Form Factor

As mentioned above, there are different forms of wireless in-ear and over-ear headphones that you can wear for workout. Learning about them is extremely important. If the headphones are uncomfortable or don’t stay snug while you are exercising, it will be a burden for workouts. Imagine holding on to your loose headphones while jogging on the treadmill. That is really a pain in the ass.

Choose IEMs Over Earbuds

Wireless in-ear headphones are a popular choice among fitness fanatics because of their portability and lightness. They come in two forms – IEM and Earbuds.

In-Ear Monitors (IEM) are headphones that have the driver units inserted into your ear canals and stays snug there. IEMs come in with foam or silicone ear tips in different sizes to fit different ears.

Earbuds, on the one hand, sit inside your ears’ concha bowl, the lower cup of your ears right before the canal. Unlike IEM and their replaceable ear tips, they are often one-size-fits-all. Thus, earbuds might fit less snugly and could fall off during workouts more often than IEMs.

Neckband

IEM doesn’t guarantee that the driver units will not slip off. This is why most wireless workout headphones have neckband. If the driver units drop out of the ear, the neckband will make sure the driver unit stay intact around the wearer and he can easily place it back.

The “neckband look” has drawn many criticisms as a fashion faux pas but it served its primary function really well.

Wireless Over-Ear Headphones

Wireless over-ear headphones have ear cups that go over the ear and a headband that supports the headphones on the head. In terms of form factor, the over-ear headphones are more likely to stay snug while the wearer is exercising. This holds true as long as the clamping force is reasonable, else the wearer will experience fatigue.

However, over-ear headphones have their own downside. They are bulkier than in-ear headphones and if the ear pads are not nano-coated, they will get damaged by the sweat.

So Which Form is The Best?

We recommend going for a pair of wireless IEM as a daily driver for workout. IEM is lighter, easier to maintain and has options to upgrade their fit with different ear tips. If you are afraid of misplacing them, you can choose one that comes with a neckband.

Sweat is the kryptonite of wireless workout headphones, and it dictates their durability to a great extent; it’s the ultimate proof test, to say the least. It can debilitate or even completely put headphones out of action in the long run.

According to studies, the average person sweats 0.8 to 1.4 liters (around 27 to 47 oz.) per hour during exercise. That’s a lot of sweat!

IP Rating

This is why it’s ever so important to look at the degree of protection of headphones and understand whether you need water-resistant or waterproof headphones.

The industry uses Ingress Protection (IP) rating to indicate how sweat-proof or water-proof the device is.

Sweat-Proof VS Waterproof

As a rule of thumb, devices need a minimum of IPX4 to be sweat-proof. However, they are not water-proof.

Only devices that are rated IPX7 and IPX8 are water-proof. They are usually nano-coated with hydrophobic properties. If your workout routines involve immersing in the water, I suggest to go all-out and opt for IPX8-rated headphones which basically allows you to soak up to 3 meters (9.8 feet) deep in the water.

You can refer to DSMT’s IP Rating Reference Chart to wrap your head around this grading.

Having great audio codec support is important for wireless headphones. Audio codecs can make and break stable wireless connection and quality audio transmission. Look out for codecs such as AAC, aptX HD, LDAC, etc. These codecs promise higher bitrate transfer and support audio files with higher compression quality.

Battery Life

Like any other wireless electronic devices, the battery life of wireless headphones must be the overriding consideration. It’s the deal-breaker among other factors.

The best Bluetooth headphones can last at least 8 hours, just enough to survive a full day at the gym. The best true wireless headphones can last at least 4 hours.

Many consider 4-6 hours of battery life in true wireless headphones a stumbling block. But it’s actually a pretty decent length of time.

Tiny objects like wireless in-ear headphones can’t accommodate audio drivers and more powerful batteries at the same time. It’s a no-brainer.

In a nutshell, battery power depends on the facility of the battery itself. In the case of on-ear wireless headphones, they have the advantage of a longer battery life because their ear cups can accommodate bigger, more powerful types of a battery as compared to tiny in-ear wireless headphones.

If you’re looking at true wireless headphones, it’s a tradeoff that you have to go along with. Besides, it’s what the nifty charging cases are made for — to offset the limited battery life.

Know that diminishing battery affects the overall performance of most wireless headphones. So if you tend to spend a few hours on your training, 4 hours might weigh on you.

Sound Isolation

Wireless in-ear and on-ear headphones have noise isolation capabilities by design. They can dial ambient noise back a little in some way.

There are wireless headphones that have active noise-canceling to electronically block out the background or ambient noise completely. Gyms are inherently rowdy, so a good pair of noise-canceling wireless headphones would give fitness buffs a head start to be in the zone.

Mic And Controls

The controls of true wireless and on-ear headphones are conveniently placed right on the driver housing or ear cups. The controls of wireless headphones that have wires that connect them are usually placed along the cable.

On-ear and inline controls of wireless headphones allow you to…

• Answer or reject calls
• Adjust volume levels
• Skip, play, and pause music playback
• Trigger voice assistant, if supported

It only makes sense for OEMs to manufacture wireless headphones with on-ear or inline controls to make them user-friendly.

Surprisingly, there are some OEMs of cheap wireless headphones out there that don’t give a damn about what an ergonomic design means. When hunting for wireless workout headphones, do yourself a favor and look for on-ear controls or inline remote control.

Meanwhile, the microphone is discreetly tucked away inside of the driver housing or ear cups or tethers of wireless headphones. But more often than not, the call quality they make is crappy, though everything that relates to sound transmission is a work in progress.

Special Features

Those who are looking for features-packed wireless workout headphones might want to check out these bells and whistles:

Biometric

Biometric headphones keep tabs on your heart rate without needing an external device. All you need is an app to track your progress.

Bone Conduction

Bone-conduction technology, or sound conduction to the ear through the bones of the skull, is slowly gaining traction with consumers. Wireless headphones using bone conduction are mainly used underwater and are essentially practical to steer clear of outside noises. It’s great for doing outdoor activities like running and jogging.

Voice Assistants

Voice assistants such as Apple’s Siri, Alphabet’s Google Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa, and Microsoft’s Cortana are on its way to become a necessity in wireless headphones. If supported, they can help you check your phone’s messages, accept/end a call, search the web, or pull up an app, among other functionalities.

Volume Limiting

It’s so easy for our music to drown out every bit of noise around us. Yet, it can be detrimental and dangerous at worst. Volume-limiting headphones make sure you’re aware of your surrounding by keeping the volume at 85 dB or less.