Klipsch T5M Wired In-Ear Headphones, Black

Product Information

You own an iPhone: For a seamless experience within Apple's ecosystem, you need to be looking to earbuds that offer a dedicated app for iOS. Finally, the brand you choose will depend on what you're looking for – but we're careful with our lists. That means all of the earbuds and in-ear headphones above come from brands we trust. Still, if you're not sure where to start looking, respected brands like Sony, Apple, Cambridge Audio, Jabra, and Nura are good places to start. How we test the best earbuds The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are refreshingly smaller and lighter than most rivals – and an improvement over previous Galaxy buds. The result is a stylish, minimalist, secure and ergonomic look and fit that almost feels as if you're not wearing earbuds at all – or at least that was our experience during testing.

Design-wise, the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 are 30% smaller than previous generations with a more compact and lighter charging case. However, we did find the fit took some getting used to and is unlikely to suit everyone at first. You really want app support: Audio-Technica's earbuds do excellently well without a companion app, but if you want a visual cue of the features, you won't get it here. You think aptX is the pinnacle of wireless sound quality: Sony doesn’t agree. LDAC is a good alternative and is supported by most newer Android phones (sorry, iPhone). If you’re still using the in-ear headphones that came bundled with your smartphone, then you’re missing out. The Klipsch T5M Wired in-ears are up there with the very best at this kind of money and will make a big difference, whether you’re using them with a music streaming service such as Spotify or video streaming equivalents such as Netflix. They’re highly recommended. Any sound comparison between these cheap in-ears and class-leading products. But these JLab buds beat everything in their price range for sound. Our testing proved that vocals are relatively well handled through the mids, the bass is sensibly handled, and the soundstage is relatively expansive.

Austrian Audio Hi-X15

You’d prefer high-definition wireless sound quality: With support for just low-definition wireless codecs, the QCE II may not be for everyone. The Jabra Elite 7 Active buds are similar to the regular Elite 7 Pro buds, but there are a few things that set the Active version apart, including a marginally lower price, as well as a rubberized coating on the buds, which means they’re more secure during intensive workouts. They also have an IP57 rating, too, which means they're dustproof and waterproof up to one meter, so sweaty workouts aren't a problem either. Design-wise, they’re lightweight at just 3.7g per earbud and incredibly small with three different types of eartips, which means they should suit almost everyone and we certainly found them incredibly comfortable to wear during our testing. With extra comfort and seamless acoustic quality, the T5M Wired In-Ear headphones are ideal for audiophiles. The T5M headphones ensure comfort due to their balanced weight, neither too bulky nor too lightweight. Each ear tip equips a 5.0mm dynamic driver that delivers audio by combining high output and full bass extension. The dynamic driver of this earphones helps to produce low and high frequency sound signals efficiently. You want top quality sound and have a stretchier budget: If sound quality is top of your list and you can spend a little more, do that. But this is not audiophile-grade.

The Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 Plus earbuds have a helpful app, easy-to-use controls and boast excellent connectivity. There’s no noise cancellation on offer here, but the sound isolation is very good, provided you find a good fit with the eartips included in the box. In any case, when we had music playing, we couldn’t hear much of our surroundings. These Cambridge Audio buds boast levels of detail and clarity that could rival some of the best over-ear headphones. Boasting 5.8mm dynamic drivers, these earbuds offer tons of dynamism and character, with a lively presentation that will have you tapping your feet. During our testing, as we listened to Normal Song by Perfume Genius, they eked out every last drop of detail with stunning clarity. We also recommend you consider your budget. If you want cheap earbuds you may have to sacrifice features, like ANC or a long battery life. It’s all about weighing up what’s more important to you.

Shure Aonic 3

Design changes are subtle between the Pro and Pro 2 models. You’ll find a typical Apple-esque look here, with slightly protruding stems, clean lines and a bright white finish. During our testing, we were happy to find there are now extra small ear tips, great news for those with smaller ears and should fit most people well.

You want the best noise-cancelling in the industry: For that, we’re likely to direct you towards theBose QuietComfort Earbuds 2. These buds only do a decent job. The remote control of the Klipsch T5M earphones just features one button, there are no volume ... [+] controls. Klipsch They show a sense of maturity that can be quite rare in earbuds at this price point. Skinner’s vocal sounds fluid and textured with the buds providing great insight. They also display an excellent sense of timing as the different strands of the song flow and intertwine. Verdict Can the Sony WF-C700N be bettered by rivals? Absolutely, but not for this money. You'll have to set your sights much farther up the food chain if you want to beat this suite of features and sound quality. For features, design and most-importantly sound quality, these cannot be bettered for this price, which makes them excellent value in our books. Two important things to consider when you’re choosing new earbuds is what you want to listen to and where you want to listen to it.

Grado SR80x

We’ve included both wired and wireless earbuds on this list, but you don't have to compromise on audio quality by going wire-free. Our current favorite true wireless earbuds, the Sony WF-1000XM4 combine class-leading sound with high quality noise cancellation tech. Noise-cancelling is more important than sound quality: The WF-1000XM4s cancel noise well. But other true wireless buds (Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2) do it better. Audio performance is also upgraded over the original Pros, with new drivers and amplifiers. During our testing, we rated the sound on offer from the Pro 2 as excellent – there’s rich audio across genres and a wide and expansive soundstage.

There's less protrusion than with Sony's more affordable buds ( Sony WF-C500, all eyes on you), because they're 37% lighter and 38% smaller than the top-tier WF-1000XM4 . It should come as no surprise then that we found these to be some of the most easy to wear, comfortable earbuds we've ever had the pleasure of wearing and they stay put for hours on end. If you’re looking for excellent call quality, the Elite 7 Pro are still the better buds, with bone conduction sensors that aren’t included with the Active model. But if you’re on the hunt for a new pair of affordable buds solely for fitness, the Elite 7 Active are a solid choice and good value.You prioritize a long-lasting battery: Five hours with ANC deployed (or eight without it) won't get you through a long-haul flight without charging, will it? They’re not the cheapest buds, but because Sony has combined performance, ergonomics and build quality so effectively, we think they’re excellent value. Other true wireless earbuds may surpass the Sony WF-1000XM4s in particular areas – like noise cancellation – but they don’t offer excellent quality across the board. This is even the case after the release of the newer Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds, which are fantastic, but we still rate the XM4s as the best all-rounders. These earbuds immediately impressed us during our testing. In our review, we wrote, “there’s vigor and enthusiasm to their presentation, but it’s tempered by unarguable control.” Listening to Kate Bush’s Lake Tahoe, the ability of the WF-1000XM4 to identify and incorporate the tiniest details or the most fleeting transients into a much broader picture was obvious.