best Buy

$99.99 at Verizon

$99.99 at AT&T

How does the Google Pixel Buds A-Series compare to the Google Pixel Buds Pro?

The earbuds have pressure-relief vents to mitigate any discomfort while wearing them.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro looks closely related to the Pixel Buds A-Series and comes in four colors (Coral, Fog, Lemongrass, and Charcoal). It also represents Google’s first foray into earbuds with active noise canceling. A $192.5 at Amazon price tag indicates that the Google Pixel Buds Pro is set to compete with the AirPods Pro (1st generation and 2nd generation), and finally go head-to-head with the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro.

The Pixel Buds Pro has a very different frequency response than the A-Series. With Google’s “Pro” earbuds, you get a uniquely boosted bass and treble response right out of the gate. You can’t create a custom EQ through the Pixel Buds app, and Google ditches Adaptive Sound in favor of a new Volume EQ feature on the Pixel Buds Pro. With Volume EQ, the bass and treble response changes as you increase or decrease the volume.

Low-frequency noise canceling is quite good and renders frequencies below 200Hz anywhere from one-half to one-twelfth as loud as they would sound without earbuds. The passive isolation is a bit inconsistent, and you’ll notice it’s harder to get a good fit with the Pixel Buds Pro than with the A-Series because the Pro earbuds lack any securing ear wings.

With ANC on, the battery life lasts just over seven hours on the Pixel Buds Pro, significantly longer than the Pixel Buds A-Series. When ANC is off, you can squeeze up to 11 hours of battery life from the Pixel Buds Pro, which more than doubles our Pixel Buds A-Series’ battery life. The case supplies an extra 13 hours of playtime (ANC on), and you can recharge the case via USB-C or wireless charging mat—the latter of which is absent from the A-Series.

The ear tips are easier than most earbuds to swap out and fit on the Pixel Buds Pro.

The earbuds have plenty of sensors that measure the pressure in your ear canals to mitigate that plugged-ear feeling. Other sensors take care of in-ear detection for automatic play/pause functionality. You can also enable Transparency mode to hear your surroundings. Google includes an IPX4 rating on the buds and an IPX2 rating for the case, meaning both are water resistant to some degree.

While the Pixel Buds Pro is double the cost of the A-Series, Google fans may find the new ANC, wireless charging and better battery life are all worth it. The fit feeling less secure on the “Pro” version maybe makes it less worth it if you plan on running.

Google Pixel Buds Pro

• Active noise-cancelling
• Android integration
• Google Assistant features

How premium sounds.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro are the first in the line to offer active noise canceling. Obviously, they also have tight integration with Android and tons of support for Google Assistant commands, including the popular translation features.

$192.5 at Amazon

$199.99 at Best Buy

$199.99 at Verizon

$199.99 at AT&T

$199.99 at Crutchfield

What should you get instead of the Google Pixel Buds A-Series?

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 is a good value for Android smartphone owners.

If the easy integration with Android and Google Assistant appeals to you about the Google Pixel Buds A-Series, try the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2. This runs for $109.99 at Amazon , with frequency response tuned by AKG and multiple EQ presets. Unlike the A-Series, we haven’t encountered any volume issues with the Galaxy Buds 2. With a capable microphone and decent ANC, it’s a solid choice for Android. If you have a Samsung device, it might be worthwhile to pony up ( $189.99 at Amazon ) for the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro for improved ANC.

Listeners who want a more affordable, more durable headset should look at the Jabra Elite 3 ( $79.99 at Amazon ). This pair of buds use Bluetooth 5.2, supports aptX and SBC, and boasts an IP55 rating. While the lack of AAC support is sub-optimal for iPhone owners, this is a great set of basic earbuds for Android smartphone owners. Alternately, if you want some noise canceling, consider the Jabra Elite 4, which goes for $99.99 at Amazon . These support aptX and SBC as well, but not AAC for Apple.

Frequently asked questions about the Google Pixel Buds A-Series

Skullcandy wants you to know that you don’t have to “flex” with expensive cans to enjoy active noise cancelation (ANC). Though it appears fairly plain, the Skullcandy Hesh ANC sets out to rival pricier noise canceling headphones. We spent a week with the Hesh ANC to find out if the headset succeeds.

Editor’s note: This review was updated on June 23, 2023, to add the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 to Alternatives.

What’s it like to use the Skullcandy Hesh ANC?

The Skullcandy Hesh ANC is an over-ear noise canceling headset made of plastic, with a memory foam cushion on the band and thick memory foam ear pads wrapped in faux leather. The ear pads fit snugly but are comfortable around my ears. Anyone with bigger ears may have difficulty with a proper fit. Interior ear pad dimensions measure just 40mm by 60mm. For comparison, Sony WH-1000XM4 ear pads are about 50mm by 70mm.

The ear cups swivel 180 degrees and fold up toward the band, so you can easily transport the headset.

On the right ear cup, you’ll find everything of interest. There’s a row of buttons to control media playback or answer calls, and below that, you’ll find a recessed port that houses the USB-C input and headphone jack. Unlike the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, you don’t get button and touch controls. Instead, the Hesh ANC is a tactile-only experience.

Skullcandy includes a 3.5mm jack cable for wired listening, as well as the shortest USB-A to USB-C cable I’ve seen. It also comes with a thin fabric carrying pouch. The pouch won’t protect from a tumble down the stairs, but it prevents the plastic ear cups from scratching up too much.

Track your Skullcandy headphones with Tile

The Hesh ANC comes with a carrying pouch, 3.5mm cable, and the tiniest charging cable.

Tile tracking integration appears on the Hesh ANC, which we’ve seen with more modern headsets like the Skullcandy Grind Fuel. You can pair the Hesh ANC to the Tile app, so you are always able to track it down, whether you left it on top of the fridge or on the bus. Tile needs to use location data to do this, so if you’re extra careful about privacy, pass on this feature.

How do you control the Skullcandy Hesh ANC?

The right ear cup has buttons for controlling the Hesh ANC.

The Skullcandy Hesh ANC has controls on the right ear cup, with a hollow circular button as the ANC button, a plus and minus button for volume up and down, and a multi-function button between the two. All buttons have a rubberized coating to help differentiate them from the headphone’s plastic. Our table below illustrates all of the buttons’ various functions:

How does the Skullcandy Hesh ANC connect?

The Skullcandy Hesh ANC has support for the SBC and AAC Bluetooth codecs.

The Skullcandy Hesh ANC connects wirelessly over Bluetooth 5.0, using the SBC or AAC Bluetooth codecs. When you want to tap into your lossless media library, you can use the 3.5mm wired connection. The Hesh ANC lacks a reliable high-quality Bluetooth codec for Android phones like aptX, but that’s expected at this price.

How long does the Skullcandy Hesh ANC’s battery last?

Skullcandy advertises a 22-hour battery life with the Hesh ANC, which is close to our test results. In our battery testing of consistent music output peaking at 75dB(SPL), the Skullcandy Hesh ANC lasts 22 hours, 58 minutes. This is longer than the Sony WH-1000XM4 battery life of about 20 hours, and the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 battery life is 21 hours. Like other headsets, the Hesh ANC has quick charging. You can get three hours of listening time from just 10 minutes of charging with the USB-C cable.

How well does the Skullcandy Hesh ANC cancel out noise?

The noise canceling cuts low and midrange frequencies, and passive isolation is average.

The Skullcandy Hesh ANC does a pretty great job canceling out noise for such a cheap set of headphones. I frequently run a loud portable air conditioner, and the ANC completely blocks and filters out the low droning noises.

The isolation is just okay, and I can still hear a lot of incidental noises like typing, snapping fingers, and clanking dishes. You’ll want to get the best fit around your ears you can to block out the most noise, and ensure optimal ANC performance. I can hear voices clearly when someone is right next to me with ANC on, though it’s a bit muffled.

How does the Skullcandy Hesh ANC sound?

This sub-bass response is much louder than we recommend.

The frequency response chart for the Skullcandy Hesh ANC shows a major boost in the sub-bass, and a big boost in the treble frequencies compared to our consumer target curve. This means low bass frequencies will be louder compared to the music producer’s intent, and this could result in bass loud enough to negatively impact the mid range frequencies. If you want to hear your music without excessive amounts of sub-bass enhancement, you likely won’t enjoy this frequency response.

Lows, mids, highs

Music sounds good through the Skullcandy Hesh ANC. With bass being boosted, genres like EDM or hip hop will sound a lot more bassy, and if that’s your cup of tea, you’ll really enjoy the sound of the Hesh ANC.

Last Nite by The Strokes has a pretty prominent bass line and loud kick drum, but there are no issues with bass frequencies masking mids or highs. The kick drum is enjoyably prominent, Julian Casablancas’ voice comes through among the bass line throughout, and the guitar part is still very audible.

The sub-bass in Lose Yourself To Dance by Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams is very loud through the Hesh ANC, enough that it’s a bit jarring. The song still sounds good overall, but the sub-bass is a bit distracting to me. If you really like to “feel” your music with heavy sub-bass, you’ll enjoy how Daft Punk and other EDM sounds with the Hesh ANC.

Can you use the Skullcandy Hesh ANC for phone calls?

The microphone does a reasonable job with the essential speech frequencies, and won’t sound at all “hi-fi”.

The microphone on the Skullcandy Hesh ANC isn’t the best, but it’s certainly fine for phone calls. When taking calls on it, make sure there’s not too much background noise, because the noise suppression isn’t that great on this headset. It does an okay job of suppressing background noise, but unpredictable sounds still make it through.

Skullcandy Hesh ANC microphone demo (Ideal):

Skullcandy Hesh ANC microphone demo (Office):

Skullcandy Hesh ANC microphone demo (Street):

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Should you buy the Skullcandy Hesh ANC?

These are affordable noise canceling headphones.

