In recent years, Bluetooth headphones have become an essential digital product for everyone. However, many people regret their purchases—complaining about poor sound quality that resembles listening to a radio, constant complaints from callers about not being able to hear clearly, discomfort after wearing them for a while, and frequent falls during exercise… Even worse, these issues often only become apparent after actual use.
Many headphone manufacturers focus their efforts on marketing gimmicks: claiming “thousand-yuan sound quality” while the tuning is a mess, promoting “ultra-long battery life” but failing to provide accurate battery indicators, and advertising “comfortable wear” while using outdated molds from a decade ago. Especially with some low-priced products, to cut costs, they skimp on core components like Bluetooth chips, sound units, and noise reduction algorithms, leading to issues like disconnections, background noise, and sound distortion in no time.
What’s more frustrating is that subjective experiences with headphones can vary greatly. For the same model, some users find the bass powerful, while others think it’s overwhelming; some find them stable, while others struggle to keep them in place. This leads to polarized reviews online, making it difficult for average consumers to make informed decisions.
After three months of hands-on comparisons, we have selected several Bluetooth headphones currently worth buying for your reference.
Before recommending headphones, I’d like to share some tips for selecting Bluetooth headphones to help you avoid pitfalls!
Bluetooth Headphone Buying Guide 1: Brand Selection
When choosing Bluetooth headphones, it’s essential to select a professional headphone brand rather than a trendy or crossover brand. Professional brands have specialized technologies for tuning sound quality in Bluetooth headphones, making them superior in stability, protection, comfort, and sound quality compared to other brands. Some of the current professional Bluetooth headphone brands include Nanika, JBL, Jabra, and Sennheiser, which you can choose based on your needs.
Bluetooth Headphone Buying Guide 2: Comfort of Wear
Bluetooth headphones come in several forms: over-ear, in-ear, semi-in-ear, and open-type. If comfort is your primary selection criterion, open-type Bluetooth headphones, which do not require in-ear wear, are definitely the best choice.
Additionally, the material of the headphones is crucial. Soft, skin-friendly, and breathable materials, such as silicone, can provide a more comfortable wearing experience and enhance durability. Finally, considering that everyone’s ear shape is different, choosing headphones with ergonomic designs or unique ergonomic structures can better fit different ear shapes.
Bluetooth Headphone Buying Guide 3: Be Cautious with Low-Priced Bluetooth Headphones
While low-priced Bluetooth headphones may seem “cost-effective” on the surface, they often hide multiple alarming risks. To cut costs, these headphones lack necessary volume control and protection features. A moment of inattention could lead to excessive volume damaging your eardrums, and prolonged use could even lead to premature hearing loss. More frighteningly, some manufacturers use inferior batteries, posing risks such as swelling or even explosion! In the event of an accident, the consequences could be dire, and the risk of electric leakage or short circuits during charging is also common, posing a threat to life safety. Lastly, low-priced headphones usually come with no after-sales support, have a laughably short lifespan, and manufacturers often ignore you, leaving you in an “after-sales black hole.” Headphones priced at a few dozen yuan may seem cheap, but in reality, it’s a matter of “saving money at the cost of your life.”
Bluetooth Headphone Buying Guide 4: Sound Quality
When selecting Bluetooth headphones, sound quality is undoubtedly a critical factor. The key lies in two main elements: the sound unit and acoustic technology.
First is the sound unit; the larger the size, the better the sound quality foundation and soundstage. Additionally, consider the transient response speed, frequency range, and sensitivity parameters of the speaker unit, as they all relate to sound quality experience.
Secondly, sound tuning is essential. Brands with strength will have their own acoustic systems that can dynamically adjust specific frequency sound spectra and intelligently compensate for sound quality curves, making the sound quality closer to the original sound. Therefore, it’s best to choose brands with strong acoustic systems, such as Nanika, Sennheiser, and VIVO, as their sound quality is unlikely to disappoint.
