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The Best Wired Earbuds

By Ian D. White
Updated
Different brands of wired earbuds in a circle.
Photo: Marki Williams

Wired earbuds may not win any popularity contests these days, but they’re still a great choice for the audio lover who wants the best sound quality for their dollar—and who dislikes the feel of over-ear headphones. We recommend the FiiO FD3 Pro wired earbuds because they sound great, fit well, and are built to last.

Everything we recommend

Our pick

This pair offers excellent sound and build quality, plus a ton of accessories. The cable is sturdy and detachable, but it lacks a remote and microphone.

Buying Options

Runner-up

Though these earbuds have a more utilitarian design and come with fewer accessories than our top pick, they sound great and are well built, and the cable is detachable.

Buying Options

Budget pick

These earbuds sound rich, with more bass than our other picks. The fit is secure and comfortable, and the cable has a remote and microphone—but it’s not detachable.

Upgrade pick

These earbuds offer a more refined, balanced, and adjustable sound than our other picks, along with higher-quality components. But the larger earbud size may not appeal to people with sensitive ears.

Buying Options

$250 from Amazon

May be out of stock

How we picked


  • Great sound

    Our audio experts have compared more than 150 pairs of earbuds, listening for clear, balanced, lifelike sound.

  • Secure, comfy fit

    A good earbud design should fit most ear shapes comfortably and make a good seal. The inclusion of multiple tip sizes is essential.

  • Build quality

    Wired earbuds should be built to outlast their battery-driven counterparts, so we long-term test them for durability.

  • Remote and mic

    Many of today’s wired earbuds lack a remote and microphone. A detachable cable lets you add these functions if you want them.

Read more

Our pick

This pair offers excellent sound and build quality, plus a ton of accessories. The cable is sturdy and detachable, but it lacks a remote and microphone.

Buying Options

The FiiO FD3 Pro is ideal for anyone who wants a great-sounding pair of in-ear headphones that is comfortable, well built, and capable of drawing power from any smartphone, laptop, or digital audio player. The earbuds have a semi-open design that allows for a more spacious sound than you often get at this price, and it also relieves pressure in the ear canal.

The FD3 Pro’s slightly warm tonal balance makes bright recordings more listenable while maintaining a generally balanced audio presentation, though bass lovers may want for more. The cable is detachable, which improves its longevity and lets you swap in a cable with a remote and microphone if you need them. The generous selection of ear tips and accessories ensures compatibility with a wide range of ear shapes and audio devices.

Runner-up

Though these earbuds have a more utilitarian design and come with fewer accessories than our top pick, they sound great and are well built, and the cable is detachable.

Buying Options

The Linsoul Tin HiFi T4 won’t win any industrial-design awards, but these wired earbuds offer good sound, impressive build quality, and a strong cable that’s likely to survive the rigors of daily usage. Compared with the FD3 Pro, the Tin HiFi T4 sounded more neutral and less warm overall in our tests, with mildly brighter high frequencies and more noticeable rolloff in the bass.

These earbuds have a closed design, so they do not sound as open and spacious as the FD3 Pro set, but they still deliver an excellent stereo image, with proper instrument placement. People with sensitive ears should find these smaller earbuds to be comfortable during long listening sessions, but the package doesn’t include as many ear tips and headphone plugs. As with our top pick, this pair’s cable lacks a remote and microphone, but because it’s detachable, you can swap in a different cable as needed.

Budget pick

These earbuds sound rich, with more bass than our other picks. The fit is secure and comfortable, and the cable has a remote and microphone—but it’s not detachable.

The Marshall Mode earbuds have a smooth sound profile that can handle any style of music, but they especially suit rock and pop. In our tests, the bass frequencies were slightly boosted, but we heard neither thudding nor blurriness in the bass notes, and high frequencies were clear without the harshness that affects many earbuds priced under $100.

