Earbuds

Tiny 6.4 mm transforming earbuds that stick to your phone; sound is average but the design is well thought out.

A cheap, clever wired pair that sounds about as good as Apple EarPods, though discontinued and ranked low.

A bigger step up than expected, with great sound and noise cancellation, though the tighter fit is less comfortable on long journeys; he gi…

Described as possibly the highest-rated earbuds in the world, but the XM6 improves on its call quality and noise cancelling.

Improves on the XM5 with a slimmer shape, much better call quality, stronger noise cancellation and slightly clearer sound, in a video mark…

Look like jewellery and are very light, but sound quality is sacrificed and there is a lot of sound bleed.

Cute gimmick earbuds with average sound for the price; he gave them 6 out of 10.

His go-to earphones, convenient with Apple kit and finally good sounding with strong noise cancellation.

Custom orange AirPods Pro 2 from a Dubai seller, chosen to match the car's theme.

Weakest transparency, but the sound is as detailed as the others for less money.

Earbuds pull off transparency well but the case hides everything; sound is slightly bassier.

Best transparency of the three earbuds and the best noise cancellation, so he keeps them.

Tested against the Anker Liberty 4 NC and lost out because they created more pressure in his ears.

The next best option and cheaper, but with weaker noise cancelling than the Anker.

The clear winner after testing every rival in the $40-$70 range, with good noise cancelling and sound.

Basic-looking, plasticky earbuds that sound surprisingly good, earning a 9.5 out of 10.

A slightly better version of the Buds 2 with better noise cancellation and up to 61.5 hours of battery life.

Impressive features for $7, but he'd rather buy plain earphones, so reluctantly trash.

Wacky-looking earbuds with good software and clever tech, but uncomfortable and not worth three and a half times the price of the SE 2.

Baseline earphones priced at $130-140 with misleading marketing; scored 2 out of 10.

Earphones designed to look like vinyl records on show in your ears; he gave will.i.am a three overall, mostly for effort.

Mediocre earbuds with an ugly purple finish and sound profiles that barely differ; scored 4 out of 10.

Comfortable, light earbuds with the best noise cancellation he has heard without ear tips, though sound is not class-leading.

Earbuds with a tiny Android screen that do neither phone nor earphone job well, and he'd still buy separate devices.