The Guides of Choosing Wireless Bluetooth Headphones of 2023

Since the advent of Bluetooth headphones, they have gradually changed our music habits for their excellent portability. However, the sound quality of the Bluetooth headphone is very poor and has not been able to satisfy many people, due to the signal transmission capacity of Bluetooth and the built-in DAC, etc.

If your requirements for wireless Bluetooth headphones are just able to hear the sound, then buying Bluetooth headphones is undoubtedly a very simple thing. But the fact is that there are many students with a budget of only tens or hundreds, and they are often confused after reading the "deep bass, stable treble" review articles on the Internet, then they might buy a headphone at random.

So how to select the most suitable one for yourself among the countless wireless Bluetooth headphones? What specifications and functions should be pay attention to when selecting a wireless Bluetooth headphone? This article will answer these questions in order.

How to choose a wireless Bluetooth headphone?

1. Pay attention to wearing comfort and stability

The requirements for wireless Bluetooth headphones are different from people to people because of different using habits, for example, some people pay more attention to sound quality, while some people pay attention to noise reduction function, waterproof and dustproof and other functions. You can first list the wearing comfort and stability of the headphone as the primary condition in the most preliminary selection, after all, the headphone is usually worn for a fair bit of time, so choosing a headphone with good wearing comfort can avoid ear pain, and enough stability can avoid accidentally dropping and losing headphones while walking.

At present, most of the true wireless Bluetooth headphones are in-ear design, which needs to be used with earbuds, so the comfort of wearing the true wireless earbuds is closely related to the material and size of the earbuds. In order to meet different use needs, manufacturers usually attach different sizes of earbuds for users to replace, and now there are also manufacturers launching the corresponding detection App, so that users can find the most suitable earbud size through the App.

If you are used to wearing Bluetooth headphones during commuting and sports, maybe you can select products that strengthen the stability of wearing, for example, some of the main sports headphones are ear-hanging, so that the headphones can be hung above the ear. Among them, the ear-hanging headphones also have a bone conduction headphone with a special design, which also hangs the headphones on the ears, but the special thing is that it stays at the temple rather than entering the ear, in addition, some models have special designs on the ear wings of the headphones, so the headphones can be tight to the auricle and more stable when wearing them.

2. Check the Bluetooth version and audio protocol before purchasing, which is related to the audio quality and transmission distance of the headphone

Bluetooth is a wireless communication technology which allows mobile devices to exchange data over a small distance. The Bluetooth version is theoretically the new the better when selecting a headphone, because the Bluetooth version has a very big relationship with the transmission speed, transmission distance and power consumption of the wireless headphone. For example, Bluetooth version 4.1 has a theoretical transmission rate of 24Mbps and a range of 50 meters, while Bluetooth 5.0 has a theoretical speed of 48Mbps and a theoretical distance of 300 meters. Compared with the previous generation, Bluetooth 5.0 has longer transmission distance, faster speed and lower power consumption, and the current Bluetooth 5.0 true wireless headphone can achieve continuous music playback for 8 hours or even more than 12 hours.

Why do Bluetooth headphones become unstable in places with a lot of people, and why are true wireless headphones particularly prone to audio and picture out-of-sync?

Wireless headphones need to transmit audio through Bluetooth, some common coding methods are SBC, AAC, aptX, LDAC, etc. Among them, SBC is the official standard set, almost all Bluetooth audio devices are applicable to SBC standard audio protocol, but SBC is also the most basic sound quality performance in the encoding. Therefore, if you want better audio quality, you can choose headphone models which support AAC, aptX, LDAC in addition to SBC, and LDAC has the best audio quality among them.

The audio specifications of the headphone can usually be found on the specification table of the wireless Bluetooth headphone, but it should be noted that it’s useless if only has the Bluetooth headset unilaterally supports this specification, it needs to be supported by both the mobile phone and the Bluetooth headphones plus a sufficient quality of the signal source (sound source) to achieve a higher level of audio effect. In other words, if you want better audio quality, the combination of Bluetooth headphones, mobile phones, and audio sources is indispensable.

In the specification table of the headphones, you will usually see the Bluetooth specification and supported audio formats.

(1) Audio selection of Bluetooth headphone:

Bluetooth version: related to transmission distance, delay, endurance. In theory, the newer the version, the better.

