How we test headphones

Which? examines everything that matters for headphones, including sound quality, comfort and how well they work in real life – so you'll know exactly what to expect. Our unique, comparative lab tests mean you can trust our verdicts and choose with confidence.

We put all the headphones through the same tests – providing consumers with impartial advice – which means that if a product isn't any good we'll say so. Which? works for you, providing trustworthy advice without a hidden agenda.

To see our top recommendations across all types, read our guide to the best headphones.

What are Which? Best Buys, Don’t Buys, Great Value and Eco Buy headphones?

Best Buys

The headphones that excel the most in our tests, and that score at least 72%, are named Best Buys. But with many different styles on the market, you should still read our reviews to find a pair that best fits your individual preferences.

Don't Buys

Poor-performing headphones that receive a substandard score of 45% or lower are Don’t Buys and should be avoided. These will have disappointing sound quality well below the average, so there will be far better options for your money.

Head straight to our headphone reviews, where you can filter using the Best Buy menu to see our recommended pairs. Or read on to find out more about how our experts test to answer the key questions to get a superb pair of headphones.

What's the sound quality like?

To test sound quality we use a listening panel of five experts, made up of people of varying ages and ear sizes. They assess each pair of headphones using four audio tracks, covering a range of music and radio genres from pop/ rock and spoken word to classical and jazz.

We also use an artificial ear for technical testing. We measure how loud the sound is and if there is any distortion in its frequency.

What's the comfort and fit like?

How the headphones' sound isn't our only consideration – we also assess them for comfort and how adjustable they are.

Our lab experts rate these aspects, taking into account placing them in position, removing them from your ear, and how secure they are, including the potential of the headphones to accidentally fall out of your ear. We test how well they stay in place during intensive motion to replicate how you might use them during exercise and sport. We check to see how comfortable they are for glasses wearers, too.

How do we test noise cancelling?

Headphones designed for travelling often have active noise-cancelling technology that filters out unwanted sounds, such as aircraft and railway noise, so you can listen undisturbed. However, we've found noise cancelling so poor you'd barely notice it's working at all, so it's important to know the best pairs to choose, particularly since many noise-cancelling headphones cost well over £100.

We test noise cancelling in two ways. Firstly, our lab uses a synthetic reference ear to test a headphone's noise cancelling under lab conditions. For headphones that have Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) this is done with both ANC enabled and disabled. Secondly, our professional listening panel try out the noise cancelling themselves and give their verdict.

Go straight to our reviews of the best noise-cancelling headphones to see the models we recommend.

How durable are they?

We rate the quality of the material used to construct the headphones, their charging case, and any areas of obvious concern. The solidity of the cables, earpieces, buttons, and connectors are tested to make sure they're strong enough.

We check to see how they will cope in light rain conditions and if they will survive being dropped every now and then.

Do they suffer from sound leakage?

Our expert listening panel will detect how much sound leaks out to your surroundings while the headphones are in use at a loud volume. This is to ensure you don't buy a pair that'll annoy those around you.

How long does the battery last?

Bluetooth headphones, which allow you to connect to your devices wirelessly, have batteries built in. Manufacturers make all sorts of battery life claims, but you shouldn’t always believe them – our real-life independent tests show they can be greatly different in reality.

In our tests, we set the headphones playing and time how long it takes the battery to run out, so you have figures tested in exactly the same way to compare from model to model across all the brands. If the headphones have noise cancelling or ANC, we will see what impact this makes on the battery life. We’ve found headphones that will barely last a couple of hours per charge, and some that’ll last 80 hours or more.

We will assess the battery life and check how much juice you'll get from a 15-minute charge.

Should I buy them?

We give every pair of headphones a Which? test score so you can immediately see at a glance which are the best and worst, plus how each model compares. The headphone score ignores price and is based on the following criteria:

• 50% sound quality
• 10% ANC (active noise cancelling) quality
• 15% battery life
• 10% comfort
• 10% ease of use
• 5% durability

Headphones need 72% in our tests to earn our Best Buy recommendation. Headphones that score 45% or less are highlighted as Don't Buy models to avoid.

What brands make longer-lasting wireless headphones?

As well as our tough lab tests we also assess how reliable wireless headphone brands are in our annual member survey. Each year we get data on over 50,000 devices – including more than 5,000 wireless headphones – and use this to determine which brands make products that are built to last. If we find that headphones from a brand are unreliable and likely to experience a fault then we won't name them as Best Buys, no matter how well they did in our lab assessment. To find out how reliable popular brands are, see our guide to the most reliable headphone brands.

Latest headphone reviews

To see all the headphones we’ve tested and find the right pair for you, head over to our headphones reviews.