What’s the Best?

People love to toss that term around a lot. Best. The reality is that no publication can listen to every product in a category, but over the past year we have listened to dozens of ANC wireless headphones and some are clearly much better than others. Our selections are taken from that rather broad list of options and none of the selections should be a surprise.

The good news is that the performance gap is narrowing and that there is something for everyone at multiple price points.

Readers ask us one basic question — “Which one should I get?”

The truthful answer is that it really depends on your budget, listening behavior, and what kind of sources are you going to use.

It’s a bit like going to a Chevy dealer and asking the salesperson which car you should get. You could realistically drive away in anything from a Corvette to a Suburban.

You need to ask yourself some honest questions before you spend $200 to $999.95 USD on a pair of ANC wireless headphones. Don’t be seduced by the brand names or aesthetics.

Criteria

• Cost
• Features
• Comfort
• Usability
• Build quality
• Battery life
• ANC Performance

Sound quality and ANC performance are the two most important criteria; battery performance, comfort levels, and usability need to be factored in as well. There are very few wireless headphones in this category in 2022 that are poorly made.

All products generally involve some compromise to reach a price point. The best