HEADPHONES

WHAT SOUNDS GOOD?

Jaybird Tarah Pro ($159.99)

I never cared all that much for the behind-the-neck wire situation, but these stand out for their 14-hour battery life and IPX7 waterproofing that will keep them safe in up to a meter of water. These are robust, well-designed headphones with a lot of subtle but important design features, such as a magnetic charging cradle and a cloth-wrapped cable. One note: install the associated app. It gives you EQ controls and many of the profiles available make the Tarahs sound substantially better than when they come out of the box.

Creative Outlier Air ($79.99)

Don't let the great price point fool you, these aren't your average budget buds. The sound quality is comparable to or maybe a little better than the AirPods, but the battery life is much better—10 hours consecutive playtime, with a fast-charge case that pushes the total to 30 hours. Their connection is faultless, you can listen to phone calls in both ears and not just one, you can stow either bud and keep listening on the other, the voice assistant and microphone work great, the controls are intuitive, and the charging case actually fits in your pocket. The Creative Outlier Airs aren't just a budget alternative to the AirPods—I prefer them.

Sony WH-1000XM3 ($299.99)

Call the king the king. The iPhone Life office is twenty steps from a rail line, but you'd never know it while wearing the best noise-canceling headphones in the world. The WH-1000XM series established Sony as the king of the hill of audiophile headphones for your iPhone. With voice assistant integration, best-in-class sound canceling, gesture controls, and 30 hours of battery life, these have what you expect from the one wearing the crown. You can even grab a refurbished pair off Amazon at a discount that cuts a chunk off the ticket price, making the best headphones on the market cheaper than anything else in their weight class.

Apple AirPods 2 ($199)

Rock solid wireless connection, easy pairing, peerless Siri integration, and Apple's top-notch design aesthetic all come together to set the standard against which all other true wireless earbuds must be measured. Sound quality is still only middling; but for most consumers, the convenience of the case, which now allows wireless charging, and the overall elegance and freedom of the design are more than enough to make the AirPods the first and last stop.

JBL Live 650BTNC

($199.99)

Associate Editor Leanne fell in love with these headphones. Their active noise canceling didn't really impress me, but nearly everything else about them did. The lightweight and comfortable fit is good for any head size, the audio quality is above average, the battery life is advertised as a completely sufficient 20 hours, and you can use Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant with a dedicated on-headphones button separate from the still-functional Siri button. For a smart set of over-ear headphones that you can wear throughout the day, look no further.