Best over-ear headphones: Quick Menu
The best over-ear headphones completely immerse you in sound. It’s no secret that by design, they’re more tuned for audiophiles, who often favor wired models where there’s more room for large, powerful drivers to deliver detailed, high-definition audio and immense soundstages.
Compared to the best earbuds out there, over-ear headphones have an advantage in that they encapsulate your ears completely, which has an outsized effect on the listening experience – larger earcups means larger drivers and space for real acoustic work to happen. They also tend to be more comfortable, which makes them perfect traveling companions, especially given that many are wireless and come with additional features such as active noise cancellation.
We rank over-ear headphones highly among the best headphones you can buy, so it may not be surprising to learn that they even have added health benefits. That’s right, an over-ear design can be better for your hearing health compared to in-ear headphones, because the drivers don’t sit right up close to your delicate eardrums, pushed down into your ear canal. The passive sound isolation provided by a good pair of padded ear cups also means you won’t need the volume so high.
The quick list
Want to cut to the chase and find out which over-ear headphones are the best? Below, you’ll find a roundup of our choices. You can also jump to a more detailed review of every pick, along with our price comparison tool to help you find the best deals.
The best over-ear headphones overall
The WH-1000XM4s are a flawlessly designed pair of over-ear headphones that continue to remain at the top of our list for their premium features and increasingly better price.
Read more below
The best budget over-ear headphones
An excellent-value pair of over-ears, packing in a lot of smart features with effective ANC, Sony’s finely balanced sound, and a comfortable and light design.
Read more below
3. Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless
The best premium over-ear headphones
Behind this minimalist, light and comfortable design are top-of-the-line features, including great noise cancellation, top-tier sound, and truly useful smart tech.
Read more below
4. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones
The best over-ear headphones for noise cancelling
If noise-stopping power is your goal, nothing does it better than these – and the sound quality is absolutely fantastic too. They’re expensive, but are absolutely worth it.
Read more below
5. Edifier Stax Spirit S3
The best over-ear headphones for sound that aren’t super-deluxe
We rate these wireless planar magnetic headphones as the top pick for audiophiles that isn’t super-expensive. You miss out on other features, but we don’t mind.
Read more below
The best open-back over-ear headphones
When it comes to a wide, expansive soundstage, an open-back design is essential. The wired HD-660S2 are made to bring mixing booth level quality to everyday listening.
Read more below
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The best mid-range wired over-ear headphones
Sivga’s Oriole stand out not just for their distinctive geometric design and solid audio, but fantastic affordability. These wired headphones are also some of the comfiest.
Read more below
The best over-ear headphones for Sony fans
Seriously powerful active noise cancellation that’s a step above the WH-1000XM4, plus rich audio, a slick design and great features. But they’re not that much better than the XM4, and cost a bunch more.
Read more below
The best looking over-ear headphones
For both looks and sound, the PX8 are hard to beat. Diamond-cut aluminum detailing, rich Nappa leather, gorgeous hi-fi sound – they raise the bar of high-end.
Read more below
The best wireless over-ears for audiophiles
Focal’s debut wireless headphones are an audiophile’s dream. They not only have an excitingly expressive sound but are comfortable to wear – though they’re very pricey.
Read more below
The best Apple over-ear headphones
These are full of special features for Apple devices that make them tempting if you’re in that ecosystem, and they sound excellent, with strong noise cancellation.
Read more below
Becky Scarrott
I’ve reviewed over 150 audio products since becoming a tech journalist, ranging from super-budget earbuds to high-end Hi-Res Audio music players. Before joining TechRadar, I spent three years at What Hi-Fi? testing everything the world of audio had to offer; before that, I was a professional dancer. My love of music ties it all together.
May 9, 2024
Checked all products against our latest reviews, and updated the ‘Also consider’ section with information about new options.
The best over-ear headphones for 2024
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The best over-ear headphones for most people
The WH-1000XM4s may not be Sony’s flagship headphones anymore – that title has since been passed onto the Sony WH-1000XM5, which are at #8 in this list – but we still rate these as being the best for most people, because of their impressive sound quality and features balanced with the lower prices you can now find them for. You can do better in most individual areas, but not as a complete package for this price, and we think they’re all the headphones that most people will need.
