I wear mine for extended periods of time, so over-ear headphones are an absolute must. Everything else will make your ears hurt after a while. Disadvantage is of course the price. A good one will be between $300-$500.

As a person with glasses, every headphone I’ve ever tried ended up hurting after an hour, so now I’m keeping to buds which usually don’t hurt

Longevity. Good headphones will have replaceable batteries, cheaper ones can still be opened up to replace them fairly easily. Batteries to fit most earbuds are much harder to source, even if you can open them up without completely destroying them.

If you do your research, a couple of earbuds use button cells that can be replaced with minimal soldering (particularly the Galaxy Buds).

Headphones often also come with a 3.5" removable plug, useful if you want to use them as a computer headset.

Earbuds are generally more acceptable in stores and other places where you need to interact with other people.

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 😂

I have both but end up only really using headphones.

In-ear ones work best at noise cancellation and don’t get sweaty when warm. So, air travel and gym.

Headphones keep my ears warm and signals that I’m not hearing which makes street sales people mostly stay away if I pretend I don’t see them. Easier to take on and off quick. So, work , home, and commute.

I own and daily drive both. Bose QC45s and Sony MX1000s. Both were about AUD$400 rmeach when I bought them.

I can wear either while driving, but the QCs can get a bit sweaty. I prefer the QCs while driving.

Likewise, I wear both while working, sometimes one, sometimes the other.

I only ever war the MX at the gym of while jogging, headphones just don’t work for me in that case.

The QC45 have better controls, and better cancelling, and I think good music sounds better in them, marginally. They also keep playing when I take them off. Conversely, the MX stops playback when I take them out my ears. This shits me, because although they restart playing, they usually play from my audiobook app. Which sucks if I was listening to a podcast from my podcast app. I have to whip my phone out and change media. Likewise if I was listening to YouTube, it doesn’t automatically resume.

The MX are good if you want to retain spatial awareness by putting one bud in and keep one out, but then you have to choose which control to keep and which to lose. Sometimes I hand my QCs off one ear, but that feels awkward.

I wear both at the shops, but prefer the MX, because they are more discreet.

If I had to absolutely choose one, I’d choose the MX buds.

But then I would save up and buy the QCs, I really do love them both.

Every earbud eventually causes friction bleeding or infection, given I wear them all day. But quality over ear headphones don’t have the same problem.

Also, I have the option to use a cord if I need to.

Earbuds are usually less expensive and more portable for me. I can tuck the case in my pocket or in a small bag so that I always have them with me. They do hurt after a while though, but like after 2-3 hours straight.

Noise cancelling is only good if you spring for the best, otherwise you get this weird pressure feeling from them like you’re underwater.

In the £300 bracket:

Sennheiser have the best audio quality.

Bose have the best noise cancelling.

Sony have a good balance between the two.

Over the ear is better for sound quality and arguably noise cancelling and definitely better for battery life/serviceability. This has been my experience from using these three brands.

Headphones are inconvenient as fuck for me, but earbuds don’t really have useful noise cancelling at all. Bose QC has amazing noise cancelling, I wish I still had my Bose QC 35 II, they would be very nice right now…

For earbuds I’d definitely say get either Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3, Oppo Enco X2, Samsung Buds 2 (or 2 Pro), or AKG N400NC (if you’re willing to EQ).

For headphones definitely buy used. You’ll end up paying way less for the same quality. Idk about for earbuds though.

I prefer non audio canceling (senheiser 4.40bt) for daily drivers because I forget to switch them off all the time.

There only minimal effect on the battery, i feel like I rarely need to charge them. Just top em off if its been a while. They block sound just fine as they are.

Now my other rather similar senheisers that do have noise canceling… use em 1/10 as much and run out of Battery every time.

I have a pair of earbuds but i only use them if i cant wear overears, innies also cause more eardamage per decibel.

Noise canceling gives me a headache, so that’s a con for me

I like open back cans, personally.

I hate the feeling of having earbuds stuffed in my ears. I find the big circumaural headphones just disappear on my head, so I don’t get distracted by the sensation of wearing them.

I like the open backs because I can hear anything I need to hear - cars, cyclists, etc. - but can more or less crush general background noise by playing music.