The earbuds themselves are comfortable and low profile, so they don’t stick out or dangle annoyingly from the ear canal. The single-button remote on the cable handles playback and digital-assistant activation, and the separate microphone sits higher up on the cable so you don’t have to hold it up to your mouth when you talk. But the cable is not detachable, and Marshall doesn’t include a carrying case, so these earbuds require handling with a bit more care.

Upgrade pick

These earbuds offer a more refined, balanced, and adjustable sound than our other picks, along with higher-quality components. But the larger earbud size may not appeal to people with sensitive ears.

Buying Options

$250 from Amazon

May be out of stock

If you’re willing to pay a lot more money to get a clear step up in sound and build quality, we recommend the FiiO FH5s set. This wired pair has the same semi-open earbud design as the FD3 Pro set and creates a similarly spacious sound, but it utilizes better-quality drivers to deliver a more balanced sonic presentation, with more detail, clarity, and refinement in the highs and mids—although, again, bass lovers might find that these earbuds don’t offer the last word in bass impact and definition.

Also included are physical sound-tuning switches that let you make subtle changes to the overall tonal balance. The earbuds’ build feels more substantial, and the detachable cable is very strong. But the cable lacks a remote and mic, and the earbuds’ larger, heavier form may be off-putting for people with sensitive ears.

I have been covering high-end audio and video for over 24 years and have reviewed a variety of headphones, speakers, amplifiers, and other AV devices for publications such as Big Picture Big Sound, Digital Trends, and SoundStage. I’m currently the editor-in-chief of the audiophile site eCoustics, and I have published more than 1,700 reviews and articles covering personal audio, home theater, wireless audio, high-end audio, movies, and music.

Portions of this guide were written by senior staff writer and headphone editor Lauren Dragan.

The wired earbuds we recommend in this guide are for the audio lover who is always on the move and wants their money to pay for great sound rather than features like Bluetooth, noise cancellation, or water and sweat resistance. Because such extra features tack on extra cost, generally you can get better sound from wired earbuds than from similarly priced wireless earbud designs.

If you just want a really cheap pair of wired earbuds to keep in your backpack or purse, check out our guide to the best earbuds under $50.

Also, bear in mind that many of today’s smartphones lack a headphone jack to accommodate wired earbuds—so you’d need to purchase either a phone-compatible adapter (like this headphone adapter for Apple users), a more universal Bluetooth headphone adapter, or a portable headphone amp with built-in DAC.

A good pair of wired earbuds should meet the following criteria:

  • Sound quality: The earbuds should sound even across all frequency ranges. For example, the bassline shouldn’t overpower the lead guitar, and the vocals shouldn’t have consonants that are painfully, piercingly loud. Bass notes should have pitch and form. The best wired earbuds replicate a sense of space and dimension, where the instruments seem to come from a point in space rather than feeling like a flat wall of sound.
  • Fit: A good fit is of utmost importance with in-ear headphones. Not only does the fit affect the comfort of your earbuds, but it also can affect how they sound. We look for earbuds that come with a variety of tip sizes to help ensure a good fit. If you find that the included tip options are uncomfortable, try replacement tips before spending the money on new earbuds. Sometimes a pair of tips with a different material or shape that better suits your anatomy can make all the difference.
  • Build quality: Good wired earbuds should be built to last many years, and the company that makes the headphones should be reputable. Having a replaceable cable that detaches from the earbuds is a huge bonus in that you don’t have to pay for a whole new set if the cable is damaged; plus, it allows you to substitute in a cable with a remote and microphone if you need those features. The presence of MMCX connectors between the earbuds and cable is highly preferable, as MMCX is a more robust connection and ensures compatibility with a wide range of add-on cables.

For this guide we focus on earbuds that fall between $50 and $250—a price range high enough for you to get earbuds of better quality than those that may have come with your phone, but not so much money that you’d be afraid to take your new earbuds out of your house.