Aside from clear, well-realised and deep sound, there’s also highly effective noise cancellation. You’ve got useful extra features too, including multi-point pairing for switching between two devices instantly, DSEE Extreme upscaling of lower-quality audio (such as from Spotify), auto-pausing when you remove them, Sony’s 360 Reality Audio format, plus LDAC higher-quality wireless tech for compatible phones.
They’re also lightweight and comfortable, with a folding design that’s convenient for travelling. Now that they’ve had a price drop – and especially if you get them for the extra discounted price they’re regularly available for – these are just unbeatable value, which is why they’re still at the top of this list years after their release.
Read our full Sony WH-1000XM4 review
The best budget over-ear headphones
Sony has stripped back its more premium over-ear headphones to create the WH-CH720N. The remaining features and the focus on well-defined sound means that they’re the best budget option out there at this price, when you balance the audio quality, noise cancellation, and cost.
They stand above the cheaper competition with some more flagship-level features, including support for Sony’s 360 Reality Audio format, DSEE upscaling of mediocre-quality tracks, multi-point pairing, and adaptive active noise cancellation – although this is not at the same high level as the Sony WH-1000XM4, let alone the more premium Sony or Bose headphones here. The sound quality is also impressive, delivering an excellent balance between bass, mids and treble, and tons of detail.
But, of course, there are limitations at a lower price, and the sound definitely feels more constrained compared to the expansive and natural audio from the more premium options here. They also don’t support hi-res LDAC or have automated control settings. The buttons are easy to find, though, and the extremely lightweight design makes them comfortable to wear for long periods. And all this for one of the most affordable prices on the market? These are a steal.
Read our full Sony WH-CH720N review
The best premium over-ear headphones
Sennheiser’s flagship wireless over-ear headphones have a few key advantages over the very hot premium competition. With an incredible 60-hour battery life, intuitive app, extensive feature set, easy on-ear controls, talented adaptive noise cancellation and an energetic-yet-accurate sound, the Momentum 4 really are the complete package.
They’re not the most interesting in terms of looks, though their fabric headband does stand out a little while being deliberately quite neutral-looking, and they don’t fold down for easy portability – but these are basically the only flaws we can muster up about these headphones, and they’re not exactly dealbreakers.
There are features here that are especially smart, such as Sennheiser’s ‘Sidetone’ option, which passes your own voice into calls more clearly (and adjustably), so you you’re not wondering if you’re yelling, and it makes the conversation feel more natural. Smart ‘sound zones’ enable you to customize both the noise cancellation and EQ depending on your location, with the switch happening automatically, which is a really nice experience. Nothing else offers such smart control.
But beyond all this, the sound quality remains the star here. We said in our review that “whatever genre we throw at the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless, we find ourselves remarking at the open, detailed, expansive, neutral and crisp performance. Never is it overly warm; never is it congested or muddied through the bass.” The noise cancellation is a little weaker than the Sony WH-1000XM5, and definitely a step down from the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones – but it’s on-par with the Sony WH-1000XM4, and is highly effective overall.
Read our full Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless review
The best over-headphones for noise cancellation
If you need the best noise cancellation that over-ear headphones offer right now, you need Bose’s Ultra Headphones. The noise-blocking power is a step up from basically anything that’s been available before, and we’ve never heard the sound of a busy city centre so strong quietened, or the speech of others in an office or around the house. We called it “mind blowing” in our review.
This power comes at a very premium price (higher than the likes of the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless), but it also comes with absolutely glorious audio quality, so it feels very much worth its price. Our review said that the Ultra Headphones “deliver some of the most alive, exciting, textured, finely resolved, deeply engaging music I’ve ever heard from a pair of wireless headphones. It’s the kind of sound I would expect to pay 50% or even twice as much for.”
They also have a very premium feel, while being light and comfortable – and have a travel-friendly folding design, which is always welcome. They’re not flawless – it’s a shame they lack USB-C audio and general aptX support (they do have Snapdragon Sound, though), and the 24-hour battery life is the lowest here by a long way – but these things are easy to forgive if wonderful sound and active noise cancellation in equal measure is what you want. Though if you want to spend a little less, the ANC in the Bose QuietComfort Headphones is practically as good, though the sound quality is weaker.
