A good pair of headphones is nothing less than a necessity in this age.
If you need the absolute best overall headphones, Beats Studio Pro is our pick.
We recommend the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro for the best gaming headphones.
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Weve also included some options for the best earbuds and the best noise-canceling headphones.
The editorial staff of Gizmodo independently tests and reviews each product found in our Buyers Guides.
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The WH-1000XM5 definitely succeeded in creating a pair of headphones that will woo consumers away from Apple.
At the same time, they bounce around inside a bag.
Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo
Apples H1 chip remains a compelling reason to choose the AirPods Max for iPhone users.
The size and weight have been dramatically reduced, so theyre comfortable sitting in your ears all day.
The twist-to-adjust stabilizer is far from a gimmick.
It gives the buds their snug, ear-hugging fit.
The sound profile is impressive, with the deep, punchy bass being the star of the show.
And the noise-canceling is so powerful that it feels like youre being transported into your own noiseless void.
My only gripe is that the Gemini integration is half as attractive as advertised.
Its far from being hands-free if you cant ask a single follow-up question without getting your hands involved.
The only thing these buds lack is ANC.
Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo
And in terms of design, nothing on the market looks anything like the Ultra Open.
Most ANC modes silence low-end sounds better than high-pitched ones.
But these headphones do not care.
Photo: Dua Rashid / Gizmodo
High-pitched or low-pitched, it cancels everything.
Shures Aonic 50 shines in multiple areas, too.
They offer intuitive controls, a clear mic, and a huge battery life.
Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
Both of these pale in comparison to Aonics massive 45-hour battery life.
The two driversbone conduction and air conductionare decoupled, which means they work independently.
This offers two major benefits: reduced vibrations and improved bass.
Im very happy about the switch to throw in-C charging on the second-gen OpenRun Pros.
Most Shokz sports headphones have featured magnetic charging so far, including the first-gen OpenRun Pros.
The charging time is still one hour, and the dust and water resistance is still IP55.
I prefer higher water resistance, at least IP57, for headphones designed for rough adventures.
On top of this, a five-minute charge giving you another four hours is just the cherry on top.
But none of this will matter if youre an aesthetics-over-performance person since these are far from flashy.
If youre in the market for a good-looking pair of headphones, these arent the ones for you.
Its so comfortable it makes up for its build limitations and lack of customizable pads and mic.
At the same time, it feels a little too mundane.
Because of that design and the limited software, you wont find much use for it outside the home.
Its very on-brand for Alienware to restrict users to its design, as the company knows what works.
Unfortunately for you, Alienware, and me, thats a rarity nowadays.
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