11 Best Earbuds with Microphone for Calls in Noisy Places (2023)

We’ve tested 192 headphones and their mics. Here we’ll cover:

• The best earbuds with a microphone for clear calls in loud environments
• Microphone tests, so you know what call quality to expect
• Our hands-on experience with each pair

Let’s dig in:

All earbuds on our list are evaluated based on 9 key factors (Sonic9Score).  And the main criteria we looked at to pick the top models is call quality in silent and noisy environment. See our testing and ranking methodology.

First, we want to be honest with you. Earbud microphones are generally pretty bad.

Even expensive models, like Sony WF-1000XM4, promise high-quality calls but deliver a muffled, distorted voice. Loud background noise is another problem. It often turns a clear, audible call into a mess.

So we tested 192 headphones and their call quality in quiet and loud places to figure out which work well.

And here’s our list. The best earbuds for call quality we’ve tested, so you can have clear calls no matter the situation.

So, if you’re looking for earbuds for serious work, this guide is for you.

Let’s start.

Best Earbuds with Microphone

1. Apple AirPods Pro

Apple AirPods Pro are the best earbuds for phone calls we’ve tested. With great performance in loud places, these are our #1 recommendation – Apple AirPods Pro review.

The built-in mics work incredibly well. Active noise canceling, Transparency mode, and overall call quality are excellent. We’re not surprised AirPods Pro are such a huge deal among customers. We tested the call quality in calm and loud environments, and the results are impressive.

Apple AirPods Pro microphone test:

AirPods Pro have a balanced sound quality throughout the frequency range, with minor elevation in the upper midrange to boost vocals.

That is especially important when making voice calls to hear the caller’s voice more clearly.

By pairing them with an Apple device, you enable extra features such as Dolby Atmos, Spatial Audio, Audio Sharing, switching between two devices simultaneously, and ear canal scanning.

The noise cancelling earbuds also have decent battery life and support wireless charging. Sadly, you have to use voice commands to change the volume.

Another highlight is comfort. Many users swear by these as the most comfortable earbuds on the market. Unfortunately, ear tips don’t go very deep, so their stability is only decent.

For clear calls on the go, check the Apple AirPods Pro true wireless earbuds.

Best Earbuds for Phone Calls under $200

2. Jabra Elite 7 Pro

Jabra Elite 7 Pro earbuds offer the best call quality under $200 of all we tested. These offer premium microphone performance – Jabra Elite 7 Pro review.

The Jabra Elite 7 Pro let you have clear and distortion-free phone calls on the go. And it’s also impressive how these handle noisy environments.

While they slightly muffle the voice, it’s still understandable, so you can communicate clearly even on a busy street. You never sound too distorted, even in loud environments.

Jabra Elite 7 Pro microphone test:

Elite 7 Pro have a pretty neutral sound out of the box that you can further improve by using our custom EQ (in the full review). They also have a good soundstage, increasing the listening immersion.

Earbuds sit comfortably in your ears without causing any pressure. They reach deep into your ear canal, ensuring excellent passive noise isolation.

Furthermore, the Jabra+ app offers a ton of features for complete customization. Unfortunately, active noise cancelling isn’t that impressive.

For tons of features and a quality microphone in earbuds under $200, check these.

Best Earbuds for Phone Calls under $150

3. 1MORE Evo

1MORE Evo have the best microphone in earbuds under $150 we’ve tested. These premium earbuds have a perfect combination of active noise cancelling and microphone quality – 1MORE Evo review.

1MORE Evo excel in mic quality. Phone calls sound excellent in a quiet environment (for true wireless buds) with minimal distortion. And noise doesn’t mess it up too badly. It changes the way your voice sounds but keeps it clean and understandable.

Check our test:

1MORE Evo microphone test:

1MORE Evo’s audio quality is good for the most part, but the tuning isn’t very balanced. The SoundID feature inside the app lets you tweak the sound based on your preferences. Read more about it in our review.