Audio protocol: related to the audio quality of Bluetooth headphones. SBC is the most basic.

It requires the support of both mobile phones and headphones, plus sufficient quality of signal sources, so that it can achieve a higher level of audio effects.

(2) The common audio protocols for Bluetooth headphones:

SBC: The official standard audio protocol of the Bluetooth Alliance, the most basic one, the worst sound quality performance.

AAC: Mainly found in Apple's audio devices. The audio quality is better than SBC.

APTX: Among the chips produced by Qualcomm, Bluetooth chips that comply with CSR specifications can be used.

LDAC: Proposed by Sony, provided with permission, mainly found in Android. The best sound quality.

(3) Bluetooth transmission distance

As its name implies, it refers to the distance that information can be transmitted. For example, the theoretical distance of Bluetooth 5.0 is 300 meters, so the headphone and mobile phone can communicate with each other and transmit audio data within 300 meters. However, the transmission distance and stability of Bluetooth will be changed due to the affection of the environment.

3. Pay attention to the appearance size, battery life, and charging method

Wireless Bluetooth headphones cannot use too large batteries because of the limitation of size, so the battery life of early headphones is generally short, and it is not until recent years that 10 hours and 12 hours of high endurance models have appeared. In order to extend the use time of wireless Bluetooth headphones, some headphones with charging cases also have additional charging functions, which can charge the headphones while storing, and the charging case of some models can provide 2 or 3 times of complete charging.

Emphasizing the lightness when carrying, the charging case will usually be based primarily on small size. When selecting, in addition to paying attention to the power provided by the charging case, you can also pay attention to the charging interface, fast charging specifications, the time when the power is fully charged, and whether it supports the function of wireless charging. If you are accustomed to putting the headphone and the charging case together in your pocket, you can choose charging case with circular design to avoid the sharp corners of the charging case affecting the action or hurting other items in the pocket.

(1) The selection of battery life of wireless Bluetooth headset:

When fully charged, whether the maximum use time of the headphones meets the requirements?

Whether the charging case provides additional power, and how long it can provide with additional power?

How much time does it take for the charging case to fully charge the headphones?

The charging port type of the charging case, and whether it supports fast charging.

Whether the charging case is light enough to be portable?

Headphones may have different lengths of use in different modes.

Early wireless Bluetooth headphones had the difference between main earphones and secondary earphones, because the main earphone played the role of receiving and transmitting signals at the same time, so the power consumption of the host side was large, resulting in uneven power consumption of the left and right sides of the headphone. After the improvement of technology, the left and right sides of the true wireless Bluetooth headphone can receive information, and there is no longer a distinction between the main earphone and the secondary earphone, and the power consumption on both sides is more even. The battery life of wireless Bluetooth headsets will also vary depending on the usage mode. For example, you can generally listen to music for 5 hours continuously, but if you use the call function or turn on the noise reduction mode, the usage time will be shortened.

The appearance of headphones with charging case is mainly small size and lightweight, but there also have some different design styles to attract different consumer groups. Most headphone charging cases on the market are still mainly wired charging, and the charging interface may be micro USB or USB Type-C.

There are also some bone conduction headphones that are different from traditional charging methods, using a high-tech magnetic charging port, which does not need to be manually inserted, it can be charged as long as the charging port is aligned with the charger. The better performance bone conduction headphones also support fast charging.

4. Active noise-cancellation, transparency mode, custom noise reduction level

Noise reduction technology can be divided into active noise reduction and passive noise reduction, of which the passive noise reduction function is relatively simple for it uses sponge, rubber and other materials to block the sound, as for active noise control (ANC), it cancels the sound waves through the chip configured inside the headphones. When noise is generated outside, after the noise is detected by the microphone of the headphones, the chip of the headphones will emit anti-noise waves equal to the noise, thereby eliminating the noise outside.

However, although the noise reduction mode greatly reduces external sounds, there will be safety hazards if the outside noise is completely eliminated during commuting and sports, what’s more, users may turn on the noise reduction function, resulting in the inability to hear various ambient sounds such as car sounds or horns.

Thus, the transparency mode / ambient sound mode of noise-canceling headphones and the bone conduction headphones of the open ear type came into being.