As wireless earbuds continue to grow in popularity, we’ve noticed that manufacturers are introducing fewer wired models in this price range; new wired earbuds tend to be more expensive ($300 and above, geared toward audiophiles) or super cheap, like those that we cover in our guide to the best earbuds under $50. So every year we have fewer new models to call in and test.

For our latest round of testing, we used Android and iOS smartphones, Astell&Kern digital audio players, Apple iMac and MacBook Pro computers, and a variety of network audio players and headphone amplifiers/DACs. We listened to music with which we are very familiar, across a wide variety of genres. All track selections were CD quality or high-resolution audio downloads or streams at 16-bit/48.1 kHz or higher. We noted the sound quality, comfort, build, and ease of use of each earbud pair.

A pair of FiiO FD3 Pro earbuds.
Photo: Marki Williams

Our pick

This pair offers excellent sound and build quality, plus a ton of accessories. The cable is sturdy and detachable, but it lacks a remote and microphone.

Buying Options

The FiiO FD3 Pro is our favorite pair of wired earbuds under $200 because it offers excellent sound and build quality, plus a wide range of ear tips to help ensure a good fit with all types of ear shapes.

The earbuds have a semi-open design. Each earbud has a rear vent that relieves a lot of the pressure that builds up in the ear canal. This makes longer listening sessions more enjoyable and less harmful to your long-term hearing.

These industrial-looking earbuds have a barrel-shaped aluminum-alloy casing, a detachable cable, and high-end MMCX connectors to attach the earbuds to the cable. Each earbud weighs 7 grams, and we found the pair comfortable to wear for long listening sessions. The FD3 Pro set is finished with a black tortoiseshell inlay and a glass faceplate, which together create a polished look.

The FD3 Pro’s tonal balance is pleasingly warm. In our tests, while not perfectly neutral in its sound presentation, the FD3 Pro offered a rather warm tonal balance that we found enjoyable with almost every genre of music. Bass lovers might not find the low end to offer enough impact and definition, but we appreciated that the bass notes were clearly defined and had enough punch to keep the music engaging.

The semi-open design gives music a nice sense of space and depth—more than you’ll often hear from earbuds in this price range—but it does allow some sound to leak in and out. The FD3 Pro uses 12 mm dynamic drivers that produce a generally full-range sound, but they do not deliver the same amount of high-end detail and clarity that you can get from our upgrade pick, the FiiO FH5s. We found the highs to be clean and clear but a little less pronounced, an effect that may not appeal to some audiophiles but makes the music less fatiguing to listen to at higher volumes.

The FiiO FD3 Pro earbuds in their carrying case, with different sets of ear tips.
The FD3 Pro earbuds come with a carrying case, a cleaning brush, and 11 sets of ear tips. Photo: Marki Williams

This set is versatile in design and features. The 1.2-meter cable lacks a remote and microphone, but thanks to the detachable design and the common MMCX connectors, you could switch to a remote-and-mic cable like the Shure RMCE-UNI. Because the cable supports 3.5 mm, 2.5 mm, and 4.4 mm headphone plugs (all three are included in the package), you can use these earbuds with digital audio players that have single-ended or balanced audio connections.

FiiO also offers interchangeable sound tubes that are designed to modify the earbuds’ bass and treble performance, but the treble tube is best left in the carrying case unless you prefer a bright-sounding upper midrange and treble; we found that it made female vocals, horns, cymbals, and snare drums sound strident, so we suggest sticking with the stock tubes.

The FD3 Pro has a high sensitivity rating of 111 dB/mW and an impedance of 32 ohms, so this pair is not especially difficult to drive to higher volume levels using only the headphone jack on your smartphone (if it still has one) or laptop. A headphone amp is not a necessity here, as it can be with some more-expensive, audiophile-oriented in-ear monitors. (You can read more about sensitivity and impedance in our guide to headphone amps.)

The package includes a total of 11 ear tips in different sizes, plus a cleaning brush and a carrying case, which adds to the overall value.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The FiiO FD3 Pro’s semi-open design allows a bit of sound to leak in and out, which some people may find distracting when using these earbuds in a louder environment. The more expensive FiiO FH5s set offers better passive noise isolation.