Read our full Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones review
The best over-ear headphones for affordable sound
For the casual listener, planar magnetic headphones might go over their head. But for the audiophiles out there, this type of speaker driver is highly sought after and very rarely comes in wireless (or reasonably affordable) forms – but the Edifier does both. Planar magnetic drivers have a larger, flat and super-thin diaphragm in a magnetic field in each earcup, which offers more exciting and distortion-free sound.
And following hours of testing, we rate the Edifier Stax Spirit S3 as the best planar magnetic headphones you can buy right now, and with their price being competitive with the Sony WH-1000XM5 and Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless, they’re the best-sound headphones at the level too – you have pay around twice as much for the likes of the Focal Bathys or Bowers & Wilkins PX8 to match them. What you’re getting here is beautifully detailed and expansive audio quality, a light comfortable folding design, and an incredible 80 quoted hours of battery life (we noted in our review that this even pushed up to 90).
But there are some things missing from the package, most notably active noise cancellation. And while they do have app support, there’s nothing like the level of smart features you get compared to Sennheiser or Sony, and the app isn’t as slick. But maybe that doesn’t matter – at a price that’s premium but still mainstream, no other wireless headphones can touch them for sound.
Read our full Edifier Stax Spirit S3 review
The best open-back wired over-ear headphones
If you love a natural, open sound, then a pair of wired open-back headphones are the way to go and the Sennheiser HD-660S2 are our favorite pair. These boast an immensely impressive and expansive soundstage, but being open-back means they don’t block out the outside world, so they need to be used in quiet spaces – and they’re wired only as well.
They’re as at home in the mixing booth as they are at, uh, home for general listening – they have an air of superiority to them. They feature magnificent sound recreation that’s more powerful and convincing that basically anything else here, especially when paired with one of the best portable DACs or hi-res music players, though they can be powered just by a laptop without extra equipment. We said in our testing that while they do leak sound, it’s not too bad – but you may not be popular in the office if you use them, still.
They have premium ear cup cushioning and a durable headband to prevent vibration and make sure you can get lost in your music for a long time. These are bound to delight anyone looking to have the delights of open-backed cans.
Read our full Sennheiser HD-660S2 review
The best mid-range wired over-ear headphones
Sivga is not a very well-known brand but you’ll find its Oriole headphones hard to forget once you see them. The striking wooden ear cups aren’t just for looks either and are capable of delivering decent sound across varying frequencies – all for a reasonable mid-range price.
At this mid-tier price level, there are lots of competing wired over-ear headphones to choose from but the Sivga Oriole, which are the costlier alternative to the company’s Robin, are the best you can buy considering the step-up in sound quality thanks to large 50mm dynamic drivers.
They don’t have active noise cancellation or Bluetooth like many of the other options here, but the full suite of core components are here though. The Sivga Oriole comes with a 1.8m long cable, a 3.5mm to 6.3 adapter and a hemp carry case. The lightweight design is another advantage here.
Read our full Sivga Oriole review
The best premium Sony over-ear headphones
Sony’s flagship headphones do a huge amount of stuff incredibly well. In our review, we were deeply impressed with their sound quality, and until recently, we rated their active noise cancellation as being the best you could get. However, as things stand now, they’re beaten in key ways by competitors that means they’re not the slam dunk pick that might’ve been.
The rich, well-balanced music quality, for example, is beaten by the even more expansive and alive sound from the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless, which are also not far off matching the noise cancellation quality too. The Sennheisers also offer double the battery life of the Sony headphones, and even more great smart features – plus better hi-res support.
And the noise cancellation is fantastic, has been beaten by the Bose QuietComfort Ultra, so if your focus is the best noise-stopping power possible, those are the best buy.
And when it comes to all-round value, there’s a reason the Sony WH-1000XM4 are still top of this list – the newer XM5 are better, but only by a little way, and they regularly cost a lot more, especially because the XM4 frequently have extra discounts. These are fantastic headphones, they’re just in an especially cut-throat world – but if you’ve loved Sony’s stuff in the past and want its latest and greatest new headphones, we’ll happily recommend them.
