The Top Best Wireless Headphones for the Money

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Headphones are something we can’t live without nowadays. I wouldn’t be able to stand my day job, make the music I product or workout without wanting to give up due to being bored out of my mind. With that being said, and as technology continues to advance, headphones are becoming higher in quality, particularly when it comes to their wireless capabilities as Bluetooth technology continues to improve. We don’t like to give much credit to Beats by Dre (yes, we do have one of their models in here), but they were pretty responsible for popularizing and capitalizing the wireless headphone market. However, they’re not the only ones out there, of course. Today we’ve found top of the best models for you to consider for your Bluetooth wireless Headphones audio listening endeavors.

The Top Best Wireless Headphones for the Money

Sony WH-1000XM4

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The Sony WH-1000XM4 deliver excellent noise-cancellation and surprising sound quality all in a lightweight, comfortable design.

While they don’t look significantly different from their predecessors, the Sony WH-1000XM3, a number of new features including multipoint pairing, DSEE Extreme upscaling, conversational awareness and auto-play/pause using a built-in sensor all help the WH-1000XM4 claim the title of best headphones in 2021.

By every possible metric, the Sony WH-1000XM4 is a wonderful pair of wireless noise-cancelling headphones. They deliver exactly what they promise and then some thanks to their exceptional noise cancellation and cutting-edge codec support.

On top of the adjustments listed above, the Sony WH-1000XM4 support Sony’s 360 Reality Audio format that enables spatial audio on stereo headphones plus the LDAC codec that can send a bitrate of up to 990 kbps. The unfortunate bit there, though, is that it no longer supports aptX or aptX HD, so your Hi-Res Audio support mileage may vary.

Despite being usurped by the XM4s, the Sony WH-1000XM3s are still well worth considering – and they’re likely to be discounted now that the newer model is out.

Plantronics BackBeat Go 810

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For years, the Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 were among our favorite wireless headphones because of their excellent sound, build quality and features. Unfortunately, they were also kind of expensive.

For a lot less ($150 / £140 / AU$240), Plantronics now sells the brilliant BackBeat Go 810, which use less premium materials but sound nearly identical to its more expensive predecessor – and sport an equally chic design.

With that in mind, the BackBeat Go 810 are the best headphones for those that want wireless connectivity without the high price tag.

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700

The Top Best Wireless Headphones for the Money

If the Sony WH-1000XM4s is the true king of noise-canceling headphones, the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 are next in line for the throne – and for the sake of offering an alternative, we’ve included them in this list.

By applying noise cancellation to phone calls as well as music, Bose has made great strides in the field of noise-canceling headphones. The sound quality is undeniably good, with a vibrant, lively character and well-balanced soundstage.

If you’re trying to decide between buying the Sony WH-1000XM4s and the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, we’d recommend going for the former because of that lower price and better battery life – they’re the best headphones of 2020 for a reason. That being said, you wouldn’t be making a mistake if you opted for the Bose cans instead (and we wouldn’t blame you if you did) – they sound great, look stunning, and the noise cancellation is out of this world.

Apple AirPods Max

The Top Best Wireless Headphones for the Money
The Top Best Wireless Headphones for the Money

The unexpectedly huge price of the Apple AirPods Max makes them considerably dearer than the great majority of premium (if we can even still call them that) wireless noise-cancelling headphones but they really do justify that extra outlay.

You need an iPhone or iPad to get the most out of them. They will work with non-Apple products using standard Bluetooth 5.0, but you’ll miss out on many of their unique features.

Assuming you are a keen Apple user, the AirPods Max are the best wireless headphones you can buy – and not by a small margin. Their authenticity, detail, crispness and spaciousness elevate them so far above the previous best in the wireless noise-cancelling class that the comparison starts to become a little redundant and you instead begin to consider them alongside proper hi-fi products.

There’s no denying that they cost a lot more than typical products in this class but, if sound quality is king, there’s equally no denying that they’re worth it.