If you like using Earbuds that don’t leak sound to listen to you favorite music, play games, or watch movies, spatial audio is a key feature to look for.
This makes the audio much more immersive, making it sound like it’s happening all around you. Spatial audio is just as important as noise cancellation in noisy environments or waterproofing for people who exercise a lot.
The best earbuds that don’t leak sound offer all these key features and more.
5+ Best Earbuds That Don’t Leak Sound in 2024
1. FiiO FD3 Pro
This pair’s sound profile amplifies high frequencies for added detail. Audiophiles will love it, but this tuning may not appeal to a wider audience.
From what I’ve heard in testing, the FiiO FD3 Pro set is a great choice if you prefer a sound profile that adds more punch to the high frequencies that are common in current audiophile in-ear monitors.
Excellent build quality and a variety of ear tips ensure a good fit.
The sound profile is intentionally not neutral. It features strategically enhanced highs with a wide bass boost.
This pair has high-frequency peaks in the range with voiceless consonants (e.g. s, f, k, t), which many audiophiles describe as added detail or sparkle.
However, the FD3 Pro also has an extensive bass boost feature that prevents the overall sound from becoming too heavy.
Bass enthusiasts will find that the boost is too broad to provide the impact and definition in the lower registers they desire. You can view the measurements in this spreadsheet.
Each earbud has a rear vent that helps reduce unwanted resonance. The semi-open design gives the music a greater sense of space and depth than you’ll hear from other earbuds in this price range but allows a bit of sound to leak in and out.
The FD3 Pro uses 12mm dynamic drivers that typically produce full-range sound, but these earbuds don’t offer the same agility you get with a pair of FiiO FH5s, which are our upgrade choice.
2. Jabra Elite 8 Active
We highly recommend the Jabra Elite 8 Active to anyone who leads an active lifestyle, spends a lot of time at the gym, or just wants wireless earbuds that offer adaptive hybrid active noise cancellation, Dolby Atmos support, and impressive spatial audio.
These earbuds are water and sweat-resistant (IP68 rated) and utilize what the company calls a “SnakeGrip” coating (made from liquid silicone rubber) to securely hold the earbuds in your ears for extreme comfort.
After a few minutes, you might even forget you’re wearing them.
Besides making audio sound clear and rich, these earbuds also handle hands-free phone calls nicely.
The Jabra Sound+ app gives you tons of control over your listening experience. Supports quick pairing when used with Android devices.
Another convenient feature is support for Siri and Google Assistant, allowing you to use voice commands to control listening to audio or making hands-free phone calls.
3. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds
We all know how Bose makes great wireless headphones, and the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds should be considered the best wireless earbuds that don’t leak sound to date.
The new wireless earbuds offer a comfortable fit, and a variety of features, and the ANC, which is the crowning glory of the buds, works great.
Bluetooth 5.3 is a big bonus, but as Bose’s first in-ears to offer Immersive Audio, a unique spatial audio technology, that’s something we’re not sure about.
But what we’re confident about is the buds’ noise-canceling capabilities.
The excellent Bose app lets you vary the amount of noise cancellation provided through several customizable presets, and these iterations of Bose buds show the brand at the top of its game.
The Ultra Earbuds can automatically adjust the amount of ANC provided, providing a very impressive and comprehensive effect, ensuring your music isn’t drowned out by particularly loud noises.
As for the sound, it’s well-balanced, neutral, and brimming with fine detail. The only thing that really offers a viable competitor in this price range is the Sony WF-1000XM5.
The Bose Ultra Earbuds offer a bit less nuance but a more powerful feel, so if you like excitement and dynamic interest, these might be the buds for you.
It’s a bit disappointing that it doesn’t support high-quality wireless audio codecs like LDAC or aptX HD, nor does it support wireless charging or Bluetooth multipoint (both supported by the Sony WF-1000XM5).
But in the end, it wasn’t a big problem for us. Especially because these earphones maintained ANC and sound quality with incredible confidence.
Bose has always offered great noise cancellation in its wireless earbuds, and the Ultra is no exception.
Not only is the ANC adequate, but I also really like the comfort provided by the silicone tips and the flexibility provided by the Bose Music control app.
You can change the level of noise cancellation and save several presets that you can switch between if you want to change the amount of noise that gets through.
4. Earfun Air Pro
Those looking for affordable and effective noise-cancelling earbuds that don’t leak sound need look no further.
Despite its very affordable price point, the EarFun Air Pro proves that you don’t have to spend an outrageous amount of cash to get decent sound and functioning noise-canceling features.