Turning on transparency mode of headphones will reduce the noise reduction effect, so that the outside sound can be transmitted smoothly, but at the same time it retains a certain degree of noise reduction. Nowadays, there are also many noise-canceling headphones that provide different noise reduction levels, or provide ambient sound modes, attention modes, etc. which suitable for different places, and some models even can automatically detect the user's activities, such as traveling, walking, and then automatically adjust the ambient sound settings according to the usage conditions.

There are also headphones that use bone conduction technology, that is bone conduction headphone, which vibrate the bone through a vibrator in contact with the ear perimeter, thereby converting the vibration into sound in the ear. In other words, its biggest feature is that it does not block the ear canal. This sound principle is different from the ordinary earphone inserted into the ear canal, which transmits vibration through the air and causes the eardrum to vibrate, so that the ear can perceive the sound.

Bone conduction headphones do not block the ear canal, which brings many benefits. The first benefit is that you can also hear outside sounds while wearing headphones. For example, using a bone conduction headphone while working in the office allows you to respond as usual when a colleague talks to you, so there are no issues that hinder communication. On telecommuting days, when you wear bone conduction headphones to communicate with colleagues or clients, you can also correctly notice if there are visitors such as delivery men. What's more, when you wear bone-conduction headphones to exercise outdoors, this headphone can help you pay attention to the ambient sounds around you, providing you with higher safety.

5. Selecting headphone according to the usage scenario

(1) Pay attention to noise reduction ability when use in commuting

The noise reduction function is probably the most popular feature in the field of wireless Bluetooth headphones at the moment. When traveling by subway, bus, or even plane, there's nothing more extravagant than being able to immerse yourself in a quiet world of music. The high-quality microphone also allows us to answer calls with confidence. Therefore,they are also ideal for telecommuters.

To improve noise reduction performance, both "passive" sound insulation, which is attached to the ear for better sound insulation, and "active" precision are required, which requires technical expertise in noise analysis and signal processing. At the moment, this is a difficult area to choose because the results are uneven.

Recommended headphones: JabraElite85t true wireless active noise canceling Bluetooth headphone Price: $167

JabraElite85t is a true wireless Bluetooth headphone with quartet noise cancellation for a pure listening experience. High dual core with independent noise reduction algorithm which can effectively deal with all kinds of noise inside and outside the ear canal, while with self-developed noise reduction ear glue and unique twist lock structure, it effectively isolates the noise of various frequency bands and brings bring pure noise reduction experience.

Lv.5 active noise cancellation, Lv.5 transparent mode, whether you are commuting or in the office, it both can meet your noise reduction needs in different scenes and brings a comfortable noise reduction experience. Equipped with 12mm large speakers, it brings a stereoscopic sound field effect. The ultra-wideband frequency response custom diaphragm brings a wide sound range and truly restores the sound of the instrument. The Great Nordic Acoustics Laboratory is finely tuned, the analysis is delicate, the music grain is very clear, and the shocking music scene is interpreted in your ears. Battery life with 31 hours can basically charge once a week which is enough, very endurable.

(2) Pay attention to the sensitivity of sound effects when playing games:

It is necessary to look for a low-latency, cost-effective wireless Bluetooth headphone that can be used to play games. The favorite feature of headphones for gamers is low latency. Generally, within 100ms can meet the needs of people who play games. There are really not many Bluetooth headphones that can support low latency before, because Bluetooth 5.0 is not yet supported. But the good news is that most Bluetooth headphones now begin to support Bluetooth 5.0, so there are many headphones with a delay of 100ms at the moment, and some manufacturers have specially designed game modes to make the delay lower.

Recommended headphone: Edifier NeoBuds Pro High Resolution earbuds Price: $129.99

EDIFIER NeoBuds Pro is the latest in the EDIFIER' s current series, equipped with hybrid active noise cancellation technology with a noise reduction depth of 42dB, making the world instantly quiet, allowing people to listen and immerse themselves in the game world. It is also equipped with a new three-microphone call noise reduction algorithm and wind noise detection mechanism, coupled with AI intelligent voice pickup algorithm, which weakens environmental noise interference in real time, while further enhancing the human voice, improving sound clarity and fidelity which ensure that the sound is still transparent and pure when talking into the wind.