The cable also transfers a little noise, which one tester noticed when it brushed up against their parka as they walked in the snow.

A pair of Linsoul Tin HiFi T4 earbuds.
Photo: Marki Williams

Runner-up

Though these earbuds have a more utilitarian design and come with fewer accessories than our top pick, they sound great and are well built, and the cable is detachable.

Buying Options

If you want to save some money or prefer a smaller, more utilitarian earbud design, the Linsoul Tin HiFi T4 is an excellent alternative to the FiiO FD3 Pro. Both sets of earbuds offer great sound, good build quality, detachable cables with high-quality MMCX connectors, and a variety of supplied ear tips and accessories.

The FD3 Pro’s superior industrial design certainly draws more attention to itself than the Tin HiFi T4’s more business-like appearance. But then again, some people prefer not drawing attention to themselves while commuting on the subway.

The Tin HiFi T4 set sounds more neutral than our top pick. This pair’s 10 mm dynamic drivers delivered a more neutral, less warm-sounding tonal balance, with more noticeable rolloff in the bass range. We actually liked the clarity and definition we heard at the low end and the absence of bass bleed into the lower midrange, which allowed vocals to remain clear-sounding. But some people are likely to want more bass.

Because of their closed design, these earbuds do not sound as open and spacious as our top pick; though they re-created an accurate stereo image with instruments in their proper spots during our tests, the soundstage depth and width were much smaller than what we heard from the FD3 Pro.

A pair of Linsoul Tin HiFi T4 earbuds in their carrying case, with different ear tips on the side.
The Linsoul Tin HiFi T4 earbuds come with a nice carrying case and seven pairs of ear tips. Photo: Marki Williams

The design is basic, but the build quality is excellent. The earpieces are machined out of aluminum and feature a robust, stainless steel housing and MMCX connectors that create a strong connection with the cable.

Linsoul uses one of the best detachable cables we’ve seen on an affordable pair of earbuds: It’s a strong, quiet, silver-plated cable with an attached 3.5 mm plug. However, it lacks a remote and microphone and doesn’t allow you to swap out the headphone plug for a 2.2 mm or 4.4 mm one, as FiiO’s cable on the FD3 Pro does. But the detachable design lets you use a different cable if you need to.

The earbuds are comfortable to wear. This is especially true for listeners with sensitive ears who might not want larger, more obvious earpieces or the kind that extend deeper into the ear canal. Linsoul includes six pairs of silicone or rubber ear tips and one pair of foam tips. We recommend using the foam tips if the bass impact is not strong enough for you with the rubber ear tips.

This pair’s sensitivity rating is lower than that of our top pick, at 102 dB/mW (with an impedance of 32 ohms), which means it’s a bit harder to drive to higher volume levels—but you’re unlikely to notice any meaningful difference unless your source device does not output a lot of power. The use of a portable headphone amp/DAC or desktop headphone amplifier isn’t a necessity but could be helpful if you find the overall volume level to be lacking.

Keeping earbuds clean is a less-than-pleasant task, so Linsoul has added a very fine nylon mesh at the mouth of the earbuds’ sound tubes to keep them free of earwax. And it tosses in a nice carrying case.

A pair of Marshall Mode earbuds.
Photo: Marki Williams

Budget pick

These earbuds sound rich, with more bass than our other picks. The fit is secure and comfortable, and the cable has a remote and microphone—but it’s not detachable.

If you don’t want to spend more than about $50 on a pair of good-sounding wired earbuds, we love the affordably priced Marshall Mode pair. These earbuds fit well, and we enjoyed the mellow, full sound, which had a mildly but pleasantly boosted low-frequency range.

This set doesn’t rival our other picks in features or build quality. That said, it is thoughtfully designed. The cable, though not detachable, includes a single-button remote with a permanent but unobtrusive shirt clip to keep it from bouncing around when you walk.

