In This Article:
2024 was another banner year for over-ear wireless ANC (active noise cancelling) headphones with new entries from established headphone makers including Sony and Bose, first-time entries from established audio companies and one unique offering from a company normally known for their vacuum cleaners. These strong new performers have made our job of compiling our Editors’ Choice awards for 2024 all the more challenging.
In addition to new 2024 models, we’re including our favorite models that were released prior to 2024, as long as they are still in current production and available for sale. Prices range from under $100 to $700 in this year’s best-in-class award winners.
Best Value Wireless ANC Headphones
Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e ($399)
Both the Sonos ACE and the Dyson OnTrac made our decision harder than I expected this year as both have some really compelling features and neither hints at a freshman effort. Ultimately though it came down to a combination of sound quality, features, build, and price. Our top choice for best value Wireless ANC Headphones goes to the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e.
The Px7 S2e was recently reduced from $399 to $319 which helped it win as it is now virtually the same price as the top wireless headphones from Sony, Sennheiser, and Bose. And even though those competitors may offer slightly better noise cancelling, the Px7 S2e blows the doors off the others in style and build quality. I’d argue the sound quality of the Px7 S2e is top of the heap too. But this is partially a matter of taste and the ANC doesn’t impact the sound quality to the degree seen on most ANC headphones which again helps put the B&W Px7 S2e a step above the others.
Pros:
- Near reference tuning
- Bore detail than most similar cost competitor’s offerings
- Larger stage than most ANC headphones
- Solid ANC performance
- ANC doesn’t negatively impact sound
- Next-level build quality and materials
- Nice accessories included
Cons:
- Heavier than polymer models
- Doesn’t fold, takes up more space in carry-on
- ANC slightly behind Bose and Sony
Where to buy:
Best Budget Wireless ANC Headphones
When stepping down to a budget pick, we expect to sacrifice some features. It likely won’t offer as many connectivity options with aptX Adaptive and Lossless and LDAC usually reserved for the higher priced offerings. Often builds are largely polymers which results in a lighter but bulkier design, and ANC performance and options are usually not on par with top models. In our search for best budget pick, we tried to find the models where the compromises had the least impact to our enjoyment of the product, rather than looking for those models that made the fewest compromises as often those models deleted features altogether or caused the experience to suffer due to severe compromise in one particular area (comfort, build, or sound)
Earfun Wave Pro ($79)
As a budget pick, the Earfun Wave Pro offers good sound, a lot of features, and good battery life while keeping price down to $79. For those who don’t want to spend a lot, the Wave Pro is a hard model to top without spending a lot more. Just don’t expect build quality to match the Bowers & Wilkins for that price.
Pros:
- Good sound quality
- Good ANC
- LDAC and AAC support
- Solid application with good EQ
- Carrying case included
- Good battery life
Cons:
- Some unevenness/grain in upper-mids and treble
- No adaptive ANC
- ANC intrudes on sound quality in high noise environments
- Mostly plastic build
Where to buy:
Best Wireless Gaming Headsets
Audeze Maxwell ($299 / $329)
Last year the Audeze Maxwell got my “Best of 2023” award and as gaming headphones go, it’s still the one to beat. The Maxwell does so many things extremely well that it’s hard to imagine another model arriving that tops it without a significant price increase. Comfort, build quality and sound are all exceptionally good.
Audeze borrowed a lot of driver technology from their audiophile line when designing the planar magnetic drivers for Maxwell which helps give it more clarity and detail and faster transients than we expect from a gaming headphone. They also learned a lot from the feedback on the earlier Penrose, which brought several key improvements into Maxwell.
Maxwell sports Bluetooth 5.3 with LE support, LDAC, and AAC as well as their own proprietary USB-C dongle that provides lossless connectivity over wireless. Multi-point is now supported so switching between games and phone calls is easier, and the app has been improved for greater control of the sound.
Still there are some caveats. With two Maxwell variations, you have to purchase the specific version for your console to get the most out of it and some features are only available in one model. The biggest of these is Dolby Atmos support which is only included in the Xbox model (green box). The PS5 model includes Sony’s proprietary Tempest3D instead. For this reason, unless your primary use case is a PS5, we recommend the Xbox model that costs $30 more.