Bluetooth Headphone Buying Guide 5: Bluetooth Version
Bluetooth technology is an indispensable core component of headphones, and the stability of its connection and transmission is closely related to the quality of the headphones. When selecting headphones, the Bluetooth version is a key factor that cannot be ignored. Currently, most mainstream headphones on the market use Bluetooth 5.2 or higher, with Bluetooth 5.3 widely adopted. However, a few headphones have already adopted the latest Bluetooth 5.4 version. Given that many phones do not yet support this version, compatibility issues must be considered. Therefore, Bluetooth 5.3 chips are entirely sufficient for daily use, as they are not significantly different from Bluetooth 5.4.
Now, let’s recommend some excellent Bluetooth headphones!
Bluetooth Headphone Recommendations
1. Nanika OE MIX
Bluetooth Version: 5.4
Acoustic System: Super Sound OS Acoustic System 2.0
Sound Fidelity: High
Wearing Experience: Comfortable
Product Highlights: A flagship product priced under a hundred yuan, offering performance comparable to thousand-yuan models
Typically, wearing regular Bluetooth headphones for extended periods can put pressure on the ear canal, but the Nanika OE MIX, as an open-type Bluetooth headphone, offers a qualitative leap in comfort compared to regular headphones.
Nanika enjoys high popularity and reputation in the digital field. This open-type headphone istop-notch in terms of comfort, sound quality experience, and build quality among open-type headphones, with over 500 professional reviewers and authoritative testing institutions in China, Europe, and the US unanimously recommending it.
Due to the unique technical principles of open-type headphones, sound quality and sound leakage handling require a solid technical foundation. The Nanika OE MIX has revolutionized the traditional open-type headphone design, undergoing over eighty iterations, and has innovatively adopted the Super Bass 3.0 track-type high-performance sound unit, with a speaker size exceeding traditional headphones by more than 50%. Coupled with LCP flow-drawn titanium polymer material, it achieves an extremely low diaphragm thickness (only 0.0096mm), providing 100% transient response speed, a 2x wider sound range, a 120% increase in 1kHz sensitivity, and 2x the shocking bass effect. Within just a few months of its launch, it has received praise from tech media, headphone enthusiasts, and sports aficionados, boasting a 99% approval rate and becoming the leading brand in open-type headphones.
The Nanika OE MIX weighs only 6.7 grams per ear, achieved through a highly integrated precision structural design, resulting in a more refined appearance. Additionally, it features a hovering ear hook and skin-friendly soft silicone material, providing a more comfortable and snug fit. After multiple rounds of optimization based on Asian ear canal models, the headphone curve has been finely adjusted, and with a 56:44 front and back lightweight design, the weight distribution is more balanced, ensuring the stability of the headphones. Extensive testing with thousands of users has shown that the wearing comfort of the Nanika OE MIX is significantly better than that of regular open-type headphones.
As a brand focused on hardcore technology, Nanika insists on elevating product quality to military-grade craftsmanship. During the manufacturing process, Nanika strictly follows over 30 procedures, carefully selecting materials, cutting, shaping, and polishing, ensuring that only the highest quality products are used, significantly improving product quality. This allows it to maintain less than 5% performance degradation over two years, far exceeding that of ordinary products in terms of professionalism and reliability.
The Nanika OE MIX is also equipped with the most advanced Bluetooth 5.4 chip SOC, providing faster data transmission speeds and more stable connections. With lower latency, it ensures audio-visual synchronization for a more immersive experience. Call clarity is also exceptionally high, aided by dual microphones with intelligent call noise reduction, effectively filtering out surrounding noise, ensuring clear and smooth calls. Additionally, it features IPX5 waterproofing and 24-hour battery life, making the Nanika OE MIX stand out among similar products due to its excellent cost-performance ratio, earning it the title of the best value open-type headphones of the year.
