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Nowadays, most people use their Bluetooth earbuds to make calls; it is easy and convenient for those on the go. However, to find the best earbuds for crystal clear phone calls, we must find a happy medium between comfort, ease of use, and, most importantly, good mic quality and excellent noise canceling features.
Finding a pair of earbuds with good-sounding microphones is a must if you want to use them for phone calls. Good quality Bluetooth earbuds usually feature multiple mics to give you the best experience possible and ensure your voice is heard clearly.
Below, we will explain what you should look for when buying this product and review 10 of the best earbuds for crystal clear phone calls in 2024.
Table of Contents
- What Makes a Pair of Earbuds Good for Phone Calls?
- Top 10 Best Earbuds for Phone Calls
- Conclusion
What Makes a Pair of Earbuds Good for Phone Calls?
Good Quality Microphones
As we said, good-quality microphones will ensure you’re heard clearly in your phone calls. The technology employed and the number of mics will vary depending on the particular model of each pair of earbuds, but most Bluetooth devices feature multiple mics in their design.
Noise Cancellation
We can divide noise cancellation into two types. The first is the noise canceling feature that listens to the environment around you with a specialized mic and suppresses the noise going into your primary mic. The second is the one that isolates your earbuds against any outside noises for a better listening experience. Both are important in a pair for phone calls.
Top 10 Best Earbuds for Phone Calls
| Best Earbuds for Phone Calls | Rating | Price | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Air Pods | 4.8/5 | Check Amazon Check Walmart Check B&H | Read Review |
| Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro | 4.4/5 | Check Amazon Check Walmart | Read Review |
| Beats Studio Buds | 4.4/5 | Check Amazon Check Walmart Check B&H | Read Review |
| Skullcandy Push | 4.2/5 | Check Amazon Check Walmart | Read Review |
| Jaybird Vista 2 | 3.9/5 | Check Amazon Check Walmart | Read Review |
| Donerton Wireless Earbuds | 4.3/5 | Check Amazon | Read Review |
| Oladance Open Ear Headphones | 4.4/5 | Check Amazon | Read Review |
| Anker Soundcore Life P2 | 4.2/5 | Check Amazon | Read Review |
| Amazon Echo Buds (2nd Gen) | 4.1/5 | Check Amazon | Read Review |
| Sony WF-C500 | 4.5/5 | Check Amazon Check Walmart Check B&H | Read Review |
1. Apple AirPods
Score:
- Comfort: 5/5
- Mic Quality: 5/5
- Sound Quality: 4/5
- Noise Cancellation: 5/5
- Battery Life: 4/5
Features:
- Bluetooth Earbuds
- In-Ear Detection
- Quick Access to Siri
- Easy Share Feature
- Battery Life: 5 Hours (24 Hours with Charging Case)
Review:
Comfort
The Apple AirPods are pretty comfortable, especially for those who don’t like the feel of in-ear earbuds. But the most remarkable feature regarding comfort is their reliability, especially if you’re using them with your iPhone.
Mic Quality
The mics on the Apple AirPods are excellent; no wonder some people even use them to record videos for YouTube. When using an iPhone, you can even control the mic sensitivity.
Sound Quality
The sound quality on the Apple AirPods is on par with most other earbuds. They’re not an audiophile-oriented pair, but they sound good if you mainly use them for calls.
Noise Cancellation
The noise cancellation features on the Apple AirPods are surprisingly great because you have full control over them. When using an iPhone, you can easily adjust how much you want the earbuds to suppress outside noise.
Battery Life
Battery life-wise, the AirPods are not that great; they last for only 4 hours. However, it is understandable because the pair is smaller than most other earbuds. The good thing is you can always use the charging case, which holds more than 24 hours of extra battery, but running out of battery wouldn’t be great in the middle of a call.
2. Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro
Score:
- Comfort: 4/5
- Mic Quality: 5/5
- Sound Quality: 4/5
- Noise Cancellation: 5/5
- Battery Life: 5/5
Features:
- Bluetooth Earbuds
- Intelligent Active Noise Cancellation
- Water-Resistant
- 2 Outer + 1 Inner Mic
- Battery Life: 8 Hours (28 Hours with Charging Case)
Review:
Comfort
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro are pretty comfortable, but they can feel a little heavy if you have smaller ears, mainly due to their larger design.
Mic Quality
These earbuds are one of the best when it comes to mic quality. The Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro features two external mics for noise cancellation, one internal mic, and a voice pick-up bone sensor.
Sound Quality
The sound quality of the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro is on par with most other earbuds but compared to the standard Buds2, the Pro sounds slightly better.
Noise Cancellation
Like the AirPods, the Buds Pro also has excellent noise cancellation features, thanks to the multiple mics built into the pair and VPU (voice pick-up bone) sensor.
Battery Life
These are one of the earbuds with the longest battery life on the list: 8 hours. You also get 28 hours with the charging case.
3. Beats Studio Buds
Score:
- Comfort: 4/5
- Mic Quality: 5/5
- Sound Quality: 4/5
- Noise Cancellation: 5/5
- Battery Life: 5/5
Features:
- Bluetooth Earbuds
- Custom Acoustic Platform Design
- Quick Access to Siri
- 2 Distinctive Listening Modes
- Battery Life: 8 Hours (24 Hours with Charging Case)
Review:
Comfort
These earbuds are pretty comfortable and lightweight, but they come with only three sizes of ear tips. While it is still a decent number, some in-ear pairs come with up to 6 different sizes of silicone tips.
Mic Quality
The mic quality is excellent. The Beats Studio Buds uses a similar microphone technology to the Apple AirPods, with multiple mics to both pickup voice and block external noise.
Sound Quality
The sound quality is very good, particularly if you want to use these earbuds to listen to music as well. The Beats Studio Buds have a great frequency response in the lows and highs.
Noise Cancellation
As we said, the Beats Studio Buds feature multiple mics, including those aimed at reducing outside noise inside your calls, so it performs excellent when it comes to noise cancellation.
Battery Life
With 8 hours of battery life and 24 with the charging case, it stands among the earbuds with the largest battery capacity on the list.
4. Skullcandy Push
Score:
- Comfort: 4/5
- Mic Quality: 4/5
- Sound Quality: 4/5
- Noise Cancellation: 5/5
- Battery Life: 5/5
Features:
- Bluetooth Earbuds
- Built-In Voice Control
- Built-In Tile Finding Technology
- Dual Noise-Reducing Microphones
- Battery Life: 10 Hours (Up to 44 Hours with Charging Case)
Review:
Comfort
While the Skullcandy Push is comfortable, it is pretty large and may bother those with smaller ears, so we gave it a four regarding comfort.
Mic Quality
The mic quality on this pair is excellent. While it doesn’t feature as many mics and a VPU sensor such as the Galaxy Buds Pro, it still performs quite well.
Sound Quality
These headphones are inclined towards audiophile-grade sound, so you can expect the quality to be very good for phone calls and listening to music.
Noise Cancellation
The noise cancellation features are on par with most other earbuds. The Skullcandy Push features dual microphones solely to reduce noise in your phone calls.
Battery Life
One of the most impressive features of the Skullcandy Push is its battery life: 10 hours and up to 44 with the charging case.
5. Jaybird Vista 2
Score:
- Comfort: 5/5
- Mic Quality: 5/5
- Sound Quality: 4/5
- Noise Cancellation: 5/5
- Battery Life: 5/5
Features:
- Bluetooth Earbuds
- Active Noise Cancellation
- Surroundsense Function
- Waterproof and Dustproof
- Battery Life: 8 Hours (16 Hours with Charging Case)
Review:
Comfort
The Jaybird Vista 2 earbuds are quite comfortable since they are not that large and feature a wing that sits behind your ear, so it is a great option for those making phone calls.
Mic Quality
Both earbuds feature a built-in microphone for optimal clarity when making phone calls and sound outstanding. There are also extra mics for noise cancellation.
