Best Bluetooth headphones for conference calls

Let’s face it: conference calls are rarely ever smooth. Best-case scenario, you only say, “what” a few times, worst-case scenario, you’re left feeling like you spent an hour of your day parodying an old Verizon commercial. Seeing how many of us are forced to stay in for the foreseeable future, telecommuting is becoming even more prevalent. We’ve put together a list of the best headphones for conference calls to make work a little less frustrating.

The best headphones for conference calls are the Sony WH-1000XM3

Sony’s flagship noise cancelling headphones receive plenty of praise, all of which is well deserved. These are one of the best all-around headphones you can buy and have a great microphone system for hands-free calls. Sure, the headset is pricey but is a smart investment for anyone beholden to telecommuting in these odd times.

The microphone has a pretty even response throughout the human voiceband, meaning nearly all vocal registers will sound equally loud and accurate. That said, it could use some improvement when it comes to outdoor performance. Noise rejection isn’t the best, and it’s unable to mitigate the “proximity effect,” which is when low-frequency sounds are amplified too much the closer you get to the mic. Perhaps this will be remedied with the next-generation Sony WH-1000XM4.

Microphone quality aside, these are great headphones: they support a slew of high-quality Bluetooth codecs such as LDAC, aptX HD, aptX, and AAC. No matter what device you’re streaming from, you’re guaranteed to enjoy optimal sound quality from these wireless cans. If you want to kick it old school and plug in via the 3.5mm cable, you can do so for high-resolution audio. This is great for anyone who wants to enjoy lossless FLAC files from Amazon Music HD or Tidal.

You can also benefit from Sony’s 360 Reality Audio by using the Sony | Headphones Connect app. By following a few quick steps, you can listen to music from several streaming services in 3D space. Thanks to MPEG-H and a bunch of remastered tracks, you can rediscover all the music you know and love. Deezer, Amazon Music HD, Tidal and Nugs.net all support this process.

Noise cancelling is the best in the business: these are the headphones of choice by the SoundGuys and Android Authority staff. They’re reliable and effectively combat external noise, making them an excellent choice for anyone whose job takes them to the air. Even if you’re just a casual commuter, the headphones attenuate subway hums and chatter well too. The sound signature is tuned to please the general commuter, but isn’t accurate enough to please audiophiles. Bass frequencies are amplified and, in some instances, sound twice as loud as harmonic resonances that are important to how we perceive musical clarity.

There are few drawbacks to getting the Sony WH-1000XM3, and we reckon they’re the best headphones for conference calls due to their solid vocal reproduction and comfort. Sure, mic performance could be better when outdoors, but most of us don’t take our professional calls to busy city streets.

What you should know about aptX Bluetooth headphones

What makes a good headset microphone?

The obvious answer is a headset with a dedicated boom mic like the Plantronics Voyager Focus UC or the V-Moda Crossfade 2 Wireless Codex with its proprietary BoomPro attachment. The main benefit to having an external microphone is that it more effectively mitigates the proximity effect. This way, your voice won’t be unevenly amplified across the frequency spectrum. When irregular emphasis does occur, your voice sounds unnatural and could be considered “echoey” or “distant.”

If you opt for one of the more versatile headsets without an integrated boom mic, the quality will still be good but there are some things to be aware of: clothing may rub against the microphones and transmit an irritating crinkle sound to the person on the other end of a call. An easy way to fix this is to forgo your style inclinations and un-popping your collar. It’s also good practice to be aware of hoods that could do the same thing.

What’s more, make sure you’re placing the left ear cup on your left ear and the right cup on your right. It sounds silly but if you’re in a rush, there’s a good chance for you to accidentally flip the directions here. Wearing the headphones incorrectly can have a huge negative impact on microphone quality, since the mics operate under the assumption that users wear them the right way.

Even the best headset mics won’t blow you away

Headsets rarely have passable microphone, making every listed pair of headphones for conference calls an exception to the rule. Even though there are some great options highlighted, the fact remains that microphone quality won’t compare to a dedicated XLR or even USB mic.

There are a few things we prioritized when picking out headphones for conference calls. Although background attenuation is important, and all picks perform above average in this regard, it’s second to raw microphone quality. Yes, reducing external noise by way of an advanced system is great but if the actual microphone still isn’t up to snuff, it doesn’t matter how well tertiary mics cancel ambient noise.

What’s more, amplification doesn’t always mean better sound quality. There are plenty of headset mic that use loudness as a crutch at the expense of clarity. We made sure to avoid adding those products to the list of headphones for conference calls.

