How we compare headphones

Every figure in a spec table — battery hours, weight, codecs, IP rating, driver size — is the manufacturer’s own published specification. We use manufacturer figures rather than mixing in individual reviewers’ measurements for one reason: consistency. A reviewer’s measured battery life for one model next to a brand’s claimed figure for another produces a comparison that looks precise and isn’t.

The tradeoff is that manufacturer figures are optimistic. Battery claims in particular are measured at moderate volume, usually with ANC in whichever state flatters the number. Treat the numbers as comparable to each other, not as guarantees — and see Headphone specs 101 for what each one actually means.

The default “featured” order is editorial: models people actually buy, roughly grouped so the mainstream picks in each category surface first. Every other sort — battery, price, weight — is a plain sort on the spec, same for every model. No brand can pay to move up, and affiliate commissions (see below) never touch the order.

The pros, cons, and owner-take sections come from reading what actual owners report across forums and long-term reviews — the complaints that show up repeatedly, not the launch-day headlines.

A star rating is a claim about what thousands of real buyers said, so we only show one when we can cite where it came from. Amazon’s own ratings can’t be republished outside their API, and most other “ratings” on the web are unsourced copies of each other. Right now 0 of 125 models carry a verifiable rating — the rest show none at all rather than a made-up number.

Prices are a hand-maintained snapshot from our last catalog update, marked with “~” everywhere they appear. Headphone street prices swing hard — flagship earbuds routinely sell 20-40% under list. Always check the live price before buying; ours tells you the tier, not the checkout total.

When you buy through a link to Amazon (125 of 125 models link somewhere), we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. That is the entire business model: no sponsored placements, no review units, no brand relationships. Commissions are identical enough across models that steering you to the wrong headphones would earn us pennies and cost us the only thing a comparison site has — being right.

The full detail is in the privacy policy.

• Accept payment or product for placement, ratings, or reviews
• Show a star rating we can’t source
• Present a price as current when it’s a snapshot
• Write “owners report” sentiment for a product whose owners we haven’t read
• Let an affiliate program decide what ranks where