Each earbud is equipped with 3 microphones, carefully listening to the outside noise. The result is excellent active noise cancelling performance, rivaling the best in class.

Call quality gets more compressed when speaking in a loud place, but you remain perfectly understandable.

Earbuds come with 6 hours of battery life on a single charge with ANC (or 8 hours with ANC off). The charging case supports fast charging (4 hours in 15 minutes) and Qi wireless charging.

If you prefer beautiful true wireless earbuds with a great microphone, we recommend the 1MORE Evo.

Best Non-In-Ear Earphones with Microphone

4. Apple AirPods 3

If you want a good microphone in earbuds that don’t go in the ear, Apple AirPods 3 are the best we’ve tested – Apple AirPods 3 review.

The call quality is impressive and comparable to the best models out there. AirPods are known for solid mic quality, and the 3rd generation are no different.

You can hold calls in quiet and loud places. When noisy, there’s some distortion at the start of the call, but the earbuds soon reduce it to a minimum. Hear our test below.

Apple AirPods 3 microphone test:

For classic earphones, the sound quality is quite good. Apple AirPods 3 have a full sound with punchy bass, providing an enjoyable experience even for long listening sessions. However, they can sound thin in upper registers.

The design of these true wireless earphones strongly resembles Apple AirPods Pro but without ear tips. That makes them very comfortable and surprisingly stable (although still not suitable for intense workouts).

Earbuds are now water-resistant, sporting an IPX4 rating. Apple users will like the support for the H1 chip, which improves wireless connectivity with macOS and iOS devices.

Furthermore, the battery life has increased over the previous generation, lasting more than 6 hours on a single charge. The charging case holds another 24 hours and supports Qi wireless charging and MagSafe charging. We go into detail in our review.

If you prefer earbuds that don’t go in ears and want to hold clear calls in all situations, AirPods 3 are the ones you want.

Best Microphone Earbuds for Sports

5. Jaybird Vista 2

Jaybird Vista 2 have the best call quality of all sports earbuds we’ve tested. These are fully waterproof and dustproof with a stable fit and punchy sound quality- Jaybird Vista 2 review.

The built-in microphones perform well in both quiet and loud places. On top of that, earbuds offer active noise cancellation and ambient sound mode.

While the call quality is slightly worse than with the models above, it’s the best of any sports earbuds. You can hold calls in a gym during a workout, even if it’s noisy. However, some of the noise is hearable. See the test to see what we’re talking about.

Jaybird Vista 2 microphone test:

Out of the box, the sound profile is smooth and slightly V-shaped. The audio performance is suitable for most music genres, from rock to hip-hop. You can flavor it to your taste inside a companion app.

Vista 2 have a similar design to their predecessor. Only this time, they’ve added a fabric mesh on top of earbud controls and mics.

The mesh provides greater noise reduction wind noise when you have to answer a call outdoors.

Additionally, the true wireless earbuds sport a highly durable build, with an IP68 rating and MIL-STD-810G military standard of durability. Even the case has an IP54 splashproof rating. We go into much more detail in our review.

If you’re looking for sports earbuds with a solid microphone for calls in loud places, check out the Jaybird Vista 2.

Best Earbuds with Boom Microphone

6. Antlion Kimura Duo

Antlion Kimura Duo are the best wired earbuds with a boom microphone we’ve tested. These are perfect for phone calls and gaming with friends – Antlion Kimura Duo review.

These come with an excellent boom microphone. You can bend it in all directions, and it isn’t too long to be distracting.

It offers great clarity for phone calls, with good background noise suppression. You can rest assured others won’t hear any pops of air blowing from your nose. Hear our test below.

Antlion Kimura Duo microphone test:

The Kimura Duo are among the best wired in-ear monitors for gaming. They have excellent sound quality with rich details and strong bass. Despite having a bassy sound signature, they play it with great control, and thanks to a balanced armature driver, they produce detailed treble. We discern the sound in our full review.

Lastly, they’re comfortable and stable thanks to ear hooks. However, it takes some time before you put them in your ears. And they are wired, which isn’t everybody’s cup of tea.