These picks are headphones first, conference call tools second

Although we do have one specific set of professional headphones listed, the fact remains that most of us are looking for a versatile pair of headphones for conference calls, something that does it all well. That’s while most of our top picks are consumer headphones with top-notch mic systems built-in. If you’re looking for more professional, office-oriented headsets, we have some great options in the notable mentions section.

Related: Best gaming headsets with good mics

You may not expect a gaming headset to be a great option for conference calls, but the fact that most models include external microphones makes them ideal candidates for calls. The downside is sometimes, the microphones aren’t removable or the headsets have a specific aesthetic that won’t please most users. However, if you just want good microphone quality in your headphones, a cheap gaming headset will be a good bang for your buck.

To optimize audio quality, get a proper fit

To get the best sound quality during your call, you need to find a proper fit. When external noise permeates your headphones’ barrier, auditory masking occurs. This can result in poor audio clarity and make it difficult to perceive detail from your music or during a call.

When using over-ear headphones, finding a proper fit requires that your ears fit within the ear cups. On-ear headphones are a different story: you want the ear cups to lay flat against your outer ear. This positioning will lessen any chance of background noise masking your music. Bespectacled workers may need to invest in third-party ear pads. SoundGuys recommends velour material as it’s forgiving and still wraps nicely around eyewear arms.

Avoid noise-induced hearing loss

Plenty of people experience what the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) classifies as a normal degree of hearing loss. This happens with exposure to loud sounds over time and age. There are also more specific variants of hearing loss (e.g. sensorineural and conductive hearing loss) that are preventable. With regards to headsets, the easiest way to prevent auditory damage is by keeping volume levels below a dangerous output. It’s unlikely that you’ll crank up the volume to dangerous levels during a conference call, but you may be tempted to do so when listening to music. We encourage you to avoid this and either invest in one of the noise cancelling options or go to great lengths to find a proper fit.

Get the Bose SoundLink On-Ear Wireless for a portable solution

On-ear headphones are rarely recommended here because they usually aren’t as comfortable and don’t fit as well as their over-ear counterparts. The Bose On-Ear SoundLink Wireless is an exception to this rule: these headphones are uniquely lightweight and evenly distribute pressure across the head.

Bose has made a name for itself over the years and it surfaced to the top of the audio brand pile as one of the most reliable, high-quality consumer companies around. The physical buttons are laid out logically and the multifunction button is an easy way to access your virtual assistant be it Google or Siri.

These headphones are great for conference calls because they support multipoint connectivity, so you can connect to two devices simultaneously. If you’re expecting an incoming call, you can keep the SoundLink On-Ear connected to your phone awaiting the call, while you enjoy the YouTube video streaming from your laptop. Microphone quality is excellent as the dual-mic array reduces ambient noise while amplifying the speaker’s voice. This process allows for the clear transmission of vocal frequencies through the headset, and the processing can make volume adjustments on the fly according to your environment and its noise levels.

These headphones let you connect to more than one device at a time.

Sound quality is interesting: the headphones amplify bass notes quite a bit, rendering them 2-4 times louder than midrange frequencies. This is fine for consumer-friendly music but audiophiles won’t be happy. Then again, if you consider yourself an audiophile or general enthusiast, you’re probably looking at other brands like Sennheiser or Audio-Technica instead.

The Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC has great features

Beyerdynamic makes some of the best microphones on the market, so it’s no surprise that its Lagoon ANC headset has made its way to the best headphones for conference calls. Voices of all pitches are relayed loudly and clearly, so long as you’re in a relatively quiet environment. Unfortunately, this is another headset with mics that fall short when outside, but this shouldn’t be an issue for extended conference calls that you’ll take from a home office anyway.

The Beyerdynamic Light-Guide System (LGS) is handy, albeit a bit gimmicky. The LED indicator rings inform you of different things such as batter levels, pairing mode, standby mode, Bluetooth connection status, and more. While user reviews praise this system, I was unfortunately unable to intuit meaning even by the end of my two-week review period.

Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC microphone demo:

Battery life is impeccable and similar to the Sony WH-1000XM3; you get just over 20 hours of playback on a single charge with noise cancelling on high. If you switch to the lower ANC intensity, you’re bound to get even more playtime from a single charge. When you need to top off, just connect the headset to the included USB-C cable.

Although these headphones operate via Bluetooth 4.2, they afford a stable 10-meter wireless range and support a slew of Bluetooth codecs including aptX Low Latency, aptX, and AAC. You can also update the firmware through the Beyerdynamic update hub. It’s a bit of a pain but useful as the company recently improved ANC performance with firmware version 1.1.

