Best Bluetooth Headphones 2022: In-Ear Models
In-ear headphones are also known as earphones or earbuds: their housing sits in the auricle or in the ear canal. With active noise canceling (ANC) or without, with a neckband or true wireless – we present a selection of good models with a wireless connection via Bluetooth.
Contents
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2
GIGA tip The liquid metal T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgment Day (see Amazon) – but as true wireless headphones. What Huawei with the FreeBuds Pro 2 (view at Saturn) is astounding in more ways than one. Not only that the test copy I have in the color variant “Silver Frost” just looks really good (a truly brilliant appearance) – the remaining values are also correct for these headphones. And to be honest: Who had Huawei as an audio expert on their screens before?
In this case, the Chinese IT giant has teamed up with the French luxury hi-fi manufacturer Devialet – a collaboration that seems to be working well. The Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 are comfortable to wear and sound balanced and musical in all styles of music. Striking is the neutral vote, without the frequently encountered overemphasis in the bass range. If you still want more boom, you have to adjust the equalizer in the app.
That noise cancelling is good and the operation (a mixture of touch and pressure-sensitive gestures) is reliable and catchy. A key advantage over many competing models is Multipoint Bluetooth: The FreeBuds Pro 2 can stay connected to two devices at the same time (in my case an iPhone 13 mini and an iMac) – it always plays the player I last started playing. The Huawei in-ears can also be used as a headset for telephoning, the speech intelligibility is high. The only minor weak points are the slight background noise with absolute silence and the somewhat short battery life of around 4 hours (with ANC) per charge.
Advantages:
- convincing sound quality, neutral tuned
- good noise canceling (ANC)
- Multipoint Bluetooth
Disadvantages:
- Battery life could be better
Sony Linkbuds S
You can simply rely on Sony: Even if the Japanese manufacturer doesn’t always make the best decisions – every now and then it works and then everything just fits. I criticized the WF-1000XM3 at the time because the housings are large and protrude from the ears. In the meantime, some development time has passed and Sony has started with the Linkbuds S (view at MediaMarkt) a pronounced compact and lightweight Pair of true wireless in-ears at the start.
In addition to a practically plastic-free packaging, there is also recycled plastics for the earphones – a small but positive contribution to sustainability. This does not detract from the value, the Linkbuds S feel good and look chic.
The sound is balanced and unobtrusive, but I still lowered the treble a bit and boosted the bass in the equalizer of the associated mobile phone app – that comes a little closer to my personal taste when listening on the go. Not an audiophile experience to jump at, but a solid performance.
Ambient noise is effectively blocked, on the one hand because of the good seat already offers a certain passive shielding in the ear, on the other hand because the electronic noise cancelling helps effectively. The battery life of up to 6 hours is more than sufficient. With the Linksbuds S, Sony has succeeded in creating an almost unconditionally recommendable product from the upper middle class of headphones.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
- Sound lacks a bit of spatiality
A notice: The Sony Linkbuds S can easily be identified with the Sony linkbuds (without “S”) confuse. This is a fundamentally different model: while the Linkbuds S have silicone fittings and are inserted into the ear canal, the Linkbuds are “open” (take a look at Saturn). They sit further forward in the ear and have a hole in the middle that lets air and ambient noise through.
An extraordinary and truly airy wearing experience. More on this in our buying advice: In-ear headphones without rubber plugs.
Beat’s Flex
Inexpensive Bluetooth headphones are available in unmanageable numbers. The model is from the Beats brand, which belongs to the Apple group Beat’s Flex (view at Amazon) extremely interesting – for both iOS and Android users. Technically, you get a genuine branded product with robust workmanship and solid sound quality, which is definitely suitable for everyday use. The retail price rose to around 70 euros some time ago – but if you keep your eyes open, you will find the Beats Flex a little cheaper here and there.
What I personally noticed: The Beats Flex is very good as Headset for phone calls to use. Even more expensive (true wireless) headphones with a dull sound and poor connection fail in this discipline – but the Beats Flex has proven to be reliable and practical. More on this in our detailed test report:
Advantages:
- rich sound with deep bass and rounded highs
- good sound quality when making calls (headset function)
Disadvantages:
- Not dust, water and sweat resistant (no IPX certification)
- no noise canceling
Beats Fit Pro
With the Powerbeats Pro (2019), the US brand Beats was able to create a pioneering wireless sports headphones place in the market (see GIGA test). The spiritual successor is much more compact and has been technically updated in many places. the Beats Fit Pro (check it out at Coolblue) live up to their name because they fit extremely well in almost every ear. I only know of a few true wireless headphones that are so secure and so comfortable in the ear cups at the same time. through small silicone wings fast head movements don’t matter either.
The Beats Fit Pro has already been described in the trade press as “the better AirPods Pro” – I agree with this assessment in many respects. That noise cancelling is very good, the sound quality is convincing, as is the battery life (up to 6 hours with ANC). There are also Apple features such as 3D Audio (Dolby Atmos) and the on-the-fly changes between players (similar to Multipoint Bluetooth) – the only argument against a purchase is that these two functions are not available under Android. It’s also a pity that the case is comparatively clumsy. Otherwise, it is certainly one of the best models in the Beats portfolio.
Advantages:
- consistently designed for sport with a secure fit
- useful functions (ANC, 3D audio etc.)
Disadvantages:
- full range of functions only on iOS, some features are missing on Android
- relatively large transport case
Sony WF-1000XM4
If compromises aren’t an option when it comes to sound quality, then they are Sony WF-1000XM4 the right choice. Rich bass, natural mids and crystal-clear highs – everything is just right here. In addition, there is very good noise canceling, so that the Sonys are the ideal companions on train and plane trips.
The fiddly touch operation and the somewhat clumsy wearing comfort didn’t quite convince me. More on this in the detailed test report:
Advantages:
- fantastic sound quality
- very good noise canceling (ANC)
- useful app
Disadvantages:
- Comfort is mediocre
This is how we selected the recommendations
I’ve been passionate about headphones for over 20 years, and I’ve tried almost all of the Bluetooth headphones discussed here extensively myself. For some of the products you will also find detailed test reports on GIGA, which are linked to the respective model. The test samples were made available to us by the manufacturers. Current and popular headphone models are also presented here, which have received special praise from the press and customers and are therefore recommended for purchase.
How we test at GIGA and why you trust our judgement we have explained here:
General tips and answers to the most frequently asked questions about headphones can be found in the guide:
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