The Skullcandy Hesh ANC are fine noise canceling headphones for their price. You get effective active noise canceling, decent battery life, fairly muted aesthetics, and a comfortable build. Although microphone quality could be better, that’s par for the course in this price bracket. The sound profile will mainly appeal to bass heads and those willing to mess with a third-party EQ app, but it’s a small price to pay for an otherwise complete package.

There are a lot of decent ANC headsets out there, but this is worth considering if you don’t want to spend serious money.

Skullcandy Hesh ANC

• Good ANC
• Built-in localization app
• Memory foam ear pads

The Skullcandy Hesh ANC is an effective noise-canceling wireless headset. It has a 22-hour battery life and fast charging capabilities.

$85.99 at Amazon

Save $ 49.00

$134.99 at Best Buy

What should you get instead of the Skullcandy Hesh ANC?

Monoprice’s headset supports aptX HD and AAC.

One of the best affordable noise canceling headphones out there is the Monoprice BT-600ANC. It has great ANC and isolation, an amazing 36-hour battery life, and support for aptX HD. The sound quality is bass-heavy here too, but if you’re looking for super cheap and ANC, this is a great option ( $69.99 at Amazon ).

Another really nice noise canceling headset at a similar price point to the Hesh ANC is the Anker Soundcore Life Q35. It has LDAC support, a 52-hour battery life, and a bassy frequency response. The noise canceling isn’t quite as good as the Monoprice BT-600ANC, but it’s solid for the price ( $109.99 at Amazon ).

The Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 folds up to make it portable.

Skullcandy upgraded its Crusher series with the newest Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 ( $229.99 at Manufacturer site ). If bass is where you’re at, these deliver via a dial that directly controls the Crusher (low end volume) mode. Besides the hefty low end, the headphones feature noise canceling and a competent app too. Per-function buttons are fully editable and reassignable as well for the tinkers out there. Still, these are definitely bassy.

What is the best pair of noise canceling headphones?

The Sony WH-1000XM5 (left) diverges from the WH-1000XM4 (right) with its new headband adjustment system and cleaner design.

If you have more money to spend on noise canceling headphones, consider the Sony WH-1000XM4 ( $299 at Amazon ), or even the newer WH-1000XM5 if you’re feeling particularly flush ( $398 at Amazon ). Both headsets have top-of-the-line noise canceling and excellent sound quality, and great mics too. You can read how the two headphones compare in our detailed versus article.

Frequently asked questions about the Skullcandy Hesh ANC

Workout earbuds can be expensive, and it’s hard to know what features are worth your money and what features to go without. The latest entry to Jabra’s extensive true wireless earbud lineup brings active noise canceling (ANC) and a durable build for just under $100. Porting over the key performance characteristics from the more expensive Elite 7 Active, the Jabra Elite 4 Active cuts the frills by stripping out a lot of features the company considers non-essential.

Without many of the fancy bells and whistles that the competition offers, is the Jabra Elite 4 Active worth the money?

Editor’s note: this Jabra Elite 4 Active review was updated on June 23, 2023 to add information about the Jabra Elite 4, and to include the Beats Studio Buds Plus in the Alternatives section.

What is it like to use the Jabra Elite 4 Active?

The buttons on the side of the earbuds are extremely hard (and sometimes painful) to press.

Overall build quality of the Jabra Elite 4 Active is slightly less premium than the Jabra Elite 7 Active or Elite 7 Pro. Still, the all-plastic construction is typical compared to similarly priced true wireless earbuds. There are no ear wings and you don’t get a grippy coating to secure the earbuds in place, but Jabra includes three sizes of silicone ear tips in the box.

The shape of the earbuds inserts the ear tips deep into the ear canal, creating a secure fit in most people’s ears. The earbuds feel secure in my ears, but your experience may vary depending on your ear shape.

The charging case is slightly larger than other Jabra earbud models, but still small enough to fit in most pockets. You can listen in mono mode to a single earbud while the other earbud remains inside the case to charge. Wireless charging is absent from the Jabra Elite 4 Active, as is Bluetooth multipoint for connecting to multiple devices.

How do you control the Jabra Elite 4 Active?

The outside housing of each earbud functions as a button to control music playback. Unfortunately, the buttons require a lot of force to press, which shoves the earbuds into the ear canal, causing some pain or discomfort. Buttons along the top like on the Master & Dynamic series, or a touchpad might be a more elegant solution. There’s no in-ear detection to auto-pause your music when you take an earbud out. The Elite 4 Active doesn’t have any voice indicating pairing mode or listening modes—have fun memorizing what all the different beeping noises mean.

One of the more “budget” aspects of the Elite 4 Active shows in that you can’t customize the controls. Here’s what all the different combinations of button presses do:

Should you download the Jabra Sound+ app?

Jabra often adds features to its true wireless earbuds after launch, so it is important to download the Sound+ app to stay up to date with the latest firmware. Beyond installing firmware updates, the app also has a number of useful features and customization options.

From the home screen, you can toggle ANC or HearThrough (also known as transparency) listening modes, create a custom EQ, and see battery indicators. Digging further into the app settings opens up options to adjust the amount of noise reduction on the active noise canceling mode, or the amount of noise boosted on the HearThrough mode. There’s an option to adjust sidetone voice volume on calls, as well as the Find My Jabra functionality to locate the last location your earbuds were connected to your device.

How long does the battery last on the Jabra Elite 4 Active?

USB-C is the only way to power up the charging case.

In our battery testing of continuous playback at 75dB(SPL) with ANC turned on, the Jabra Elite 4 Active lasted 7 hours and 17 minutes. This is above average among true wireless earbuds, especially at this price. One upside of a longer battery life is that fewer recharges extends the overall life of a product. The charging case provides an additional three charges for up to 28 hours of total playback.

There’s no wireless charging support, so you have to plug in the charging case via USB-C to power up. Fast charging the earbuds provides 60 minutes of playback time from 10 minutes of charging inside the case.

What Bluetooth codecs does the Jabra Elite 4 Active support?

The 6mm drivers in each earbud deliver pretty good sound.

The Jabra Elite 4 Active supports Bluetooth 5.2 with aptX and SBC. This varies slightly from some of Jabra’s other true wireless earbud offerings, which often have AAC instead of aptX. In general, AAC offers better streaming quality on Apple devices, while aptX provides high-quality streaming on Android devices. SBC still works fine with an iPhone and I don’t experience any connection problems, but it seems the Elite 4 Active is targeted at Android users primarily.

Google Fast Pair instantly pairs the earbuds to an Android phone. Since there’s no Bluetooth multipoint support, you’ll have to manually connect your earbuds each time you switch devices.

How well does the Jabra Elite 4 Active cancel out noise?

Solid ANC pairs with good passive isolation to block out a significant amount of noise.

ANC performance is okay for earbuds in this price category. Sure, the Jabra Elite 4 Active doesn’t block out noise as well as the Sony WF-1000XM4 or Bose QuietComfort Earbuds, but these earbuds still provide a noticeable amount of attenuation to surrounding noise. What’s unusual is that the ANC targets noises between 100Hz and 4kHz, with not terribly much below 100Hz. Typically ANC works on low frequency noises, so those really bassy drones will receive little attenuation here. On the other hand, some of the more midrange and high pitched noises will gain adequate filtering out.

Since the ear tips insert deep into the ear canal, a tight seal passively blocks out a lot of ambient noise. Even without turning on ANC, most noise will sound about one-half to one-quarter as loud. Enabling ANC provides an average of an additional 5-10dB of attenuation from 100Hz-3kHz on top of the attenuation from passive isolation.

To contrast this, you get HearThrough mode, which pumps external noise into the earbuds so you are aware of your surroundings. The amount of noise added is adjustable from within the app, and you can also select whether or not activating this mode will pause your music. This feature is great for outdoorsy athletes, while the ANC is great for commuting. Both ANC and HearThrough allow you to adjust the intensity or volume (in the case of HearThrough) which is handy for times when you want a little, but not a lot of either.

How does the Jabra Elite 4 Active sound?

The Jabra Elite 4 Active (cyan) follows our target consumer curve (pink), with a slightly greater dip in the mid-range.

Out of the box, the Jabra Elite 4 Active has a similar sound to many other consumer earbuds. There’s no significant under or over-emphasis of frequencies across the audible range, and the frequency response roughly follows our target consumer curve. You ought to hear the majority of your music very well and without exaggerations. If you don’t like the sound of the earbuds, it’s easy enough to change the EQ preset or make your own using the custom five-band equalizer in the Sound+ app.

Lows, mids, and highs

In the chart above, the frequency response starts to taper off below 50Hz; this is at the very edge of the human hearing range and likely won’t be noticeable to most people. From 50-100Hz there’s a slight emphasis in sub-bass notes (relative to the other frequencies), which gives extra intensity to the 808 bass line in Cigarettes by Juice WRLD.

The earbuds under-emphasize mid-range frequencies from 200-700Hz by a couple of decibels. This is where the fundamental frequencies of most musical notes live, so vocals in tracks such as Kiss Me More by Doja Cat sound a bit quieter than they should.

The custom EQ allows you to adjust the sound of the earbuds to your liking

While high frequencies sound slightly more emphasized than mids, it’s not overbearing or painful to listen to at high volumes. The hi-hats in Toxic by BoyWithUke don’t sound out much louder than the vocals and backing ukulele.

How good is the microphone on the Jabra Elite 4 Active?

Microphone quality on the Jabra Elite 4 Active is adequate for taking calls, though you shouldn’t expect studio mic quality from these affordable earbuds (or any affordable earbuds, for that matter). As you can hear in the second microphone demo below, the earbuds struggle to attenuate background noise in a simulated office environment. People may fail to hear you on the other end of the line when you find yourself in noisy environments. Still, vocal reproduction is fine. For the frequent caller, the sidetone function will be especially useful to offset the oddness of hearing your muffled voice with isolating buds in.