Have an iPhone? Get the AirPods Pro

iPhone users should consider the Apple AirPods Pro for their compact build, H1 chip-integration, and noise cancelling properties. Not to mention, the microphone array is among the best of any true wireless earbuds available.

Ever since the nozzle-less AirPods, Apple has impressed us with its mic quality especially when it comes to background noise attenuation. This is the headset to get if you plan to take a lot of calls while outside. Pretty much anyone who uses the AirPods Pro for calls will sound as they do in real life with minimal distortion. You can hear this in Adam’s voice demo below.

Apple AirPods Pro microphone demo:

As far as sound quality goes, the AirPods have a fairly neutral frequency response where it matters from 100Hz-1.5kHz. This is where most instrumental frequencies lie, particularly fundamentals, so most music will sound accurate so long as you’re able to get a proper fit. Apple amplifies most of the treble and upper midrange notes in order to add a greater perceived sense of clarity to your music.

The charging case is compact and compatible with Qi wireless chargers. Whether you’re an iPhone user or Android user, you’ll benefit from the AirPods Pro’s compact size, which is great for people who onebag their way through life. They’re also a great option for travel due to ANC performance. Heck, Apple even throws in a special DSP to optimize noise cancelling if the seal isn’t ideal. Pretty intelligent stuff there, Apple.

Sound professional with the Plantronics Voyager Focus UC headphones for conference calls

Plantronics is a mainstay in offices around the globe, and the Voyager Focus UC is an awesome option for listeners who don’t want to make any compromise in call quality with their portable headset. Plantronics’ noise cancelling technology lets you remain immersed in the conversation, but also lets you move about thanks to the 30-meter wireless range.

The ANC used by Plantronics keeps things natural, so you’re not disoriented by being unable to hear your own voice. Its ANC reduces the inner-ear “pressure effect” that many users complain about from other high-intensity noise cancelling systems. Although some people are unaffected by this high-pressure feeling, it’s great for anyone like me whose ears are pressure-sensitive.

The Plantronics Voyager Focus UC has the best microphone system of the bunch.

Plantronics includes practical features like a dynamic mute system that lets you know when you’re muted and ear-detection sensors that initiate muting when the headset is removed. The external microphone helps to transmit crystal clear audio to anyone on the line while also reducing the proximity effect.

Generally speaking, conference calls sound bad

No matter what headphones for conference calls you’ve decided to run with, the odds are pretty high that your conference call will still sound bad even if you sound good.

There are plenty of reasons for this poor audio quality and transmission, one of them being a consequence of limited bandwidth: dynamic range compression. This processing reduces loud sounds’ volume levels while increasing quieter ones, effectively stripping the unnecessary frequencies from your voice. This is great for efficiency purposes but can make people, especially those with cheap headsets, sound bad. To get a better idea of issues surrounding telecommuting and how you can improve call quality, read on here.

Headphones for conference calls: notable mentions

• Audio-Technica ATH-G1: This headset mimics the design of the company’s other famed headphones. Its boom mic effectively relays nearly ideal audio with little deviation from what’s perceived as normal. Its hypercardioid recording pattern means that just your voice is related through the headset, no background noise.
• Audio-Technica ATH-M50X BT: If you’re looking for no-nonsense Bluetooth headphones that sound great, last forever, and give you the option of wired listening, get these. Microphone quality isn’t perfect but you won’t find much to complain about especially relative to cheaper headsets like the Anker Soundcore Vortex.
• Beats Powerbeats Pro: These true wireless earphones have an uncommonly good mic array for their product type, but as they’re true wireless earphones—battery life may be a concern if you’re in meetings all day.
• Beyerdynamic Custom Game: Not only do these cans sound good for gaming, but they can easily be used as a daily desktop headset, affording you two products for one. It includes a cardioid boom microphone that effectively rejects off-axis noise. This is a sturdy headset ready to take on all of your calls. You can even adjust the sound of the headset thanks to the bass-reflex adjustment valves.
• Plantronics Voyager 6200 UC: If you’re looking to cancel out the office air conditioner or the din of your daily commute, the Plantronics Voyager 6200 UC can help. Active noise-cancelling easily combats low-pitched frequencies, and as far as sound quality goes, vocals are pleasantly emphasized.

Why you should trust SoundGuys

We strive to educate our readers on the perpetually evolving world of consumer audio. When approaching any audio product, we acknowledge that assessing it requires a combination of objective testing and subjective reflection: not everyone wants a studio sound and that’s just fine. At the end of the day, we want you to be happy with your purchase if one is made. Although SoundGuys does use referral links, none of our writers may benefit from awarding one product over another.