The best on-ear headphones we tested:
Wireless: Beats Solo Wireless 3
Wired: Grado SR325x
For creatives: Audio-Technica ATH-M60x
For retro audio: Marshall Major IV
For wireless audiophiles: Grado GW100x
Budget pick: Sony WH-CH520
On-ear headphones — small, lightweight models that sit on your earlobes rather than enveloping them — have come a long way from the flimsy, foam-padded headsets that came with your old Sony Walkman. Nowadays, the best on-ear headphones resemble smaller, more portable versions of the designs used on the best over-ear headphones, complete with modern features such as active noise cancellation, Bluetooth and apps with customizable sound settings.
We’ve tested numerous on-ear headphones over the past several years, both wired and wireless, to determine the best selections based on performance, practicality, price and purpose. Here’s what’s worth picking up.
Best on-ear wireless headphones overall
An excellent on-ear headphone with powerful sound and flawless Apple integration, the Beats Solo 3 deliver a pleasant listening experience in gorgeous packaging. They’re also available in multiple colors and special-edition designs.
Best on-ear wired headphones overall
The crown pick of the Grado's mid-priced range, the SR325x shine with treble-forward sound and superb stereo imaging thanks to an open-back design, ideal for audiophiles watching movies or listening on high-res streaming services.
Best on-ear wireless headphones overall: Beats Solo Wireless 3
$200 $129 at Amazon or $200 at Apple
It’s been seven years since the Beats Solo 3 launched, and they remain the category’s top dog. In our rounds of testing, they’ve consistently held their own against the competition, and remain one of the best Beats headphones overall.
Drums knock hard as you’d expect from a Beats product, and brass instruments and synthesized effects have solid impact. Stereo separation is strong, with a lively sense of 3D sound and placement of instruments and voice in space; if you’re listening from an Apple device, the Solo 3 Wireless support the company’s spatial audio format for even more head-tracking realism.
Call quality is solid, if not spectacular. The voice and video calls we made sounded great on our end, while call recipients described us as sounding “pretty good,” with adequate vocal clarity and minimal background interference, though they reported we sounded muffled when walking past noisy backdrops like construction sites. The Solo 3 Wireless don’t include any active noise cancellation, either for listening or microphones, so this isn’t surprising.
The Solo 3 are easy to use, with a central multi-functional button that registers single- and multi-press gestures accurately for playback, call management and Siri activation. The ring around the button works well, increasing volume when pressed at the top, and vice versa on the bottom. Apple’s W1 chip won’t let you activate Siri directly with a voice command like the H1 chip featured on the Bluetooth 5.0-enabled AirPods Max, but having only Bluetooth 4.2 doesn’t mean much in day-to-day operation, and it works much the same for fast pairing and switching between Apple devices. The Solo 3 Wireless offer long battery life, lasting up to 40 hours of playback (though your mileage may vary depending on how loud you listen, connection strength and many other factors). Fast Fuel quick-charging generates three hours of playtime on a five-minute charge.
And what are Beats headphones without a stylish design? The Solo 3 are visually attractive with a slim and lightweight 7.5-ounce frame composed mostly of glossy plastic, metal and high-quality padding on the ear cups and headband. These headphones are sold in several bold and vibrant colorways, with many special-edition versions still available online.
Best on-ear wired headphones overall: Grado SR325x
$295 at Amazon
The Grado SR325x headphones, the top of the storied audiophile brand’s mid-priced Prestige lineup, feature the company’s signature precise, treble-forward sound. Their handsome leather-and-metal look is also a testament to Grado’s hand-building tradition; the 325x are assembled in Brooklyn.
The SR325x’s open-back design provides a lovely sense of space and superb stereo imaging, enlivening orchestral recordings by positioning instruments and musicians in their rightful spots. The wonderful treble extension presents vocals and melody instruments in sharp detail, but doesn’t compromise bass levels, resulting in crisp, deep-sounding lows and percussion that make contemporary tracks more immersive. They’re also a great headphone for video, with the wide stereo presentation and great detail making movie listening more intense — the spaciousness made horror movies even scarier.
