The Best Headphones of 2026

• Headphone fit: Over-ear
• Active noise canceling: Yes
• Transparency/ambient mode: Yes
• Spatial audio: Yes
• High-res audio: Yes
• Impedance: 48 ohms
• Frequency range: 4 Hz–40,000 Hz (wired), 20 Hz–20,000 Hz (wireless)
• Carrying case: Yes
• Battery: Up to 30 hours

For a decade, Sony has been behind many of the best-sounding (and best-selling) over-ear headphones, and if our time with the Sony WH-1000XM6 is any indication, the company has done it again.

Along with exceptional, well-balanced audio co-developed by studio engineers, these headphones run on Sony's QN3 processor and 12 adaptive microphones that silence background noise while isolating your voice for clear calls.

Throw in Bluetooth 5.3 LE, a spatial Cinema Mode, a companion app with EQ settings, and Auracast support—which tunes into public or private wireless audio broadcasts much like a radio receiver tunes into a station—and you've got a premium pair of over-ear headphones.

The 1000XM6s come in five colors, and a redesigned folding hinge, a highly requested return, collapses them into a magnetic travel case. Battery life tops 30 hours between charges.

A few minor niggles turn up in the Cons, but Sony remains on top of its game.

• Headphone fit: Over-ear
• Active noise canceling: Yes
• Transparency/ambient mode: Yes
• Spatial audio: Yes
• High-res audio: No
• Impedance/frequency range: 6 ohms; 20 Hz–40,000 Hz (Hi-Res certified)
• Carrying case: Yes
• Battery: Up to 70 hours (50 hours with ANC enabled)

Over-ear Bluetooth headphones can cost hundreds of dollars, but budget-conscious buyers aren't out of luck: the Anker Soundcore Space 2 costs $130.

Despite the low price, the audio quality exceeded our expectations, courtesy of 40mm double-layer diaphragm drivers and support for Hi-Res audio in wired mode and LDAC over wireless. Active noise cancellation impresses, too—switch it on and it targets and mostly mutes the ambient sounds around you, like the loud hum of a jet engine.

Speaking of airplanes, Nap Mode stands out: tap the option in the app, and it blocks incoming calls and plays locally stored soundscapes such as Rainstorm, Blizzard, Rainy Park, and Babbling Brook. It works offline, too, including in airplane mode.

The Soundcore companion app also handles equalizer (EQ) settings and switches between 3D audio and the high-bitrate LDAC codec, depending on your battery or connection needs.

The foamy, faux-leather adjustable headphones are comfortable, though they can trap heat over long sessions. Take them off and your music pauses.

Battery life tops 50 hours with ANC on, or 70 hours with it off. Anker's quick-charge claim held up: five minutes plugged in yielded almost four hours of playback without ANC.

The Space 2 proves you don't need to break the bank for a quality pair of ANC over-ear headphones with this long a battery life.

• Headphone fit: Over-ear
• Active noise canceling: Yes
• Transparency/ambient mode: Yes
• Spatial audio: Yes
• High-res audio: Yes
• Impedance/frequency range: n/a
• Carrying case: Yes
• Battery: Up to 20 hours

When it comes to over-ear headphones, Apple may be the new kid on the block—especially next to brands that have been around since the 1940s, like Sennheiser and AKG—but the Apple AirPods Max 2 sound as good as they look.

The design is worth calling out off the top: a breathable knit-mesh canopy, memory foam and custom textile ear cushions, and telescoping arms for a customized fit. As with the Sony WH-1000XM6, five colorways are available.

Powered by Apple's H2 chip, the AirPods Max 2 deliver high-fidelity audio across everything we played through them, mostly Apple Music but some FLAC files too, and the noise cancellation improves noticeably on the first generation. Like Apple's earbuds, the Adaptive Audio feature senses when you start talking to someone and automatically lowers your volume. Press and hold the listening button and Live Translation kicks in, translating the language someone is speaking to you—though with mixed results.

Unlike Sony's WH-1000XM6, the AirPods Max 2 connect to a music source via USB-C for lossless, high-resolution audio.

Expect 20 hours of battery between charges with active noise cancellation and spatial audio enabled.

• Headphone fit: Over-ear
• Active noise canceling: Yes
• Transparency/ambient mode: Yes
• Spatial audio: Yes
• High-res audio: No
• Impedance/frequency range: 18 ohms; 10 Hz–40,000 Hz
• Carrying case: Yes
• Battery: Up to 70 hours

JBL sells over-ear headphones starting at $20 (wired, for kids), but those who take their music seriously will appreciate the pristine sound and noise cancellation built into the JBL Tour One M3 Over-Ear Headphones.

Featuring 40mm drivers and an internal digital-to-analog converter (DAC), these comfortable Bluetooth headphones deliver exceptional audio, including support for high-res lossless audio over the included USB-C or 3.5mm cable.

Eight microphones handle noise canceling, blocking out ambient sound so nothing gets between you and your tunes, podcasts, audiobooks, videos, games, or calls. Press a button and sound comes back in, useful when the flight attendant is asking whether you want a snack (of course you do).

The Tour One M3 also offers spatial audio with head tracking, so if a sound (or virtual screen) sits in front of you and you turn your head to the right or left, the sound correctly stays where it was.