As of August 25, 2022, 53% of readers rate the Elite 4 Active microphone as “good.” An additional 27% and 14% rate it as “okay” and “perfect,” which is slightly above average for true wireless earbuds.

Jabra Elite 4 Active microphone demo (Ideal):

Jabra Elite 4 Active microphone demo (Office):

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Should you buy the Jabra Elite 4 Active?

The Jabra Elite 4 Active is a solid all-around performer for athletes and us common folk alike.

While these earbuds may not have flashy stand-out features, the Jabra Elite 4 Active delivers where it matters most. Good isolation and decent noise canceling, along with a pleasant frequency response ensure you will enjoy how your music sounds in any environment.

At this price point, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any other true wireless earbuds that offer the level of durability and customization of the Jabra Elite 4 Active. Athletes and the physically disinclined alike will appreciate the all-around performance of these earbuds.

Depending on your ears, you may experience some comfort issues, especially when using the onboard earbud controls. You also don’t get some quality of life features like wireless charging or auto-pause, though at this price beggars can’t be choosers.

If you care about durability, sound quality, and blocking out all the distractions around you, go ahead and pick up the Jabra Elite 4 Active; the performance at this price is worth the money.

Jabra Elite 4 Active

• Bluetooth 5.2 support
• Active noise-canceling
• IP57 rating

Advanced audio engineering.

The Jabra Elite 4 Active are active noise-canceling earbuds that cater to workouts and other heavy activity. Their IP57 rating keeps them sweatproof and Jabra spent a lot of time designing the buds so they stay put in your ears.

$79.99 at Amazon

Save $ 40.00

$89.99 at Jabra

Save $ 30.00

$89.99 at Best Buy

Save $ 30.00

What are some alternatives to the Jabra Elite 4 Active?

Fast pairing takes much of the inconvenience away from pairing manually.

If for some reason you want something besides the many choices Jabra produces, you have some options.

The Beats Studio Buds Plus ( $169.95 at Amazon ) offer good sound in a small, lightweight, and comfortable package. Noise canceling performance sees an improvement over the original Beats Studio Buds. Unlike most other Beats, these buds are also OS agnostic, working just as well with Android as with Apple.

You might consider the Anker Soundcore Space A40, one of the best lower priced ( $99.99 at Amazon ) wireless earbuds with legitimately good ANC. These boast nearly 8 hours of battery life, good app support, and a fairly subdued default frequency response.

The Sony WF-C500 sports a good frequency response and a low profile case.

For music oriented folks, the Sony WF-C500 are not necessarily exciting visually, but it sounds very good. Its battery case is slim and the buds last an impressive 9 hours and 46 minutes to a single charge. As a straight forward experience, the WF-C500 is a great choice for a reasonable $58 at Amazon . However, it does not have any ANC.

To achieve a more secure fit and noise canceling, you can try the JLab Epic Air Sport ANC. Selling for ( $89.98 at Amazon ) around the same price as the Jabra Elite 4 Active, it features an over-ear hook design to keep the buds in. It also has AAC or SBC codecs, pleasing iPhone users. Rather than buttons, JLab uses touch controls (though they are imperfect) and it’s similarly durable with an IP66 rating.

What are some frequently asked questions about the Jabra Elite 4 Active?

Bose took active noise canceling (ANC) and made it mainstream but eventually, the market caught up. Sony has released consecutive ANC hard-hitters, with better features, better noise canceling, and better sound quality than the old Bose QuietComfort 35 II. Well, it seems like Bose was listening, because the Noise Canceling Headphones 700 is a complete redesign of its iconic product (and yes, that’s actually the name). The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 have a new design, improved sound quality, a touch-sensitive gesture pad for playback controls, and even USB-C charging, but should you get one of the best Bose headphones around?

We spent two weeks with the Bose NCH 700 and have kept up with its updates to find out if this is the headset for you.

Editor’s note: this Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 review was updated on June 20, 2023, to answer a FAQ and to update formatting.

What is the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 like?

In short: these headphones are a delight to use. There are a few issues but overall the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 is a great and powerful headset. The NCH 700 is lightweight, easy to use, well-built, and gorgeous. The Bose QC 45 and the Sony WH-1000XM5 are newer and outperform the NCH 700 in various ways, but if you want a gorgeous package with great sound and ANC, you’ll fall in love with this expensive pair of Bluetooth headphones.

You can now slide the ear cups into place thanks to the new sliding adjustment which seems more intuitive than the clicky ones of previous models.

The ear cups rotate a full 90 degrees so you can rest the headphones around your neck, but Bose swapped out the notched adjustment mechanism (still found on the QC 45) for one that lets you slide the headphones into place instead. There are no folding hinges, so you should use the included hardshell case when traveling. Unlike previous Bose headsets, the NCH 700 is made of more than just plastic. The headband has a metal construction that will make it much harder to accidentally break. But this is where the praise for the redesign ends because the Bose 700 headphones aren’t nearly as comfortable as the older QC 35 II.

The main reason for this step backward is the change in materials used for the padding. While the ear pads still use comfortable padding, they’re stiffer than the QC35 II cushions. This is great when it comes to isolating outside noise, but wearing the NCH 700 at my local cafe for a few hours results in my ears getting pretty hot. It gets to the point that I’m sweating when I remove the headphones. On top of that, the padding on the top of the headband has been changed as well.

A soft, rubber plastic replaces the microfiber-lined headband cushion of the QC35 II, and while it’s still comfortable it feels like a step backward. Plus, these no longer have folding hinges.

However, the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 is now rocking a soft rubberized plastic similar to the one found on the Beats Studio3 headphones. Thankfully, the padding here is way more comfortable than Beats‘, but I have the same problem where the plastic occasionally pulls my hair. Again, it’s still comfortable but that level of comfort that’s always present with the Bose QC35 II and even the QC25 before it is missing here.

How do you control the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700?

These have three buttons in total, one of which is for pairing, another is for controlling the level of ANC, and a third can activate Google Assistant.

The minimal design is reflected all over the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. There are a total of three buttons on the headphones and two of them don’t have any icons or labels, which I don’t mind since you can’t see labels when you’re wearing them anyway. Only the power/Bluetooth pairing button on the right ear cup has a small Bluetooth logo so you can tell it apart from the other two when turning them on. You won’t find any playback buttons here as they’ve been replaced with a touch-sensitive gesture pad on the right ear cup similar to that of the Sony WH-1000XM4.

Bose also made it so that pausing the music takes two taps on the touchpad, which is great. One of my biggest annoyances with touchpads is when the headphones accidentally register a touch and pause the music when you don’t want it to. By making the pause/play function a double-tap, it ensures that the music won’t pause unless you want it to.

Should you get the Bose Music app for the NCH 700?

Even with active noise canceling on max, the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 headphones still managed to pump out 21 hours of constant playback.

To get the most out of the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 you should download the Bose Music app (iOS/Android). It’ll walk you through the setup process and is surprisingly simple to use which is rare with headphone apps. If you’re on Android, you’ll get a little drop-down card to quickly pair with and hook up the Google Assistant all in a few screens. Once connected, you can do everything from adjusting the level of active noise cancellation (1-11) to renaming the headphones if you want.

One thing I really like is the ability to switch between devices in the app. As long as you can create an account with Bose, you can then switch between saved devices if the headphones are having trouble figuring out which one you want to listen to. If you’re listening to music on your phone and want to instead start watching a video on your iPad, you can select the iPad in the app. It’s been seamless and beats going through the settings of your devices every time. In the app, you can also choose which Assistant you want to activate when you click the custom button. You can choose between Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, or Siri if you’re on iOS.

How do you connect the Bose NCH 700 to a phone?

The microphones for the noise canceling can be seen on the ear cups.

The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 connects to your iPhone or Android phone via Bluetooth 5.0 and supports just the SBC and AAC Bluetooth codecs. You can opt for wired listening with the 2.5-to-3.5mm aux cable when you need to enjoy some lossless audio playback.

How long does the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 battery last?

When it comes to battery life, Bose remains on the conservative end of very good. While products like the Sony WH-XB910N can push upwards of 37 hours in our battery tests, Bose claims only 20 hours and we measured 21 hours, 25 minutes under these same standardized conditions. This is with active noise cancellation on the maximum setting too, so you might be able to squeeze some more if you lower the ANC.

In the app, you can also set a timer to have the headphones automatically turn off after a pre-designated amount of time. So if you take advantage of that too, you should be able to go a long time before you need to throw this back on the USB-C charging cable.

How long does the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 battery last?

With the latest firmware, the maximum ANC performance is very good.

The Bose NCH 700 has very good noise canceling, however, it can’t compete with newer headsets from Sony. That said, it’s impressive just how much the NCH 700 does to affect frequencies from 20-300Hz as this is typically pretty hard to nail. This range of frequencies will sound anywhere from one-half to one-sixth as loud as they’d sound without the Noise Canceling Headphones 700.

Passive isolation is also quite good here and will take care of incidental, unpredictable sounds like the clang of your roommate washing dishes or chatterboxes next to you at the cafe. Be sure to stay on top of software updates, because you’ll need the newest version to get the most out of your ANC with these headphones.

What do the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 sound like?

On the whole, this headset sounds good most media.

Now we can talk sound quality because even though the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 doesn’t have aptX — it still sounds really good. Most listeners will find the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 to sound a little more pleasant than the Bose QC 35 II before it because the NCH 700 treble response more closely follows our Headphone Preference Curve. You can adjust the frequency emphasis in the Bose Music app through a basic equalizer. Some people find this a little too simple, so you may want to get a third-party EQ app.

You can hear this nicely in the bassline throughout the song Sedona by Houndmouth which rumbles softly behind the vocals instead of overtaking them. Because of this, vocals in the mids sound great and are never eclipsed by what’s going on in the low end. The vocals in Midnight Blues by UMI sounds great, and the highs are also handled nicely, which you can hear from the bells playing behind her, which never get harsh.

