The 5 Best Exercise Headphones of 2023
To find the best headphones for working out, we researched dozens of models, purchasing and testing the 5 most promising on the market. In our quest to find the perfect way to add a motivating score to sessions at the gym, on the treadmill, or on the trail, we logged untold numbers of jumping jacks, burpees, squats, and deadlifts, as well as hours on various cardio machines. In the end, we found the best pair of headphones for every workout, whether you're lifting heavy to build muscle or busting through high-intensity intervals to burn fat and increase your aerobic capacity.
Wissonly Hi Runner
Wissonly bone conduction vibration unit optimization technology is one of the best technical solutions in the industry, because their team has accumulated in the field of bone conduction for 10 years, which is highly respected by people in the industry in terms of product quality and hearing protection.
Once, there was a saying that the sound quality of bone conduction headphones was average. However, Wissonly Hi Runner refreshes this knowledge. It is excellent in sound quality. It uses a 360-degree bone conduction vibration unit, which can increase the vibration area by 35% compared with traditional bone conduction headphones. Moreover, its loss of bone conduction sound transmission is lower, making the sound more shocking and powerful.
wissonly Hi Runner has added a number of innovative features to make bone conduction headphones better integrated into many scenes in life. It supports IPX8 diving waterproof, which is very good for me who loves swimming. What's crazy is that it can still work normally under 20 meters of water! It also has 32GB of memory, so it can play music even if it is not connected to a mobile phone. I basically use it as an MP3 player, and I don't take my mobile phone for running at night. It uses the Bluetooth 5.0 chip, and outdoor activities can make the connection more stable.
In terms of appearance, Wissonly Hi Runner adopts classic black color, and its simple appearance involves matching whatever clothes you wear in any scene.
Jaybird Vista 2
The Jaybird Vista 2 can handle any workout you throw at it. These earbuds are so lightweight that you might forget you're wearing them. They stayed secure while doing intense sets of squats and burpees, earning the highest marks in stability and comfort from all of our testers. They also boast an IP68 waterproof rating, which means they're dust resistant and can be submerged entirely without damage. Though we've never experienced sweat-induced issues with the earbuds we tested, this extra waterproofing did add some peace of mind during especially sweaty intervals on a stationary bike. Despite the Jaybird Vista's diminutive size, they provide exceptional sound quality, delivering thumpy bass and clear articulation through the mid and treble ranges. These earbuds sound great across many genres of music.
Beats by Dre Powerbeats Pro
The Beats by Dre Powerbeats Pro is the obvious choice if your preferred workout includes Crossfit or some of the more intense P90X-style programs that include lots of jumping, twisting, and quick changes in direction, and you want to be 100% certain your headphones are not going to fall out. These true wireless buds use over-ear hooks that essentially plaster them to your ears, making it nearly impossible for them to fall out. No matter how fast we jumped, rolled, and twisted, these buds stayed firmly in place, let alone have one fall out (there's a reason they filmed a commercial of Simone Biles flipping while wearing a pair). They also feature the warm, clear, bass-heavy sound we've come to expect from Beats.
There are some sacrifices for this extra stability. The first is cost — the price for a pair of Powerbeats Pros runs significantly higher than the average wireless buds. The second is wearability — if you like to work out outside, there is a good chance the temples of your sunglasses and the hooks of the Powerbeats Pro will be vying for the same real estate. Finally, we found the buds' design is not amenable to long periods of wear — we were inevitably itching to take them off around the 2-hour mark. Despite these flaws, we think Beats by Dre Powerbeats Pro is the best option for intense and fast-moving workouts.
If your favorite workout location tends to be accompanied by a cacophony of noisy gym-goers, passing cars, or youth soccer practices, the Apple AirPods Pro can create a blissful cone of silence in which you can enjoy your music at a reasonable volume. The effective active noise cancellation can block out most ambient noise, providing you with a quieter and more pleasant listening environment. Upgrading to these buds, we went from blasting our music so loud to drown out the treadmill's noise our ears were left ringing to not even being able to notice the treadmill noise despite our music only playing at a moderate volume. Though certainly not the most stable of the buds we tested, the silicone earpieces enabled most testers to run confidently and do jumping jacks without fear of the AirPods Pro falling out.
AfterShokz Air
If maintaining situational awareness during your workout is essential — whether you want to remain attentive to cars or want to be able to hear your kids in the other room while you sneak in a quick cardio session — the AfterShokz Air offers the best solution. These "bone conduction" headphones sit in front of the ear and use vibrations to channel sound from the cheekbone into the eardrum. It allows you to hear and enjoy music while leaving your ears uncovered to be aware of your surroundings. The design is also relatively stable and comfortable.