The overall sound of the headphones sounds very balanced, the energy distribution of high, medium and low frequencies is even, and the fusion between the frequency bands is relatively natural and smooth, without obtrusiveness and glitches. The rich details of the sound can be clearly reproduced, and every time you listen to it is like hearing it live.

High sensitivity, outstanding resolution, clear and bright high frequency. The sound field is very large, the bass is full, and the call noise reduction effect is very good. There are four noise reduction modes. When we start the game mode, we feel that the sound and picture are always synchronized, which helps us to take the lead in the game and feel the carefree experience of flowing water.

(3) Pay attention to the waterproof level for sports use:

Using wireless Bluetooth headphones during exercise will come into contact with sweat and rain, so you can pay attention to the waterproof level of the headphone when selecting. The "International Protection Marking", also known as the "Foreign Object Protection Rating", is used to define the level of protection of mechanical and electronic equipment against solid foreign object intrusion, liquid infiltration, accidental contact, etc.

Liquid penetration protection level: IPX1: vertical dripping has no negative effect; IPX2: When tilted to 15 degrees of normal attitude, vertical water droplets under umbrella protection have no negative effect; IPX3: Pressurized spray above the outside of the equipment (within 60 degrees of vertical line), no negative effects such as infiltration; IPX4: water splashed on the device from any angle has no negative effect; IPX5: The water column ejected by the nozzle is sprayed onto the equipment from any angle without negative effect; IPX6: The pressurized water column ejected by the powerful nozzle is sprayed onto the equipment from any angle without negative effect; IPX7: When the equipment is immersed in water for 1 meter under a clear water pressure and time, it will not cause damage to the equipment due to water immersion; IPX8: The device can be immersed in water for a long time under specified conditions of more than 1 meter.

Recommended headphones: Wissonly Hi Runner bone conduction Bluetooth headphone Price: $99.99

If you want to pursue a comfortable experience in a day of exercise, and you have high requirements for the sound quality and performance of headphones, we recommend using Wissonly's flagship model "Wissonly Hi Runner".

The waterproof of Wissonly Hi Runner is very excellent for it reaches to IPX8 rated, which can easily cope with sweat, rain, and it can also be used when swimming, moreover, you can even wear it to dive, it can work normally up to 15 meters underwater, if you accidentally dirty it, you can also wash it directly. In order to adapt to the use needs of underwater scenes such as swimming,Hi Runner also has a built-in memory of 32G.Hi Runner also has a built-in memory of 32G.The Bluetooth connection may be unstable when underwater. The built-in storage of headphones can solve this problem well,you can use the headphones as an MP3 player, and you can enjoy high-quality music underwater.

The Wissonly Hi Runner uses the latest Bluetooth 5.0 chip, which makes Bluetooth connections more stable. Its battery life is also very excellent, it can play continuously for 8-10 hours at normal volume, which is really good for people who like outdoor sports, even if they go out to climb all day, they don't have to worry about the battery running out. It also supports magnetic fast charging, and it only takes 2 hours to fully charge.

Due to the particularity of the technical principle, bone conduction headphones are more difficult to improve sound quality. To this end, Wissonly Hi Runner subverts the traditional sound quality improvement scheme, it uses a large-size bone conduction vibrator in a breakthrough way, and through structural optimization, the effective vibration area of the vibrator is increased by 35%, thus improving the sound efficiency of the vibrator and making the sound more powerful. Moreover, it optimizes the direction of sound transmission, reduces sound loss during sound transmission, and makes sound more concentrated. During the music playback, it is very rich from the rich bass to the delicate treble, and the resolution of each sound is particularly stunning, the gentle friction of a stringed instrument, or even the whisper of a singer, can be vividly reproduced.

Sports bluetooth headphones certainly have to pay attention to comfort and stability. The frame of Wissonly Hi Runner is made of titanium, which can adjust the fit position and can be applied to different head sizes to improve the stability of wearing. Its’ weight is very light, less than 30g, and it doesn't feel any weight when wearing it, and you don't even feel like you're carrying it. Its surface material is soft and skin-friendly silicone material, which feels as smooth as baby skin, and it will not be uncomfortable to wear for a long time, it is very comfortable whether it is in sports or daily use.

These characteristics ensure that Wissonly headphones have a good wearing experience and allow more people to wear it.