Best noise-canceling true wireless earbuds for 2022

Bang & Olufsen's earlier Beoplay E8 earbuds were good but underwhelming for their high price. The new Beoplay EQ are also rather expensive, but at least they're among the very best true wireless earbuds available right now, with top-notch sound and adaptive noise canceling, along with a natural sounding transparency mode. Multipoint Bluetooth pairing means you can connect them to a smartphone and computer simultaneously. They have three microphones on each bud and are good for voice calling though not exceptionally good.

Needless to say, the premium design elements are here -- the aluminum-shelled case opens and closes with precise smoothness and the buds themselves have their own aluminum accent on the outer surface where the touch controls live.

The buds are fairly large and do stick out of your ears like premium buds from Sony and Sennheiser. They fit me comfortably and securely and are suitable for sporting activities, with an IP54 splash-proof rating. Battery life is rated at around 6.5 hours at moderate volume levels and you get an extra two charges from the case, which has USB-C and wireless charging.

The sound is big and dynamic with deep, well-defined bass and a wide soundstage. The mids sound natural and the treble has nice sparkle to it. They're a pleasure to listen to and among the best-sounding true wireless earbuds. I didn't experience any listening fatigue over longer listening sessions. aptX is available for devices that support the audio codec; these have aptX Adaptive and use Bluetooth 5.2.

Are they better than the Sony WF-1000XM4, which cost $120 less? The answer to that will depend partially on just how well they fit your ears and just how good a seal you get from the included ear tips. I personally ended up getting the best fit using Sennheiser's large tips, which work best for my ears. They're a great set of earbuds if you can afford them. Just buy them from a retailer that has a good return policy in case you're not completely satisfied.

A lot of people love Nura's original over-ear Nuraphones that are uniquely designed with an in-ear component and personalized sound. I'm personally more fond of the company's new NuraTrue earbuds, which also have a fairly unusual design and give you the option to create a personalized hearing profile.

The buds look big but are lightweight. They fit a bit more like sport earbuds -- they include a couple of sizes of stabilizing fins -- and stick out of your ears a bit (they're not exactly discreet). I got a good seal and comfortable fit with one of the larger tips and if you're able to get a good fit, these deliver excellent sound and decent noise-canceling performance. Nura has some of the best hearing personalization and a quick 5-minute process, with no test tones involved, yielded good results for me with improved sound.

You can adjust the bass level with a slider in the "immersive" mode in the app and I found these delivered big sound with a wide soundstage. aptX audio codec support is available for compatible devices.

The NuraTrue also have a "social" transparency mode -- it's good, but not quite up to the level of the AirPods Pro's transparency mode in terms of how natural it sounds. Battery life is rated at around six hours with noise canceling on at moderate volume levels. I thought the touch controls worked well and these are splash-proof with an IPX4 rating. Call quality wasn't quite what I hoped it would be -- it's fine but some callers said my voice sounded unnatural and canned when noise reduction was engaged in the noisy streets of New York. There is a sidetone feature that allows you to hear your voice in the buds, which is good.

Initially there were some complaints about the earbuds not playing loud enough, but a firmware update fixed that issue. I had no problem with the volume levels; they play plenty loud now, perhaps too loud for some people. Though fairly pricey, If these fit your ears well, they're among the better premium buds, particularly for sound quality. Hopefully some firmware upgrades will make them even better over time.

Edifier has a few different new true-wireless earbuds and most are good values for the price, including the TWS 330NB. While these buds are missing a sensor that automatically pauses your music when you take them out of your ears, they feature excellent sound quality for the money, decent active noise canceling with a transparency mode and solid voice calling (they have three microphones in each bud for noise canceling and noise reduction during calls).

They fit my ears well -- they're essentially AirPods Pro clones -- and while the touch controls are a little limited, they are programmable using the Edifier Connect app for iOS and Android; you can also set the level of touch sensitivity. They have an IP54 rating, which means they're splash- and dust-proof, and battery life is rated at four hours with noise canceling on and 5 hours with it off (at moderate volume levels). That's merely OK, but you do get two additional charges in the charging case.

The Momentum True Wireless II remain Sennheiser's flagship true-wireless earbuds. But shortly after the release of the CX, Sennheiser's second-generation midrange buds, the company has followed up with the CX Plus, which add noise canceling a slightly higher price. They look nearly identical to the standard CX buds but have a glossy black finish on the bud's exterior touch-sensitive surface. Cosmetically, they're more akin to the older and slightly larger CX400BT.

I like the CX for the money and the CX Plus deliver the same excellent sound while rounding out the feature set with active noise canceling and a transparency mode. Battery life is rated at up to eight hours at moderate volume levels and these are splash-proof, with an IPX4 rating. They do stick out of your ears a fair bit.

The noise canceling isn't quite as good as the Sony WF-1000XM4's noise canceling, but I thought it was quite effective and headset performance was also decent, though not necessarily stellar. These are all-around solid noise-canceling earbuds that can count sound quality as their biggest strength.

Master & Dynamic's earlier MW07 and MW07 Plus delivered top-notch sound for true wireless, but they were a little lacking in the features department and weren't so great for making calls. The updated MW08 offer some significant improvements, including the addition of solid noise cancellation and call quality, that makes them one of the top models for 2022. Alas, they're expensive at $299.

Battery life has improved a bit, up to around 12 hours of battery life at 50% volume versus 10 hours for the MW07 Plus. The earbuds are equipped with Bluetooth 5.2, active noise cancellation with three microphones on each earbud. Noise reduction during calls isn't up to the level of the AirPods Pro but overall call quality has improved. The noise-canceling on the MW07 Plus was pretty weak; the MW08's is much more effective.

You can opt for two levels of noise cancellation in the new M&D Connect app for iOS and Android, as well as two levels of transparency that lets you hear the outside world. The app currently has no way to tweak the sound profile -- I'm OK with that, because the sound profile is just fine for my tastes -- and the earbuds have a physical button on each bud to control playback, not touch controls.

The buds may not fit everyone's ear equally well, but they certainly have a distinct look, as well as excellent sound and a great listening experience if you can get a tight seal (I was able to get a secure fit with the largest tip). They deliver more of an audiophile sound profile, with smooth, well-balanced sound and well-defined bass. This model has new 11mm drivers, which add a bit of punch to the bass and a touch better clarity. The MW08 works well with all genres of music.

Available in a variety of color options, like their predecessors, the MW08 include a swanky stainless-steel charging case (it charges via USB-C) that's compact but carries more weight than your typical buds cases. I prefer the matte finishes of the cases that come with the black and blue versions, and you also get a secondary pouch for safekeeping. Yes, the charging case can get scratched up if you leave it in a bag.

These truly wireless earbuds now support both the aptX and AAC audio codecs and have an extended range of more than 20 meters, according to Master & Dynamic.

TaoTronics' SoundLiberty P10 is another AirPods Pro knock-off, but it's one of the better ones out there for the money, with good sound and decent headset performance for making calls. The noise canceling isn't up to the level of the AIrPods Pro, but it's reasonably effective and there's also an ambient mode that lets sound in (the equivalent of the AirPods Pro's transparency mode, just not quite as natural sounding) and an anti-wind mode.

I've tried many TaoTronics headphones over the years, and these may be the company's best earbuds yet. While they're not fancy, they fit my ears well, the case is compact and the instructions clearly spell out how to use the touch controls. They're equipped with Bluetooth 5.2 and are fully waterproof with an IPX8 rating. Battery life is rated at six and a half hours with noise canceling on and volume at 50%.

They're usually $70, but they're available from TaoTronics' website right now for $39.99 with code PR99.

If you get a tight seal (three different sized ear tips are included), 1More's ComfoBuds Pro not only sounds good but also performs well as a headset for making calls, with three microphones in each earbud. There's a touch of presence boost in the treble and the bass packs good punch, which gives these a dynamic sound profile (they're not laid-back) and they play loud for those looking for that.

You can toggle between two levels of noise cancellation (as well as "off") using the touch controls -- and there's a pass-through transparency mode and a wind noise-reduction mode. You can also toggle through all of those modes using the companion app for iOS and Android. Battery life is rated at six hours with noise canceling on and eight with it off. The earbuds are IPX4 rated for water-resistance, which means they're splash-proof, the same as the AirPods Pro.

In short, if you don't want to spend $200 or so on the AirPods Pro, the 1More ComfoBuds Pro is a good budget alternative. Note that 1More also makes an open version of the ComfoBuds, which is similar to the standard AirPods and costs around $50. This Pro version is better.

Apart from their sturdy and somewhat weighty case, which looks a bit like a Zippo lighter, Klipsch's new T5 II True Wireless ANC earphones have a couple of key feature highlights. Not only are they the company's first earbuds with active noise canceling, but they have head-gesture controls "powered by Bragi embedded AI."

This being Klipsch, the earbuds have a sound profile more geared toward rock music (expect well-defined but not thumping bass), with good clarity and balance. I thought the earbuds were a tad bright at the "flat" setting and I generally went with the "bass" preset EQ, though you can create your own custom EQ.

If you can get a tight seal, both sound quality and noise canceling are excellent. Call quality is also solid, with three mics in each earbud for the noise canceling and noise reduction during calls. And there's a transparency mode that lets ambient sound in.

This new model features essentially the same design as the Klipsch T5 II True Wireless but adds active noise canceling, Dirac HD Sound technology (Klipsch says it delivers clearer, richer sound) and the aforementioned Bragi AI, which allows you to do such things as answer a call by nodding your head. Battery life is around five hours with noise canceling on and up to seven hours with it off. They're splash-proof, with an IPX4 rating.

The fit of these Klipsch buds isn't for everybody and their high price puts them in direct competition with such heavyweights as the Sony WF-1000XM4 -- I prefer the Sony, but the Klipsch's noise-canceling performance is surprisingly close. The Klipsch T5 True Wireless ANC have a lot to like about them.

LG's Tone Free FP8 are a nice improvement over previous Tone Free true-wireless earbuds I've tried in the last couple of years, offering better sound with fuller bass and decent noise canceling. They're lightweight and comfortable to wear (yes, they look quite a bit like AirPods Pro but come in black) and their touch controls are responsive. They performed well as a headset for making calls, though I expected a little better noise reduction when I was making calls in the raucous streets of New York.

Their most distinguishing feature is the built-in self-cleaning feature. It's a bit of a gimmick, but for all you germaphobes, the case has a UV light -- LG calls it UVnano -- that kills bacteria on the speaker mesh.

The Tone Free FP8 are quite likable, but LG had to get the price down to make them more enticing.

TCL is best known for its high-quality, high-value Roku-powered TVs, but it's moved into the headphones arena in the last few years. I wasn't too impressed with its earlier models, but its latest Moveaudio S600 delivers excellent sound and good active noise canceling along with decent battery life (up to 6.2 hours with noise canceling on and eight hours with it off, with three extra charges from the charging case). I found that headset performance for voice calls is decent, but not quite up to the level of the AirPods Pro. The charging case does offer wireless charging.

These are slightly more geared toward Android users -- TCL makes budget Android phones, after all -- and feature Google Fast Pair. That said, they work fine with iPhones and TCL's companion app is available for iOS and Android (you can customize the sound and touch controls in the app). The earbuds support the AAC audio codec, but not aptX.

These automatically pause your music when you pull the earbuds out of your ears and they're IP54 splash- and dust-proof. The stems are a little long, but the earbuds fit me comfortably and I got a tight seal using the largest ear tips. The S600 is available in three color options.

The EarFun Free Pro buds offer strong features and sound for a modest price. They have active noise cancellation with a transparency mode, wireless charging and Bluetooth 5.2. Rated for seven hours of battery life without the noise-canceling function or about six with it activated, they're IPX5 water-resistant, which means they can withstand a sustained spray of water.

They sound very good for the money, with relatively clean, balanced sound and bass that has some kick to it -- they're pretty open-sounding. Lightweight and comfortable to wear, they have little fins that help keep them securely in your ears, and they're fairly discreet-looking.

Don't expect them to cancel noise as well as the AirPods Pro, but they do provide some decent muffling. It's worth noting that you can use either the left or right earbud independently and there's a low-latency mode for video watching (and presumably gaming). Call quality was decent, too: Callers said they heard some background noise but it wasn't intrusive and they could hear my voice well. The touch controls were responsive.

If you're choosing between the EarFun Free Pro and the Mpow X3 (below), it comes down to the style of the earbuds. The X3 earbuds have a stick-style design, while these don't.

Anker's Soundcore Life P2 buds have been popular budget earphones. The updated Life P3 has been upgraded with active noise canceling and is essentially a more affordable version of the Liberty Air 2 Pro ($130 list). The Life P3 is missing wireless charging and a wear-detection sensor that automatically pauses your music when you take the earbuds out of your ears. That said, these earbuds sound quite decent (they have a bass-boost mode) and are also good for making calls. A companion app allows you to tweak the sound a bit, but I mainly stuck with the default sound profile.

Battery life is rated at up to seven hours at moderate volume levels. These offer IPX5 water-resistance, which means they can withstand a sustained spray of water and are splash-proof.

Like with the Liberty Air 2 Pro, I had a little trouble getting a tight seal with the included tips (it should only affect a small percentage of users), so I used my own. To get optimal sound and noise-canceling performance, it's crucial to get a good seal. There's also a transparency mode that lets ambient sound in, which works fine but isn't on par with the AirPods Pro's excellent transparency mode.

Available in multiple color options, the Life P3 carries a list price of $80, but I do expect to see some discounts that bring them closer to $60, which would put it in bargain territory. The Liberty Air 2 Pro sporadically sells for $100, or $30 off its list price, by comparison.