But be warned that using any of these mics is awkward-imagine talking into a tiny piece of plastic that you have to hold up to your mouth-so if you’re going to be on a longer call or video chat, we recommend you grab your mobile device instead.Products featured are independently selected by our editorial team and we may earn a commission from purchases made from our links the retailer may also receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
We also considered whether the adapters charged with a Micro-USB or USB-C cable and made sure they worked while charging. Battery life: We expect these receivers to have at least an eight- to 10-hour battery life so that they can last an entire workday at minimum.We gave extra points to models with an integrated clip for securing the receiver to clothing or a bag strap, but we also tested a few promising models that did not have this clip because they’re designed primarily for use in the car. Design: Because people want to be able to use their headphones on the go, we looked mostly for small, lightweight models.When these controls were included, we considered whether their arrangement on the receiver made sense, and we made sure the buttons functioned as they were supposed to. Button controls: None of the Bluetooth receivers we’ve found let you use the inline remote on many headphones, so we prioritized models with volume and track controls in addition to play/pause/call, but we also tested some models lacking some or all of those controls.The ability to connect wirelessly to two devices at the same time was a nice perk, but not mandatory. Its connection should be strong enough to play audio without frequent skips and pauses, even if you’re charging the source device across the room or have to walk to a nearby room with your headphones on. A Bluetooth headphone adapter should be easy to pair with your device. Reliable wireless connectivity: Listening to music without a wired connection to your device isn’t all that convenient if the connection is unreliable.
You can learn more about Bluetooth codecs and how they affect sound quality here. We were especially interested in testing receivers that support the aptX and AAC codecs, which use better compression methods. The sound quality depends on the receiver’s built-in digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and its other audio circuitry, as well as what audio codecs the device supports.