Bundled with the Tour One M3 is an accessory called the Smart Tx, a small dongle with a color touchscreen that plugs into analog (3.5mm) or digital (USB-C) sources, such as in-flight entertainment, and transmits audio to your headphones over low-latency Bluetooth. It doubles as a remote control for your headphone settings.

Battery life tops 70 hours of playback between charges.

• Headphone fit: Over-ear
• Active noise canceling: Yes
• Transparency/ambient mode: No
• Spatial audio: No
• High-res audio: No
• Frequency range: 20 Hz–20,000 Hz
• Carrying case: Yes
• Battery: Up to 35 hours

Parents, here's some sound advice: you can pick up a pair of quality headphones for your kids that also prioritize hearing protection.

The Puro Sound Labs PuroQuiet-Plus headphones cap volume at 85 decibels (dB) to protect young eardrums from hearing damage. Audio quality held up better than we expected for kids' headphones, too, both wired and wireless. Along with volume buttons on the left earcup, kids can switch on active noise cancellation (ANC), which blocks up to 22 dB of background sound. An integrated microphone handles calls when the headphones are paired to a phone.

Instead of the cheap plastic most kids' headphones use, these colorful cans wear a more durable aluminum finish that looks better and stays light at about 170 grams (6 ounces). The buttons themselves feel less premium.

In wireless mode, which works up to 30 feet from the source, battery life tops 30 to 35 hours of playtime, or about 10 hours less with ANC active. In wired mode, the included cable lets two kids share the same audio source.

Puro includes a black travel case.

• Ambient sound modes: Noise canceling, adaptive transparency mode
• Dust and water resistance: IPX4
• Battery life: 8 hours with ANC; up to 24 hours with the case

Competition for top earbuds is fierce from year to year, with Apple bumping the Sony WF-1000XM4 with the AirPods Pro 2, and now Sony has done the same to Apple.

The Sony WF-1000XM5's noise-canceling performance might be incremental rather than a leap, but it still slightly exceeds both the Apple AirPods Pro 2 and the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II. While the XM5 let in a little more low-frequency airplane drone, they skip the added high-end hiss found on the Bose and Apple. Plus, they attenuate troublesome midrange frequencies like coffeehouse chatter better.

The WF-1000XM5 do beat the QuietComfort Earbuds II and AirPods Pro 2 in two important ways. Sound quality for both music and calls far exceeds that of the Bose, and unlike the AirPods, the XM5 works just as well with Apple products as with Android devices. Getting a solid fit can take some effort, but overall there isn't a better pair of wireless earbuds available.

Read our full Sony WF-1000XM5 review.

• Ambient sound modes: Active noise canceling (ANC), Adaptive Audio, Transparency mode
• Dust and water resistance: IP57
• Battery life: 8 hours with ANC, 10 hours in Transparency mode using the Hearing Aid feature

Apple has taken everything that made its previous AirPods Pro (2nd gen) so popular and improved it across the board with the Apple AirPods Pro 3. And for the same price.

The first thing you'll notice about AirPods Pro 3 is a more comfortable fit (now with six tip sizes in the box), including foam-infused silicone tips that also help with noise cancellation. The guided hearing test is optional, but it takes only a few seconds to set you up to hear music, podcasts, audiobooks, and calls.

Along with better passive noise cancellation from the improved fit options and foam tips, AirPods Pro 3 add enhanced active noise cancellation (ANC), which electronically generates a sound wave to counter ambient sounds captured by the AirPods' microphones. Apple says its ANC is twice as good as the AirPods 2 and four times as powerful as the original AirPods Pro. You can hear the difference when it's activated.

What's more, battery life climbs to 8 hours from 6 hours when ANC is enabled, and now up to 10 hours in Transparency mode (when you want to hear the outside world or even amplify it with the Hearing Aid feature).

Like Powerbeats Pro 2, which Apple also owns, AirPods Pro 3 have an integrated heart-rate monitor for heart-rate feedback during workouts (via the Health app).

The coolest feature? Live Translation lets you select from one of six languages. Pinch the stems of the AirPods Pro 3, and it translates someone's spoken words into your mother tongue in near-real time, though it didn't work every time for us.

From better noise cancellation and battery life to heart rate sensing and language translation, AirPods Pro 3 are the current kings of wireless earbuds.

• Battery life: 10 hours, up to 50 with the case
• Ambient sound modes: Adaptive ANC, Transparency mode
• Dust/water resistance: IPX4 rating

The Anker Soundcore Space A40 are the best offering we've seen from a company that was already making remarkably powerful noise-canceling earbuds at budget prices. They punch well above their price point to compete with heavy hitters like the Jabra Elite 5.

Adaptive active noise canceling excels on low-frequency drones like air conditioner hums or airplane cabin noise. It can even take the edge off nearby coffee shop conversations. Two transparency mode options let you choose between hearing everything and letting voices through for quick conversations.

The default sound profile is serviceable, but a piercing high end and strong bass somewhat drown out the midrange. The app includes an 8-band EQ to customize.

To go further, the HearID Sound feature profiles your hearing perception and creates a personalized EQ curve. It works well, and it beats the default. The A40 supports both hi-res audio and LDAC.

Touch controls include a single tap, double tap, and a two-second hold. You can assign each to a variety of controls, such as volume, track selection, or sound profile selection, or turn them off to avoid accidentally skipping a track while adjusting your earbuds.

In addition to their strong sound and features, these earbuds include a wireless charging case. The Anker Space A40 are our gold standard for earbud performance at such a low price point.