With an excellent feature set and tremendous level of performance, these earphones are recommended if you are careful about how much you spend.
Not only does the EarFun Air Pro fit securely and connect easily, it also has reliable controls and a basic but effective noise-canceling profile.
Battery life is 7 hours on a single charge and an additional 18 hours with the charging case. There’s also USB-C charging and wearer detection, the latter of which I didn’t think would reach this level.
Acoustically, our tests showed very good sound quality for the price.
The EarFuns deliver well-balanced and relatively transparent audio, with tight, full bass and decent musicality, resulting in an overall presentation that rarely feels inconsistent or disjointed. It’s not at the C700N level, but I don’t expect it to be.
We’ve never seen noise-canceling earbuds that do everything EarFun does at this level. We also reviewed the newer EarFun Air Pro 3 but didn’t feel it did enough to remove the original from this list.
5. Sony WF-C700N
The WF-C700N are 5-star earbuds that sound fantastic and offer impressive performance and excellent ANC at a lower price than some of the competition. What is Hi-Fi in 2023? The Product of the Year award was not given for nothing.
While using the C700N, we noticed how the buds are conveniently small and compact, with a lightweight design that feels more comfortable on the ear than the premium Sony WF-1000XM5 (below).
They may actually be better earphones to hold, look at, and wear than the XM5, which is notable considering the price difference.
Battery life is competitive at 7 hours and 30 minutes, and while it lacks aptX HD and LDAC, it’s not the end of the world.
That’s because Sony’s Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE) upscales low-resolution digital audio files to higher quality.
Adaptive Sound Control automatically switches listening modes based on your location, providing a noise-canceling experience that’s as comprehensive and clever as you’ve come to expect from Sony.
But what really matters is the C700N’s sound, another box ticked on that front.
The affordable Sony buds have excellent balance and balance: deep, detailed bass, expressive mids, and truly engaging highs, all with a musicality and sophistication you wouldn’t expect at this price point.
6. Cambridge Audio Melomania M100
If you suffer from battery life anxiety, the Cambridge Audio Melomania M100 will come to your rescue. With ANC on, it lasts for a whopping 10 hours.
Add the charging case to the equation and the total battery life is 33 hours with ANC on and 52 hours with ANC on. At this level, there aren’t many competitors even close on this list.
But battery life isn’t everything about these noise-canceling earbuds. First of all, we found this product to be lightweight and comfortable to wear.
This helped with the fit and seal as there are 5 pairs of tips in the box. The M100 is also sweat-resistant with an IPX4 rating, making it great for use when exercising.
The touch controls on the side of each bud handle a variety of controls, typically using a combination of single-tap, double-tap, and long presses to get the buds to do what you want them to do.
You can choose between High, Medium, and Low options depending on how much outside noise you want to hear. However, transparency mode may be clearer and may make it easier to hear instructions to the music.
Sonically, the Memomania M100 delivers a clean, spacious, and engaging sound that won’t tire over time.
The bass is smooth, rich, and well-defined, while the treble is crisp and well-controlled, without any of the harshness you get from smaller models.
However, they are not as dynamically powerful as other 5-star pairs. This means they have to work a little harder to keep your interest. But we still think these are smart earbuds worth considering at this price.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there sound leaks from your wireless earphones?
For example, it is normal for your headphones to leak sound when listening to something at a high volume. That is, of course, if there is an acceptable amount of leakage.
Are your Beats earbuds leaking sound?
Comfortable and well-made design. Don’t leak a lot of audio at high volumes.
Are noise-canceling earbuds worth buying?
If you don’t want to wear traditional over-ear noise-canceling headphones, opt for earbuds. They don’t cancel out as much noise as traditional over-ears, but they are more portable and less noticeable, making them easier to carry around.
I tend to use earbuds when I’m out and about for this very reason, and the best models do an excellent job of isolating you from outside interference.
Which earbuds block out the most noise?
I think the FiiO FD3 Pro Earbuds cancel out the most noise of all the models we tested. I found it to be excellent at blocking out a variety of low-frequency rumbles and also smoothing out the effects of distracting high frequencies.
It also offers great flexibility, allowing you to customize ANC better than many of its competitors.
Can I still hear using noise-canceling earbuds?
It depends on the volume you listen to. If you turn on noise canceling and listen at a high volume, you will not be able to hear external noises such as train station announcements or sirens.
However, most noise-cancelling earbuds also offer a transparency mode that allows varying levels of outside noise into your ears, allowing you to hear what’s going on around you.
Different earbuds also offer different levels of ANC customization, allowing you to reduce the intensity depending on where you use them.