Soundcore by Anker Liberty 4
Best new Soundcore by Anker buds
1More Aero earbuds
Good value wireless earbuds from 1More
Soundpeats Capsule3 Pro
Lightweight noise canceling earbuds with LDAC support
Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 are some of the best wireless earbuds out there. We gave them a CNET Editors Choice award because of how well they performance for their size and weight and how well they fit a lot of people’s ears. But not everybody can afford them, even if they do see some decent discounts on Amazon and other sites. Which is we’ve put together this list of budget noise canceling earbuds that are worthy alternatives to the AirPods Pro 2.
While none of these are going to be quite as good as the AirPods Pro 2 and are missing the AirPods Pro 2’s bonus features, like hands-free Siri or Apple’s spatial audio virtual surround mode for watching movies and TV shows, the picks listed below to deliver strong performance for their relatively modest price and are very good values. They also feature decent active noise canceling, are well designed and fit comfortably. Note that all these picks work with both iOS and Android devices and aren’t Apple-centric like the AirPods Pro.
I’ll be updating this list as new models arrive, but here are the best “cheap” noise-canceling, true-wireless earbuds I’m impressed with right now.
Read more: Best Cheap True-Wireless Earbuds Under $100 for 2023
Earfun has put out a series of wireless earbuds over the last couple of years with one important commonality: They’re very good values, made more so by frequent discounts. The company’s new-for-2023 Earfun Air Pro 3 earbuds feature the latest Qualcomm QCC3071 system-on-a-chip with aptX Adaptive for Android and other devices that support the new LE Audio standard and LC3 audio codec, which is superior to the SBC codec (they also support AAC for Apple devices).
Over the years, JBL has put out some decent true-wireless earbuds, but nothing that really got me too excited. That’s finally changed with the arrival of the Samsung-owned brand’s new Live Pro 2 and Live Free 2 buds. Both sets of buds — the Live Pro 2 have stems while the Live Free 2 have a pill-shaped design — offer a comfortable fit along with strong noise canceling, very good sound quality and voice-calling performance, plus a robust set of features, including multipoint Bluetooth pairing, an IPX5 splash-proof rating and wireless charging.
While their sound isn’t quite up to the level of higher-end buds like Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 and the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 that cost significantly more, the Soundcore by Anker Liberty 4 earbuds have a strong set of features, including a spatial audio mode with head tracking, multipoint Bluetooth pairing, up to nine hours of battery life, wireless charging and support for Sony’s LDAC audio codec that can offer sound improvements if you have the right setup.
The 1More Aero earbuds carry a list price of $110 but Amazon often has an instant coupon on them that brings their price down substantially. They’re essentially a more premium version of 1More’s ComfoBuds Pro and feature a better charging case (the Aero does have wireless charging) and improved noise canceling and slightly improved sound.
Jabra has replaced its entry-level Elite 3 buds with the new-for-2023 Elite 4, which offer active noise canceling and multipoint Bluetooth pairing. What’s confusing is that Jabra also sells the Elite 4 Active, a slightly more ruggedized version of the same buds that carries a list price of $120 but sometimes sells for less than the standard Elite 4 if it (the Elite 4 Active) is on sale. But you should also see discounts on the Elite 4, which are available in dark gray, navy, lilac and light beige.
The Soundpeats Capsule3 Pro are the successor to the company’s Air 3 Pro earbuds. While they’re lightweight like those buds, they have more of a premium look to them. They also offer good sound and noise canceling for their modest price. While they work fine with iPhones, they’re more geared toward Android because they support Sony’s higher-resolution LDAC audio codec for devices that support LDAC Bluetooth streaming.
In the past, we’ve recommended Earfun’s AirPro SV and Air Pro 2 as excellent budget noise-canceling earbuds choices (they’re still good values). But the Earfun Air S, which was released in the second half of 2022, is arguably a step up from those models and just slightly behind the new-for-2023 Earfun Air Pro 3. Equipped with a Qualcomm QCC3046 chip, the Air S buds have multipoint Bluetooth pairing and support the aptX audio codec for Android and other devices that support it. They have the same 10mm wool drivers as the AirPro SV and feature surprisingly impressive sound for their modest price. They also work well (but exceptionally well) as a headset for making calls with decent background noise reduction. The buds have an IPX5 water-resistance rating, which means they’re splashproof and can withstand a sustained spray of water.
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Watch this: These Are the Absolute Best Earbuds of 2022
Source: CNET
