Wireless Headphone Review

Sources and trends in wireless headphone reviews

Wireless headphones are an option for those who don't want to be tethered to the source. They're a good choice for home theater, a home stereo system or even for video games where you wouldn't want a cord to get in the way of your game-controlling hand. Another application is for workouts, where a dangling wire from headphones might get snagged while exercising.

The problem with almost all wireless headphones is sound quality -- while still very good, it doesn't quite measure up to what you can get from corded headphones. Wireless headphones that use RF or Bluetooth technology can also hiss or crackle if other devices using the same frequency interfere with the signal, and Bluetooth headphones can sometimes drop out entirely. While that trade-off is acceptable to many, they're not the best choice if you demand the very best audio quality. See the ConsumerSearch reports on wired headphones and earphones for more options.

For this update, we found a fair amount of wireless headphones reviews, though recently, single-ear Bluetooth headsets designed solely for cell phones have received more critical attention (for more on these, see the ConsumerSearch report on Bluetooth headsets). Still, comprehensive sites, such as CNET, Wired, and ConsumerReports.org continue to cover wireless headphones geared toward gaming and music listening, and testing and comparisons are generally good.

Some highly regarded overseas sites, like PC World (Australia) and Britain's What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision magazine and TrustedReviews.com, also deliver good critiques of lots of wireless headphones, including many that can also be found stateside. Coverage at sites such as TomsGuide.com, Laptop magazine and Pocket-Lint.com is spotty, but those are still worth a visit. In addition, user reviews at sites like Amazon.com, Newegg.com, and Crutchfield.com are numerous and often helpful if you want to find out how a set of headphones performs outside the testing lab.