Because the microphone is located separately, higher up on the left ear cable so it’s closer to your mouth,  you don’t have to shout or hold the remote up to your face for callers to clearly hear you.

This pair is good for bass lovers. In our tests, we found the sonic profile of the Mode earbuds to be somewhat bass-boosted, but the frequency range affected by that boost was narrow and relatively subtle on most tracks. Only on songs with already intense lows—generally electronic and hip-hop music—did the bump show itself, and it never sounded blurry, muddy, or smeared.

The mids were rich and had a heft. Guitars were sonically present and never lost in the mix. Overall, the Marshall Mode headphones are well suited to all kinds of music, but they especially show off their skill on rock, hip-hop, and pop.

We found that the highs were clear and avoided the piercing quality that afflicted many other earbuds we tested. We could still easily hear snare and cymbal hits, as well as consonants on words, but they didn’t dominate the soundscape or hurt our ears when we were listening at higher volumes.

However, the highs also lacked delicacy, detail, and sparkle in comparison with the sound from more expensive pairs. If you prefer a bit more intensity to the highs, you may not be as pleased with the Mode earbuds.

The earbuds have a classy, modest design. They are low profile and lightweight; they don’t hang out of the ear canal or drag down uncomfortably. Marshall includes only four sets of ear tips, though.

The rubber-coated cable transferred a small amount of noise when it brushed or bounced against us, but it wasn’t too distracting when we walked around.

A pair of Marshall Mode earbuds.
The Mode’s cable is not detachable, but it does have a single-button remote and microphone. Photo: Marki WIlliams

The cable includes a single-button remote. It handles play/pause, voice commands, and track skipping on most devices, though some Android users may find that the track skipping doesn’t work as well. Sadly, because of the varying OS coding on Android phones, this is a common issue with universal remotes. We’d love a device-specific three-button remote, but since phone manufacturers started removing headphone jacks, that has become a rare feature.

We do wish that Marshall included a case. Keeping lint out of the drivers and protecting the cable from getting kinked when you toss these earbuds into your purse or backpack will help to protect their longevity. But small, affordable cases are plentiful, and one may be worth adding to your shopping cart.

A pair of FiiO FH5s earbuds.
Photo: Marki Williams

Upgrade pick

These earbuds offer a more refined, balanced, and adjustable sound than our other picks, along with higher-quality components. But the larger earbud size may not appeal to people with sensitive ears.

Buying Options

$250 from Amazon

May be out of stock

The FiiO FH5s earbuds look, feel, and sound like high-end earbuds, offering an overall level of refinement that we expect for about $250. Like FiiO’s FD3 Pro pair, this set has a semi-open design and a detachable cable, and it comes with lots of accessories. But as we found, these earbuds deliver higher levels of detail and clarity with every type of music.

In our tests, the sound was more balanced than that of our top pick. We heard greater extension in the treble, added layers of texture in the upper bass and midrange, and greater solidity and impact in the bass range (though people who love bass may still find the amount to be lacking). These are very revealing earbuds that will bring out all the details in your music, for better or for worse depending on the quality of the recording.

Each well-built earbud has a three-way design, with a 12 mm dynamic low-frequency driver, a 6 mm dynamic midrange driver, and a balanced-armature high-frequency driver—all of which are housed in a shell of aluminum-magnesium alloy that weighs 8.8 grams.

These earbuds have three physical sound-tuning switches that let you fine-tune the bass, mids, and treble to your preference. We didn’t find the impact of these switches to be significant in regard to altering the tonal balance or overall sonic presentation.

This set is semi-open but still isolates noise. As with the FD3 Pro, one of the advantages of the FH5s’s semi-open design is that the rear vents relieve pressure that builds up in the ear canal, thus making longer listening sessions more enjoyable. But this set does a better job of isolating noise than our top pick, so there is minimal sound leakage out into the room; most of the audible noise we heard when we removed the earbuds came from the sound tubes, not the vents.