In comparison, the Bose QuietComfort 45, on the other hand, has some high-end overemphasis. This means that the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 will sound better in most situations, as it won’t make cymbals and other sibilant sounds too painful or annoying. This may end up being addressed in a software update, so check back for an update down the road if you’re still trying to compare these headphones.

Can you use the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 for phone calls?

The microphone does a good job, and, the microphones here have clearly been given plenty of TLC by the engineers at Bose, and they pick up voices nicely as well. The low-frequency attenuation is purposeful and reduces rumbles and noise.

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 microphone demo (Office conditions):

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 microphone demo (Street conditions):

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 microphone demo (Windy conditions):

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Should you get the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700?

The new design is stunning, and this headset is an upgrade in almost every way thanks to the finely controlled noise canceling, the ability to seamlessly switch between devices, USB-C charging, and the touch-sensitive control pad. The NCH 700 even sounds better than the QuietComfort 35 II (for $329.64 at Amazon ) and newer, QuietComfort 45 (for $329 at Amazon ). It’s the spec and design upgrade that Bose needed, and moving forward the 700s aren’t leaving my head.

If you only care about owning the headphones with the best active noise cancellation, then you should get the Sony WH-1000XM5 (or XM4) because they are technically better. The Sony WH-1000XM5 (which sells for $398 at Amazon ) also has better codec support for high-quality streaming and has a much better microphone setup. That said, at least to me, the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 is clearly the more desirable product.

Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700

• Excellent ANC
• Lightweight design
• Rotable ear pads

If you want some of the best ANC you can get, Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 have you covered.

$379 at Amazon

$379 at Bose

$379 at Best Buy

What are some less expensive options?

Anker’s design, comfort, and noise canceling is all fairly impressive, but the headset falters with a subpar sound.

While the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 are great, there’s no denying that it costs a lot of money. Give Sony a shot if you’re not looking to spend that much. The (rather bassy) WH-XB910N (for $248 at Amazon ) and WH-CH710N (for $149.99 at Amazon ) headphones offer decent noise canceling, connectivity, and better battery life at significantly cheaper prices. Of course, you won’t have the same beautiful design or build quality, but you will still have a good chunk of change in your pocket.

If brand recognition rates as less important to you compared to functionality, check out the Anker Soundcore Space Q45, which boasts Bluetooth 5.3 relayed over SBC, AAC, and LDAC codecs for merely $149.99 at Amazon . Its sound quality is okay, and the ANC is quite impressive. It may look rather pedestrian next to the Bose, but it performs quite well.

Frequently asked questions about the Bose Noise Cancelling 700 Headphones

You may have heard of Final if you frequent audiophile stores or have been trawling the depths of the internet’s many discussions on niche audio products. If you haven’t, Final is a Japanese company with some appealing earbuds touting promising specifications. The ZE8000 tops Final’s lineup of active noise canceling (ANC) true wireless earbuds. We dive in with the Final ZE8000 to assess how well they work and if paying more gets you more.

Editor’s note: this is the first version of the article. Updates will follow as the market changes.

What’s it like to use Final ZE8000?

The IPX4 rating is suitable for sweaty days.

The Final ZE8000 are long-stemmed earbuds with touch controls on each stem’s flat, outside plane. They have a pleasant textured plastic finish available in black or white. Along with the buds, charging case, and cable, you get five pairs of ear tips with integrated stabilizers that fit like sleeves. These are easy to change to try out different sizes. I settle on the size small for both buds, but they don’t fit well and don’t create a good seal. Sizing up to the medium, the ear tips fit worse and cause discomfort but seal slightly better, and sizing down to the extra small, the ear tips themselves fit better but seal the worst. Having the stabilizer and ear tip in one means the fit will likely be a compromise. At this price, one expects more rather than less customization in fit.

In addition to the integrated ear tips and stabilizers, you get ten filters to fit over the drivers to keep dust and gunk out. A weighty metal tool is included to help change the filter screens. The dust filters are a nice addition for keeping things hygienic.

You get five different-sized ear tips with built-in stabilizers, a tool for replacing filters, and a USB-A to USB-C cable.

The lightweight buds stick out of my ears quite a bit. The controls react with decent sensitivity, although removing them from the case usually triggers a command accidentally, and there’s no in-ear detection. It seems like an oversight with such a long stem to place the capacitive surface right outside of where the buds fit into your ear. Alternative input methods would prevent you from hearing the thump of the touch control, such as buttons along the top or placing the touch control surface elsewhere along the stem — as seen on the Status Between 3 ANC. It’s not so much a problem for single taps, but if you try to do a triple tap at speed to play the previous track, it’s just annoying to hear.

Tapping the touchpad five times directly on your ear to activate your smart assistant is loud and unpleasant enough to make you feel not so smart.

Despite the relatively large case, the ZE8000 package feels surprisingly light. The textured plastic case requires care because it is a little slippery. Once you discover that the lid doesn’t hinge but slides, it does slide open quite pleasingly, and you can do this single-handedly. The lid locks into place when opened and shuts firmly. A USB-C charge port resides on the back, and four indicator lights on its front display the battery charge status. There’s also a circular button for factory resetting the buds, discreetly tucked on the right side, only visible when you open the case.

How do you control Final ZE8000?

Most of the Final ZE8000 controls are directly accessible on the earbuds. Some require setup in the Final CONNECT app, such as customizing the step sizes for altering your volume. The controls cannot be remapped.

The controls are basically the same in mono mode, except volume control and track skipping, which are absent in mono. For the most part, the touch controls work with appropriate sensitivity. Somewhat frustratingly, the controls don’t register any inputs if you don’t use the ZE8000 touch controls for a while when connected to an iPhone. This defeats the point of direct controls.

Should you use the Final CONNECT app for the Final ZE8000?

The dials on the bottom of the app allow you to customize the frequencies you want to adjust.

You definitely want the Final CONNECT app to partner with the Final ZE8000, available on Android and iOS. The app is basic, but it’s where you access updates and can directly control listening modes. You can only choose Ambient or ANC modes with the earbud controls, but with the Final CONNECT app, you can also select Wind-Cut and Voice Through. You can’t reassign the earbud controls, and like the Bose QuietComfort 45, you don’t get a standard listening mode.

One of the key features is the equalizer. You can adjust up to four bands, but Final also lets you dial in the center frequencies you want to alter. By default, these are 35Hz, 350Hz, 1600Hz, and 10kHz; however, you can choose two other frequencies to adjust instead. This is pretty handy but sadly limited to only a 3dB boost or cut, which isn’t a lot of wiggle room.

8K Sound is also only accessible in the Final CONNECT app. Essentially, this is a form of digital signal processing (DSP) to improve your audio. Leave it on unless you’re concerned about the drain on the battery life. 8K Sound borrows a term from video to suggest your audio will be in higher definition, although the significance to audio here is unclear.

How does the Final ZE8000 connect?

The Final ZE8000 connects using Bluetooth 5.2 with aptX, aptX Adaptive, AAC, or SBC codecs. iPhones will default to AAC, which is fine. With my Samsung tablet, the ZE8000 defaults to aptX at 16-bit.

It’s not the easiest experience trying to get the ZE8000 to connect to the iPhone. Ostensibly, you should be able to slide back the case lid and wait for the ZE8000 to enter pairing mode. This can take up to 10 seconds, a long wait by current standards, but it connects more quickly to Android devices. More than once, the buds lose their connection and need futzing with, such as replacing the earbuds in the case and re-pairing to get stereo working.

Other bugaboos include initially experiencing persistent difficulties getting the Final CONNECT app on an iPhone to recognize the ZE8000. Strangely, only after pairing to an Android device (and disconnecting) does the app recognize the Final ZE8000 on the iPhone. Subsequent reconnections on the iPhone do not always occur automatically. Instead, opening Bluetooth settings and manually selecting the ZE8000 in the list of previously paired devices is necessary to connect it. The ZE8000 plays much nicer with Android.

The experience overall provides a few frustrations that harken back to the bad old days of Bluetooth.

How long does the Final ZE8000 battery last?

Despite its size, the Final ZE8000 is pretty light.

Our standardized battery test shows the Final ZE8000 lasts 4 hours, 42 minutes with ANC enabled. This is close to Final’s estimate for battery life. Considering the ANC is rather weak, and you can’t turn it off, it’s an okay result but not the best. You can stretch the battery life by deselecting the 8K Sound feature.

It takes 90 minutes for the earbuds to fully charge from empty and 2 hours to completely charge the 420mAh battery charging case.

How well does the Final ZE8000 cancel noise?

Rather surprisingly, the ZE8000 concentrates its ANC around the same frequencies as its isolation.

With the firmware tested (1.8.1), the Final ZE8000 do not have very effective active noise canceling (ANC). It also does not isolate very well, affecting the listening experience with the ZE8000. This is a letdown and a far cry from the best examples for a set of ANC earbuds.

It’s possible that the included ear tips fit you better than either the Bruel & Kjaer 5128 we use to measure or my ears, which would provide a better experience. However, central to this issue is that the ZE8000 utilizes specialized ear tips that integrate the ear tip with a stabilizer sleeve that covers part of the earbud’s housing. You can’t buy any third-party ear tips to improve the isolation and in-ear fit.

Your audio will compete with noise from the outside world more than expected. I manage to have an entire conversation while wearing the ZE8000 with ANC on, making the Ambient and Voice Through modes seem unnecessary. Yes, other people’s speech gets muffled, but not enough to block it out sufficiently. You might find yourself turning up the volume to overcome noise from your surroundings: my iPhone warns about high volumes frequently with the ZE8000 since it’s easy to lose track of how loud I’m listening when the ANC and isolation aren’t up to par.

How does the Final ZE8000 sound?

The ZE8000 under emphasizes treble compared to our headphone preference curve.

Typically we expect earphones to provide a frequency response that attempts to mimic what we hear when listening to loudspeakers, which includes the boost around 3kHz naturally produced by our ears. The Final ZE8000 doesn’t do this. The default frequency response under-emphasizes frequencies in the range 2kHz to 9kHz by between 4dB and 9dB and has a narrow peak at 10kHz, which is a little odd.

