Headphones

 Headphones designed for runners and athletes are all about staying in place during your activity. Whether it’s cushioned foam holding earbuds in, or clips or bands that can help keep things steady, if your primary use for headphones is sports, you’ll want to be sure they come with the ability to hold them in place. But there are other cool features you can find built right into headphones, including water or sweat resistance, heart rate monitoring, personal coaching, and more.    

Over ear headphones are great for a variety of activities. Whether you’re watching TV, travelling on a plane, commuting on public transit or just trying to block out noise at the office, they can be super helpful. But where do you start when you're shopping for a new pair? There are so many brands, styles and features, so why not let other customers' favourite purchases guide you?

If you are looking for new headphones, there is an unbelievable assortment to choose from. In figuring out which ones are best, you could research lab evaluations and critiques, or compare technical specifications but there are a few problems with doing this. First of all, technical superiority tends to mean “more expensive.” What you really want are the best ones in your price range. Technical specs often aren’t easy to decipher, and usually don’t point to a clear-cut winner, and they can’t account for personal preferences.  After all, there is a personal element to what type of sound people like. So rather than rely on the audiophile experts, who can recite frequency response and impedance statistics, why not rely on the toughest critics of all – other consumers?

For the past week, I’ve been rocking a new accessory on my left wrist – the Jaybird Reign Activity Tracker. Introduced earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Reign goes above and beyond what other activity trackers offer by encouraging balance and prompting those who wear it to improve their habits. It tells you when you need more sleep, when you need to take it easy, and when you are your optimal self, and I recently got a chance to take one for a test drive. Here’s my take after wearing Reign 24/7 for one week.

Bose is a brand that is renowned for its superior sound quality, sleek lines, and almost entirely black, white, and silver product lineup. But with an increasing number of competitors stepping up to the plate to appeal to the mass of consumers who are driven by the visual, Bose has done something unexpected – they’ve introduced a trio of new headphones that deliver the quality audio consumers have come to expect, but in a range of style options for the aesthetic appeal that have come to enjoy. The new players in the market are the FreeStyle™ earbuds, SoundTrue™ on-ear headphones and SoundTrue™ around-ear headphones. 

A few weeks ago I launched myself into a fitness program that makes cross-fit look like a walk in the park with a bunch of puppies. Needless to say, it’s tough. So you can imagine how excited I was when I was asked to review three different pairs of wireless ear buds from Jabra. I mean, if any workout was going to test the limits of headphones, the one I’ve embarked on was definitely going to do the trick.

Shopping for headphones? Everyone wants truly wireless headphones for the ultimate in freedom. That's why we chose Sony 1000XM3 for Day Nine.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine exercising without music. Not only does it motivate me to work harder—especially when certain pop anthems from more than a decade ago come on (like Toxic by Britney Spears … don’t judge me)—but music helps to pass the time and gives me something to concentrate on other than how sweaty I am and how smelly the guy is on the treadmill next to me. I’ll suggest a couple great headphones that can help keep fitness fun for you, and for the people around you.

Chances are you’re too young to remember this, but there was a time when car audio was limited to AM radio or even 8-track tapes. Even today, many new cars ship with a standard entertainment system that doesn’t get much fancier than an in-dash CD player. Fortunately, Best Buy has an entire department dedicated to upgrading your ride with the latest in audio and other high tech gear, including emerging new platforms like Apple’s CarPlay. Whether you want a subwoofer powerful enough to rattle your entire block, Bluetooth handsfree capability, a navigation system, video playback or the ability to use Siri to find a favourite tune, Best Buy has you covered.

I discovered so many amazing gadgets, including VR headsets, tech toys, audio tech, and more at Best Buy's Life and Tech show—come see what I tried!