These 3 are my favorite headphones but you can definitely also find something else. I have also written reviews about those best gym headphones below. In order to give you an idea of what actually makes a good headphone for working out, I have put together a list of key specs.
- Comfortable and stable fit
- Resistant to sweat
- Noise isolation
- Durability
- Sound quality
- Battery life (for wireless headphones)
1. It is really important for the best gym headphones to fit you perfectly, almost glued to your head/ears. There is nothing worse than having to readjust them after every set or having to feel them move around during reps.
The feeling of the headphones falling off can completely destroy all focus. If the headphones don’t stay glued to you, they are useless. This is also one of the reasons why most sport headphones have a hook design. I would say that the lighter the headphones the better they are for gym. The heavier earbuds, for example, usually try to fall out.
2. Sweat is the root to all evil when it comes to headphones. It destroys them faster than even the wires can break. If you are taking gym seriously then you will be sweating a lot and if you are planning on spending a lot of money on your headphones, then make sure they are sweat free. Otherwise just go with the cheapest option.
3. Extra noise isolation is a great feature to have. Gym is a place you want to keep focused and not hear what everyone is talking about around you. Earbuds are great when it comes to that. If you are more of an over-ear headphone person then this is kind of unavoidable. Then again, you can always turn up the sound :-). If you want to use them for running outside as well, in the city, then it might not be a good idea to get really isolating headphones. It’s a good idea to hear any car coming. In that case it might be best to check out our article on the best running headphones!
4. If sweat won’t destroy the best gym headphones, then physical wearing on the cable will. For that there are 3 options: wireless, thick cable, replaceable cable. Wireless headphones are the simplest, no wires – no cable to break. Thick cables are great as they can take a lot more wear. Bad thing about them is that they aren’t exactly comfortable as they aren’t exactly flexible. Replaceable cable is something that most high end over-ear headphones have. If the cable should break, then you can just switch it with a new one, without having to buy a whole new headphone.
5. Sound quality is really really important. I don’t personally know anyone who listens to smooth mellow music at the gym. It is always either hard rock or electronic dance music. Both of which are quite demanding. Most cheaper headphones will have over-optimised bass levels. This is perfect for electronic dance music. The best gym headphones listed below, which I have reviewed, are fit for all genres.
6. Wireless headphones are amazing but the downside to them is battery. That is why battery life is really important. You should probably be looking at headphones that will last at least 4-5 hours. I know that you probably won’t be spending no where near that long at the gym, but it is good to have more than necessary. For one, you might forget to charge them before workout. Or you also have to pay in mind that the battery life gets worse after every charging cycle. So the higher the battery life, the longer the wireless headphones will serve you.
Over ears or earbuds for gym
Going with either over ears or earbuds is totally up to you. If you are more into cardio then earbuds are probably the more reasonable choice. Earbuds have also got far better noise isolation, not to mention that they are usually a lot cheaper. The size is also a huge plus as they are a lot easier to carry around.
But I have also seen plenty of people rocking big over ear headphones in the gym so it’s nothing new or unusual. Over ears plus is that they have better sound quality but they are also more expensive because of that.It really comes down to personal preference. I personally use earbuds.
Wired or wireless
Wireless bluetooth headphones are quite new. Are they the best headphones for gym? Of course! No wires means nothing getting stuck between equipment or pulling the headphones off from your head or out of ears. You can also keep your smartphone in a gym bag! Good wireless headphones will have no problem connecting to a smartphone in a bag next to you. There are problems though, they use battery so they need to be charged. Much more expensive than wired. Cheaper wireless headphones often lose connectivity.
Wired headphones are however cheaper and more reliable. If they break then just throw them away and buy a new one. You can get around 8 cheap but good wired headphones for the cost of 1 wireless. Also with wires, you don’t have to worry about running out of battery or losing connectivity.
So wired or wireless. If you want to get wireless headphones for gym then don’t cheap out. They are great, but only the expensive options. Such as the Jaybirds.