Sound Quality
While the sound quality of these earbuds is excellent right out of the box, one of the best features of this model is the dedicated Jaybird app, which you can use to equalize your sound. If you’re constantly making phone calls and want to hear the person you’re talking to more clearly, you can boost the mid-range.
Noise Cancellation
The built-in microphones on these earbuds constantly monitor your environment to suppress noise. There is also an exciting feature in the Jaybird Vista 2 called Surround sense, which, when active, will keep you aware of your surroundings.
Battery Life
This pair features 8 hours of battery life and 16 extra hours with the charging case, so it has plenty of capacity. It also features a quick charge: 5 minutes of charging for 1 hour of usage.
6. Donerton Wireless Earbuds
Score
- Comfort: 4/5
- Mic Quality: 5/5
- Sound Quality: 5/5
- Noise Cancellation: 2/5
- Battery Life: 5/5
Features:
- Bluetooth Earbuds
- Built-In LED Display
- Nano-Coating Material
- Waterproof
- Battery Life: 5 Hours (140 Hours with Charging Case)
Review:
Comfort
While these earbuds are larger than average and may feel heavy on those with smaller ears, they are still quite comfortable and come with silicone earcaps in different sizes.
Mic Quality
The manufacturer doesn’t specify how many microphones are in the earbuds, but the mic quality is excellent and sufficient for most phone call applications.
Sound Quality
With a frequency range of 20-20kHz, these earbuds have outstanding sound quality, with a great response in the low frequencies and support for 3D surround sound stereo.
Noise Cancellation
These earbuds don’t feature active noise cancellation while listening; they are passive. It still performs very well but may be a problem if you use it in noisy environments.
Battery Life
Battery life is one of the best features of the Donerton Wireless Earbuds: while the earbuds themselves have a duration of 5 hours, you get 140 extra hours with the charging case, and a 10-minute quick charge gives you 1 hour of usage.
7. Oladance Open Ear Headphones
Score:
- Comfort: 5/5
- Mic Quality: 5/5
- Sound Quality: 4/5
- Noise Cancellation: 4/5
- Battery Life: 5/5
Features:
- Bluetooth Open Ear Headphones
- Dual 16.5mm Dynamic Drivers
- Dynamic Equalization
- Bone-Conduction Technology
- Battery Life: 16 Hours
Review:
Comfort
These headphones are open ear, meaning they don’t go into your ear canal like most other earbuds on the list. This feature can make it more comfortable to wear the pair for prolonged periods, but if you’ve never used a headphone with this design before, we suggest you try it before buying to see if you like it.
Mic Quality
The microphone quality is excellent. The patented environmental noise canceling algorithm in these headphones rebuilds the sound of your voice even when there is a high amount of external noise.
Sound Quality
These headphones perform well regarding sound quality, but they have a different design from more traditional earbuds, which can impact the sound.
Noise Cancellation
As these headphones are open-ear, the noise cancellation when it comes to the listening experience is not that great. However, in phone calls, it is pretty efficient.
Battery Life
The 16 hours of battery life of the Oladance is quite impressive, but they don’t come with a charging case, which must be bought separately.
8. Anker Soundcore Life P2
Score:
- Comfort: 4/5
- Mic Quality: 5/5
- Sound Quality: 4/5
- Noise Cancellation: 5/5
- Battery Life: 4/5
Features:
- Bluetooth Headphones
- Bass Up Technology
- 4 Microphones
- Fast Charging
- Battery Life: 7 Hours (40 Hours with Charging Case)
Review:
Comfort
The comfort with the Anker Soundcore Life P2 is average. It is similar to the Apple AirPods when it comes to design, but it is a little larger.
Mic Quality
These earbuds feature four microphones of omnidirectional design, 2 for voice pickup and 2 for noise reduction so that you can expect excellent performance in phone calls.
Sound Quality
Sound quality is on par with most other models on the list, with a frequency range of 20-20kHz. It also features a wider soundstage and BassUp technology, which helps enhance low frequencies.
