The one disappointment? The 20-hour battery life, which is down from 33 hours in the Y500. Sound is detailed, expansive and sets a new standard for such an affordable price point. Our tests found the wireless connection hugely reliable – whether listening to music or taking calls. AKG’s Ambient Aware feature is another welcome addition, dialling back the volume level when you want to be able to hear what's going on around you.īluetooth has been updated to the 5.0 version (from 4.2 in the Y500) and pairing is effortless. The build is durable and the wearer-detection feature, which pauses playback when you remove the headphones from your ears, has been improved. The 2021 What Hi-Fi? Award-winning Y400 are slightly smaller than the excellent Y500, but aside from that, they're reassuringly familiar. To sum up, these Panasonic earbuds are superb for the money. Music sounds clear and there's a great deal of refinement on show, which is to be welcomed at this price level. There's plenty of agility through the low end and loads of texture across frequencies. We found this a little hit and miss, so we would definitely experiment and consider mixing the sizes if it means getting a more secure fit.īoth noise-cancelling and sound quality are excellent. You also get five sizes of ear tips to help with fit. The touch controls on each bud are responsive and intuitive, allowing you to control your music and switch between noise-cancelling modes with zero fuss. A 15-minute USB-C quick-charge can deliver 70 minutes of playback. Specs are thorough, with the noise-cancelling tech joined by an Ambient Mode, twin mics for voice calls, and battery life that totals 19.5 hours (6.5 hours from the buds and 13 hours from the charging case). The 2021 Award-winning RZ-S500W are the company's first foray into wire-free earbuds with noise cancelling and they're sensational performers for the money. Panasonic isn't a brand that immediately springs to mind when you think of the best iPhone headphones. The older XM4 (below) were already the best around, but the XM5 are undoubtedly better for those who can afford to pay the premium. If you are looking for a new pair of iPhone headphones, your auditioning should start here. The Sony XM5 headphones might feel a little less premium than before, but the jump in sound quality from the previous generation is a big one, and rivals could once again have their work cut out. We wondered whether it was a wise move to give one of Sony’s biggest success stories in recent memory – and some of the best iPhone headphones ever made – a major redesign. But it's paid off. When we saw the official pictures of the Sony WH-1000XM5, we were more than a bit surprised.
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It can be tricky for a manufacturer to push the sound performance of a product consistently from generation to generation, but that is what Sony has managed to do with the WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones, our new Bluetooth ANC favourites. Most of these pairs have built-in microphones and controls too, so you can skip tracks and take calls without fishing your phone out of your pocket or bag. But it can impact battery life – the non-noise-cancelling Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 Plus, for example, last a marathon 45 hours before needing powering up from a mains socket. Noise-cancelling can shut out the outside world and let you hear your music more clearly without cranking it up, saving your hearing. Newer headphones support 5.0 or later, which has much greater range than version 4, so you can stray further from your music source without tunes dropping out. If you are going wireless, check which version of Bluetooth the headphones support. Check you have access to one before you buy. Remember: newer iPhones don't have a 3.5mm headphone jack, so some wired pairs on this list will require a Lightning to 3.5mm adapter. How to choose the best iPhone headphones for youįirst things first: are you going wireless? Most of the below pairs are wireless, but you shouldn't discount wired models, especially if they themselves are discounted (some – but no means all – wired pairs are cheaper than their wireless counterparts).
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