Testers compared their running earbuds to other headphones they’ve tried and provided specific feedback on the depth and clarity of their favorite songs and podcasts.

Sound Quality: Our test editors aren’t audiophiles, so evaluating sound quality is largely subjective. (The latter fit is safer for running outside and among other people.) Some runners like buds that fit deep in their ears and block all outside noise, allowing them to crank up the tunes, while others prefer lots of environmental sound from a looser fit. That fit also affects how much outside sound is let in-there’s no ideal balance for everybody. The best running headphones will fit comfortably, so you can think about your run and not your aching ears. Here’s how we weighed each category of runner feedback during our testing: Fit and Ambient Sound When evaluating headphones for running, we evaluate them on key categories like fit, sound quality, and battery life. We run with music nearly every day, so we’ve collectively run hundreds of miles using each of the earbuds listed on this page. Our test editors love running with music-so much so that we even conducted a test on whether a song’s beat can influence your running pace. These buds are typically smaller (because the connecting wires house some of their electronics), and their lower weight can mean less fiddling with the fit.īecome a Runner's World+ member for exclusive access to product testing opportunities! If you can get past the connecting wire, you’ll enjoy better battery life (eight or more hours, compared to four from some truly wireless models) and a significantly lower price. These earbuds are still untethered from your phone, but they use a wire or band to connect the buds and store batteries, microphones, or an antenna.

Neckband bluetooth headphones