Because of this, the ZE8000 provides a sound that overemphasizes bass frequencies and lacks output in the upper midrange, resulting in a lack of clarity. Since the ZE8000 buds do not seal to the ears reliably, performance will vary greatly from one person’s ears to another’s, depending on fit. In the user manual, Final suggests trying different ear tips to get the buds to fit better if your low end is lacking, and that’s solid advice, but it didn’t help me in this case.

Lows, mids, highs

Listening (in a quiet environment) to Every Day’s A Lesson In Humility by Suki Waterhouse, Belle and Sebastian late at night reveals a decent stereo image. The track’s cymbals chk-chk as expected, although they sound a bit incomplete, like high-pitched blips, getting muddled with the tambourine hits. Bass guitar and low toms come through well enough, but pushing the buds in more to simulate a better fit, these elements get way too loud relative to everything else. Perhaps Final expects the ZE8000 to fit more loosely in the ears.

Shifting the earbuds will alter the bass response drastically.

Suki Waterhouse’s voice comes through well, as does the trebly rhythm guitar. In the first verse, her voice has an audible lisp, perhaps an artifact of overzealous de-essing, and it’s interesting the ZE8000 reveals that. However, the overall balance of this track is a long way off what I’m familiar with, with organs and other trebly keys too quiet relative to other instruments and backing vocals occasionally becoming hard to hear. Meanwhile, the snare is challenging to disambiguate from the simultaneous handclaps. Overall it doesn’t sound bad, but it sounds uneven. In addition, the bass response of the ZE8000 is highly sensitive to correct positioning, and the looser fit can make achieving and retaining the correct angle of the fit precarious.

Listening to the same track in a noisier environment (outside on a residential street) supplies a different experience: in particular, the low end is much harder to hear. This is entirely expected when you don’t have a good enough ear seal.

Can you use the Final ZE8000 for phone calls?

This is not an ideal frequency response for a microphone or anything else.

The Final ZE8000 mic focuses on mid-range frequencies around 1kHz, imposing an unpleasant character on your voice. The resulting audio is serviceable for phone calls but could be more natural sounding.

In office conditions, the ZE8000 doesn’t do much to reduce office clatter, which also affects speech quality negatively. With the introduction of street noise, the ZE8000 also struggles.

Have a listen for yourself.

Final ZE8000 microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Final ZE8000 microphone demo (Office conditions):

Final ZE8000 microphone demo (Street conditions):

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Should you buy the Final ZE8000?

The buds have to stay in the case for Bluetooth pairing.

It’s difficult to recommend the Final ZE8000 with its fussiness and unimpressive noise canceling powers. The product needs some refinement. While the goals of the ZE8000 are worthwhile, including aptX with its “8K” DSP to yield better audio quality than bog standard true wireless buds, the execution isn’t close to a home run. It’s tough to suggest iPhone users pick up the ZE8000 because the Final CONNECT app works inconsistently on iOS. The Final ZE8000 cooperates better with Android devices.

Regardless of your device, the fit isolates less than we’d expect, drastically detracting from enjoying the sound quality in all but relatively quiet environments. The app’s equalizer is clear, and the ability to select specific frequencies is excellent, but the 3dB boost or cut gives you little room for adjustment. However, the earbuds and overall package feel well-made and look good. The ZE8000 deserves some attention for the case design and material choices, but the price is too high for the inconsistencies we encountered.

What should you get instead of the Final ZE8000?

The Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 3 lets you adjust your fit by mixing and matching stabilizers and ear tips.

The IPX4-rated Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 3 should satisfy most listeners concerned with sound quality. It does a much better job with its frequency response and has far better ANC than the Final ZE8000. You have more control over your fit with separate stabilizers and ear tips. If the codecs supported by the ZE8000 appeal to you, the MOMENTUM True Wireless 3 buds use nearly the same selection of codecs over Bluetooth 5.2. You can pick them up for $199.95 at Amazon , making the Sennheiser an attractive alternative to the ZE8000.

Maybe you want all the bells as whistles. The Sony WF-1000XM4 uses Sony’s proprietary DSP enhancement called DSEE, an algorithm that “fills in” the missing audio affected by codec compression. Should the default tuning not suit you, the included app has a great EQ feature. The downside of the WF-1000XM4 is that your codec options are limited to LDAC, AAC, and SBC. LDAC is fine for most ears, but by design, the codec transmits at variable rates depending on your connection, which aptX does not do (aptX Adaptive does). These buds go for $178 at Amazon .

Finally, the Grell Audio TWS 1 go for only $99 at Drop . The buds are pretty sizeable but sound great with highly adjustable EQ, aptX Adaptive, and LHDC codecs for Android and AAC for iOS. So if you’re an audio enthusiast on a tighter budget, you might wonder what you’re missing for the dollars saved.

Frequently asked questions

For those looking at high-end audio, frugality is one thing that goes right out the window. Though we often make the point that there’s no need to overspend on certain components, sometimes getting expensive headphones is worth it. But does Focal’s wallet-busting Clear MG fit the bill? Let’s find out.

Editor’s note: this is the first version of the article. Updates will follow as the market changes.

What’s it like to use the Focal Clear MG?

At face value, the Focal Clear MG is a set of very well-polished open-back headphones geared toward luxury more than value. As always, we suggest that any buying decision should consider the performance of the headphones as well as the experience of using them.

The Focal Clear MG features an attractive designer casing with a high-quality finish.

Upon opening the packaging, you’ll be greeted with a smart fabric case containing the headphones. In the heavy paper rectangle alongside the carrying case are two cables, an adapter, and some documentation.

Though the headphones weigh 451 grams due to the relatively liberal use of metal in their construction, there appears to be adequate padding to prevent the worst issues heavy headphones can cause. Large, deep ear cups with soft padding are complemented by a band that distributes weight well — all essential once weight exceeds 300 grams, even if you wear your headphones correctly. Thankfully, the Focal Clear MG is one of the few models that get this right. I could use the Focal Clear MG for about 5 hours at a time without having to remove it for comfort issues. However, taking regular breaks is a good idea as your neck may disagree with this assessment.

The band of the Focal Clear MG is quite thick with padding.

The band is also made well for users with long hair, as it likely won’t get caught in the usual pain points — though it’s possible your hair might get caught in the mesh at the back of the ear cups.

The carefully crafted open-back design lets you see right through the ear cups.

When you grab the Focal Clear MG to plunk it onto your head, you may notice that you can see through the ear cups far easier than with other headphones — and that’s no accident. The Focal Clear MG’s design goes out of its way to remove material and potential reflection points from its innards, and in some areas, you can see right through the headphones. While the mesh coverings will prevent damage from larger foreign objects, avoid leaving these headphones anywhere excessive dust accumulates: that way, you’ll avoid issues with gunk and other unwanted matter inside your headphones. Use the case, or at the very least, use a decent stand to keep them upright.

How does the Focal Clear MG connect?

The threaded 3.5mm TRS plug allows for 1/4-inch connections with the included adaptor.

Included in the packaging are two Y-shaped cables: one 1.2-meter cable that ends in a 3.5mm TRS plug, threaded to attach a 6.3mm (1/4-inch) TRS adapter that will work for most equipment; the other is 3-meters long and terminates in a 4-pin XLR connector for differential (aka balanced) outputs. While you’re not likely to run into that sort of thing very often with consumer gear, any foray into the higher end will make that connector more useful.

The headphones have a high sensitivity of 104dB/mW, therefore have relatively low power requirements, meaning you’re not likely to need an external amplifier to drive them. However, if you try equalizing these headphones: you may benefit from the added flexibility an amplifier can provide. Similarly, an external DAC is only necessary if you have noise issues with your source or run into unsupported file types.

How well does the Focal Clear MG block out noise?

Open-backed headphones like the Focal Clear MG don’t block out noise well, so don’t expect any isolation.

As the Focal Clear MG is a set of open-backed headphones, you can’t expect it to block out noise because it’s not designed to do that. Though that may disappoint some, it’s an inherent tradeoff that comes with the open-back design that offers benefits in other ways. For example, you avoid that “closed-in” sensation some people get with closed-back headphones. It’s much easier for open-backed headphones to fool you into thinking that the sound is coming from the space around you rather than the headphones themselves.

Open backs come with tradeoffs, namely improved sound quality at the expense of isolation.

This design also means less heat buildup inside the ear cups. Though that doesn’t change the performance of the headphones, it does make longer listening sessions more comfortable.

How does the Focal Clear MG sound?

The stars of the show: the magnesium diaphragm drivers of the Focal Clear MG.

Though much hay is made about the magnesium diaphragm drivers of the Focal Clear MG, they follow a similar design to typical dynamic drivers — it’s not some wild departure from existing technology. The difference that using magnesium instead of another material brings to the table is the lower mass of the drivers. The faster your drivers can move, in theory, the better they can track transients in music.

Should you buy the Focal Clear MG?

The answer to whether or not you should spend over a thousand dollars on headphones seems easy — especially if your budget doesn’t support it — but it could be a little more difficult for the right buyer. The Focal Clear MG is a very fun status symbol, but it’s definitely in the camp of “things you get when you have more money than you know what to do with.”

The 3.5mm TS jack plugs slot nicely into the recesses in each ear cup — no proprietary connectors to deal with, either.

The Focal Clear MG is an excellent set of headphones; any audiophile should give it a spin. Though it has a somewhat unique voicing, it’s a breath of fresh air to have a more consumer-friendly sound than most open-back models. The Focal Clear MG isn’t the only set of kilobuck-plus headphones that do this, of course, but it stands as an interesting option in its own right.

Focal Clear MG

• Fantastic sound
• Hi-Fi headphones

Simply one of the best sounding headphones on the market, the Focal Clear MG are open-backed, and designed for the discerning audiophile.

