Apple didn't get to where it is now without making many great decisions over its 50-year history, but one of its most unpopular moves was to nix the headphone jack in favor of a clean-looking but ultimately frustrating proprietary single-port system. Much like the simmering resentment that still exists surrounding that decision, wired headphones have stuck around, too. In fact, they're having such a moment that Apple has added a 3.5mm jack front-and-center on its new, student-friendly MacBook Neo.
I asked our esteemed Audio Editor Becky Scarrott if wired headphones are still worth considering, or if it's time that people moved on, and it was immediately clear she falls into the first camp. "Even the best, most cutting-edge Bluetooth codecs of the moment still incur a degree of resolution loss, owing to various factors such as your immediate environment, credentials of your source device, and which particular codecs are supported by the wireless product you're putting in, on, or over your ears," she tells me.
Aside from audio quality, she also raises the simple matter of battery. Wired headphones and earbuds won't run out of juice when you most need them, and neither will their Li-ion batteries gradually lose their ability to hold said charge over time. Adding a wire is a simple way to bypass battery woes and deliver more audio information to your ears.
I've rounded up our best-rated options below, all of which have been tried and tested by our experienced Audio team, and earned a minimum of 4 stars. Alternatively, if you have time to spare and want to really get struck into some research, head to our in-depth guides to the best wired headphones and best wired earbuds.
Our top-rated wired headphones
Our favorite wired headphones overall are the open-backed Sennheiser HD-660S2. In our review, our tester praised the "gently expansive soundstage that doesn’t block out the outside world" and the "consistent, neutral sound".
If you're looking for something more affordable, we love the Austrian Audio Hi-X20, with our reviewer proclaiming: "Unless you’re preoccupied with low-frequency wallop, there isn’t an aspect of the Hi-X20 sound that will underwhelm" and awarding them a perfect five stars.
They're so new to the market we haven't quite had a chance to review them yet, but the new AirPods Max 2 are also well worth a look, not least because with USB-C they'll do Lossless.
For those of you seeking something more compact (or anyone missing the good old days, when EarPods were bundled in with iPhones) our favorite corded earbuds are the 1MORE Triple Driver In-Ears, which "serve up stellar audio, great build quality and an attractive design for not that much money".
Do I need a DAC?
The wire between your music player and the drivers delivering those tunes to your ears will either have a 3.5mm or USB-C termination. If you want to ensure hi-res audio, you'll want to invest in one of the best headphone DACs. A DAC (digital-to-analog converter) is what turns a digital audio file into the analog sound you hear. "These hardwire to your source device (and mean you can bypass the onboard digital-analog converter baked into that) and your headphones (which now have more detailed information to play with)," explains Becky.