The FH5s earbuds have physical sound-tuning switches that let you adjust the bass, mids, and treble. Photo: Marki Williams

The overall shape and weight of the FH5s earbuds make them feel larger and heavier than the FD3 Pro earbuds, so they may not appeal to people who are sensitive to having things in their ears. But they did stay firmly in our ear canals when we found the right ear tips and created a proper seal.

FiiO provides 13 pairs of ear tips in the package. You also get a carrying case and a cleaning tool that handles the sound-tuning switch adjustment.

The silver-plated, detachable cable is robust and completely noise-free, but it lacks a remote and mic. The MMCX connectors on the earbuds are very secure—we had to use the supplied tool to change out the cable.

If you plan on using the FH5s set with a digital audio player or headphone amplifier/DAC, know that FiiO includes a 3.5 mm single-ended connector, a 4.4 mm Pentaconn tip, and a 2.5 mm balanced connector to make sure that you are able to use the proper headphone plug. This FiiO pair has a high sensitivity rating (106 dB), so you don’t need to use a headphone amp to drive it to higher volumes.

If you like more bass: The Periodic Audio Magnesium V3 earbuds offered airy and detailed highs in our tests, and we liked the impactful bottom end, which makes them a good option for bass lovers. We found that this pair benefited greatly from the addition of a headphone amp/DAC, but their performance was perfectly fine with an Android or iOS smartphone, too.

If you want another warm, punchy-sounding option similar to our top pick: The Final E4000 is a former pick that we still like for those who prefer a clear-sounding pair of in-ear headphones with some added warmth—but it has a few more flaws than our picks. Although the sound quality was quite good, it lacked the resolution, detail, and spaciousness that we heard from the FiiO FD3 Pro and FH5s, and we’re more confident about the better build quality of the FiiO models.

Our runner-up pick, the Linsoul Tin HiFi T4, was more comfortable to wear than the E4000, offered a more neutral-sounding presentation, and had a brighter-sounding upper midrange that gave female vocals greater presence and pushed them forward of the instrumentation in the mix. The E4000’s bass was more impactful and resolute, but that came at the expense of clarity in the lower midrange, which affected the transparency of male vocals.

If you’re comfortable buying wired earbuds from a smaller, lesser-known company: The 7Hz Timeless earbuds, which are typically priced around $200, utilize larger, 14.2 mm planar magnetic drivers that in our tests delivered excellent midrange clarity but were somewhat lacking in low-end bass response. They’re on the larger side for in-ear monitors, but we found them to be relatively easy to wear for extended listening sessions.

The earbuds’ build quality was excellent, but the detachable, shielded silver-foil cable could be stronger, and we noticed a tiny degree of microphonic noise when it shifted around. These in-ear headphones are not difficult to drive, but we found that adding a Helm Audio Bolt and Questyle M15 headphone amp/DAC helped to extract the most detail and presence from them, as well as to position vocals more accurately in the mix.

Many of today’s wired earbuds do not include a remote and microphone on their cables. Some have removable cables, however, so you can replace the supplied cable with a remote-and-mic-equipped third-party option. 

For earbuds with an MMCX connection, such as our picks from FiiO and Linsoul, we like the Shure RMCE-UNI Remote Mic Universal Cable. Most currently available in-ear monitors and earbuds use an MMCX connection, but some legacy designs instead use a balanced two-pin connector, which doesn’t work with this cable. We recommend that you double-check that the cable you are replacing has a similar connection point and wearing style before you buy.

If you want to add remote and mic functionality and go wireless, consider the FiiO UTWS3, a true wireless Bluetooth converter that adapts almost any set of in-ear headphones with an MMCX connection into a pair of true wireless earbuds. With the UTWS3 converter set, the resulting earpieces are not exactly subtle in your ears, but they give you full volume, track, and call controls, plus cordless freedom when you need it. 

