Over-ear, on-ear or wired in-ear?

Start with the build, because it decides comfort and how much sound gets in or out.

• Over-ear: the cups sit around your ears. The JBL Tune 730BT and the cardoO HeadPhone 3 are built this way.
• On-ear: the cushions rest on your ears in a smaller, foldable frame, as on the JBL Tune 530BT.
• Wired USB-C: the JBL Tune 520C on-ear headphones and the Sony IER-EX15C in-ear headphones plug straight into a USB-C device, so there is no battery to charge.

Noise cancelling: which Sony?

Sony's noise cancelling headphones come in three steps. The WH-CH720N is Sony's lightest noise cancelling headband, with up to 35 hours of battery with noise cancelling on. The WH-1000XM5 uses eight microphones and Sony's Auto NC Optimizer, with up to 30 hours of music with noise cancelling on. At the top, a Sony pair uses the HD Noise Canceling Processor QN3, which Sony says is 7x faster than the QN1 in the WH-1000XM5 and works with 12 microphones.

Battery and two-device pairing

For long days away from a charger, the JBL Tune 530BT lists up to 76 hours of battery life and the cardoO HeadPhone 3 up to 55 hours, with 4 hours from 10 minutes of charging. The JBL Tune 730BT gives 40 hours, and JBL says a 5-minute charge gives 1 hour.

Multipoint lets one pair connect to your phone and your laptop at once. The JBL Tune 730BT, the JBL Tune 530BT and the Sony WH-CH720N all support it.

If you want one pair for commuting and workouts, start with the JBL Tune 730BT: JBL lists it for commuting, working out or relaxing at home. If you train hard and sweat a lot, look at earbuds with a water rating instead. Browse more in sports tech.