$1199 at Amazon

Save $ 300.00

What should you get instead of the Focal Clear MG?

Once you decide to spend over a thousand dollars on headphones, there are plenty of options in your price range. Consequently, you’ll need to answer questions like “What do I want my headphones to look like” and “Is there something specific I want out of my purchase that isn’t tied to performance?”

Answer these questions, and it becomes much easier to direct you toward specific models of headphones.

Don’t want an open-back set of cans? Get the Meze Audio Liric

The Meze Audio Liric is more portable than the Focal Clear MG, allowing outdoor use.

Though it costs almost twice as much as the Focal Clear MG, the Meze Audio Liric is another unique set of headphones. Specifically, this set of closed-back cans offers a sound much closer to its open-backed brethren while enjoying the benefits of sealing your ears away from the outside world. It sports a notably different aesthetic with its leather covering, and it’s also a bit lighter than the Focal Clear MG at 390 grams. While the sound of the Focal Clear MG is something I prefer over that of the Liric, you can’t take the Focal cans outside with you — so that’s a massive check in the plus column for these Meze headphones.

Meze Audio LIRIC

• Light-weight and designed for comfort
• High-end audio

Designed for high-fidelity listening on the go, the Meze Audio Liric wired headphones are a closed-back, over-ear design. Powered by Rinaro's Isodynamic Hybrid Array Driver, enjoy, big Hi-Fi sound.

$2000 at Manufacturer site

Want studio sound? Get the Sennheiser HD 800 S

As cliche as it might be, if you want the best, get the best. For several years now, the headphones to get if you want street cred in the higher price bracket is the Sennheiser HD 800 S. There are several reasons for this, but the main one is that these headphones are regarded by many as being some of the most comfortable, stylish, and best-sounding headphones on the market. Whether you agree or not, the Sennheisers are the way to go if you’re a fan of our “studio” response curve. Given that most people aren’t used to that or are reluctant to move away from a more bass-biased sound, the Focal Clear MG will suit more people entering the world of high-end, open-backed headphones.

Sennheiser HD 800 S

$1599.95 at Amazon

Save $ 200.03

Want audiophile grade noise canceling headphones? Get the Focal Bathys

Open-back headphones aren’t for everyone, as they are best enjoyed by the computer or at home. Unsurprisingly, we often will direct people looking at spending hundreds of dollars on headphones toward more consumer-friendly options that meet the needs of people who don’t want to be tethered to one spot. If you’re hoping to take your headphones out and about with you, abandon the idea of open-back headphones and be happy about it.

The Focal Bathys has an internal DAC mode, allowing USB-C listening, wireless, and 3.5mm analog connections.

Happily, ANC headphones are very popular nowadays, and there are now more tiers of quality than ever before. There are cheap ANC headphones and expensive ones — and Focal, coincidentally enough, has the best ANC alternative to the Focal Clear MG. Focal’s Bathys is excellent when it comes to sound quality but also doesn’t have the inherent portability drawbacks of the Focal Clear MG’s design. If you like what you’ve read in this review but want a set of headphones to go with you wherever you go, the Bathys is an easy home run. With an internal USB DAC, wireless, and all the usual trappings of a top-flight set of ANC headphones: the Bathys will be much more versatile.

Focal Bathys

$799 at Amazon

Frequently asked questions

The HyperX Cloud III is a wired gaming headset focused on the basics. It’s priced just right, neither ridiculously expensive nor so cheap that compromises are inevitable. It has some big wins when it comes to comfort, design, and compatibility with almost every gaming device you might want to use it with, but does it come up a bit short elsewhere?

Editor’s note: This review was updated on June 20th, 2023 with changes to the app section to address the Ngenuity software.

What’s it like to use the HyperX Cloud III?

The HyperX Cloud III is comfortable to wear for several hours at a time.

The HyperX Cloud III is a plastic and aluminum affair, which gives the headset a good high-quality feeling that appears consistent with its price tag. There’s a big focus on comfort, which is where it excels. It features memory foam padding and is lightweight, making it pleasant for several hours of gaming or video calls. The ear cups themselves have a good range of movement, allowing the headset to flex easily and accommodate a wide variety of head sizes. Unfortunately, the ear cups do not swivel to lie flat. It may be super basic in terms of features, but at least you won’t need to worry about battery life.

How do you control the HyperX Cloud III?

The controls on the HyperX Cloud III are fairly bare bones, but they get the job done.

The controls for the HyperX Cloud III are straightforward. On the left ear cup is a button for muting and unmuting the microphone, which features a convenient red LED to indicate when it’s muted. On the right ear cup is a slider for adjusting the volume. Like all basic wired headsets, the volume slider works independently from the volume controls on the device it’s connected to. This makes managing it a little more complicated, as you have two different volume levels, one on the headset and one on your device.

Should you use the Ngenuity app for the HyperX Cloud III?

The HyperX Ngenuity app allows you to tune the sound of the Cloud III using EQ, as well as enable DTS Headphone:X surround sound.

The HyperX Ngenuity software allows you to adjust the EQ of the headset, adjust volume levels, and enable microphone monitoring. It also allows you to enable the DTS Headphone:X feature, which simulates surround sound through the headphones. The app can seem a bit overcomplicated for what it does. You are also able to adjust RGB lighting for headsets that support it, though this doesn’t apply to the HyperX Cloud III. Since this software is only available on Microsoft Windows, if you’re on a macOS, Linux, Android, or iOS system you won’t able to use it.

How do you connect the HyperX Cloud III?

The HyperX Cloud III includes several connectivity options in the box to let you choose which works best with your setup.

The HyperX Cloud III uses a 3.5mm TRRS jack connector. Also included in the box is a USB dongle that provides better support for consoles and surround sound support on PC. This uses USB-C, but there’s also a USB-A adapter included in the box. This means that the HyperX Cloud III offers support for PCs, smartphones with USB-C and 3.5mm connectors, the PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, Xbox Series S/X, and Xbox One.

How well does the HyperX Cloud III attenuate noise?

The HyperX Cloud III is on par with most other closed-back gaming headsets in its price range when it comes to blocking out outside noise.

The HyperX Cloud III does an adequate job of blocking out outside noise. The headset will block conversations and quiet television shows in the same room, but if someone is listening to loud music, you might hear some of it. You likely won’t notice any issues in a quiet environment.

If noise in your surroundings is a big problem, look at active noise canceling headsets, which will allow you to game in peace no matter how noisy your neighborhood or housemates are.

How does the HyperX Cloud III sound?

The HyperX Cloud III strays from our preferred headphone response curve in several places, which harms the audio quality.

The sound quality of the HyperX Cloud III is the area where it comes up the shortest. The frequency response we measured plugging the headset in directly using the 3.5mm headset connection deviates a lot from our headphone preference curve. There’s a noticeable lack of sub-bass, as well as a few peaks and troughs in the high end that negatively color the sound of the playback. This is not an ideal headset for listening to music. I found it just doesn’t sound quite right to my ears. For example, listening to the song “Radio Capital” by La Vida Bohème, I notice that the hi-hats, particularly, sound far more hissy than I’m used to.

For playing games, everything from the beats of Lumines to the gunfire of Halo 3 is still enjoyable, though. The included USB dongle applies some EQ to the sound, reducing the low mids and some of the high end by a few decibels, but it doesn’t do enough to drastically improve the sound. The USB dongle also enables the DTS Headphone:X surround sound feature. While I have yet to be impressed by headphone-based spatial audio solutions, it’s available here for people who want to try it.

How good is the HyperX Cloud III’s microphone?

The HyperX Cloud III’s microphone has a reasonably flat frequency response almost all the way across the speech band.

The Hyper X Cloud III’s microphone is decent as far as gaming headsets go. The frequency response is relatively flat, meaning it can capture the full range of the voice quite well. The microphone can be easily adjusted in position and easily removed when it’s not being used. A red LED provides a visual indication of when the microphone is disabled. You can listen below to hear how the microphone sounds and judge it yourself. Be sure to vote in the poll below.

HyperX Cloud III microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

HyperX Cloud III microphone demo (Office conditions):

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Should you buy the HyperX Cloud III?

It’s not a bad headset by any stretch, but it falls short in a key area and isn’t reaching for anything more unique.

The HyperX Cloud III is not wireless; it doesn’t have noise canceling or any other differentiating features. This mid-range headset is focused on getting the basics right, and it’s priced accordingly. Unfortunately, while it succeeds with comfort and design, it falls short in sound quality. I had trouble enjoying what the headset does right because parts of what I was listening to didn’t sound quite right to my ears. It’s still a decent, serviceable headset, and I’m sure it’ll be great for many hours of online games with friends. It’s not where it needs to be to get a great recommendation.

HyperX Cloud III

• Connectivity options
• Comfort

With a focus on comfort, the HyperX Cloud III gaming headset offers spatial audio and multiple wired connectivity options.

$99.99 at Amazon

What should you get instead of the HyperX Cloud III?

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 is best for PC gaming, but it’s great on a lot of platforms.

At the same price point and with similar features, an ideal place to look for an alternative would be the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3. Another recommendation in this price range is the Razer Barracuda X (2022), which also features wireless connectivity. If you’re focused on the best sound quality you can get at this price point, consider the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro; although it’s not a gaming headset, you’ll need to get a microphone too.

Frequently asked questions about the HyperX Cloud III

Gaming headsets have come a long way in recent years, maturing from hacky workarounds of existing headphones to becoming a product category in their own right. But we haven’t seen a gaming headset like the Audeze LCD-GX before. Passive, high-caliber planar-dynamic headphones with a detachable boom mic are something we haven’t encountered until now — but is this worth your attention? Let’s find out.

Editor’s note: this is the first version of the article. Updates will follow as the market changes.

What’s it like to use the Audeze LCD-GX?