They’re also water resistant, with an IPX4 rating. The converter offers seven hours of battery life per charge, as well as support for the aptX, AAC, and SBC Bluetooth codecs. The charging case is quite large and may not fit easily in a pocket, but at least it’s roomy enough to hold most any pair of in-ear monitors you own, and it offers 30 hours of additional battery life.

We tested the Final E4000 earbuds in the UTWS3 converter set and found that the dual microphones offered clear-sounding calls, though they didn’t handle wind exceptionally well. The earpieces were comfortable, too, and felt much like wearing earbuds with the cables hooked up over our ears. 

However, the modules that sat behind the ears could bounce around a bit when we broke into a jog, so we wouldn’t recommend this converter set for high-impact workouts. The included app allows for button customization, variation of loudness in the left or right earbud, call-volume adjustment, sound equalization, and auto-shutoff time variability. For less than $100, the UTWS3 converter set may be the perfect hybrid option to update your favorite in-ear monitors.

We’ve tested a lot of earbuds for this guide, so we can’t list our thoughts on every pair here. Below are some of the newer and more noteworthy earbuds we’ve tested.

1More Quad Driver: The mids and highs were nice, but the bloated, muddy bass smeared acoustic-guitar sounds, and male vocals were buried.

1More Triple Driver: This model is boosted in both the bass and the upper-treble frequency regions, so on electronic music, hip-hop, and similarly mixed songs in our tests, we thought the sound could get a bit overpowering on the bottom and biting on the top. Songs with already-forward low bass notes could sound so loud that they would overpower some of the guitar strums. Similarly, the consonants on vocals seemed a little unnaturally forward.

Etymotic ER2XR: The “XR” in the name stands for “extended response.” Etymotic is known for sound profiles that generally lack bass intensity, but the ER2XR is designed to deliver more bass. Although these earbuds do have more bass than previous Etymotic models, it was still noticeably lower in the mix during our tests. We found ourselves wanting to turn the volume up to better hear a bass guitar and the lower notes of a piano. But when we did, the vocals and snare hits became so loud as to be uncomfortable.

Etymotic ER2SE and Etymotic ER4SR: We have never been fans of the included tips for Etymotic models. While Etymotic gives you different sizes and two shapes to choose from, we found them all to be highly uncomfortable. In terms of the sound, both pairs lacked bass, and the added peak in the highs made the music sound as though it was lacking low-end support.

Etymotic ER3SE: The highs and mids were lovely, but songs where the bass should have been present were missing oomph. Even after we messed with an equalizer and tried to turn up the bass, the result sounded as though someone had forgotten to plug in the subwoofer.

FiiO FH3: This pair’s lovely mids and restrained low frequencies were marred by overly emphasized and jagged highs. We found ourselves wanting to increase the volume to hear the lower ranges better, but once we did, the spike between 7 kHz and 8 kHz grew painful. The build quality seems great, but the tuning was not a favorite.

Final E3000: We quite liked these earbuds but found that the bass was just a little too heavy and blurry, and it tended to cover the recessed mids.

Final F3100: This pair had a noisy cable and nonexistent lows that emphasized consonants and recording flaws.

Flare Audio Flares Jet: The high frequencies had too much of a noticeable peak to sound natural, and the bass boost was a bit too broad, so low notes could blur male vocals. Additionally, the cable transferred a noticeable amount of noise.

Marshall Mode EQ: The Mode EQ has a little switch on the side of the remote that toggles between what Marshall describes as a “warm sound” and a “brighter sound.” Although we didn’t dislike the Mode EQ, we didn’t prefer either option over the sound of the standard Mode earbuds. In our tests, the low frequencies were a bit overstated on the warm setting, and the highs were a bit jagged on the bright setting. Overall, we found the standard Mode pair to be our favorite of the Marshall in-ear models.

Massdrop x NuForce EDC: The lows on these earbuds sounded pretty good, but we heard a spike in the highs that made high notes sizzly, sibilant, and piercing when we turned up the volume.

