Best Bluetooth multipoint headphones

Once you’ve tried multipoint connectivity on a pair of headphones, it’s hard to live without it. The convenience of being able to switch between devices seamlessly is a perk of Bluetooth technology. With many options to choose from, from headphones with active noise cancelling (ANC), to earbuds, to some more budget-friendly picks, we present some of the best Bluetooth multipoint headphones to choose from.

Editor’s note: this list was published in August 2022, and is the first version of the article. Updates will follow as the market changes.

Why is the Sony WH-1000XM5 the best pair of Bluetooth multipoint headphones?

Anyone looking for the best of the best should look no further than the Sony WH-1000XM5. This is one of the best headsets you can buy, and the WH-1000XM5 improves upon its predecessors in many ways but retains Bluetooth multipoint. This headset features top-tier active noise cancelling, an enjoyable sound profile, and a stellar microphone. At $399 USD, it’s certainly expensive. If you’re tight on cash, you should probably look elsewhere.

The WH-1000XM5 has extremely effective low-end noise cancelling capabilities. It also happens to have some of the best noise suppressing microphones you’ll find in a pair of headphones, making wind and street sounds nearly inaudible when you’re on a phone call. It also has a long battery life of 31 hours, 53 minutes with ANC on in our standardized battery testing. This headset will take you from your morning routine to your commute to work and all the way back, easily switching between your devices using Bluetooth multipoint.

The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 has the best design

Bose is a leader in noise cancelling technology, and this headset won’t disappoint with its ANC or its other features. Minimalist design enthusiasts will love the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 (aka NCH 700), which features excellent sound quality, standout ANC, and Bluetooth multipoint. It’s still a pricey choice at $379 USD, but that’s a price worth paying for a product like this.

The NCH 700 is also IPX4 water-resistant, which is not too common in over-ear headphones. This way you can be sure that your headset will last through your commute in light rain or from any accidental light splashes you may encounter daily life.

For plenty of connectivity options, opt for the Shure AONIC 50

The Shure AONIC 50 has you covered with support for more Bluetooth codecs than you can shake a stick at. This headset also has effective ANC and isolation, and with Shure being Shure, it sounds great too. With wonderful features all around, so many Bluetooth codec options, and Bluetooth multipoint, this headset is worth every cent of the $399 USD it costs, though you can find it for as little as $249 USD.

The Shure AONIC 50 supports the SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, aptX Low Latency, and LDAC codecs. You also get the wired connectivity options of using a 2.5mm to 3.5mm headphone cable or USB-C passthrough, so this headset will work with a wide variety of devices to ensure quality audio all the time. The ShurePlus PLAY app also works on any phone to allow you to adjust the EQ to your liking, so your music always sounds just how you want it.

The Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT2 has a studio-friendly sound

Audio-Technica is a well-loved company for studio headphones. The ATH-M50xBT2 frequency response can appeal to people with versatile music tastes who don’t necessarily want the bass boost found in a lot of consumer headphones. Combine the sound quality with LDAC support, Bluetooth multipoint, and an advanced microphone system for calls, and you have yourself a competent jack-of-all-trades headset that costs less than $200 USD.

Another feature of the ATH-M50xBT2 is the battery life, which is a staggeringly long 64 hours, 51 minutes. This long battery life along with its wired connection option makes it a surprisingly eco-friendly headset. It also has fast charging abilities, with just 10 minutes of charging time gaining you 180 minutes of battery life. However, if you’re looking for significant passive isolation or any active noise cancelling, this won’t be the headset for you.

Prefer earbuds? Check out the Jabra Elite 7 Pro

If you’re looking for noise cancelling earbuds with Bluetooth multipoint, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro has that and so much more. The Elite 7 Pro supports HearThrough so you can hear your surroundings when you don’t want ANC on. You also get wireless and fast charging and IP57 water and dust resistance, all in a well-designed pair of earbuds. It’s a solid option for athletes or commuters who want to bring their earbuds wherever they go.

The Jabra Sound+ app allows you to adjust ANC and HearThrough levels, locate lost earbuds with Find My Jabra, adjust your EQ manually, or even do a hearing test that gives you an EQ customized to your hearing abilities. For $199 USD, this premium pair of earbuds is a smart purchase.

The Bose QuietComfort 45 has excellent ANC, it has Bluetooth multipoint, and it’s a very comfortable headset (hence QuietComfort). On the surface, it seems wonderful but for the price of $329 USD, you can get better headsets with fewer issues.

And there really are some notable issues with the QC 45. You can’t turn off ANC, and the frequency response boosts treble to a level that makes some older songs with poor mixing sound pretty bad. Newer songs with more vocal-heavy mixing and podcasts can sound totally fine, but if you like older punk music or otherwise badly mixed music, you might find it sounds pretty bad through the QC 45. Get this headset if you don’t plan on venturing into a DIY music scene and just want a comfortable pair of headphones with ANC.

The Jabra Elite 45h is a solid sub-$100 USD headset, with 54 hours of battery life, a  microphone for calls, Bluetooth multipoint, and an app for changing the EQ to your liking. And while it doesn’t have an official IP rating, Jabra has a two-year warranty for rain and dust damage if anything bad happens to them.