Taking the Audeze LCD-GX out of the included carrying case, you’ll immediately notice that it’s packed more like sensitive equipment than a gaming headset. And that makes sense, given the $899 price tag. Inside the case, you’ll find the headphones, a baggie containing the cables, mic, and an adapter, and quite a lot of foam holding it all in place.

If the software mic mute option isn’t convenient, the Audeze LCD-GX has an in-line hardware mute switch.

The Audeze LCD-GX is a set of open-back planar magnetic headphones, so you’ll probably want a headphone stand for your desk. The metal construction of the headphones is anything but cheap, but the nature of the design means sensitive internal components are somewhat exposed to foreign objects, moisture, and dust. That’s easily avoidable if you keep your cans from hanging out on the same surface you clutter up every day.

Before you jump into a game, you’ll want to determine your best fit. The giant leatherette pads and sturdy yokes make this a relatively straightforward exercise. Still, you may need to take a moment in a mirror to ensure that the notched tension rod band is evenly adjusted. The super-wide leather band material will contact your noggin over a large area, so you shouldn’t worry about any pressure points on your scalp.

The Audeze LCD-GX uses a notched tension rod band with a suspended leather headband.

However, given that the headphones weigh more than 450 grams, you will want to get as secure a fit as possible to avoid neck strain in longer gaming sessions. If the Audeze LCD-GX slides around, trying to compensate can lead to a sore neck.

How do you connect the Audeze LCD-GX?

The Audeze LCD-GX is wired-only, so you don’t have to worry about Bluetooth or anything else: all you have to do is choose a cable and plug it in.

A 3.5mm TRRS jack split adaptor complements the 1/4-inch TRS, and 3.5mm TRRS jack terminated cables included with the LCD-GX.

Cables connect at the bottom of the two ear cups using locking, mini XLR connectors. These are very robust connections but can be a bit fiddly. Two cable options are supplied in the package. One is a twisted, 1/4-inch TRS jack terminated cable with no mic, for connecting to high-quality source components when you’re just listening to content. The other, a 3.5mm TRRS jack cable which also houses the boom microphone and mute switch, transforms these high-quality headphones into a high-quality gaming headset.  If you have a computer with separate headphone and microphone jacks, you can split out the TRRS audio input and output (mic and playback) into a pair of 3.5mm TRS jacks with the included adaptor. That ought to cover most of the common connection scenarios you’ll encounter.

If you want to customize your sound using an equalizer, you may need an amp to ensure adequate headroom. If you find that your computer can’t provide usable volume when you’re gaming with the Audeze LCD-GX, look into an amp that fits neatly on your desktop — you don’t need to agonize over the right piece of equipment, as headphone amplifiers nowadays outperform most requirements. Just be aware that you’ll need to use the jack splitter to use the boom mic, and it can only tolerate a 1.5-inch (5cm) distance from jack to jack. Keep the amp near the microphone jack, and you should be golden (or just buy a cable extender to fix the issue, and don’t agonize over picking the right one).

How well does the Audeze LCD-GX attenuate noise?

Open-back headphones don’t attenuate noise, so it’s unsurprising that the Audeze LCD-GX has little impact on your surroundings.

As the Audeze LCD-GX is a set of open-back headphones, it should not surprise you that it does not block outside noise from reaching your ears. Though a few gaming headsets are open-back, it’s always worth mentioning that this design has the notable flaw of making all sounds around you very easy to hear. We suggest looking at closed-back headsets if you game in a noisy environment or don’t want to listen to everything around you while you game.

How does the Audeze LCD-GX sound?

Because the Audeze LCD-GX is essentially a set of high-end headphones with a boom mic attached, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the sound quality is excellent. We rarely see planar magnetic technology applied to gaming headsets, and when we do, it’s usually made by Audeze — the Mobius and Penrose are both highly regarded examples.

Our measurements show that low frequency response is basically flat up to around 1kHz, which is unheard of in the overly bass-boosted gaming headset space. That said, discerning listeners should be more than happy with how the LCD-GX performs, though we’d generally prefer a bit more emphasis in the highs. Sounds above 2kHz are important for everything from speech intelligibility, atmospheric effects, and even little sounds like instrument attack or the clicking of footsteps. In deathmatch-style games like Overwatch 2 or Fortnite, this can mean life or death — so if you go with the Audeze LCD-GX, we suggest nudging the bands above 2kHz  a few dB higher in an equalizer.

The Audeze LCD-GX holds to our legacy Studio Curve well, though it doesn’t emphasize highs as much as we’d expect.

I found this especially frustrating when playing Overwatch 2, as many of the lighter footsteps of flanking characters like Tracer or Sombra were that much harder to hear. It can also make other smaller characters challenging to hear in a firefight if they wait for others to take the heat before cleaning you up. If you’re going to game on the PC, some equalization helps enormously here.

As far as use with consoles goes, the experience is less rosy than it is on the PC. For example, the above issues will still be present on PlayStation 5 or whichever flavor of XBOX you’re using — all without the ability to fix it. If you’re playing single-player titles or anything that doesn’t require a microphone, you should be fine (provided your platform supports a 3.5mm headphone jack). Gaming on the Nintendo Switch is still a mess for multiplayer, but the console can handle audio playback if you’re hoping not to wake anyone up in the next room.

How good is the Audeze LCD-GX’s microphone?

Your voice will sound a bit bassier when you use the Audeze LCD-GX.

The boom microphone that mounts to the Audeze LCD-GX is very competent, even if it takes some fiddling to find the sweet spot for you. We found this spot to be a couple of inches away, angled toward your chin instead of upward to your mouth and nose. A good mic means a lot more to streamers than your average gamer using Discord — but it’s always nice not to have to troubleshoot lousy audio.

The boom mic is very competent once you’ve got positioning dialed in.

The boom mic attachment relies on the mini XLR connector on the left earcup, potentially increasing the strain on that connector. Once attached, you can bend and position the mic to your whim using the flexible boom. A foam windshield is supplied to protect the mic from harsh plosive (p-pop) sounds. Your mouth rocketing out air will cause issues you won’t hear on our standardized test recordings below, so it’s a good idea to move the mic out of the area where you breathe to avoid annoying blast sounds.

Audeze LCD-GX microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Audeze LCD-GX microphone demo (Office conditions):

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Marketed as a directional, noise-attenuating boom microphone, we found the performance to be quite good though a little bassy compared with other passive, wired headsets. Keep in mind that any noise you do hear in the sample above would be further attenuated by whatever software application your voice is running through.

Should you buy the Audeze LCD-GX?

As much as it pains me to say it, we don’t recommend the Audeze LCD-GX as a gaming headset. In fact, the main draw to the Audeze LCD-GX is the fact that it’s a convincing entry into Audeze’s LCD line of planar magnetic over-ear headphones — but with an attachable boom mic. The headset is a very competent device that will satisfy audiophiles without too much fiddling. However, it’s a premium item with a premium price tag, not something a general audience will want to shell out for.

That said, this is easily one of the best “dumb” (passive, wired) gaming headsets out there if you’re not looking for special features or wireless capability. At $899, it may be a tough sell for anyone just looking to play on a console, but this is the right kind of headset to get if you’re looking to upgrade your headphones and gaming headset in one fell swoop.

Audeze LCD-GX

• Sound quality
• Thick padding
• Removable cables

The Audeze LCD-GX is a capable gaming headset geared toward the audiophile who also games — rather than the general gamer audience.

$899 at Amazon

What should you get instead of the Audeze LCD-GX?

It’s tough to pick alternatives for the Audeze LCD-GX because of its unique market niche. Virtually all of the other options out there will be much less expensive. They offer various features that carry their versatility farther than “audiophile headphones with a boom mic attached.”

Still, we’d like to call attention to the Audeze Maxwell. Once the supply chain issues are figured out, this headset has much to offer, including next-gen Bluetooth codec support, wired use, and compatibility with all major consoles. This headset also allegedly has a monster battery — though we haven’t been able to give it a spin in the lab yet.

Open-backed headphones aren’t the best for the office, but they’re excellent for media creators and gamers when you can’t use speakers.

You could also take a page from the 2010 audiophile’s book, go with a set of open-back headphones, and then grab a dedicated mic for the job. Though it’s less convenient than having an all-in-one solution, grabbing a decent gaming mic and a pair of audiophile headphones may be the right way to go. I recommend any iteration of the Sennheiser HD 6XX will be an excellent choice for gaming because of its much lighter design and high performance.

Frequently asked questions about the Audeze LCD-GX

Jabra’s Elite 7 Pro, debuts with a cheaper price and retains almost all of the key features from the well regarded Jabra Elite 85t.

While the earbuds had some notable issues at launch, subsequent firmware updates have elevated the Jabra Elite 7 Pro into contention with the best true wireless earbuds around. Let’s see if Jabra’s latest true wireless earbuds are worth your money, or if you should stay clear of these “Pro” earbuds.

Editor’s note: this review was updated on June 8, 2023, to include the Jabra Elite 4 in the section discussing other Jabra earbuds, add a note about firmware updates, add the Sony LinkBuds S to alternatives, and to answer two FAQs.

What is it like to use the Jabra Elite 7 Pro?

IP57 protection handles exposure to both water and dust.

Living up to the name, the design of these earbuds certainly feels “Pro.” Available in black, titanium, or beige, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro earbuds are elegant and unobtrusive, barely protruding from the ears.

Jabra provides three ear tip sizes, though the Elite 7 Pro are still less comfortable than other true wireless earbuds. The shape of the earbuds forces the ear tips deep into the ear canal, causing pressure and some discomfort. Take the earbuds in or out of your ears too quickly, and you might experience a sharp pain from the sudden pressure change.

These earbuds are well built and made for the gym, or anything you throw at them.

As with the earbuds, the soft-touch charging case is small and portable. It magnetically snaps shut with an affirmative click, though the strength of the magnets and lack of an opening ledge make it nearly impossible to open with one hand.

