When you try to search for “the best”, “the top 10” headphones, many sites merely provide a list based on product specs research and peer opinions. On Music Photo Life, we spend hours, days and weeks with these products and publish actual hands-on reviews, detailed description on the strengths and weaknesses. Here are some of the most hardworking headphone reviewers in Singapore.
In 2021, the most popular audio products that I review are true wireless earbuds, and other types of audio products that are growing fast includes gaming headsets and work-from-home headsets, which I will cover separately. I have also done similar ranking for the best headphones in 2020, favourite true-wireless earbuds in 2019, and best noise-cancelling headphones in 2017.
In 2021, I have received over a dozen true-wireless products from Jabra, Sennheiser, Earfun, Sudio, Technics, Pamu, Ugreen, Sony, Audio-Technica, Earin. Here are my recommendations, and please read the detailed review articles to understand more on the products.
Recommended True Wireless Earbuds Below $100: PaMu Quiet Mini
If you only have a budget of S$100, you can still have a solid earbuds. The PaMu Quiet Mini earns my recommendation because it inherits many advantages of the PaMu Quiet at a fraction of the price. You should click the full review below to read more about my experience in the product. These are the features:
- Better balanced audio quality
- Supports wireless charging
- Supports ANC and Transparency Mode
- Supports single earbud voice calls
- Up to 18 hours battery life with charging case
- Does not support aptX, only AAC and SBC
Full review: PaMu Quiet Mini
Recommended True Wireless Earbuds Below $150: Earfun Free Pro 2
Earfun has been a strong crowdfunding brand with product experience accumulated over the years. The Earfun Free Pro 2 offers an excellent balance of product design, compact size, ANC quality. The audio quality is not my most preferred, but I would grab these earbuds as my travel companion.
Click here to read more detailed insights on Earfun Free Pro 2.
Recommended True Wireless Earbuds Below $200: Sennheiser CX True Wireless
You need not pay an arm and a leg for an established brand like Sennheiser. Not only do the CX True Wireless earbuds offer the signature Sennheiser sound quality, it comes with a companion app to customise EQ, and offers really good passive noise isolation, so good that I need to remove the earbuds to carry out a conversation.
Features:
- Smartphone app to customise EQ
- Support aptX codec
- IPX4 water protection
- Excellent passive noise isolation
- Able to customise touch controls
Full review: Sennheiser CX True
Recommended True Wireless Earbuds Below $300: Jabra Elite 85t
While Jabra has released their next-generation earbuds, namely Elite 7 and Elite 3, these old models like Elite 85t remain relevant and obviously priced lower. I have always liked Jabra earbuds because of their compact design and a massive list of unique features that remain unrivalled. For instance, there are options to improve call quality like EQ and sidetone. You can also turn on sound effects like raindrops to drown the real life background noises. Finally, the ANC intensity can also be accustomed to your preferred level.
Pros:
- Adjustable ANC levels
- Adjustable call quality
- Above average mic pick-up
- Able to customise controls
- IPX4 water protection
Detailed review on the Jabra Elite 85t
Recommended True Wireless Earbuds Below $400: Sony WF-1000XM4
Last year, I awarded the Technics AZ70 as my favourite ANC true wireless earbuds in 2020. This year, I recommend Sony WF-1000XM4. In perspective, the predecessor did very well, only to be let down by the design. Thankfully, Sony re-designed the 1000XM4 and fits a lot better. There is no doubt that the active noise cancelling is superior to all other brands. On top of that, the earbuds support 360 Reality Audio, custom EQ, adjustable ambient noise level, and a pretty decent price with all the features packed. I have to admit the audio quality is not the best, but the massive features make it a top product overall.
- Best ANC quality in the industry
- Speak-to-Chat automatically turns on ambient sound
- Adaptive Sound Control automatically adjusts ANC
- Supports custom EQ
- Supports LDAC codec
- Supports wireless charging
- IPX4 water protection
Full review: Sony WF-1000XM4
Conclusion
Audio is subjective, but an audio product offers more than just sound, or else you should be wearing wired headphones. True wireless earbuds come with other important features that blend in your lifestyle, and these are considered in the final recommendation of these products. If you have other questions and comments, please leave a comment below so that I can help you in your purchase decision.