However, there are some downsides. The Jabra Elite 45h is an on-ear headset, so it doesn’t provide much in the way of isolation, and the feeling of the earpads pressing down on your ears can be uncomfortable after some time, especially if you wear glasses. The frequency response also swings very bassy, which can be good for some, but not ideal for most. If you don’t wear glasses and like bass a lot, this might be a reasonable headset for you.

While the Sony WH-CH710N can’t dethrone its more expensive counterparts like the Sony WH-1000XM5 or Bose NCH 700, it does the job well for a $149 USD headset. It’s comfortable, has satisfactory noise cancelling, Bluetooth multipoint, and a battery life of 35 hours, 41 minutes with ANC on. It also has quick charging, so you can get 60 minutes of playback from just 10 minutes of charging.

While the frequency response isn’t perfect, the Sony WH-CH710N still sounds really nice and has a bit of a bass emphasis. The microphone is just alright, but it’ll suffice for phone calls. It also has a bit of a cheaper build quality, and surprisingly doesn’t support LDAC, despite the codec being made by Sony. If you’re looking for multipoint and ANC at a cheap price point, these might be worth getting, especially when they’re on sale.

• Anker SoundCore Liberty 3 Pro: With LDAC support, multipoint, EQ and ANC customization, and lots of ear tips to choose from, the SoundCore Liberty 3 Pro is feature-packed. It isn’t really the best at anything it does, but it sure does a lot and affords flexibility.
• Bose QuietComfort 35 II: The QC 35 II is super comfortable and has noise cancelling, though it’s little behind the times at the time of its release compared to top competitors. It has a sound profile very close to our consumer curve, though you can’t adjust the EQ in the Bose Connect app, unfortunately.
• Jabra Elite 85h: You can pair up to eight devices with the Elite 85h, which is extremely convenient. It also has a long battery life of 34 hours, 35 minutes, and an enjoyable sound profile. The ANC is lacking, so don’t get this if that’s important to you.
• Microsoft Surface Headphones 2: The Surface Headphones 2 has amazing multipoint performance, seamlessly switching between devices so fast it’s hardly noticeable. It also has aptX support, so Android users have a higher quality Bluetooth codec to use. The Surface Headphones 2 also has ANC, though it’s not the best.
• Sennheiser MOMENTUM 3 Wireless: The MOMENTUM 3 Wireless supports various Bluetooth codecs, from the basic SBC and AAC to higher quality aptX, aptX HD, and aptX Low Latency. The sound profile is also quite nice, and the ANC is nice too. It’s not the best pair of headphones at its $399 USD price tag, but it has some nice features that could make it right for you.
• Sennheiser PXC 550-II: With aptX and aptX LL support, multipoint, a pleasing sound profile, and excellent ANC for its price, the Sennheiser PXC 550-II is a perfect headset for anyone with a tight under-$200 USD budget.
• Shure AONIC 40: The AONIC 40 is much like the much-loved Shure AONIC 50, but with fewer frills. It supports the SBC, AAC, and aptX codecs, trimmed down from the plethora of codecs the AONIC 50 supports, and has less effective ANC performance, but it’s still a nice headset with an extended 36-hour battery life.
• Sony WH-1000XM4: The much-loved Sony WH-1000XM4 has excellent ANC, an enjoyable sound profile that you can customize, and lovely features like multipoint, touch-sensitive ear cups for controls, and a sensor in the left ear cup for auto-pause/play.
• V-MODA Crossfade 2 Wireless Codex Edition: If you want to throw your headset down a cliff and watch it survive, get the V-MODA Crossfade 2 Wireless Codex Edition. It can withstand being crushed flat at least 10 times, and it’s fully customizable. On top of that, it has a sound profile that will please most people.

What you should know about the best Bluetooth multipoint headphones

Bluetooth multipoint headphones are still fairly hard to come by, but if you like to multi-task, it’s well worth the hunt. Read on to learn all about multipoint connectivity and why it matters.

Bluetooth multipoint is a feature that allows a Bluetooth headset to be connected to two or more sources simultaneously, allowing for quick switching between devices. However, there can be limitations, like the fact that most headsets only support multipoint between two devices at once, and you can’t necessarily get audio input from two different places at once. Moreover, some devices only support multipoint connectivity over the AAC codec, like the Sony WH-1000XM4.

Regardless of the limitations of multipoint, it’s a very convenient feature that allows you to answer calls from your phone quickly from your headset while you’re working on your computer, for example. It’s a must-have feature for work headphones. For a more in-depth explainer on multipoint, check out our article all about it.

Multipoint is great for professionals who work on their computer and need to monitor their phone—it can be tough to hear if you have headphones with noise cancelling. It’s also helpful if you’re watching a movie but need to be able to answer the phone for any reason, or you just want to be more aware of your devices and who might be trying to contact you.

Bluetooth codecs encode and decode audio data from your device to your ears, and different codecs do that with different transfer rates, which is how much data is transferred per second. Also relevant is the sample rate of your music, or the amount of data in an audio file per second, and bit-depth, or how much data is encoded in each sample. Higher transfer rates equate to better quality audio, as long as your audio files are higher quality too.

The baseline of audio codecs is the SBC codec, which is perfectly fine for most use cases. Other codecs include AAC, another compressed lossy codec, and higher quality codecs like aptX and LDAC. For more information on Bluetooth codecs, check out our article about understanding Bluetooth codecs.

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