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Sound: Do they sound good? Audio quality is pretty important for headphones, after all. Comfort & Design: Are they comfortable to wear over extended periods of time? Features: How long does the battery last? Is the connectivity reliable? Is the noise-cancelling good? Vibe: What’s the overall experience? Value: Are they good for the money?
While audio products can be quite subjective for many reasons, we have standardised testing procedures across the team designed to help us look at the category in a consistent way. You can read more about how we review over-ear headphones here.
How long do you want the battery to last? Where are you going to wear these headphones? Are they for home, the office, commuting, or travel? Are you going to be taking hands-free calls with these earbuds? How important is noise-cancelling to you? Are you hoping to be listening to high resolution audio using these headphones? Do you care about having headphones that neatly integrate with the operating system of your connected device? How portable do you want your headphones to be? How much money feels like too much money to spend on a set of earbuds?
Everyone’s needs are different, but getting a sense of the features you care about most helps when it comes to picking the right pair of headphones.