Stiftung Warentest tested twelve current wireless Bluetooth earphones, including the Apple Airpods Pro 2. They are the only plugs with a very good sound among all 216 in-ears tested so far. Apple still has to share first place with two other manufacturers.
When Stiftung Warentest published its current headphone leaderboards at the end of January, there were no Apple plugs among the test winners. However, the new Airpods Pro 2, which according to ntv.de belonged at the top, had not yet been tested. The foundation has now made up for this by testing a total of twelve other current wireless in-ears.
The Airpods Pro 2 managed the feat of being the first earphones whose sound the testers rated as very good (1.5). And after all, they had already plugged in a total of 216 in-ears.
The Airpods Pro 2 also performed best when it came to active noise cancellation (ANC). Their durability is very good, the battery performance is good. Nevertheless, the Apple earphones, which cost around 290 euros, did not get beyond the quality rating of 1.8, as they received deductions for use information that was too meager during handling.
The Airpods 2 have to share first place with the newly tested Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II (260 euros). They hardly sound weaker than the Airpods Pro 2 (1.6), also offer a very good ANC and share the fate of the Apple plugs when it comes to handling. Its durability is very good and its endurance is good.
With an overall rating of 1.8, the previous sole frontrunners, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 (209 euros), also remain ahead. The examiners rated the sound (1.8), comfort and handling as well as endurance as good. They found the active noise cancellation (ANC) and the durability of the German earphones to be very good.
Google Pixel Buds Pro (181 euros) were also among the new test candidates. With a quality rating of 2.1, they were also given good marks, but they had to be satisfied with 20th place. Only their durability was rated very good, the Pixel Buds Pro did well in all other categories.
The clear price-performance winner remains the OnePlus Buds Z2, which received an overall rating of 2.0 last April at an average online price of 73 euros. They could have done even better if they hadn’t suffered penalties for poor product information. Sound, battery and ANC are good, the durability is very good.
