2025 Best Sound Quality Earbuds 👑 Budget to Premium! (Part 2)
After reviewing hundreds of earbuds, these are the best sounding earbuds of this year so far, from the cheapest to most expensive.
Before I continue, this list is not exhaustive. There are many other buds which sound awesome that I have nominated in previous roundups, like the B&W Pi8, Denon PERL Pro, and JLAB Epic Lab edition.
But the following ones are newer and more recent. In fact you will see some that I am nominating again, simply because they’re still considered quite new.
Also note that sound quality is what we’re focusing on in this roundup. For the best earbuds that are great in other areas too like mic pickup, noise canceling and so on, read this.
Earfun Air Pro 4+
The Air Pro 4+ with dual drivers sounds amazing. It’s very clean sounding, very balanced, more emphasized on the mids. But what I like about it is how visceral, textured and textured it sounds without the mids crossing into sibilant territory. For bassheads, there’s more than enough bass to satisfy, but don’t expect this to sound bass-heavy by default. Overall, it sounds awesome for the price.
SOUNDPEATS H3
Out of the box, the SOUNDPEATS H3 sounds enjoyable. Clean, full, rich, sound with impeccable track separation. It also has spacious soundstaging with good detail resolution in the background, due to its great dynamic range. As for bass, it’s quite generous with impact and extension where needed. It may have a little brittleness in the upper mids, and a flatter presentation compared to the best sounding earbuds in the premium range, but the fact that they are sub-$100, and come very close, shows how good the H3 sounds for the price.
Cambridge Audio Melomania A100
The Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 sounds impressive. It’s got great attack and crispness, and great dynamic range, so even subtle details are resolved well. Upper mids are bright but don't cross over into sibilant territory, so overall it still sounds smooth. I would describe its soundstaging as more open and laid back, but it also has gradience to it, so its musical presentation sounds layered and deep. Best of all, I’m loving its bass which I would describe as heavy, impactful and textured. Very enjoyable to listen to out of the box.
AirPods Pro 3
The AirPods Pro 3 sound very enjoyable precisely because its fit is way better than the previous models. They plug in properly and stay there, so there’s no bass leakage, and sound quality is more consistent. By default, they sound pretty flat, but I do enjoy that analytical precision and crispness, mids are fuller and richer, an overall clear, intimate sound with great dynamic range.
They don’t really have that airiness by default, but on iOS, you can tweak them further in Headphone Accommodations to fill it in. Do note that on Android devices or PC, you’ll only have access to the default sound signature of the AirPods Pro 3.
Technics EAH-AZ100
The whole point of the Technics AZ100 is accuracy and speed, even though it’s only got a single 10mm driver in a small chassis. It sounds resolving, extremely clean-sounding and well separated. It also has great detail retrieval, no muddiness, and with the low noise floor I could hear more texture in the instruments.
As for bass, it’s a bit on the heavy side but because of that clean bass separation it doesn’t sound boomy, just tight and textured. I love the sound of the AZ100, and it continues to be one of my daily drivers to this day.
Noble FoKus Rex5
At first, the FoKus Rex5 doesn’t really hit the spot for me. Yes, it has 5 drivers in each earbud, and a crazy level of layering, gradation and separation, but it needs some fine tuning to sound even better. After tweaking them with my custom EQ, these are the best sounding premium earbuds in my collection.
It sounds clean and analytical, smooth and rich in detail. The bass texture is there, the airiness, the separation and crispness. The Rex5’s layering and gradation also adds more depth and holography to your music, which adds a new dimension to the sound that few other earbuds can reproduce. The downside of these Rex5 is its high cost, and it’s skinny on the features. But if sound quality is your priority, the Noble FoKus Rex5 is worth a look
So those are the top earbuds of this year so far from budget to the premium. Do you agree or disagree, and what other buds do you think deserve to be in this list? Let us know in the comments.
Check latest prices:
Best Sound 1 (Budget) - https://amzn.to/4hrd79E
Best Sound 2 (Budget) - https://amzn.to/3JcFufg
Best Sound 3 (Midrange) - https://amzn.to/4ot3av4
Best Sound 4 (Premium) - https://amzn.to/4oB4xHL
Best Sound 5 (Premium) - https://amzn.to/4hcKrQD
Best Sound 6 (Premium) - https://amzn.to/45c9zEi