Wired headphones are perfect for serious listening. Even the best Bluetooth connection means some compromise in audio quality, so if you’re into high-resolution music streaming services such as Tidal, the SR325x are a great choice.
Every Grado headphone features outstanding build quality. This model is no different. The aluminum ear cups and leather headband look and feel premium. The thick cable with woven sleeve should allow usage for years to come; it terminates in a 1/8-inch (3.5mm plug) and a high-quality 1/4-inch (6.35mm) adapter is supplied to connect the SR325x to professional audio gear.
The only downside? Grado’s ear cup pads provide minimal cushioning compared to plusher competitors, and the stiff headband makes the SR325x a tighter fit than our other recommendations. But overall the great sound means that those compromises are worth dealing with, and despite the relatively high price, the Grados give you great sound for the money.
Other on-ear headphones we recommend
Best wired on-ear headphones for musicians, streamers and podcasters
The first on-ear headphones in Audio Technica’s popular professional audio ATH-M lineup are a fantastic addition to any studio setup. Their 45mm large-aperture drivers reward you with well-balanced, detailed sound. Bass is beefy and the clear upper mids give you stellar vocal reproduction. Multiple cables — a 1.2-meter cable for mobile listening and two 3-meter cables, coiled and straight — give you plenty of flexibility to connect to all of your devices.
Cyber Monday Deal
Best on-ear headphones for retro audio lovers
An Underscored editor’s pick, the Major IV blend new-school performance with an old-school design. They deliver legacy sound and long battery life, and also have user-friendly features like wireless charging and a multi-directional knob controller that streamlines music and phone functionality.
Best open-back on-ear wireless headphones for audiophiles
Grado’s latest on-ear wireless model is among the few — if not the only — open-back on-ear wireless headphones. They have the brand’s signature detailed sound, along with great comfort and a nostalgically appealing design. The spacious, airy sound stage properly positions instruments and performers for impressive three-dimensional audio. The long battery life (up to 46 hours) and modern connectivity (Bluetooth 5.2 with multipoint pairing) add to the GW100x’s value.
Best budget on-ear headphones
It wasn’t enough for Sony to give these comfy headphones well-rounded sound with punchy bass and up to 50 hours of playtime, so the company went the extra mile and loaded them up with an expansive feature set that consists of 360 Reality Audio support, customizable sound settings, DSEE upscaling technology, Google Fast Pair and multipoint pairing. That’s a tremendous deal for as low as $36.
What to look for in on-ear headphones
On-ear headphones are designed for compactness and portability, and are great for those who don’t want to wear in-ear headphones on the go. They do make a few compromises in sound quality and features compared to over-ear models, but since they reset directly on your ear rather than enveloping it, they provide a side benefit of keeping your ears open to ambient noise around you. This style of headphone is good for the commute, at-home listening, work environments where you want to stay aware of what’s around you and — of course — calm environments.
You can purchase on-ear headphones in either wired or wireless form. Traditionalists can listen passively by connecting their headphones to the headphone or aux jack of their favorite media source, whether that’s a mobile device, piece of hi-fi gear, DAC or whatever else. Cord-cutters can pair their headphones to most devices supporting Bluetooth 4.2 or higher.
Isolation is a weakness with on-ear headphones. The slightest slippage can let in too much noise and affect sound quality. However, any on-ear model that provides a snug fit can help reduce incidental sounds to a reasonable level. Seek out a model that is comfortable for lengthy listening sessions and remains stable on the head — some people don’t like the feel of on-ear headphones on their earlobes.
Given that you need isolation for active noise cancellation to work effectively, very few on-ear headphones support the technology, but the ones that do can effectively reduce background interference, albeit not as well as their over-ear and in-ear cousins.
How we tested
All on-ear headphones are put through a thorough battery of tests. Our reviewers test overall performance in different listening environments and through multiple audio setups, including desktops/laptops, home entertainment systems, MP3 players, smartphones and TVs.
We assess comfort over time, gain familiarity with companion apps, learn every control, monitor battery life and observe wired and wireless performance. Most importantly, we listen to various music genres and test active noise cancellation where available.
