Audio Gear
From Harry Styles to Dua Lipa, the It crowd is going corded, so we reviewed and ranked our favorite wired earbuds
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Apple’s AirPods ushered in the era of Bluetooth earbuds, with Sony, Bose, Beyerdynamic, and other audiophile audio companies following shortly after. However, there are still plenty of reasons to pick up a wired pair instead. You never run out of charge, and you never have to worry about non-replaceable batteries degrading over time. Similarly, you won’t have to futz around with pairing them to your devices or deal with wireless interference.
Wired headphones in general are having a moment, with It crowds and celebrities opting for the throwback tech. Ariana Grande showed off her favorite pairs to Vogue Italia, while Paul Mescal and Adam Driver were seen wearing wires. Addison Rae took her love of cabled buds even further by making them a co-star in her appropriately-titled 2025 single Headphones On.
But, even though they’ve become a trend recently, wired earbuds didn’t actually go away when Bluetooth buds took over. Many brands have regularly released great pairs of wired buds over the years — and still do — so we tested several models to find the best wired earbuds you can get in 2026.
We tested the best wired earbuds by listening to music on an iPhone and a MacBook Pro. The audio was streamed from Apple Music (with the high-resolution audio setting turned on) and 256kbps AAC files stored locally. We listened to tracks from a mix of genres — taking cues from Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time for inspiration. As always, your experience with the earbuds will depend on how the music you love listening to was mastered.
Ear tips: All of the wired earbuds we’re recommending have gummy ear tips, which means they create a tight seal around your inner ear. The insulation improves their bass performance, prevents sound from leaking out, and reduces the amount of sound from the outside world from coming in. Wired earbuds don’t have active noise cancellation, so passive noise cancellation performance is important. All of our recommendations come with multiple ear tips, so you can find the set that fits best in your ears.
Style: Wired earbuds can be broken down into a couple of different styles. There are traditional ones, and then there are IEMs (In-Ear Monitors). Traditional style earbuds comprise bulbous buds connected to a relatively thin cable designed primarily for portability. Many of my recommendations for this style of earbuds are available for under $100, so they’re also budget-friendly.
In-Ear Monitors were designed for musicians but have features that appeal to all audiophiles. These buds are bigger, and their cable is designed to curl around the back of your ear. If you’re unfamiliar with this style of headphone, it can take a day or two to get used to getting them into and out of your ears properly, but the audio quality is a significant leap over traditional earbuds. You can also use IEMs in music production environments like a studio.
Traditional earbuds will be more familiar to the folks from the Walkman, CD player, or iPod generation, while IEMs are geared toward people who’re looking to upgrade to a more premium pair of wired earbuds. You can’t go wrong either way, but consider if you’re planning to make wired earbuds your primary listening device, and if you want a pair for casual listening when you’re out of the house and on video calls.
Connector: Smartphone and tablet makers stopped producing models with a headphone jack many years ago. Audio companies have adapted by making wired earbuds that terminate in a USB-C connector, so you can plug them directly into those devices without an adapter. Some of our recommendations still terminate into a standard 3.5mm audio connector, so you can plug them directly into a computer, CD player, or Walkman, but you would need a 3.5mm to USB-C adapter to connect them to your smartphone or tablet.
Comfort: Wired earbuds stay inside your ears for hours at a time, so it was important that none of our recommendations started to feel fatiguing after short listening sessions. Everybody’s ears are different, so there’s going to be some variability where fit and comfort are concerned, but we’re confident that you’ll be able to wear any of these earbuds for hours without feeling discomfort. Similarly, we wanted to make sure that their cable was long enough that you wouldn’t feel a tug on your ears when they’re connected to a device in your pocket.
Best Overall
Fiio is known for making high-resolution music players, so it’s no surprise that its FH3 earbuds are top of the class. The in-ear monitor style earbuds fit very well, and all the music I listened to sounded excellent, with particularly good bass response. Fiio equipped its earbuds with a triple-driver audio system, which made it easy to discern each instrument across the frequency spectrum.
I was also pleased by the earbuds’ build quality. Their cable was thick without feeling bulky, and the shielding around the cable resisted any nicks and scratches. The reinforced body around the connector also felt solid, so I never worried about the cable fraying.
Most Comfortable
Skullcandy’s Set earbuds were among the most budget-friendly wired earbuds I tested, but also the pair that felt the most like a “set it and forget it” style earbud. They fit perfectly in my ear, which can be a challenge for earbuds with the default-sized tips. Their USB-C connector was also convenient for listening to my music on the go, since I didn’t have to carry a dongle.
The earbuds sounded better than most and very good for a pair of any style of headphone under $50. The tight seal ensured bass and other low-frequency instruments (or vocalists who sing in a low register) sounded particularly good. There was a little less clarity when listening to live music than I would have liked, but the earbuds delivered overall.
Best noise cancellation
If you can’t live without active noise cancellation, Shure’s SE425 Pro will let you tune out the world while being physically tethered to your device. The in-ear monitors share a lot of attributes with our top pick: thick cables with ample shielding, a tight fit, and removable cables. They also sound phenomenal, in part thanks to their dual-driver audio system.
Shure includes a ⅛ to ¼-inch adapter, so you can also connect them to an audio interface for music production. I only noodled around a little bit when using them in this way, and can vouch for them as a great addition to any studio, especially if you strongly prefer earbuds to over-ear headphones.
Premium Pick
Campfire Audio may not be as widely known as some other audio companies, but its Iris earbuds make a good case for that to change. I’ve never heard a pair of earbuds (wired or wireless) that sounded this good, and the performance rivaled what I’d expect from over-ear headphones, which have a lot more room for audio components.
Live and studio tracks felt fresh and detailed to listen to, and there was a neutral sound, especially when listening to acoustic music. The music I listened to sounded full, and the panoply of included ear tips ensured I could find a pair that fit comfortably and created the right seal. If you’re moving from wireless to wired earbuds for the gains in audio quality, the Iris is the pair to get.
Best USB-C
Sennheiser CX 80U may be the best entry point for folks who want to move from wireless to wired earbuds because their USB-C connector makes them feel a lot more portable. I was able to plug them directly into my smartphone, tablet, or computer and start listening immediately. The headphones have a simple style, but fit well in my ears and provide ample passive noise cancellation.
As is the case with most budget-friendly earbuds, you do give up some audio quality, which is forgivable when you’re spending under $50. It wasn’t as easy to distinguish between different instruments, and music sounded a little less clear overall. The earbuds are a great everyday pair of earbuds, rather than the pair you pick up for serious listening sessions.
Budget Pick
Sony makes some of the most premium audio equipment I’ve ever tested, so I was pleasantly surprised by the IER-EX15C. The earbuds cost $30, and punch above their weight given their price. They have the same upsides and concessions as the CX 80U, but they’re a little easier to swallow when you’re paying such a modest price.
In other words, they’re the set that should live in your pocket rather than next to your headphone amp at home. The USB-C connector is what puts the IER-EX15Cs over the top, because it makes them a good stepping stone for first-time (or first-time in a long time) wireless earbuds wearers, thanks to the connector’s versatility.
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