The best earbuds you can buy
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Earbuds need to be well constructed to deliver the same kind of audio quality you'd expect out of a bigger pair of headphones. Master & Dynamic pulled it off with the ME05 earbuds. They are still the best earbuds I've used, delivering excellent sound quality in a nice, neat package.
Earbuds are easily the most convenient type of headphones. Whether they're wired or not, good earbuds deliver on sound quality without being big and bulky. While most of us probably remember our first pair being the hard plastic models that came with the first few generations of iPod, they've come a long way since then.
Like all headphones, earbuds run the gamut in terms of price and style, although they're slightly constrained in the latter category because of their small size. Still, it's possible to show off a little bit of flair while silently listening to your favorite songs on your commute.
I review a lot of headphones — many of them earbuds — so I've culled what I consider to be the five best options into this list. To stand out, these earbuds all do one thing exceptionally well while still being comfortable to wear and a joy to listen to.
So whether your main priority is staying under budget, going fully wireless, making sure your earbuds fit, or trying a lightning pair, you're covered.
Although the Master & Dynamic ME05 Earphones are our top pick, for various reasons laid out in the slides below, you should also consider the iFrogz Impulse Duo earbuds, the Pioneer Rayz Lightning Earbuds, the Etymotic ER4SR Studio Reference In-Ear Monitors, and the Apple Airpods.
The best earbuds overall
Why you'll love them: With the ME05, Master & Dynamics created a pair of earbuds that sound and look great.
Master & Dynamic's ME05 earbuds are the best earbuds I've tried yet in terms of overall sound quality and design. The physical earbuds are small, but they're made out of brass, which gives them a really high-end look.
Of course, the most important aspect of any type of headphones is their audio quality, and that's where these earbuds excel. They produce rich, accurate, and detailed sound regardless of which genre of music you're listening to.
Like many earbuds, the ME05's have gummy-tipped earbuds, and the sound quality will actually vary greatly depending on how well they fit. Master & Dynamics includes multiple sizes of ear tips in the box, but if you've had problems with them in the past, you might run into some trouble.
To mitigate this problem, a wire clip is included with these earbuds so you can keep the wire from swinging around. Clipping these earbuds onto my shirt actually made a pretty big difference in how they fit, so make sure not to miss it.
Pros: Great audio quality, excellent design, comfortable
Cons: Audio can degrade if the eartip seal is broken
Buy the Master & Dynamic ME05 Earphones on Amazon for $199
The best budget earbuds
Why you'll love them: The iFrogz Impulse Duo headphones deliver good sound quality for the price, with a design that's yet to be outmatched by other Bluetooth earbuds I've tried.
Besides sounding pretty good for the price, the reason iFrogz Impulse Duo earbuds made the cut over all the other budget models I've tried is their design.
The dual driver construction is what gives these earbuds an audio-edge over the competition. But mostly, these earbuds succeed where most Bluetooth models fail: Instead of having all of their technology built into an unwieldy dongle that hangs off the cable connecting both buds, iFrogz built it all into a magnetic clip.
Clip the dongle onto your clothes, pop in the earbuds, and you're ready to listen to music. In terms of audio quality, you shouldn't expect a truly audiophile experience for less than $50, but don't expect a bad one, either. These are actually the upgraded version of the earbuds iFrogz released last year, and while the design is the same, time was spent in improving the sound quality.
I'll put it to you this way. These headphones are so easy to use and sound good enough, that they're my go-to pair between reviews. It's just so convenient to coil them up and pop them in my pocket after a commute, or once my friends finally make it to our meeting place.
Pros: Excellent design, good sound, affordable, Bluetooth connection
Cons: The sound quality isn't as good as other options on this list
Buy the iFrogz Impulse Duo Headphones on Amazon for $44.99
The best lightning earbuds for iPhone
Why you'll love them: With the Rayz Lightning Earbuds, Pioneer eliminated the worst part about using wired headphones with an iPhone 7 or later.
The iPhone 7 (and now the iPhone 8) has a lot going for it. It's fast, sleek looking, and is generally more powerful than an "actual computer" was only a few years ago. The problem is that without a headphone jack, you've had to decide whether to charge your phone or listen to music — unless you made the jump to Bluetooth headphones.
Pioneer's Rayz Lightning Earbuds make that a non-issue. They connect to your iPhone's lightning jack, but they have an addition lightning port built into them to charge your phone.
Overall these headphones sound pretty good, and you'll be happy whether you listen to top 40 music through a streaming service or audiophile lossless versions of jazz albums. There are earbuds that sound better, but at this price, you're getting a really good pair.
That's especially true when you consider that these earbuds actually make good on Apple's promise that lightning headphones would be able to do more than normal wired headphones. Through an app, you can adjust noise canceling, and enable a couple of extra features called "Smart Mute" and "Hear Thru."
The former mutes the microphone on these earbuds when you're on a phone call, but not speaking, that's hugely beneficial if you're in a windy area. The latter automatically pauses your music when you take the earbuds out of your ears, which is a lot more elegant than fumbling for the pause button when someone asks you a question.
Pros: A bunch of extra features, good sound quality overall, lets you use wired headphones and charge your iPhone without a dongle
Cons: Only works with iPhone
Buy the Pioneer Rayz Lightning Earbuds on Amazon for $149.95
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