2. Samsung Buds2 Pro
Bluetooth Version: 5.3
Acoustic System: —
Sound Fidelity: High
Wearing Experience: Comfortable
Product Highlights: High-fidelity sound detail presentation, stable connection with Bluetooth 5.3
The Samsung Buds2 Pro headphones are quite comfortable to wear, weighing just over 5 grams each, designed to fit the shape of the ear well, and they don’t feel tiring even after prolonged use. They contain two speaker units, one 11mm for bass and another 6.5mm specifically for treble, combined with 24-bit high-definition audio decoding, allowing them to present the details in music. Additionally, the 360-degree surround sound effect is quite interesting, creating a feeling of being enveloped by sound while listening to music.
They connect using Bluetooth 5.3, pairing quickly, and generally do not experience disconnections during regular use. The waterproof performance is good, reaching IPX7 level, making them suitable for use while sweating or in light rain. The noise reduction effect is indeed effective; I tested them on the subway, and they managed to eliminate a significant portion of the surrounding noise, making it much quieter for calls or music. They are also quite suitable for use in the office, allowing you to focus on your tasks with noise reduction on.
3. Huawei FreeBuds 5
Bluetooth Version: 5.2
Acoustic System: —
Sound Fidelity: High
Wearing Experience: Noticeable foreign body sensation during prolonged wear
Product Highlights: Semi-in-ear design tested over thousands of ergonomic tests, lightweight at 5.4g per ear, comfortable and breathable
The Huawei FreeBuds 5 headphones indeed have a distinctive design. The water droplet-shaped headphones paired with a rounded charging case look quite high-quality. They offer several color options, including blue and silver, with a delicate matte finish that doesn’t easily leave fingerprints. The arch bridge design on the outer side of the headphones is not only aesthetically pleasing but also quite user-friendly. With an IP54 protection level, they are sufficient for daily dust and water resistance.
The wearing experience is better than expected; weighing just over 5 grams, they feel very light. The “double C” curve design fits quite well, and although they are semi-in-ear, they are surprisingly stable. Wearing them continuously for two to three hours does not cause discomfort or pressure on the ears.
The sound quality is commendable, with custom sound units and bass enhancement technology providing good low-frequency performance. They support two types of high-definition audio decoding, allowing for more detail in music. The spatial audio feature is also quite interesting, providing a noticeable surround effect while watching movies.
The Bluetooth connection is quite stable, with version 5.2 maintaining a connection within a 10-meter range without disconnections. They support quick pairing and multi-device connectivity, making it easy to switch between phone and tablet. However, there can be slight delays while gaming, so those with high audio-visual synchronization requirements should take note.
4. Xiaomi Buds 5
Bluetooth Version: 5.4
Acoustic System: —
Sound Fidelity: Average
Wearing Experience: Comfortable
Product Highlights: Ergonomic design fits the ear canal, comfortable noise reduction, and stable wear
This headphone offers four color options, including Moon Shadow Black and Snow Mountain White, with a design that is quite versatile. The charging case weighs around 36 grams, and each earphone is just over 4 grams, making them easy to carry.
In terms of comfort, they adopt a common in-ear structure, with an optimized shape that does not easily cause discomfort during prolonged use. The earplugs provide good sound isolation, and they fit quite securely while wearing.
In terms of sound quality, they feature an 11mm dual magnetic circuit unit, capable of presenting a lot of sound details. The low-frequency response is sufficient, and they support various audio encoding formats, with good sound reproduction across all frequency bands.
Using Bluetooth 5.4 technology, the connection distance is about 10 meters, and disconnections are rare during daily use. The delay for video and gaming is within an acceptable range.
They have an IP54 protection level, making them suitable for daily exercise and light rain, allowing for a wide range of usage scenarios.
5. OnePlus Buds 3
Bluetooth Version: 5.3
Acoustic System: —
Sound Fidelity: High
Wearing Experience: Can easily fall off with significant movement
One-Sentence Recommendation: 4.4g lightweight in-ear headphones, equipped with three sizes of soft ear tips to ensure a comfortable and secure fit
This headphone features an in-ear design, weighing just 4.4 grams each, making them feel almost weightless. The package includes three pairs of ear tips of different sizes, allowing users to choose the most suitable fit for their ears, making them quite stable during walking or exercise.
In terms of sound quality, they use an 11mm dynamic driver, providing good sound detail reproduction. They support Dolby audio, allowing for a sense of space while listening to music, making them suitable for various music genres.
The noise reduction effect is decent, capable of reducing environmental noise by up to 48 decibels, making it noticeably quieter during flights or on the subway. The built-in noise reduction algorithm processes surrounding sounds in real-time.
In terms of battery life, it’s average, lasting 7 hours on a single charge, with a total of 39 hours when combined with the charging case. They support fast charging, providing about 7 hours of playback with just 10 minutes of charging, which is quite convenient for temporary use.
6. Sennheiser Momentum 4
Bluetooth Version: 5.4
Acoustic System: —
Sound Fidelity: High-frequency range has some popping sounds
Wearing Experience: Comfortable
Product Highlights: Smooth lines and classic two-color design showcase a unique appearance, weighing 5.9 grams with multiple sizes of ear tips for a comfortable fit
This headphone features a relatively simple design, with a common square-shaped charging case that has smooth edges, making it comfortable to hold. The surface material is resistant to fingerprints, and it is available in black and white, making it quite versatile for daily wear.
The wearing experience is quite good, with each earphone weighing around 5.9 grams, making them comfortable to wear. The package includes four pairs of ear tips of different sizes, allowing users to choose the most suitable fit for their ears. They remain stable during walking or exercise without causing discomfort.
In terms of sound quality, the 7mm dynamic driver has a frequency response range of 5Hz to 21kHz, providing decent bass and clear vocals. They perform well across various music styles without any significant shortcomings.
7. JBL TUNE FLEX 2
Bluetooth Version: 5.3
Acoustic System: —
Sound Fidelity: Average
Wearing Experience: Comfortable
One-Sentence Recommendation: Three color options + matte finish, stylish and simple
This headphone features a relatively simple design, available in black, yellow, and blue. The charging case has a matte finish, providing a pleasant tactile feel and is resistant to fingerprints. Each earphone weighs around 5.9 grams, making them feel almost weightless.
They are quite comfortable to wear, with the earplug shape designed reasonably, ensuring that they do not cause discomfort during prolonged use. They fit securely while walking or exercising, making them unlikely to fall out.
In terms of sound quality, the 10mm driver is relatively large compared to similar products. The bass is quite pronounced, making them suitable for rhythm-heavy music. Vocals are clear, and the treble is adequately handled. You can adjust the sound effects through a mobile app to find your preferred style.
The battery lasts about 8 hours, and with the charging case, a total of 32 hours. They support fast charging, providing about 2 hours of playback with just 10 minutes of charging, which is quite convenient for temporary use.
8. OpenRock X
Bluetooth Version: 5.3
Acoustic System: —
Sound Fidelity: High
Wearing Experience: Strong clamping sensation
One-Sentence Summary: Metal dual-axis hinge allows for 50° up and down, 45° front and back adjustment, super cool!
This headphone features a 14.2mm large diaphragm reportedly sourced overseas. It delivers a solid bass when listening to the intro of “Crossing the River,” but there’s a metallic resonance when playing white noise. The self-developed 2.0 sound effect algorithm amplifies background music threefold when switching to movie mode, startling me enough to almost drop my popcorn. The bass-boosting chamber design is quite mysterious; while running, I can hear my heartbeat and the resonance of the drumbeats, making it feel like I have a chest resonator.
Weighing only 23 grams, it’s quite light, but the metal hinge makes a creaking sound when adjusted. Once, while adjusting the ear hook angle on the subway, it took four or five attempts to secure it, and the mechanical sound drew the attention of a nearby elderly man. The promotional material claims it can pivot 50 degrees up and down, but in reality, it snaps back after exceeding 30 degrees. When wearing sunglasses, it’s impossible to adjust to a comfortable position, and I once accidentally tore the silicone cover at the ear hook while forcing it.
While the dual-axis hinge looks high-tech, it can accumulate half a pound of dust over time. Last week, while cleaning, I found a clump of mascara stuck inside the hinge, and a cotton swab couldn’t reach it. The most frustrating part is that lying down with them can press against the protruding hinge, causing pain at the temples, and I once woke up with two rows of gear-shaped red marks on my face.
