No need to spend a fortune, or buy Apple Airpods Pro, to have excellent wireless headphones and listen to your music or videos in good conditions.
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Like entry-level smartphones, which have made enormous progress and offer a formidable alternative to the most expensive phones, the market for headphones (wireless or wired, in-ear or not) has exploded in recent years, and do not leave aside the small budgets. It is thus quite possible to find high quality products for less than 100€. Here’s our pick of the 5 best wireless headphones in March 2022.
WE love
- Beautiful sound and deep bass
- Excellent autonomy
- Comfort worthy of the greatest
We don’t like
- Noise attenuation still too light
- Inefficient hands-free kit
- Few commands available
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Verdict :
Released in 2021, just a year after the already very successful FreeBuds 3i, Huawei’s “true wireless” FreeBuds 4i in-ear headphones in turn impress and encroach on the flowerbeds of the most prestigious. First of all because these headphones offer active noise reduction, which is quite rare in this price range. There would certainly be fault with its effectiveness (barely ten dB), in particular on the attenuation of non-static noise, but the reduction is very real and makes it possible to gain on the low mids and the bass. The latter are deep and offer the whole an almost unprecedented sound quality (dynamism, clarity, etc.) on headphones for less than 100€. Like the comfort offered by the FreeBuds 4i, exceptional. The downside will be put on the hands-free kit which can be very insufficient outdoors. As well as on the control panel (no navigation possible between tracks, no volume adjustment) a little stingy.
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WE love
- Excellent value
- Light and comfortable
- A great companion app
We don’t like
- No multipoint Bluetooth function
- Improved ergonomics
- Few commands available
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Verdict :
With a design similar to that of AirPods or FreeBuds, the Liberty Air 2 Pro are well finished, elegant, although quite imposing. Just like the box. And as we are talking about semi-intra, it will be necessary (and it will not be easy) to find the right tip (nine sets provided) for the shape of your ears. Other than that, there’s not much to complain about with these IPX4-certified (splash-resistant) and very lightweight headphones. The Soundcore application that accompanies them is simply perfect and allows the finest adjustments (modify the audio signature, adjust the noise reduction, etc.) and includes a small streaming service called Lüm giving access to a few titles. However, as on the FreeBuds, the control panel remains very limited, you will have to go through the app to really control your headphones. The noise reduction, on the other hand, is much better than on Huawei and approaches the quality of that of the AirPods Pro. The audio quality frankly rivals that of Apple’s flagship headphones.
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WE love
- Un design ultra-original
- A generous panel of commands
- Good noise reduction
We don’t like
- A very average autonomy
- A ghostly app
- Latency issues
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Verdict :
Freshly launched by Carl Pei (Oppo, One-Plus), Nothing is making a remarkable entry into the headphone market. First by its resolutely innovative transparent design and by the general quality of its product. The pairing and the connection are flawless, apart from perhaps a little sound-image lag on certain videos. But the sound in general is well balanced (even at low frequencies) with sharp highs and good bass. The RBA (active noise reduction) is very satisfactory even in a very noisy environment. We can deplore a somewhat average autonomy (around 4 hours), no worse than that of the AirPods Pro, but the wireless charging in Qi (in addition to USB-C) is a significant asset. The controls are numerous and well thought out on the headphones (including volume adjustment with a very pleasant slide of the fingers) and fortunately, because the companion app will only be used for updates.
Read the test
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WE love
- Very good overall quality
- Effective RBA
- Less than 50€
We don’t like
- No multipoint Bluetooth
- No wireless charging of the case
- Lack of volume control
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Verdict :
Frankly, we had a hard time finding negative points on these headphones sold for €49.99 when they were launched (and even cheaper today) as the feat achieved by Realme is impressive in this price range. The Realme Buds Air 2 offer everything you would expect from headphones at 100 or 150 € and they do it well. The sound reproduction is clear, balanced and dynamic, the RBA does its job, and the earphones, without frills, like their case, are pleasant and practical to use. Even the companion app is comprehensive and well done. Nothing to say about the quality of calls either, which, even with strong surrounding noise, remains very good. The autonomy is more than correct with 4 to 5H depending on the use of the RBA and the charging box is quite fast. We could quibble about the lack of multipoint Bluetooth and volume control on the headphones, but we’ll leave it at that.