If you’re looking for reliable, great-sounding wired earbuds with a clear boom microphone, get the Antlion Kimura Duo.

Antlion Kimura Solo: These are slightly cheaper earbuds and come with a quality boom microphone like the Kimura Duo. But sound quality is a bit muddy. But if you only need to make phone calls, the Solo do a great job.

Best Microphone Earbuds under $50

7. SoundPEATS Sonic

SoundPEATS Sonic are the best earbuds for phone calls and good sound quality under $50 we’ve tested – SoundPEATS Sonic review.

The SoundPEATS Sonic microphones are more than decent for answering voice calls in all situations. Earbuds pick up a clear voice that’s fully understandable, regardless of the amount of background noise.

Considering these are cheap true wireless earbuds, they have a great built-in mic. Your voice is understandable and pretty clear, even when there’s lots of ambient noise.

Check the SoundPEATS Sonic microphone test:

Now, let’s talk about sound quality. A reasonably balanced sound profile is cut off by a huge boost in the sub-bass. You don’t even hear it in many cases, but the lower bass gets overwhelming in modern music genres.

If you make many calls per day and want your earbud’s battery to last, these are worth checking out. With up to 14 hours on a single charge, they have the longest battery life on this list.

They’re also simple to use and have a reliable Bluetooth 5.2 connection. Unlike many others on the market, Sonic even support a futureproof aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codec and mono mode (so you can use only one earbud).

For versatile budget wireless earbuds under $50 with a solid microphone, get the SoundPEATS Sonic.

Runner-Ups: Models to Consider

8. JBL Reflect Mini NC

9. 1MORE ComfoBuds Mini

10. Skullcandy Push Ultra

11. Skullcandy Dime

How We Tested The Microphone Quality?

We tested the microphones of 192 headphones and earbuds. The way we tested them was by mimicking a phone call by recording our voices in calm and noisy conditions. We believe this is the best way to determine call quality and present it in a way people can understand. Better than any graphs or charts.

Each pair of earbuds in our list comes with a microphone test, first in normal situations without ambient noise, then in a noisy environment. This way, you can compare how the earbuds respond in different situations.

How did we choose the models?

We primarily focused on microphone quality for calls in normal and noisy environments.

Apart from mic quality, we also took into account performance across the board. Altogether, we test earbuds on 9 key points: Sound quality, noise isolation, ANC, battery life, comfort, features, etc. This helps us compare and pick the best-performing models that we can confidently recommend. Read on our testing and scoring methodology.

So, all recommended earbuds have high-quality mics and perform well in other areas. Then we ranked them based on type and price, cheaper towards the bottom.

How to Pick the Best Earbuds with Microphone?

Ask yourself these questions to narrow your search:

Where will I make calls with a mic?

While most earbuds with microphones perform well in quiet places, it’s the loud background noise that makes the biggest difference.

If you plan to make phone calls with earbuds in a noise-free environment (using Microsoft Teams from home), almost all earbuds will do the job.

On the other hand, if you’re often in a noisy environment, like on the streets, public transport, or loud offices, invest in earbuds with a quality microphone.

Do I need quality ANC technology for the mic?

Best earbud microphones built into wireless earbuds use noise-reduction technology to isolate your voice during calls. Qualcomm’s cVc is the most common.

• If you regularly make calls in noisy places, a good noise-cancelling mic will keep your voice understandable.
• If you only need it for calls from home without ambient noise, then you don’t need an ANC microphone.

P.S. Not all cVc microphone earbuds perform great. The algorithm has its limits, as the only thing it does is take the signal and process it. And even the best noise-cancelling technology can’t perform miracles if the mics are bad quality or poorly placed.

How do the earbuds fit?

If you plan to use earbuds for work and video calls, chances are you will be using them for extended periods. Therefore, comfort is essential.

If you can’t test them personally, browse through various reviews to better understand how comfortable earbuds are.