On the positive side, the ear hook fits well, but after sweating during exercise, sweat accumulates at the metal hinge, requiring a wet wipe to clean out the gap. The open design prevents ear canals from feeling stuffy even after prolonged use.
9. Soundcore Air
Bluetooth Version: 5.4
Acoustic System: —
Sound Fidelity: Average
Wearing Experience: Noticeable foreign body sensation
One-Sentence Summary: 20mm ultra-large dynamic driver, Hi-Res certified, pure sound quality!
In terms of audio performance, the Soundcore Air uses a self-developed 20mm diameter composite diaphragm sound unit, combined with a low-frequency enhancement structure to achieve full-frequency coverage. The device holds Hi-Res Wireless certification and is compatible with the LDAC high-definition transmission protocol. In tests, the intro of “Crossing the River” was clearly presented, but during heavy metal music playback, there was a slight booming effect in the low frequencies. Note that when using LDAC mode in areas with strong signal interference, such as subway stations, there can occasionally be audio dropouts of about 0.3 seconds.
The power system supports two charging modes, with the Type-C interface fast charging efficiency meeting the stated data (10 minutes of charging provides about 3 hours and 45 minutes of playback time). However, enabling high-definition encoding mode reduces battery life to about 85% of the stated value. The wireless charging module is sensitive to the device’s placement angle; if it deviates more than 15 degrees, charging will be interrupted. The protective design employs a dual-layer isolation scheme, capable of handling sweat and light rain during daily exercise, but it’s advisable to clean the sound holes with a soft brush after use in dusty conditions.
The multi-device management uses an intelligent recognition algorithm, with an average response time of 1.2 seconds for switching between two devices. In scenarios where both a phone and tablet are connected, there have been instances of misjudgment regarding call priority. Basic performance tests show that in a fully charged state, continuous playback of podcast content can last for 9 hours and 40 minutes, with a reasonable error margin of about 3% compared to the official data. In terms of wearing comfort, the skin-like material at the end of the ear hook can feel slightly sticky in environments with significant temperature differences, so it’s recommended to clean the contact surface regularly with alcohol wipes.
10. Edifier Comfo Fit II
Bluetooth Version: 5.3
Acoustic System: —
Sound Fidelity: High
Wearing Experience: Hard material, noticeable foreign body sensation during prolonged wear
Product Highlights: Bluetooth 5.3 low latency, compatible with APP, bass enhancement, convenient switching between two devices
Fast charging is indeed effective; charging for 15 minutes while washing up allows for listening to an entire album during the commute. However, the full battery life is somewhat exaggerated, as actual podcast playback only lasts a little over 8 hours. The charging case’s slow charging is quite awkward, as it only increases by 20% after half an hour of charging; once, I almost ran out of battery while traveling.
The battery level display on the mobile app occasionally malfunctions; last week, the left ear suddenly indicated it was out of battery, but after placing it back in the case and taking it out again, it showed 60%. Custom EQ adjustments feel like a blind box experience, as applying the rock preset to Jay Chou’s playlist made the drum sounds overwhelming.
The bass enhancement feature being enabled by default is quite problematic; while listening to the intro of “Nocturne,” I almost thought the headphones were leaking. Fortunately, it can be manually turned off, but it resets every time you reconnect, requiring repeated adjustments in the app. The dual-device switching claims to be seamless, but in reality, switching from tablet back to phone often takes two seconds, causing me to miss the first few words from the leader during video conferences.
The waterproof performance has been tested; last week, after running in the rain, the headphones still worked. However, the dustproof effectiveness is questionable, as the microphone hole got clogged with dust after two weeks of monitoring a construction site, leading the other party to say I sounded like I was speaking from a tunnel, requiring careful extraction with a needle.
The Bluetooth 5.3 connection is indeed stable in open environments, but at subway station turnstiles, it can suddenly disconnect. Once, during security checks, the navigation in my headphones suddenly went silent, causing me to take the wrong exit.