From there, our team compares each headphone carefully with their competitors, new models and previous favorites to get the best sense of where they rank in the product category.
Sound quality
Several factors were accounted for when analyzing sound quality. We played tracks across numerous music genres to hear how detailed and realistic the sound stage sounded and paid attention to clarity, depth, frequency range, reverberation and separation. Noise-canceling and transparency modes were also taken into consideration, since both features tend to change bass response, for better or worse.
Design
All materials are examined, from the ear cups to the headband to the stitching around each component. We take notes on the comfort, flexibility, portability, sturdiness and style of each model.
Usability
We tested each physical control to find out whether the user interface of each model was easy to understand and how responsive it was to calls, playback, volume and assigned features like ANC or Bluetooth pairing. Headphones with touch controls and wear detection are given similar testing treatment for accuracy and responsiveness.
Connectivity
Wired models are tested on devices that support an aux jack or adapter. We looked for any audio inconsistencies and analog signal issues that kept these headphones from delivering full resolution. Wireless headphones were paired with multiple Apple, Android and Windows devices to assess compatibility and ease of pairing, along with latency, range and reconnection.
Battery life
Any headphone with a built-in battery was fully charged to monitor playtimes when enabling special features and listening at high volume. Most testing was done with media played at normal listening level (75% volume) throughout the day. Once they were depleted of power, we double-checked charging times and quick-charge functionality to see if these models lived up to their battery life claims.
Active noise cancellation
We came up with noisy conditions for testing ANC: sitting near an active washing machine and listening to a soundtrack of a busy restaurant crowd from some loudspeakers. These aimed to test how well headphones could mute and eliminate deep, bassy sounds as well as how well they reduced overall volume. Something else we checked out was how much control the user has over the level of ANC. Some headphones allow you to toggle the feature on and off, while others give you the option to adjust the strength of ANC.
Warranty
Our team researched the warranty for each device, what period it covered and whether extended warranties or service plans were available through the manufacturer or online retailers such as Amazon and Best Buy.
Other on-ear headphones we tested
Adidas RPT-02 Sol
$229 at Adidas
Adidas’s solar-charging headphones appeal to outdoor exercisers that want boomy sound and massive battery life (80 hours per charge) in a lightweight, sporty design. We’ve used them for a month and still have 50% juice left. They use solar-powered technology for recharging that can be monitored in the Adidas Headphones app, which also carries features like a customizable EQ and one-tap Spotify integration to access playlists. Our biggest complaint, and it’s a big one, is that the band’s tight clamping force — which keeps the headphones secure while you move — suffocates your ears and skull.
Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H8i
$400 $300 at Amazon or $400 at Bang & Olufsen
If you want premium performance with a fancy design, the H8i are for you. These luxury cans feature long battery life, noteworthy ANC, sublime audio performance, terrific call quality and companion app support for sound customization via a “mood wheel” equalizer.
JBL Tune 510BT
$50 $25 at Amazon
These inexpensive cans utilize JBL’s Pure Bass Sound technology to pump out deep lows. Battery life is long at 40 hours, with a 5-minute quick charge generating two hours of playtime. Bluetooth 5.0 delivers reliable connectivity and range (up to 50 feet for wireless listening). They lack app control or other special features and we found them uncomfortable to wear for more than two hours of use.
JLab Studio ANC
$59 $40 at Amazon
Despite their appealing price, the JLab Studio ANC were mediocre overall, with flat sound and thin bass reproduction. They sport ANC, which, though not very strong, is rare among on-ear models and more than many headphones we tested in this lower price range can boast. Even the battery life is quite good at over 34 hours of playback without ANC on.
Sony MDR-ZX110AP
$30 $16 at Amazon
One of our favorite under $25 scores, the Sony MDR-ZX110AP are bang-for-your-buck wired headphones with surprisingly good performance for under $20. They pump out engaging sound, which was enhanced when paired with a portable DAC (our choice was the Questyle M15). Comfort is adequate and the built-in multifunction button allows for playback, call management and digital assistant activation. The flimsy construction and missing carrying bag are the MDR-ZX110AP’s only legitimate faults.