The latter is even more important if you have smaller ears. Truly wireless earbuds can be a bit bulky, so picking the right ones can be a chore.

In general, look for ergonomically shaped and light earbuds, as they usually offer the best fit.

What sound quality do I want?

That can be a bit tricky since there’s no guarantee that the best-sounding earbuds will also have excellent mic quality.

If the main priority is the call quality, make a list of your favorite earbuds with a mic. Then, check what each sounds like and only then decide which one you should buy.

What Makes a Quality Microphone?

A quality microphone can pick up your voice even in challenging situations. The voice must be as full as possible, with as little distortion and artifacts.

To achieve that, built-in mics have to resort to the latest technologies for background noise reduction.

Noise pickup

Earbuds must pick up your voice with clarity so the person on the other side understands you.

Furthermore, microphones must be sensitive enough so that your voice doesn’t appear too quiet. If the mic is quiet and earbuds boost your voice afterward, it can introduce lots of noise and distortion.

Noise reduction

Since microphones also pick up unwanted ambient noise, they must know how to reduce it.

One way of doing that is to use multiple mics. One is facing your mouth to hear your voice better, whereas the other(s) listen to outside noise.

By having both your voice and background noise information, earbuds can filter out unwanted sounds and highlight your speech.

Active noise cancelling technology in microphones

First of all, active noise cancellation technology for phone calls is different than noise canceling technology in headphones.

The latter cancels out more background noise for you, a headphone user, whereas the other blocks ambient noise from your voice so that the caller can hear you better.

It works similarly to regular noise filtering tech, just that this time around, it uses special chips (cVc) to erase everything around you actively.

cVc takes the information from all microphones on earbuds and uses a computer algorithm to isolate your voice.

Does it pick up wind noise?

Wind noise is a big problem for phone calls outdoors. Apart from good active noise cancellation, the manufacturers have to strategically place microphones to reduce the chance of creating wind noise.

Jaybird Vista 2 uses a practical solution. They place a mic under a fabric mesh. Newer earbuds like Sony WF-1000XM4 rely on a software algorithm to cut out wind noise.

Microphone position

True wireless earbuds sit pretty far away from your mouth. That’s why some struggle to keep your voice clean, boosting the volume and introducing unwanted static noise.

No wonder the best wireless earbuds for call quality have a stem to move the mic closer to your mouth.

How Does a Mic Work?

For a basic understanding, a mic catches sound waves and transforms them into an electrical signal.

Of course, that signal is full of unwanted noise, so it has to use tricks to make it sound better.

For calls

To ensure clear call quality, the mic uses various filtering options.

The most basic one uses at least 2 mics. One is picking up your voice, while the other listens to background noise. Mic later filters out what he hears as background noise and only focuses on your voice.

For ANC

A more advanced approach uses a computer algorithm to isolate your voice and cancel out ambiance. It’s called cVc, and is found in most Bluetooth headphones with integrated microphones.

Types of Microphones in Earbuds

For tiny devices such as in-ear headphones, you require tiny microphones. Manufacturers tend to pick between 2 different types: ECM and MEMS.

1. ECM is an older design, which uses slightly more space than MEMS. It’s also more power-hungry and less resistant to noise that’s induced by electronics.

However, it’s the cheapest to manufacture, easily swappable if it stops working, and more resistant to water by design.

2. MEMS, on the other hand, is much smaller and more power-efficient. It’s also more resistant to heat and produces less noise.

That’s why it’s the most common type of microphone in today’s wireless headphones, where every bit of space matters.

Which is Better: ECM or MEMS?

As mentioned before, both have advantages and disadvantages. In general, using MEMS design makes more sense since it’s smaller and more power-efficient.

Models We Considered That Didn’t Make The List:

• Google Pixel Buds Pro: These are recommended on other websites, but their call quality is disappointing. You can hear the mic test in our review.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

This is it for the list. Hopefully, you found our guide and microphone tests useful. We put a lot of effort into giving objective information. So, if you picked earbuds from our list, we’d love to know which ones.