Best on-ear headphones for 2021: Beats, Jabra, Skullcandy and more
Even though full-size around-ear or over-ear headphones tend to deliver the best sound, and listening experience, not everyone wants to walk around wearing bulky headphones with giant, squishy ear pads. While headphones that sit on top of one’s ears aren’t everyone’s thing, on-ear models with smaller earcups are more compact, travel-friendly and tend to cost less. They’ve also evolved, with more models featuring active noise cancellation, noise isolation, a headphone amp and other advanced features that were once only found in larger over-ear models.
Here’s a look at our current top picks for the best on-ear headphones based on key factors such as how effective they are at noise cancellation and how good they sound. They’re all wireless headphone models except the Grado Prestige Series SR80e and Beats Ep wired headphone. There isn’t a single earbud on this list, so if that’s something you’re looking for, check out our wireless earbud list to have music playing directly into your ear canal.
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Released in mid-2020, the Jabra Elite 45h was essentially billed as the best on-ear headphone for the money. While there’s nothing terribly fancy about it is one of the best on-ear headphone values right now, with good sound quality, a sturdy design and comfortable fit (for on-ear headphones, anyway). Additionally, this bluetooth on-ear headphone performs well as a headset for making calls and includes a sidetone feature that allows you to hear your voice in the headphones so you don’t talk too loudly. Battery life also good. Available in multiple color options, it lists for $100 but frequently gets discounted to $80.
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The Solo Pro is the first Beats on-ear headphone to feature active noise cancellation and the first full-size Beats wireless headphone to charge via Lightning. It uses the company’s Pure Adaptive Noise Canceling (Pure ANC headphones), “derived from the over-ear Studio3 Wireless, with updated tuning to accommodate the on-ear form factor,” Beats says. With a tap of a button, you can turn off that noise cancellation to save battery life or hit the button a second time to enter an audio transparency mode that allows you to hear the outside world and ambient sound, not just the music you’re listening to.
Available in multiple color options, the noise-canceling headphone is equipped with six microphones, two of which are beamforming mics designed to hone in on your voice when you’re making calls or talking to your voice assistant (Apple’s H1 chip is on board for always-on Siri). The sound qualityof these wireless earphones is smooth and well-balanced, with punchy bass that doesn’t make music sound boomy. It’s comfortable for an on-ear model and it’s more compact design travels better than some full-size models on this list. I just wish it cost a little less and came with a cable to plug in to in-flight entertainment systems. Alas, the Lightning-to-3.5mm is an optional bluetooth headset accessory that costs $35, which is ridiculous.
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Skullcandy’s Riff is the spiritual successor to the Grind Wireless, which I liked for the money. Available in multiple color options, it retails for around $50 and has puffy, pillowlike ear cups that make these comfortable headphones for an on-ear model. It also has great sound for its price, with open, detailed sound quality and plump bass that’s relatively well-defined. My only gripes about its ear cup design are that the top doesn’t feature a padded headband (at the crown of your head) and it feels a little cheap, with no metal parts. That said, it’s nice and light and has a dual-hinge that allows the headphone to fold up and fold flat. No carry pouch is included. Battery life is rated at only 12 hours, but a fast charge feature lets you get 2 hours of juice from a 10-minute charge (this has micro-USB charging not USB-C).
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Toward the end of 2019, Bowers & Wilkins released its new noise-canceling headphones: The over-ear PX7 ($400) and on-ear PX5 ($300). Both are great bluetooth headphones with slick designs, great sound and decent noise cancellation (it’s not as good as the Sony WH-1000XM3’s but it’s not far off). The PX7 has bigger drivers and bolder overall sound, but the PX5 is more compact, easier to travel with (it takes up less room in a bag) and can be had for about $100 less than the PX7, which isn’t being discounted yet.
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Comfortable for an on-ear model, the BackBeat 500 delivers good audio quality and is durable. Battery life is rated at 18 hours. This bluetooth headset also comes in a sweat-resistant sport version, the BackBeat Fit 500, which costs about $10 to $20 more, depending on the color.
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AKG’s N60NC headphones have been out a while, but they’re still good on-ear Bluetooth headphones with active noise cancellation and great audio quality. Samsung now owns Harman, which owns AKG, and Samsung doesn’t really know how to market this venerable Austrian audio audiophile headphone brand (AKG earbuds have been included with Samsung phones). Originally, $300, you can find these wireless earphones for much less. They’re certainly more enticing at that price.
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Beats makes plenty of bluetooth headphones with high price tags, but its entry-level EP headphone is a surprisingly good listening experience value. The list price is $100, but you can find it online for closer to $90 and sometimes less. The EP is an on-ear model that isn’t as swanky as Beats’ somewhat forgotten on-ear Mixr, as well as the over-ear Executive and Pro models. But thanks to its reinforced metal frame, it reminds me of low-frills versions of those headphones. By low-frills, I mean it isn’t incredibly flashy and it doesn’t fold up or fold flat for travel (it has no hinges).
I liked the way they sounded and so did Steve Guttenberg, who once wrote CNET’s Audiophiliac blog. These open back headphones exhibit the traits of a good headphone: They’re clean and open-sounding, particularly for an on-ear headphone, and there’s enough treble detail to give them some sparkle. (In other words: They’re not incredibly dynamic.)
The bass is a little accentuated — this is Beats after all — but it’s not bloated or boomy. There’s enough bass here to satisfy a low-end audiophile headphone lover but not so much to turn off someone who’s looking for a more balanced, neutral-sound quality in a headphone.
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Grado makes some great sounding wired on-ear models, including the entry-level SR60e ($80) and SR80e ($100), as well as the more expensive SR125e ($150) and 325e ($300). Like other Grado headphones, the SR80e features an open-back design, which delivers nice open, articulate sound quality. However, that sound does leak out a bit from the headphones, allowing people nearby to hear what you’re listening to, so they’re not ideal for an open-office environment.
This headphone has been around since 2014 and it still sounds great, with a smooth tonal balance, plenty of detail, and deep bass. This is the wired on-ear headphone for those who want an excellent listening experience with great sound for the money. You need an adapter to use it with phones that have only Lightning or USB-C ports and no headphone jacks.
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