The Sony WF-1000XM4 are a punchy, detailed and well-balanced listen, more than capable of soothing just as easily as getting you ready for the dancefloor. They sound spacious, unified and convincingly musical. They’re an endlessly engaging listen, with a stack of sonic talents as long as your arm.
On top of that, they cancel external sounds pretty effectively, have battery life that’s just the right side of ‘acceptable’ and are, frankly, streets ahead of any nominal rival where ergonomics are concerned. By doing pretty much everything really well, the WF-1000XM4 continue Sony’s long and proud tradition of building the best true wireless in-ear headphones you can buy.
Stuff says: ★★★★☆
Beats Studio Buds
The Beats Studio Buds are a fantastic pair of true wireless buds. Offering a lot to love at a reasonable price, they are an obvious alternative to Apple’s AirPods.
With a refined sound signature that’s no longer so big on the bass but remains punchy and energetic at every turn, with a strong sense of space in the presentation and good separation across the frequency range. In short, they deliver superb performance for the money, with decent noise-cancellation, a comfortable design and a more inclusive approach for Android users.
Their feature set isn’t as extensive as some buds out there, while the Transparency mode and phone call quality leaves a little to be desired. Battery life could be a touch better, too. But these are minor grumbles in an otherwise convincing little package that feels more slick and well-rounded than many others at this price.
Stuff says: ★★★★☆
Bowers & Wilkins PI7
The Bowers & Wilkins name always brings with it certain expectations when it comes to sound quality – and they’re emphatically met with the PI7.
Performance is exceptional, possibly the best we’ve heard yet from a pair of true wireless buds, and the build quality is of a similarly high standard – but the PI7 also stand out for reasons you might not expect. The retramission tech on the Bluetooth charging case, which turns the charging case into a Bluetooth transmitter when you plug it into a wired source like an in-flight entertainment system, is a fantastic idea that actually solves real world problems.
It’s enough to make up for the fact that the battery life is nothing special and you can get better ANC elsewhere, especially considering the price. At least their soothing sounds will come in handy when you see the bill.
Stuff says: ★★★★★
Sennheiser CX True Wireless
Are your ears big enough? That’s really the big question – because as long as your lugs can accommodate the CX True Wireless’ slightly unhelpful dimensions, all the other stuff about them is positive.
As long as you’re not expecting absolute Swiss-style neutrality from the sound of your in-ears, there’s loads to like about the way the CX True Wireless perform. They’re a bold, upfront listen that can be a little in-your-face, but they still have delicacy to match the muscle, especially where voices are concerned.
The touch controls are responsive and virtually impossible to confuse, but you can still use the exemplary Smart Control app to tweak things if you don’t like the way Sennheiser has assigned the commands. While there’s no ANC and battery life could be better, this is still money well spent.
Stuff says: ★★★★★
Denon AH-C830NCW
Denon’s first true wireless in-ears arrive fashionably late. Adopting a dangly stem approach, they don’t upset the design established trend either. But they are a relatively stylish example of the form, with well-made, ergonomic shells.
The ‘buds also benefit from active noise-cancelling, with an ambient mode to boost external sounds – although performance is decent, rather than outstanding. With muting smarts enabled, the earphones deliver around five hours of battery life, with a further four from the neat charging case.
What you don’t get is any control app or EQ. Each earbud features a touch surface for pausing tunes, skipping tracks and cycling through noise-cancelling modes. Annoyingly, there’s no volume control, so you’ll need to adjust that on your source device.
And with no voice-assistant support, the approach is boldly old-school. Luckily, the earbuds have the audio chops to make up for it: bass frequencies are deep and textured, yet nicely balanced against an expressive mid-range and nicely judged high frequencies – something not all true wireless earphones are brave enough to deliver. Rivals offer more features for similar money, but Denon’s ‘buds deliver real sonic satisfaction.
Stuff says: ★★★★★
Urbanears Boo Tips
A khaki colourway isn’t the only thing green about these affordable AirPods alternatives: 91% of their construction is recycled plastic. Eco credentials aside, the featherweight ‘phones feature a textured matte finish that’s subtly characterful, if not especially premium.
Despite being ludicrously light at less than 4g a piece, a trio of tip sizes ensures the Boo Tips don’t feel in danger of falling out. They’re not the most rugged earbuds around, but IPX4 water-resistance gives a degree of weather protection. Stem touch controls can’t be customised, but their mirrored inputs are easy to master – even if a volume option is missing.
10mm drivers inside produce surprisingly rich, well-balanced bass. Separation is generally good, although the soundstage sometimes feels cramped on complex tracks. Detail can become muddied in the mids when there are many layers, with trebles and vocals occasionally suffering from compression. Still, the Boo Tips benefit from an energy which belies their lightweight build and accessible price.
Battery life is fine at 4.5hrs, with another 25.5hrs in the compact charging case. The most noticeable drawback? Noise isolation: in loud environments, the lack of ANC means the Boo Tips can struggle to keep external sounds from bleeding into your listen.
Stuff says: ★★★★☆
Devialet Gemini
There’s nothing special about the design of Devialet’s Gemini buds, or the charging case, or the battery life, or the ANC, or the app. Even the name is a bit naff… and the sound out of the box is arguably overcooked in the upper mids.
But after a little bit of tweaking in the EQ section of the app, we’re suddenly in happy hi-fi land. The sheer space in the midrange makes lesser buds sound rough and muddy in comparison, and reveals the kind of details that justify the invention of remastering. The bass isn’t supernaturally expansive but it’s deep enough, without any hint of looseness, while the treble is as fresh and even as an overnight sprinkling of Ribena-flavoured snow.
What you get from these AirPods alternatives (eventually) is proper high-fidelity brilliance in an inexpensive and ultra-portable package. So who really cares about the rest?
Stuff says: ★★★★★
KEF Mu3
KEF’s lean musical beans live inside a slightly bulky but well-built charging case. Each bud has a single button, so you’ll need to memorise a set of single-, double- and long-press commands if you don’t want to reach for your phone every time you need to skip a track, adjust the volume or summon the voice assistant.
The focus for these AirPods alternatives is very much on performance. That means no wear-sensors or apps, but you do get active noise-cancelling – although it’s not the most effective out there. Audio quality more than makes up for all that, though: songs sound lifelike with bags of texture and detail, bass is forceful but controlled, and you can really pick out the positions of the instruments.
