Checklist

If you are thinking of buying wireless headphones, here's what to consider.

How they work

Wireless audio is transmitted from the source and then picked up by a receiver built into the headphones. Wireless headphones use different methods to receive audio signals – and some are better than others.

• Infra-red (IR) headphones tend to have the lowest range and audio quality degrades significantly if there isn’t a clear line of sight between the source and the headphones.
• Radio frequency (RF) headphones use either digital FM (2.4GHz) or analogue FM 900MHz frequencies. These can have a range of up to 100 metres but walls and obstacles can reduce their reception quality. Some older cordless phones use these frequencies and can cause interference. If your phone has a DECT label on it, you won’t suffer any interference as these phones work on a different frequency (1.8MHz).
• Bluetooth headphones can be used with most devices that have bluetooth such as smartphones, computers and tablets. Audio from TV and stereo systems that don’t have bluetooth can be transmitted using a bluetooth dongle. The dongle is plugged into the 3.5mm headphone socket of the source device and then broadcasts the output in a form the headphones can pick up. The terms A2DP or AVRCP in the bluetooth specs of your source device tell you whether your music player, phone, computer, or TV can be used without a dongle.

Headphone type

The two varieties of headphones are “on-ear” which sits on top of the ear, and “over-ear” which fully enclose the ear. Over-ear headphones are better at blocking out surrounding noise and they let less of the audio escape – so you won’t disturb others in the room.

Transmitter type

Make sure the headphones you’re considering will work with the devices you want and have the range you need.

Charging dock

This is a convenient feature that recharges the headphones when they are placed on the base.

Battery type

Most models come with rechargeable batteries and a base station or charging dock that recharges the headphones. Otherwise you can buy either rechargeable or non-rechargeable AAA batteries.

Multiple channels

If two people are using wireless headphones with different devices (such as with a TV in one room and a computer in another), headphones with multiple channels can be set to different frequencies and so won’t interfere with each other.

Comfort

The headphones in our test ranged in weight from around 100 grams to over 300 grams. We also found some models aren’t suitable for small heads because their minimum adjustment isn’t small enough. Tip: Always try on the headphones before buying.