Read our full Sony WH-1000XM5 review
The best over-ear headphones for design
If you like the finer things in life, the Bowers & Wilkins PX8 are fantastic. They’re refined in every sense of the word, from their beautiful design that’s a cut above the rest, to their phenomenal sound quality. Yes, this comes at a high price, but there are good reasons for that, as we explained in our review: “a new carbon cone 40mm drive unit replaces the bio-cellulose driver in the more affordable Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2 and the die-cast aluminum arms, diamond-cut bright metal detailing and Nappa leather trim elevates the build to high-end territory.”
The sound quality here is just fantastic, ranking among the best you can get from wireless headphones. Compared to the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless, which are high in this list because they’re so good musically, we said in our review that the PX8’s “extra energy, depth, emotional oomph and overall immersion in excellent-quality music place the PX8 in a different league” beyond the Sennheisers.
But we’ve chosen these for their design as well as their audio quality, and in our review we said “the PX8 would look right at home around the neck of a bright young thing on a business-class flight to Milan” – they’re smart and they stand out from the crown, but without being ostentatious. They’re extremely comfortable too, and they feel premium every time you touch their materials or slide the headband.
The noise cancellation is far more average than the sound, so if that’s a priority you might be better off with the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones. And the most extreme audiophiles will probably find the Focal Bathys even more to their taste, but those have a less elegant design. Anyone who wants super-sleek headphones that are also top-tier for sound will be happy with these.
Read our full Bowers & Wilkins PX8 review
The best wireless over-ear headphones for sound
As Focal’s debut wireless over-ear headphones, the Bathys have a lot of heritage behind them – the company is in the high stratosphere of hi-fi greats. They are built for the more serious audiophiles out there, and have a DAC mode that supports hi-res up to 21bit/192kHz for wired listening over USB-C, as well as Bluetooth 5.1 and aptX support.
The sound quality is the star here, and we said in our review that “anything we throw at these can is beautifully held in check throughout, across the frequencies”, and that they offer a “wide and talented soundstage” full of “rhythmic joy”. In terms of overall quality, we’d put them equal with the B&W PX8, but in our review we said “we hear a marginal difference in terms of the exuberance and fun of the PX8 versus the detail, expanse and refinement of the Focal Bathys. Which you think best will largely come down to whether you prefer an integrated, detailed, expansive, refined listen (Bathys), or something boasting agility and an extra ounce of dynamic build and oomph over a fractional modicum of expanse (PX8).”
Beyond the sound, they also have some useful features including active noise cancellation, a five-band EQ tab, the high-end DAC support mentioned above. However, the noise cancellation is not as good as the Sony, Sennheiser or Bose options here. It’s the hi-res audio quality that shines above all else, which makes them our top choice for uncompromising audiophiles who want headphones that can do anything while sounding supreme.
Read our full Focal Bathys review
The best over-ear headphones for Apple fans
The AirPods Max are the best-sounding headphones made by Apple, and the company’s first over-ears. They have very strong active noise cancellation, superb sound quality, the best spatial audio available so far, and a striking look with a premium feel. There’s a ton to enjoy with them, and they have way more special features if you’re deep in the Apple ecosystem, including auto-switching between devices and Find My support if they’re misplaced. Very few of these work on Android (basically just music and noise cancellation), so they’re very much for the Apple-heavy crowd, especially at this high a price.
And at this high price, their lack of hi-res audio support really grates, but a lot of people will probably be able to forgive it. They have a natural, dynamic and detail sound that we enjoy a lot, though the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones are at the same level of quality and are cheaper. However, the nothing matches the Dolby Atmos 3D spatial audio that you get from these when watching a movie on an Apple device – it’s so good.
If you’ve already bought into the Apple ecosystem, if the price isn’t a concern, and you’ve got lots of Apple tech, then the extra features you get from these may put them above a lot of the competition. But we think most people will be better served by spending less on the Bose Ultra Headphones.