Noise Cancellation
This is one of the best features of these earbuds since it is specifically excellent at suppressing background noise with their four omnidirectional microphones.
Battery Life
The battery life is on par with most other models, with 7 hours. You get 40 hours with the charging case, which is above average among other earbuds on the list.
Also Read: Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) Explained
9. Amazon Echo Buds (2nd Gen)
Score:
- Comfort: 4/5
- Mic quality: 4/5
- Sound quality: 4/5
- Noise cancellation: 5/5
- Battery life: 4/5
Features:
- Bluetooth Earbuds
- Active Noise Cancellation
- Sweat-Resistant
- Lightweight
- Battery Life: 5 Hours (15 Hours with Charging Case)
Review:
Comfort
These earbuds are quite comfortable but have a large design, although they are very lightweight and won’t feel heavy on the ears.
Mic Quality
The mic quality is good, and on par with other models, there are 2 external microphones for noise cancellation and one internal microphone for voice pickup.
Sound Quality
The audio quality of these earbuds is exceptionally great for the price. Lots of reviews on the internet confirm this. The bass response is particularly good.
Noise Cancellation
These earbuds feature active noise cancellation with 2 dedicated external mics for the job. These microphones will also enhance your voice in calls by suppressing external noise.
Battery Life
The battery life is below average if we compare it to other models, with only 5 hours of capacity. You can get up to 15 hours with the charging case, however.
10. Sony WF-C500
Score:
- Comfort: 4/5
- Mic Quality: 5/5
- Sound Quality: 5/5
- Noise Cancellation: 4/5
- Battery Life: 5/5
Features:
- Bluetooth Headphones
- DSEE Technology
- Lightweight Design
- Compatible with Sony | Headphones Connect App
- Battery Life: 10 Hours (20 Hours with Charging Case)
Review:
Comfort
Although larger than other models on the list, these earbuds are very lightweight and mold to the ears quite well.
Mic Quality
The microphone is ok for the price of the earbuds but not as great as some other options on the list when it comes to suppressing background noise in your phone calls.
Sound Quality
The sound quality of these earbuds is very good. The pair features a technology called DSEE, which enhances high frequencies and is great for phone calls.
Noise Cancellation
These earbuds don’t have active noise cancellation like other models on the list but feature passive technology. It is still understandable if we consider the low price of the pair.
Battery Life
The battery life of the Sony WF-C500 is exceptional, considering it has a capacity of 10 hours (larger than average) and 20 hours with the charging case.
Conclusion
While shopping for a pair of earbuds for crystal clear phone calls, you want to consider the most critical factors: noise cancellation and microphone quality. As you can see on the list, most Bluetooth earbuds on the market feature technologies such as active noise cancellation that will significantly improve your phone calls. With that being said, let’s look at our favorite pair of earbuds from the list: the Anker Soundcore Life P2. You can find the link to each product’s respective titles on the list. We hope our article helped help you find the best earbuds for crystal clear phone calls. If you have any questions or suggestions for our website, feel free to contact us!
Hello, my name is James Longman.
I’m a writer and editor at AudioReputation. I disassembled my first portable AM/FM radio when I was only 8. At the age of 11, I burned the circuit board on my old boombox cassette player. I’m not going to explain how but it was reckless and stupid.
Since then, I have become much more careful around radios, boomboxes, and other audio devices (at least, I like to think so) but I have never lost the passion for audio equipment. Throughout 20 years of my professional career, I’ve been working for various audio equipment manufacturers and even started building speakers on my own in my little workshop.
I love the work we do here at AudioReputation. Testing, comparing, and evaluating all kinds of audio devices (speakers, soundbars, headphones, home theater systems, etc.) is something I truly enjoy. I try to be unbiased and give you my honest opinion on every piece of equipment I test. Still, you should take my reviews with a pinch of salt and always be just a little bit skeptical. The fact that I liked some speaker or soundbar doesn’t mean that you are going to love it. If you have the opportunity, you should test it/hear it before buying it.