I have sound sensory issues, I get headaches, unexpected sounds make me rage, and lose focus. I use both earbuds and headphones to manage those issues.

Overall, both have their uses and if you are able to, I recommend you invest in both. If you have to choose I have broken down below some things to think about before making a choice.

In any case, getting the right pair for you may require some trial and error, don’t be afraid to try products and return them if they don’t work for you.

Sound Sensory Issues

A good pair of ANC (active noise cancellation) earbuds is more expensive. Also, for some people it’s hard to find the right fit. After that, they quality is about the same for earbuds and headphones. For example, if you set them on high and play some music on low volume, you won’t be able to hear a loud highway.

The advantage of the headphones are the cushions, the have a tighter seal making the ANC less important.

Also, some people have issues with ANC, it’s not that common, but I recommend you try it out before making a purchase.

Comfort

Wearing earbuds for long periods of time can be tiring, there is some pressure on your ear (shouldn’t be too much or you may need to try a smaller size of foam tips). Over the ear headphones, with good cushions, are much more comfortable, but you may need to get used to it. On ear headphones are a huge NO.

Do not underestimate how important this is. Even the best pair won’t do anything for you if you can’t wear it. Also, don’t trust other people’s recommendations for this, it’s highly personal and you cannot know if a pair will be comfortable for you before you try them out.

Activities

If you move around a lot, headphones are not stable enough and can be a distraction. Earbuds with the right fit are okay, you can run, you can jump, you can hang upside down, they will stay in their place.

Also, sometimes you need to be aware of your surrounding, while ANC settings can be great, they will never beat removing one for the earbuds.

Sound Quality

Headphones take this one, they are a better value for money and they are the best sound delivery system known to humanity.

If you are willing to go the extra mile, there are communities on the internet dedicated to spending insane amounts of money for headphones. Unless you are a professional, avoid them.

What to buy

As someone said, right now the best options go as following:

• Buy Sennheiser for the best sound quality.
• Buy Bose for the best noise cancellation.
• Buy Sony for the best middle ground.

This is true for both earbuds and headphones.

For earbuds, 250$ is price you want to aim at, cheaper earbuds won’t have a good enough ANC and more expensive pairs don’t offer much to compensate for their price. It’s not that if you got spare money they are a bad purchase, but you got to really appreciate the niche.

For headphones, I haven’t done any market research recently so I am going to provide some general guidelines.

1. Bluetooth is more expensive, the comfort makes it worth it but there is a peak on sound quality. The Sony XM5-1000 are a good first buy. An equivalent option are the Bose QC35. I am not sure about Sennheiser, they have more options but they are more expensive.
2. If you are okay with a coord I believe you can go much cheaper, even pairs in the 100$ range will be good.

Keep in mind that these products will last for years. I got the Bose QC35 5 years ago and I only had to change the cushions which costed 5$. I know 250$ is a lot of money, when I bought them I was making ~720$ a month (Greek salaries are a joke), but it was worth it.

Also, I am going to contradict myself by saying that you should boycott Sony. The Sony WF4 and WF5 have battery drain issues that have not been addressed. Not all pairs have this issue, but it can get really bad and there has been at least one recorded explosion while charging. There is a thread on the “alien site” with a tonne of information about this. Personally, I had the WF4 and managed to get a refund because the battery would last less than 10minutes.

Miscellaneous

1. Headphones will mess with your hair.
2. Headphones and glasses don’t go well for some people, personally I don’t have an issue.
3. It’s easy to lose an earbud, I haven’t but sometimes the concept causes me anxiety. This is especially important if only one earbuds connects via Bluetooth, since the other will be rendered useless.

PS This got “a bit” long, been writing it since yesterday when the post was created. I am starting to think headphones have become a special interest of mine 😂