Stiftung Warentest publishes its latest hit parade of the best Bluetooth headphones, from wireless plugs to circumaural headband headsets. Two of the three test winners come from Germany, more expensive does not always mean better.
The range of Bluetooth headphones is already huge and new devices are constantly being added. Stiftung Warentest, which has already tested a total of 316 headphones with its European partner organizations, helps with the selection, and nine headsets were recently added. Very good headphones are not among them, but a lot of good ones.
The range of Bluetooth earphones is now particularly large, and the boom has been unbroken since the first Airpods. There are currently no in-ears from Apple among the test winners, but the new Airpods Pro are still missing from the product test list.
The current leaders are the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 with an overall rating of 1.8, which have an average online price of 206 euros. The reviewers rated the sound, comfort and handling, and endurance as good. They found the active noise cancellation (ANC) and the durability of the German earphones to be very good.
The JBL Reflect Flow Pro, which only cost 135 euros, even sound a bit better than the test winners. However, because they are delivered without instructions and their ANC is only good, they came second with a quality rating of 1.9. Three other pairs of earphones received the same overall rating.
Even the best sound was not enough for the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro (145 euros) to win the test. Although they also perform well or very well in all other categories, a minor weakness in handling (2.5) prevented a better quality assessment.
In principle, the Sennheiser Sport True Wireless are as good as the test winners, they only lack active noise cancellation and they are not quite as comfortable in everyday life as the Momentum True Wireless 3. However, they only cost 100 euros.
Had the testers not only found comfort and handling satisfactory, the Sony WF-1000XM4 could have been better than the overall rating of 1.9. Because in all other categories they were equal to the test winners with good and very good grades.
Over-the-ear headphones are a compact headband alternative that can produce a fuller sound with stronger bass through larger speakers. Some users love them, others can’t wear them for long because they’re too tight on their ears.
The clear number 1 here is the JBL Live 460NC with a quality rating of 2.0. The headphones, which are cheap for 100 euros, offer the best sound of the tested on-ears and the testers even certify that they are comfortable to wear. ANC and durability are also good, and the product test found the endurance to be very good.
The Marshall Major IV took second place with an overall score of 2.3. At around 130 euros, it is more expensive than the test winner, but it does not offer active noise cancellation, and the sound and wearing comfort are only satisfactory. The durability of the headphones is good, the battery performance is very good.
The third-placed Audio-Technica ATH-S220BT (2.4) only performed satisfactorily in terms of sound and wearing comfort and has no ANC. With an average price of just under 70 euros, it is almost a bargain. Durability and battery rated Warentest very well.
Larger headband headphones with circumaural shells are the premier class that sound the best and have the most effective noise cancellation. At the top of the podium is the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless, which costs around 280 euros and has a quality rating of 1.7. Its active noise cancellation is the most effective among the top devices. Sound and comfort received good marks, endurance and durability very good.
The Bowers follows closely behind the test winner
The only headphone with a very good sound is the Apple AirPods Max. Stiftung Warentest rated its active noise cancellation as good and its durability as very good. However, the testers found the handling and wearing comfort as well as the battery performance of the AirPod Max to be only satisfactory. The headphones, which cost as much as 630 euros, did not exceed the quality rating of 1.9 overall.