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WE love
- Outstanding sound
- Total sealing
- Excellent autonomy
We don’t like
- No RBA
- A somewhat short hands-free kit
- No wireless charging
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Verdict :
More than two years after their release, the Danish manufacturer’s headphones are still at the top of our selection (therefore at the bottom of our article) for their intrinsic quality, but also because they recently fell below the fateful 100€ mark. . In addition, updates were made in 2020 which made it possible to reduce ambient noise a little and above all to now have the MyControls (customization of controls) and MySound (adaptation of sound to the user profile) functions. All that was missing was the Elite Active 75t to make them arguably the best headphones in their class. Completely waterproof (IP57 standard), they are comfortable, resistant, and have all the necessary controls. But it is above all on the sound side that the Jabras make the difference. The audio quality is second to none; the highs are brilliant, the bass deep with a nice attack. The whole is clear and balanced.
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How to choose good cheap headphones?
Quality does not necessarily mean high price. You can find good wireless headphones on the market for less than 100€. In general, favor recognized brands and avoid counterfeits of more expensive models.
The price is often tied to the features available. Depending on your needs, you can decide to skip certain expensive options such as active noise reduction, multipoint Bluetooth, high definition codecs, spatialization… This will allow you to lower the price while maintaining the sound quality. .
Wireless headphones: Bluetooth or True Wireless?
Since the commercial success of the AirPods in 2016, many brands have understood the value of offering True Wireless models rather than simple Bluetooth headphones. Indeed, before the arrival of this technology, the headphones were connected to each other by a cable. They are now truly wireless, which makes them more compact, more convenient and they offer users the possibility of using only one earphone at a time.
What are the differences between headphones under 100€ and more expensive headphones?
What we ask above all from high-end headphones is excellent sound quality. Premium headphones will therefore generally have a better balanced, richer sound, with a clean sound signature. More expensive models usually offer the latest technologies such as spatial audio with head movement tracking, multipoint, effective active noise reduction, high definition codecs…
However, it is now possible to buy headphones of more than satisfactory quality for less than 100 euros. Some brands like Nothing, Huawei, Anker or Realme offer complete models at very attractive prices.
Which wireless headphones for sports?
Everything will depend on the conception and design. Indeed, when you play sports, a good outfit is essential so as not to lose your headphones while running or at the slightest shock. Headphones should also be lightweight. One of the risks when playing sports is damaging your headphones with perspiration or water splashes, especially when it rains. It is therefore necessary to favor those with a certification that proves their resistance to liquids. For this, you can rely on the IPX4 or IPX5 standard.
To read > our selection of the best Bluetooth headphones and earphones for sport
Should you buy headphones from the same brand as your phone?
Basically, all headphones work on all Android and iOS smartphones, but some headphones are designed specifically for phone models of the same brand. This is the case, for example, of AirPods with Apple devices. By associating them with competing brands, you risk losing a lot of the interesting features like touch controls, voice assistant or even spatial audio.
Which alternative to AirPods to choose?
In 2016, when the first generation of AirPods was released, Apple was the benchmark for True Wireless headphones. Since then, many manufacturers have been able to make wireless headphones of such good quality.
AirPods are still interesting for iOS users because of the associated features such as touch control, voice assistant, multipoint…
But for Android users, there are other better value for money alternatives. Today there are serious competitors for less than 100€. The choice will mainly depend on the use you want to make of it and your taste in terms of design.
How to choose wireless gaming headphones under 100€?
Headphones can be of excellent quality for listening to music, watching movies, making hands-free calls without being suitable for video games.
Indeed, for gaming the major characteristic to take into account is latency. Unlike wired headsets, all Bluetooth models suffer from more or less significant latency which can cause a lag between image and sound.
Read > our selection of the best gaming smartphones
To avoid this problem, prefer wireless headphones with codecs that reduce latency. This is for example the case of codecs Low Latencyas’aptX LLle LDAC LL where the LHDC LL. They reduce the delay to about 40ms. The youngest is theaptX Adaptive which, as its name suggests, adapts to listening situations.
Some models of wireless headphones also have a gaming mode to reduce latency when you want to play.
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