Read our full Apple AirPods Max review
Other over-ear headphones to consider
There’s a hot competitor for this list at the more affordable end – the Earfun Wave Pro. We rated these headphones really highly, based on their low price – they’re about 20% cheaper than the Sony WH-CH720N at #2 on this list, but offer plenty of features, a huge battery life, and are great to wear for long periods. And they sound good, with well-balanced audio – though the Sony CH720N handle mids a little better, and work a little more slickly, which is where the extra cash is going. We’ll keep an eye on prices of these two – if the price of the Earfun drop any further, they’ll probably knock the Sony out of this list. Here’s our full Earfun Wave Pro review.
We also took a look at the JLab JBuds Lux ANC recently, but they didn’t hit the affordable headphone sweet spot as well as the Earfun cans did. We liked the great battery life, rich bass and lightweight fit, but the weak treble and poor Ambient mode are stumbles that stop them being great cheap headphones. Here’s our full JLab JBuds Lux ANC review.
We’re in the process of reviewing the Sony ULT Wear headphones, and you can read our initial hands-on in the meantime. They’re looking impressive for their slightly-less-premium-than-the-WH-1000XM5 price so far – well balanced, deep and comfortable. Keep your eye open for our full review if you’re thinking of buying soon.
How to choose the best over-ear headphones
When buying over-ear headphones, sound quality is the most important feature to look out for – the more expensive they are, the better your cans tend to sound, although there are quite a few impressive exceptions to this rule.
But if you’re specifically choosing over-ear headphones, we assume you also have an eye on comfort. The type of padding and the cover material on the earpads makes a difference, as does the headband – if you’re going to maximum comfort, you want a broader headband where your actual skull won’t make any contact with any hard parts of the band.
People also often choose over-ear headphones with active noise cancellation, because the around-ear pads are great at passive noise isolation, so when combined with ANC they’re especially effective. The majority of our choices on this list include active noise cancellation, but it’s not the case that spending more on ANC automatically gets you better results. That’s true to a point, but the most elite headphones here actually have weaker ANC than some that cost less, so keep that in mind when weighing everything up.
On the other end of things, it’s possible to buy over-ear headphones with ‘open backs’, which means they allow air to flow right through the earcup. This leaks to an expansive, powerful and dynamic sound usually, but it also means audio leaks in and out of the headphones. Great for listening in a special room at home, less good on the subway. Here’s our in-depth explanation of open-back vs closed-back headphones.
The really big question connection to a lot of this is whether you want to do wired or wireless. Most of our suggestions are wireless, but with the option of going wired – but we have a couple of dedicated wired options here. Wired-only headphones tend to offer better sound bang for your buck, but don’t usually come with all the smart features.
There are also different kinds of wireless to take into consideration, such as whether you’re happy with regular Bluetooth, or whether you want higher-quality options such as Snapdragon Sound, aptX or LDAC. These are all CD-quality options, but your devices must also be compatible with them.
Don’t forget to look at weight of headphones too – 250g is fairly lightweight for advanced wireless headphones; 350g is about the maximum you’ll want for longer wear, but can be very comfortable if the fit is good.
How much should I spend on headphones?
That really depends on your budget – you don’t need to overstretch yourself to prices you can’t really afford in your quest for great sound.
You can find over-ear options among the best cheap headphones under $100 / £100 / AU$150 – check out brands like Jabra and JBL if you want to keep costs down.
The best noise-cancelling headphones and higher-spec options tend to cost more than this. For wireless headphones, the flagship models start around $250 / $250 / AU$450.
When you get to true audiophile headphones for analytical listening, the prices really start to shoot up – but these cans will last you decades if you look after them.
Is it worth getting over-ear headphones?
Choosing over-ear headphones over earbuds is a personal choice. There’s no wrong option here but over-ear headphones typically provide better battery life and better sound quality.
Thanks to being larger, they can pack in a better battery along with more advanced features like superior drivers. By their very nature, they tend to provide better noise cancellation too as they cover your ears more comprehensively than earbuds.
However, some of your decision making process needs to come down to what you feel more comfortable with. Earbuds are easier to store away, but not everyone likes the feeling of them in their ears. Alternatively, headphones can feel more secure over your head but are heavier and require more thought when storing them.