Massdrop x NuForce EDC3: We found the bass to be thudding and one-note, and the highs were uneven in a way that sounded unnatural. Snaps on a snare drum’s edge sounded like “thap!” rather than “clack.”

MEE Audio M6 Sport: The midrange frequency dip combined with a 3 kHz spike resulted in a decent but imperfect sound. Additionally, people with large ears will likely find the tips insufficient to get a good seal. While the price point for these wired earbuds is attractive, there are other options in this price range that offer better sound quality.

MEE Audio Pinnacle P1: These earbuds were a sizzly, piercing mess. The high highs were so intense. Have you ever moved the definition slider on a photo-editing program all the way up, to the point where it looks like everything has a dark outline? That’s how unnatural this pair sounded.

MEE Audio Pinnacle P2: We were not able to get a comfortable fit with these earbuds, despite their being designed to be worn with the cable either threaded over the ear or hanging down. In our tests, “s” sounds were overemphasized, and the bass was mildly muffled.

Sennheiser IE 100 Pro: This pair of earbuds benefits greatly from a headphone amp/DAC. When paired with one of our amp/DAC picks, the IE 100 Pro sounded quite nice; the highs were a little on the intense side in our tests, but some folks may like that extra detail. However, without an amp, played through a mobile device or laptop, the IE 100 Pro’s sound became icy and piercing, and it added a metallic twinge to strings. Though we are never opposed to using an amp/DAC, and we love the extra responsiveness one can provide, a good pair of earbuds shouldn’t require an amp/DAC to sound good.

Sennheiser IE 200: The IE 200 struggled to adequately represent frequencies on the low end, despite advertising a deep and impactful bass. This, mixed with the prominence of the highs, caused rock and hip-hop to lack impact, and deeply resonant instruments felt as though they were missing fullness in the body. That said, if you are someone who prefers a more pronounced high end that lends itself to acoustic guitar, violin, and female vocals, those ranges are well represented.

Sennheiser IE 300: In our tests, the tuning on this pair was reminiscent of the Sennheiser Momentum line of headphones—that is to say, bass-heavy with spiked highs. Lows had a bloated quality, and while they didn’t blur the male vocal range, the boost didn’t sound natural. The same can be said of the high frequencies, which had a harsh, intense quality. The overall tuning was less balanced than we’d prefer for earbuds in the $300 price range.

Shure Aonic 4: We had high hopes for this set of in-ear monitors but found that the sound quality lacked the sparkling highs and depth of field we’ve come to expect from similarly priced competitors. The lows were dull and formless, seeming to miss a sense of space. We also weren’t fans of the upper-mid-frequency spike that sounded to be in the range between 3 kHz and 5 kHz, as well as a high-frequency bump around 10 kHz that added too much snap to snares and too much sibilance to vocals.

V-Moda Forza Metallo: This set wasn’t a favorite. Dull, lifeless bass and coarse-sounding highs made music sound unbalanced and overly hyped.

V-Moda Zn: The cable had a heavy decorative widget that tugged on the earbuds when we walked, so they felt as though they might fall out of our ears. In our tests, although female vocals and strings sounded clear and detailed, we heard a high, piercing peak on “t” and “s” sounds. Additionally the bass had a reverby quality that caused basslines to lose clarity.

Yamaha EPH-M100: Unrefined lows produced a lack of depth and dimension. Voices sounded thin and unsupported, and the upper mids were harsh.

This article was edited by Adrienne Maxwell and Grant Clauser.

Meet your guide

Ian D. White

Ian D. White

Ian D. White covers high-end audio for Wirecutter with a focus on turntables, headphones, and loudspeakers. Ian has covered high-end audio and video for over 24 years as editor in-chief and senior contributor at Ecoustics, Gear Patrol, Digital Trends, and Big Picture Big Sound. He spends his free time raising three children and a dog by the sea.

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