Get insider access
Get insider access
Preferred store
Your browser is not supported or outdated so some features of the site might not be available.
Best
Headphones Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds Gaming Over-Ear Noise Cancelling Earbuds Wireless Running Wireless Gaming Xbox One PC Gaming PS5/PS5 Pro Wireless Earbuds For Running Beats Wired Over-Ears For Working Out Music Wireless Earbuds For Android Earbuds For Gaming In-Ears
Tools
Compare Table Review List Review Index Graph Custom Ratings
Popular
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless Logitech G PRO X 2 LIGHTSPEED Wireless Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Audeze Maxwell Wireless Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Samsung Galaxy Buds FE Truly Wireless SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless [7, 7P, 7X] Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 True Wireless Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless Astro A50 X Wireless Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless Anker Soundcore Space Q45 Wireless Bose QuietComfort Headphones Wireless Sony WH-CH720N Wireless Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Truly Wireless Sennheiser HD 800 S SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless [PC, PS, Xbox] Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless JBL Tune 770NC Wireless
821
Headphones bought and tested
Supported by you via insider access, and when you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Driven by data, run by a passionate team of engineers, testers, technical writers, developers, and more.
We are hiring!
We've recently released our Test Bench 1.8 update for Headphones! Read the R&D Article to learn more about our new direction. As we ramp up and retest products, expect delays in testing new and updating preexisting reviews. Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience!
  1. Home
  2. Headphones
  3. Tests
  4. Microphone Overall
  1. Table of Contents
  2. Intro
  3. Our Tests
    1. Recording Quality
    2. Noise Handling
  4. What is not included
  5. Comments

Microphone Of Headphones

Updated
What it is: The microphone section shows the quality of speech capture and transmission by the mic, as well as how well the microphone under test handles noisy environments.
When it matters: For your speech to be transmitted to and understood properly by the listener, the microphone needs to have a good recording quality. If the environment the microphone is being used in is noisy, a microphone with a good noise handling performance would be needed as well.
Score components:
Score distribution

Most of the headphones available today, whether wired or Bluetooth, come with a microphone for taking calls and sending voice messages. There are also gaming headsets, usually with boom microphones, that are made specifically for gaming and therefore tend to have a higher quality microphone design.

Our microphone reviews of headphones are divided into two sections: recording quality, and noise handling. Recording quality is concerned with the performance of the microphones and the quality of speech when used in an ideal (quiet) environment. Noise handling tests the microphone in a noisy environment to see how well it separates speech from noise, and what effects a noisy environment has on speech transmission and intelligibility.

Test results

Our Tests

Recording Quality

What it is: Microphone recording quality shows how natural, neutral, extended, and understandable speech would be with the device under test, in a quiet environment.
When it matters: A microphone with a good recording quality ensures that the person listening to you would hear a full, clear, and easily understandable speech. Therefore, it's important whenever a good quality of speech transmission and intelligibility is needed.
Score components:
Score distribution

The recording quality test includes low-frequency extension (LFE), frequency response standard deviation (FR. Std. Dev.), high-frequency extension (HFE), harmonic distortion (Weighted THD), and gain.

As a rule of thumb, wired gaming headsets with a boom microphone and wireless headphones with a dedicated and proprietary wireless connection have the highest recording quality. This is due to the proximity of the boom microphone to the source (mouth) and the wide-band operating range of these headsets. Conversely, Bluetooth headphones with built-in or in-line mics tend to have a worse recording quality due to the distance of the mic from the source, as well as a limited operating range of Bluetooth protocol (limited to around 3.5kHz).

Learn more about this test

Noise Handling

What it is: How well the microphone can separate speech from background noise, based on our speech to noise ratio (SpNR) value and a subjective evaluation of our audio clip. The speech to noise ratio isn't taken into account when the microphone has a noise gate.
When it matters: When a clean and understandable speech transmission is desired in a noisy situation, like talking on the phone on a busy street or the bus.
Score components:
Score distribution

Speech to Noise Ratio is the test performed for noise handling, which is the difference in level between speech and background noise as heard by the listener. If the microphone is going to be used in a noisy environment, it is important for it to be able to separate the speech from background noise, so the voice would be easily audible and understandable.

Here again, the headsets with a boom mic tend to perform better since the closer the microphone to the source (mouth), the bigger the ratio of speech level to the background noise is captured by the microphone. Conversely, the further away the microphone from the mouth (as with in-line or built-in mics), the smaller the ratio of speech level to background noise.

Learn more about this test

What is not included

A few elements that you could care about are not included in the score at the moment:

  • Evaluation of the codec quality (PESQ)
  • Evaluation of speech quality (POLQA)

If you feel there is an item missing that should be included, please let us know in the Q&A section.