Pros:
- Sound quality
- Connectivity options
- Great app
- Boom and built in mics
- Dolby Atmos on Xbox model
Cons:
- PS5 model lacks Atmos support
- Weight (at 490 grams ) can get heavy on the head
- Cannot combine BT and Dongle connections
- No ANC
Where to buy:
Budget Pick: Sony Pulse Elite ($149)
In my humble opinion, the only real contender that can challenge the Maxwell would be if budget is a primary consideration, and that’s where the Sony Pulse Elite comes into the conversation. With Sony’s acquisition of Audeze in 2023, the Pulse Elite shares Audeze-designed drivers with the Maxwell. This helps the Sony-branded headset to sound better than most competitors. The Pulse Elite retails for half of the Maxwell’s asking price and sometimes goes on sale for even less.
The Pulse Elite is only a great choice for those with a Sony PS5 as some features require a PS5 to configure and access. Those with other consoles would do well to save up a bit more and stick with Maxwell.
Pros:
- Great sound
- Good battery life
- Good comfort
Cons:
- Dome settings require a PS5 to configure
- No app for any platform at present
- Design is somewhat polarizing
- Hanger is somewhat gimmicky and cheap looking
Best High-End Wireless ANC Headphones
At the top end of the market, the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 and the Focal Bathys both released in 2023 still reign supreme as nothing challenged the duo for the top spot this year. However, at nearly double the price of our best value winner, you have to really want that next level of sound quality to justify the spend.
Moving from a mid-range to a high-end wireless headphone brings better build quality, higher end materials and design compared to the largely polymer cookie cutter models that are common across lower priced tiers. In addition, high-end headphones tend to handle noise cancellation better. While less expensive headphones can actually eliminate more noise, they often do so at the expense of sound quality.
Bowers & Wilkins Px8 ($699)
Having just mentioned the two biggest differentiators between the mid-priced and this range, it’s easy to see how I landed on the Px8 as our best of pick although the Focal Bathys are a close second. The Px8 simply does both of those things a bit better. The build quality on the Px8 is all cloth and metal giving it an air of quality that polymer has difficulty attaining. Likewise, while both offer great sound the isolation, ANC and detail level of the Px8 helped put it over the top. The Px8 succeeds at removing a bit more noise while still providing an extremely high level of sound quality and for those reasons took the top spot from the Focal Bathys.
Pros:
- Premium build quality
- Great sound with and without ANC
- Good battery life
- Solid application
- Solid kit
Cons:
- Needs some EQ tweaks to match reference tuning
- Doesn’t fold so takes up more room in carry on
- Not especially forgiving of poorly recorded materials (Bathys is better here)
- Expensive
Where to buy:
Focal Bathys ($699)
It was very difficult not to crown these two as co-champions because they take different approaches, and direct comparisons are difficult as a result. The Bathys is first and foremost a headphone designed for comfortable listening. Its sound is not quite neutral, but is engaging and pleasant. It has less clamping force than the Px8, so on head comfort is a bit better, at the expense of a little isolation. And its ANC is designed to do “just enough” to reduce outside noise so you can enjoy your music.
As such, if you compare absolute ANC performance, the Px8 wins. But technically the Bathys never intended to compete. For the casual listener, the Bathys is a very comfortable headphone with a forgiving treble that will portray even some poor recordings in a positive manner. It also has enough noise cancelling to keep the things going on around the listener at bay. If all of that sounds extremely positive, that’s because it is. Depending on your lifestyle and use-case, the Bathys could easily outpace the Px8.
Pros:
- Great sound
- Fantastic comfort
- Forgiving signature
Cons:
- Bass not quite as well controlled as Px8
- Signature is a bit laidback
- Very limited passive isolation
- No passive use option
Where to buy:
The Bottom Line
With solid choices from under $100 to $700, there are several outstanding wireless headphones from which to choose in 2024, no matter the budget. And if you’d like to get our more detailed takes on these and other wireless over-ear headphones, check out our headphone reviews.
Related Reading:
