This month is a really good time to buy the best true wireless earbuds and the best headphones generally. Black Friday Super Magic Deals Month is well under way and we're already seeing some pretty good earbud and headphone deals, and there will be plenty more to come over the next couple of weeks.
But what ones should you buy? I've got several pairs of brilliant 'buds right in front of me, ranging from pretty cheap to absolutely incredible. And I'd recommend three of them in particular, albeit each one for a different kind of buyer.
Best for noise cancelling: Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2
Despite being completely immersed in the Apple ecosystem, I prefer the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 to Apple's AirPods Pro 2. They fit better, their noise cancelling is absolutely first class and most importantly of all, they sound spectacular.
Best for sound quality: Astell & Kern UW100
Astell & Kern make breathtakingly good high-end audio hardware, so it's hardly a surprise that their first wireless earbuds are worthy of the brand. The UW100s are incredibly musical, and while they lack the noise cancelling that means I take the Bose on the Subway they're absolutely sublime for home listening or listening anywhere you don't need noise cancelling.
Best on a budget: Cambridge Audio Melomania
I've had several pairs of Cambridge Audio earbuds, and I think they're absolute bargains: whether you go for the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 Plus, worthy winners of T3's Platinum Award, or the underrated Melomania Touch, you're getting phenomenal sound for very little cash. These earbuds are currently hovering around the £50 and £100 mark respectively; if you can get them for less in Black Friday deals you should absolutely snap them up.
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Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).
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