What are the benefits of over-ear headphones?
The two biggest differences are comfort and sound quality. Many people find over-ear headphones much more comfortable to wear than in-ear ones, and because they’re much bigger they can accommodate much larger and more powerful drivers. Unlike earbuds, they’re not limited by having to fit into the very limited space of your ear canal.
Because over-ear headphones have bigger drivers, they can potentially deliver a wider frequency range than earbuds, especially at the low end where the bass lives. For example, our current favourites, Sony’s WH-1000XM4 go down to 4Hz and top out at a very high 40kHz. By comparison Sony’s closest equivalent earbuds, the WF-1000XM4, still reach 40kHz but the low end only reaches 20Hz.
There’s another crucial factor here. According to the Hearing Health Foundation, over-ears are less likely to damage your hearing. Once damaged, hearing doesn’t repair itself so it’s really important to look after it. Over-ears don’t sit so close to your eardrums so they’re less dangerous over long periods – provided of course you don’t run them too loud.
Another advantage of over-ears, albeit a horrible one, is that they don’t end up covered in ear wax like in-ears do, so you don’t have to read our how to clean wireless earbuds guide. And on a more cheerful note, they’re also considerably harder to misplace.
Is over-ear better than in-ear for noise cancelling?
There’s not really a simple answer to that one. Some earbuds are very good at passive noise cancellation, which is when the headphones simply block out a lot of external audio by being stuck in your ear canals. But over-ears can do much the same by enclosing your entire ears, so there’s huge variation here.
Where things generally do differ is when active noise cancellation is involved. That’s when your headphones analyze the sound around you and produce additional waves to cancel the sounds you don’t want. As with the drivers that can deliver better sound quality, the larger size of over-ears means there’s more room for tech in there.
In our many hours of testing and casual listening we’ve found that over-ears such as Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones and Sony’s WH-1000XM5 deliver even better noise cancelling than the same firms’ best earbuds. And they generally sound better too.
How we test the best over-ear headphones
Why you can trust TechRadar
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We have tested all of the headphones in this guide extensively, spending lots of time analyzing the sound, fit, design, specs, and value for money – and comparing to the competition, of course, to make sure we’re giving you advice that’s rounded and contextual.
We allow all headphones a running-in period, to make sure the drivers are working at their best. We listen to audio from a range of sources, including both high-quality and more basic music services, as well as movies, online video, and podcasts or audiobooks. We’re looking for all kind of elements here, including how deep the bass can go, whether that bass feels controlled and precise, whether the balance is right between different frequencies, whether the mid-range is able to communicate lots of detailed sound, whether treble frequencies stand out, whether treble is natural or too harsh, how spacious and natural the sound is, how dynamic the headphones between loud and quiet moments, and much more nuance.
We test all additional features in headphones, including spatial audio support or active noise cancellation – we will test the latter in real-world situations, including public transport and walking around a city.
We’ll test any smart features, including making sure that multi-point Bluetooth works seamlessly, or testing EQ-changing options and customization of active noise cancellation. We also monitor battery life ourselves, testing the depletion of the battery from full over time.
With wired headphones, we’ll use a suitable amp where necessary to make sure they get the chance to perform at their full potential.
Latest updates to our over-ear headphones guide
May 9, 2024
Checked all products against our latest reviews, and updated the ‘Also consider’ section with information about new options.
March 20 2024
Added some additional information about how we test, and added a new section covering our recent reviews that haven’t made it into this list.
See more recent updates…
8 Feb 2024
Updated to include the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones as the best for active noise cancellation.
2 Jan 2024
Updated with 2024 information; all products checked against latest reviews.
15 November 2023
Updated with information about expected Black Friday deals on these headphones.
13 October 2023
Checked all products against our latest reviews.
17 August 2023
Added quick list navigation and updated product listings to reflect latest launches.
7 July 2023
Updated rankings to include the Sony WH-CH720N. Re-ordered the list to reflect latest pricing and options in the market. Added new easy navigation subheadings.
23 May 2023
Checked list against latest product reviews.
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