An IP57 rating makes the Jabra Elite 7 Pro one of the toughest earbuds around, with the Jaybird Vista 2 as one of the few rivals. The earbuds handle water and dust like a pro, so you’ll have no problem taking them to the beach, gym, or anywhere in between. You can also register the earbuds for two-year warranty protection against water and dust.

How do you control the Jabra Elite 7 Pro?

The Jabra logo on each earbud serves as a single button.

Pressing the single large button on either earbud controls playback, but also inadvertently shoves the earbuds deeper into the ear. You can also customize the controls in the Jabra Sound+ app, setting commands for different combinations of button presses during music playback and while on calls.

The earbuds house sensors for in-ear detection that automatically pause music when removed from the ears, and resume when you put them back in.

Should you download the Jabra Sound+ app?

You definitely need the Jabra Sound+ app to unlock the full experience of the Elite 7 Pro. Perhaps the most critical functionality of the app is downloading and installing firmware updates. For instance, firmware update 2.0.0 added significant improvements including Bluetooth multi-point support, Google Assistant support, and better connectivity.

A hearing test is available via the MySound feature, which tests your ability to perceive different frequencies and builds a sound profile accordingly. There’s also music presets and a visual five-band custom EQ, though it doesn’t show you what specific frequencies you are adjusting, or by how much you are boosting/attenuating.

Installing the latest firmware updates unlocks the full capabilities of the Jabra Elite 7 Pro

Active noise canceling intensity is another thing you can adjust in the app, along with HearThrough mode. Your voice assistant of choice is also selectable, with Siri, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant available.

Find My Jabra uses the location of your phone to find the last place your device was connected to the earbuds. Other features in the app include white noise soundscapes and an earbud fit test that was improved with firmware update 2.0.0. More and more headset manufacturers realize how important it is for consumers to achieve a proper fit with their earbuds and providing an ear tip fit test is nearly foolproof. We’ve seen other companies like Sony and Amazon do the same thing.

How long does the battery last on the Elite 7 Active?

The compact charging case fits easily into most pockets.

Jabra claims the earbuds last 8 hours on a single charge, with 30 hours of total playback including the charging case. That was pretty spot on in our testing, with the earbuds lasting 8 hours and 48 minutes of continuous playback at 75dB(SPL) with ANC set to max.

It takes 150 minutes to fully charge the case and earbuds. The charging case is powered via USB-C or with a Qi wireless charging pad.

How does the Jabra Elite 7 Pro connect?

Bluetooth 5.2 connects to nearly any device.

The Jabra Elite 7 Pro sports Bluetooth 5.2 with SBC and AAC codec support. This ensures a stable connection, especially with AAC on Apple devices. If you are experiencing connection issues out of the box, make sure you upgrade to the latest firmware, which should alleviate most of the issues.

Firmware updates also added Bluetooth multi-point functionality, which allows you to connect to multiple devices, such as your phone and laptop, at the same time. Unfortunately, there isn’t support for high-quality codecs such as aptX or LDAC with the Jabra Elite 7 Pro.

How well does the Jabra Elite 7 Pro block out noise?

ANC helps reduce some low-frequency sounds.

Active noise cancellation on the Jabra Elite 7 Pro is mediocre. For only a bit more money, you can get earbuds with much more robust ANC technology such as the Sony WF-1000XM4 or Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II.

Despite limited ANC, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro still blocks out a ton of noise due to excellent passive isolation. Since the silicone ear tips go deep into the ear canal and create a pressure-tight seal, the buds significantly reduce environmental noise, even without turning ANC on.

Microphones inside and outside each earbud actively cancel out low-frequency noise.

A slider in the Jabra Sound+ app adjusts the strength of the ANC. When turning ANC to the max setting, mid to low-frequency sounds are attenuated more than with the passive isolation from the ear tips alone. The combined effect leaves most noise to sound about 25% as loud compared to without the earbuds in at all.

A firmware update (2.2.0) has improved noise canceling, so we will update the charts when we retest the Jabra Elite 7 Pro.

How does the Jabra Elite 7 Pro sound?

The Jabra Elite 7 Pro (cyan) has a consumer-friendly frequency response that closely follows our house curve (pink).

No major complaints from us here; the sound of the Jabra Elite 7 Pro should satisfy the bulk of listeners. Out of the box, the earbuds have a relatively pleasing sound that will make most genres sound good. The great thing about Jabra headsets is that you can also customize the sound to your liking from the app.

If you don’t like the sound of the earbuds out of the box, try slightly boosting the first and second EQ bands to add more presence to bass and low-mid sounds.

Lows, mids, and highs

Low frequencies aren’t very loud on the Jabra Elite 7 Pro, leaving some bass notes to sound underpowered. This trend continues up to 1kHz, so vocal frequencies and other mid-low frequency sounds are a bit lacking.

Relative to the lows and mids, all the high frequencies above 1kHz sound quite loud. On Red Eye by Justin Bieber (feat. TroyBoi), the hi-hats and top synth lines are loud to the point of masking Justin’s vocals in the chorus.

How good is the microphone on the Jabra Elite 7 Pro?

Jabra MultiSensor Voice technology reproduces clear vocals for taking calls on the go. Two onboard mics focus on your voice, while two focus on canceling out background noise. A voice-pickup (VPU) bone conduction sensor works with algorithms to project your voice while attenuating everything else. It’s a lot of fancy tech and jargon, but all you need to know is that you won’t have to worry about call quality on the Jabra Elite 7 Pro.

Take a listen for yourself and let us know what you think.

Microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Microphone demo (Street conditions):

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Editor’s note: Our standardized test setup plays back pre-recorded phrases from a calibrated artificial mouth in our test chamber, either with or without simulated background noises, simulated reverberant spaces, or artificial wind. This means that samples from every product can be directly compared, which makes it far easier to make meaningful comparisons between products in terms of the raw speech quality or the product’s ability to reject noise. While this setup is consistent, it’s unable to allow the earbuds to detect speech as they would in the real world (using vibrations), so you’re likely to experience something different than our demos above.

Should you buy the Jabra Elite 7 Pro?

The Jabra Elite 7 Pro is packed full of features.

If sound quality and call quality are most important to you, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro might be for you. These earbuds sound great and deliver clear microphone audio for calls on the go.

The Elite 7 Pro is great for any adventurer since it has great battery life and the durability to last. The Jabra Sound+ app is also always a big plus, as it is packed full of customization and features. Key firmware updates alleviated most of the issues outlined in our initial review, turning the Jabra Elite 7 Pro into one of the best all-around true wireless earbuds under $200.

Jabra Elite 7 Pro

• VPU sensor
• Bluetooth 5.2
• IP57 rated

The Jabra Elite 7 Pro feature a Voice Pick Up (VPU) sensor that helps make your voice clearer during phone calls. When you combine this with the usual audio and comfort features of a Jabra Elite product, you've got some great TWS earbuds.

$99.99 at Amazon

Save $ 100.00

$129.99 at Jabra

Save $ 70.00

$129.99 at Best Buy

Save $ 70.00

How does the Elite 7 Pro compare to other Jabra earbud models?

The Jabra Elite 85t has a lot to offer, if you’re willing to pay.

Alongside the Elite 7 Pro, Jabra released the Elite 7 Active for athletes. At the same time, Jabra continues to offer the Jabra Elite 85t as its flagship true wireless earbud.

The Elite 7 Active is usually slightly cheaper ( $99.99 at Amazon ) than the Elite 7 Pro and features Jabra ShakeGrip for a more secure fit. The earbuds don’t have the MultiSensor Voice technology though, so call quality isn’t as clear. Interestingly, the Elite 7 Pro and Elite 7 Active share the same IP57 rating. If you want a cheaper model with a similar design, look into the Jabra Elite 3 which boosts bass more than the Elite 7 Pro, but has a similar midrange and treble frequency response.

The Jabra Elite 7 Pro (cyan) has a quieter bass response than the Elite 3 (yellow).

There’s also the recent Jabra Elite 5, which features a slimmer, more pocket-friendly charging case and aptX support—especially nice if you’re an Android user. This little unit costs $119.99 at Amazon , so it shouldn’t be too hard to overlook the slightly less consistent ANC.

Further along there are the Jabra Elite 4 buds ( $99.99 at Amazon ), which don’t have a lot of ANC, but very good isolation. They use aptX or SBC codecs only, so they’re better for Android users than iOS users. These come with an excellent frequency response, that sits in the sweet spot between the Jabra Elite 3 and Jabra Elite 7 Pro with a lesser, but still very good, IP55 rating.

The Elite 85t has larger 12mm drivers, Bluetooth multipoint, and the strongest ANC of the bunch. However, it has shorter battery life than the Elite 7 Pro, Bluetooth 5.1 instead of 5.2, and only IPX4 durability. Still, if you want very good active noise canceling without straying from the Jabra brand, consider the Elite 85t for $99 at Amazon .

What are some alternatives to the Jabra Elite 7 Pro?

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro have an IPX7 rating.

Jabra isn’t the only manufacturer offering premium true wireless earbuds for under $200. Samsung has the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro which offers solid noise canceling, great sound, and some bonus perks like 360 Audio. For those unfamiliar with Samsung 360 Audio, it works similarly to Apple’s spatial audio on the AirPods (3rd generation), Pro, and AirPods Max headsets.

The earbuds have pressure-relief vents which make the ANC listening mode more comfortable.

If you’re deep in the Apple ecosystem, you should consider the AirPods Pro (2nd generation). This set of earbuds has better noise canceling than before, and includes a water resistant, IPX4-rated case.

For a nice combination of features at a reasonable price ( $148 at Amazon ), the Sony LinkBuds S not only has good noise canceling capabilities, but a good sound. Its IPX4 rating is not as robust as the Jabra Elite 7 Pro’s IP57, but unless you’re doing some extreme activities it ought to suffice. Plus you get LDAC and AAC codecs.

Frequently asked questions about the Jabra Elite 7 Pro