The Best Headphones To Buy In 2023

Buying a pair of headphones is a much more complex affair today than it used to be a few years ago. This is because of the range of features one needs to look at while making a decision. This is compounded by the sheer number of hardware options available to you as a user currently with thousands of options vying for your hard-earned money. But some headsets are more equal than others in their quest to give you a better listening experience.

Here we look at headphone options from Sony, Bose, Steelseries, and more as we attempt to give you a better set of options from hundreds of headphones in consideration when you look to make a more informed purchase below.

The Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Headphones are the successors to the celebrated Sony WH-1000XM4 & Sony WH-1000XM3, and they have big shoes to fill in terms of expectations. The XM5s do this by simply improving the XM4’s performance with better bass, a tuned soundstage, and a much better set of mics to boot. As a result, it sounds much punchier than its previous iteration with a focus on clarity while improving battery life and aesthetic.

The XM5 replaces the previous king of the hill, the XM4 which dominated competing hardware significantly so. To say that the XM5 are completely new headphones would be an overshoot though. They obviously take inspiration from the XM4 but do make meaningful changes such as moving to a new 30mm carbon fiber-based driver vs its predecessor’s much-lauded 40mm driver and make design changes that could have mixed reception, but seem to, at least in our opinion, enhance your experience, earning them a place as our best overall headphones in 2023.

The Bose Noise Canceling 700 Headphones are currently Bose’s flagship consumer-grade ANC headphones and sport an excellent finish, outstanding noise-canceling performance out of the box, and an impressively accurate gesture control system all in 1 package. It does get somewhat thrashed by the Sony XM5s at lower frequencies when it comes to noise-canceling and also trades unfavorable blows when it comes to battery life. It does make up for that with an impressive audio calling performance though.

With Bluetooth 5.0 support, it does support the bulk of devices on the market right now; Bluetooth is backward compatible on both sides. It does have limited codec support, bringing in only SBC and AAC support out of the box which feels a bit underwhelming when you consider that its most direct competition outdoes it in this regard with LDAC support out of the box.

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Headphones are a class apart when it comes to gaming. While pricey, they offer a host of features that most gaming headsets are a generation away from getting. With excellent sound quality backed by the flexibility of going wireless on either 2.4 GHz or Bluetooth, the Arctis Nova Pro makes inroads in an industry normally bound by budget constraints; the bulk of gaming headsets reside in the $50-150 region. It sports active noise-canceling for audio as well as an excellent noise-canceling microphone in tow.

The gripe we do have with the Nova Pro is that tends to be universal when it comes to gaming headsets: Thanks to possible licensing issues, we rarely see a wireless headset that works with both, current-gen Xbox and Playstation consoles simultaneously, and it seems the Arctis Nova Pro wireless is not going to be an exception. Thankfully, if you do have a smart TV that supports Bluetooth audio, you can salvage the audio end of the headsets on the incompatible console (assuming you have both) but it is still an inconvenience, to say the least.

All in all, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Headphones are an excellent pair of gaming-centric headphones that one can see also becoming a mainstay for casual use given their comfort, Bluetooth support, and ability to hot-swap batteries to keep going much longer than the standard endurance a single unit might have, and they are our pick for the best gaming headphones you can currently buy.

Still not sure? Check out our review of the Arctis Nova Pro.

The Beats Powerbeats Pro Wireless Earbuds from Apple are hands down one of the best workout-centric headphones we have used. With decent audio quality out of the box and IPX4 certification for its water and sweat-resistant status coupled with some of the best-fitting earphones we have experienced, the Powerbeats Pro make their own case with relative ease. And while physical buttons might normally be seen as a con, in this case, it is actually a benefit given the use case; physical buttons are a lot less likely to be pressed by accident.

This is not to say that Beats Powerbeats Pro Wireless Earbuds are flawless. They lack active noise-canceling altogether (ANC) and cost considerably more than similarly featured alternatives which tend to do slightly better in the audio department in some cases. That being said, they do a more than acceptable job without overcomplicating the experience, making them our pick for the best headphones for working out or running in 2023.

The Anker Soundcore Life Q35 Wireless Headphones are surprisingly good value compared to the competition and take some of the higher-end versions of more premium brands to task in terms of value for money and relatively similar-sounding audio to a layman. While bass-heavy to a fault, the Q35 does come equipped with the means to do a more than fair job in terms of audio for its customers given its price range, and it does deliver on this promise more often than not.

It has excellent battery life and charge times and supports NFC for pairing out of the box, something we normally see in many higher-priced alternatives. With Sony’s LDAC codec support available on the headset, it is also Hi-Res Audio certified. It does have lackluster noise-canceling however that some competitors in its own price range do offer a better solution.

If the price is still a limiting factor, you can also opt for its renewed version that does current trade at sub $70 levels, making it an even sweeter deal than it already is.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro 2 are capable ANC-supporting IEMs that also have smart features centric to Samsung’s product line along with some state-of-the-art tech built in to make them an appealing choice for users, even those that do not have Samsung phones in tow.

They are IPX7 certified and excellent for workouts or use at the gym and are built with a modern, stylish approach that would allow them to be a viable alternative as both, a reliable daily driver and a fashion statement versus some of their higher-end competitors. Sadly, the 24-bit Samsung ‘Seamless’ codec that drives much of Samsung’s upgrade drive is currently limited to Samsung phones only, somewhat limiting their appeal to end users with an iPhone or even other Android devices.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro 2 are some of the best consumer-grade in-ear headphones money can buy, and they are on sale at nearly $100 off MSRP currently, making them a no-brainer recommendation from the team at GameRant when you consider the value-for-money factor in play.

FAQ:

Q: Can I use Samsung Buds Pro 2 with an iPhone?

A: Yes, you can. They do not support Samsung’s latest Seamless Codec or some of the ‘smarter’ features that Samsung has with their own phones, but they do work just fine as standard earphones.

Q: How important is Active Noise Canceling (ANC) for Headphones?

A: ANC is important in areas where you expect to have some degree of ambient noise which can affect your hearing experience; most headphones do allow sound to seep in from the sides, making for a less-than-stellar listening experience for users. ANC fixes this issue by reducing the amount of incoming noise and therefore ‘filtering’ what you hear. In the same way, ANC microphones in some of these headphones tend to amplify your voice while reducing background noise to allow more clarity and coherence when you are talking to someone or simply using a voice assistant.