The Best Headphones Unveiled at CES 2023

There were loads of cool headphones at CES 2023; let's see which ones stood out.

The 2023 Consumer Electronics Show has officially wrapped up, and we're left going through the trove of cool gear that launched this year, including the best headphones.

Every year, headphone technology improves; they become better at accurately reproducing music, keeping a steady connection to your devices, and creating a soundproof bubble between you and the outside world. This year, we're rounding up the best headphones at CES 2023.

Of course, it wasn't just cool headphones and earbuds we saw this year. We fell in love with cool new smart lights, top-of-the-line laptops, gaming gear, smartphones, and more. In fact, you can check our Best of CES 2023 MUO Awards to see what we liked most!

That being said, let's get the show on the road and see which are the best headphones we saw at CES 2023.

Topping our list, we have the Urbanista Phoenix. The Phoenix earbuds offer a green way to listen to music. They are the first solar-powered wireless earphones in the world. The charging case recharges every time you expose it to light. Any form of light is suitable for this, although sunlight will be better, obviously. Suddenly, you're free of charging cables! Just remember to pull them out of your pocket every so often.

You can get 32 hours of playtime from the case, which is impressive on its own. The earbuds feature hybrid active noise cancelation, have an IPX4 water resistance rating, and will sit snugly in your ears at all times. These will retail for $149.

We're jumping from the tiny and sleek Phoenix earbuds to the massive Audexe Maxwell gaming headset. Audeze is a brand we particularly enjoyed reviewing around here, and it makes some of the best over-ear headphones you can get, so when we saw the new Maxwell headset, we were super happy about it.

These gaming headphones feature the excellent planar magnetic technology we saw in other models. They're compatible with multiple gaming consoles, including PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, and you can even use them with your computer.

While the Maxwell comes with cables you can plug in, you can go without them since these headphones are wireless. There's a USB-C wireless dongle you can plug into your device anytime.

Otherwise, the headphones come with Bluetooth 5.3, so you can connect them to your Android or iOS smartphone or even your Nintendo Switch. The PlayStation version costs $299, while the Xbox One goes for $329.

Many of us have issues fitting earbuds in, and JLabs wanted to handle this problem. So, at CES 2023, the company unveiled the JBuds Mini true wireless earbuds. These are designed for people with smaller ears who have a hard time wearing models we regularly see on the market.

If you've tried JLabs before, the JBuds Mini are about 50% smaller than their Air model, and the case is small enough to add it to your keyring. Unfortunately, you can't get your hands on these at the time of writing, as they're scheduled to launch sometime in the summer of 2023 for a cool $39.99. While there's no exact release date, once they launch, they'll surely become one of the best cheap wireless headphones you can buy.

JBL is no stranger to CES reveals, and they did not disappoint this year, either. The JBL Tour Pro 2 are cute wireless earbuds that have a charging case with a touchscreen.

That touchscreen case is what makes these buds stand out, allowing you to answer calls, control playback, make equalizer adjustments, enable ANC, and more. While you can still do all these things by touching your earbuds, having a bigger screen you can easily reach to do all of this is excellent. The JBL Tour Pro 2 are already available in certain areas for £220 / AU$350, and they'll become more widely available this spring of 2023 for $249.95.

Coming from HP's subsidiary Poly, we found the Voyager Free 60 at CES 2023. The most remarkable thing about these buds is the fact that they also come with a touchscreen charging case. Not only will you be able to check out the battery levels on the screen, but you'll also adjust the volume and mute the tracks.

The buds come with WindSmart technology, so they're pretty good at blocking distracting background noise. Plus, the adaptive active noise-canceling will ensure you get top-quality phone calls done. The Poly Voyager Free 60 earbuds will become available in March 2023 and start at $299.

Serving the double role of earbuds and hearing aid, the Sennheiser Conversation Clear Plus is an innovative tool for those who have some hearing issues. In 2022, the US Food and Drug Administration ruled that hearing aids can become available over the counter, so tech companies have already pushed some market options.

While Sennheiser isn't explicitly marketing these as OTC hearing aids, the function is as clear as the product's name. The Conversation Clear Plus looks like any earbud we've seen lately, but it offers the option to enhance voices on top of the active noise cancelation and the Ambient Awareness mode.

You can use several presets to customize your hearing experience, including Relax, Communication, and Streaming. The Sennheiser Conversation Clear Plus will be available by the end of January 2023 and retail for $850.

We will have a full year of great sound ahead of us. Whether we're talking about cheaper model earbuds or the large headphones that go all out with the sound, tech companies have created some great products this year.

The Sennheiser Conversation Clear Plus stands out for its hearing aid function, while the Phoenix earbuds are lovely since you rarely need to plug them in if you remember to take the case out of your pocket or bag.

We also feel like the touchscreen case is something we'll see more of from more brands simply because it adds that "something" extra to the market. The touchscreen makes it easier to control music playback when you're not fiddling with the commands on the earbuds and more accessible to see who's calling and answering or rejecting calls without fishing out your phone.

Overall, we're sure that what we've seen at CES 2023 will be the trend for the year. Better noise cancelation, more features, easier charging options, and perhaps a more comfortable fit for everyone.

Gabriela has a degree in Journalism and started her writing career over 16 years ago. She loves writing about all things tech and she's always looking for great deals. When she's not writing, she loves gaming, reading, and - when time allows - painting.