Best USB-C Headphones

Now more and more smartphone manufacturers are abandoning the 3.5mm headphone jacks, so the market began to offer alternative solutions. What alternatives have emerged exactly? For the most part, the market is crowded with wireless headphones, but there's another option you may not know about - wired headphones with a USB-C plug. And while this segment of the market isn't very developed right now, it's still possible to find some decent products.

Editor's note: This post was updated on March 19, 2020, with information about the miniDSP IL-DSP adapter.

But I must warn you: at this point, there are simply not enough products that can offer a reliable alternative to traditional or Bluetooth headphones. For all its promise, USB-C technology has not been ready to replace the ubiquitous 3.5-millimeter jack.

In addition, there were virtually no new headphone releases with USB-C in 2019, with the exception of branded headphones designed for specific smartphones.

The best budget headphones with USB-C are the OnePlus Bullets

If you're not ready to splurge on headphones, then check out the OnePlus Type-C Bullets. If you try hard, you can find a cheap knockoff, but it is better to buy the original headphones, especially since they only cost $20. The manufacturer has removed a number of "contrived" features (active noise cancellation, etc.), and simply made headphones that sound good.

The OnePlus Type-C Bullets are in-ear headphones with a good fit, a flat cable, and the best sound quality in their price range. For the money, they offer great performance.

Best USB-C Overhead Headphones AiAiAi TMA-2 MFG4

If you don't have anything against overhead headphones, then check out the AiAiAi TMA-2 MFG4, which are currently the best USB-C headphones on the market among overhead models. These headphones are a great deal, although they don't come cheap. The USB-C audio category is painfully slow to add new products, but usually these devices already have a DAC built right into the cable, which is a big advantage.

AiAiAi TMA-2 MFG4 give excellent sound, and fully modular design allows in case of breakage (well, or if you do not like something) to replace absolutely any part of the headphones yourself. Personally, I didn't like the ear cushions, I would have liked them to be bigger. Fortunately, AiAiAi offers to buy modular components in its original store (including large ear cushions there). When USB-C starts being sold separately from the headphones, it can be used with the following models:

• TMA-2 MFG1 Preset.
• TMA-2 MFG2 Preset
• TMA-2 MFG3 Preset
• TMA-2 MFG5 Preset
• TMA-2 MFG6 Preset
• TMA-2 MFG7 Preset
• TMA-2 MFG8 Preset

The device is very handy and works well. The bass that the TMA-2 MFG4 produces doesn't clog up the other frequencies, as many consumer headphones often do, which means that music will sound much clearer. However, that's all assuming you can find the right ear cushions. If you are put off by the overhead design, then don't jump to conclusions, vacuum headphones have their own nuances. For example, they don't always isolate you really well from the sounds of the world around you. If you can't hear the bass, the headphones probably don't fit well. And in order for vacuum headphones to sound good, the music must have a fairly smooth frequency response (all notes must have about the same possible maximum volume). Otherwise, the sound quality falls flat.

This fairly smooth frequency response lends itself well to tuning, in the case of vacuum headphones you have to play around.

This diagram shows what you can expect with a good fit. The bass (pink line) doesn't overwhelm the other frequencies, the midrange (green) emphasizes the bulk of the notes, while the treble (blue) evens out the overall sound. Essentially, it's a really good compromise between a consumer-friendly setup and objectively good sound quality.

If you want to get USB-C and Bluetooth capabilities at the same time, then the TMA-2 MFG4 has no equal in this area. But at the same time, let me remind you that they cost $150, and, in fact, they don't offer any staggering features. However, they work well without a dedicated app, and they work equally well with both Android and Windows devices.

The best of the best Libratone Q Adapt USB-C

Unfortunately, for now, this model makes this list automatically. It simply has no equal on the market at the moment - out of the available options, it's one of the few offerings that meets all of our criteria.

Despite the fact that these headphones have virtually no competitors, the Q Adapt USB-C offers users a number of interesting and useful features. For $149, they offer a feature called CityMix ANC, which allows you to adjust the active noise cancellation (ANC) level to suit your needs. If you want to hear the world around you, you can turn it off or mute it.

Libratone Q Adapt C is definitely a great offering, boasting a really good set of features that clearly took the developer a lot of time and effort to implement. Since they were one of the first members of the Made for Google program, the developer had to seriously sweat the development of their brainchild. They sound really good, there is a balance between all frequencies, so you don't even have to change the settings in the application. Nevertheless, you should not expect any wow effect from the additional features, which influenced the price tag.

As with many quality vacuum headphones, you can use memory foam pads with this model (which I highly recommend you do). Yes, the silicone pads aren't bad either, but I like the foam ones better because these pads have a number of advantages of their own. First, the memory foam is much better at noise-canceling, and the material is more pliable, which makes these tabs fit better.

Razer Hammerhead ANC Headphones with Better Noise Cancellation

Razer is best known for its gaming peripherals, but this company has also released a smartphone that, in case you didn't know, doesn't have a headphone jack. That's why Razer decided to release its own pretty good version of headphones with USB Type-C, called the Hammerhead ANC. While these headphones fall a little short of Bose in terms of active noise cancellation, they still show a great level of noise isolation, especially when used with the Comply Memory Foam pads that come with them. If you want maximum external noise isolation, then the Razer Hammerhead ANC is exactly what you need.

They also boast good build quality and a fabric braided cable that won't get tangled. The headphones offer decent quality and balanced sound. Overall, they are a great option, especially when you consider the fact that they cost less than $100. There is one nuance, however. Each of the headphones has the Razer logo on them, which lights up green when connected to a smartphone. These lighting effects won't appeal to everyone's tastes. But if you like it or you simply do not care, then the Razer Hammerhead ANC is definitely worth your attention. Before you buy, check to see if they are compatible with your smartphone.

Notes:

• Shure RMCE-USB cable with integrated DAC/Amp. If you've already bought something from the Shure line, then check out their Shure RMCE-USB cable, which can turn any headphones from the manufacturer's line into true audio monsters. This cable costs $99 and is compatible with the following models:
• Shure SE215
• Shure SE315
• Shure SE425
• Shure SE535
• Shure SE846
• Google Dongle. If you already have your favorite headphones and you're not ready to give up the 3.5mm jack, then check out Google Dongle. It costs only $12 and allows you to connect regular headphones to your smartphone without a special connector.
• If you're planning to buy a Samsung Galaxy Note 10 or Note 10 Plus, then you're in luck - it comes with headphones with a USB-C plug.

There are no other decent options

That's not to say that all other models are bad, but buying something for the sake of just buying... Well, that's not a good idea. Not everyone likes vacuum headphones (me included), and among the overhead models the choice is very limited. If you decide not to buy headphones with USB-C support, then you have to look for wireless ones. I personally don't like them. All other options on the market at the moment - yes, absolutely all - have serious flaws that prevent me from recommending them for purchase.

I've also been looking for Android compatible USB-C DACs and amplifiers... And the only dongle I really liked was the miniDSP IL-DSP. This device allows you to download your personal equalizer settings for your headphones, and it connects to your smartphone via USB-C. Unfortunately, the miniDSP IL-DSP isn't cheap, because in addition to the $99 device itself, you'll also have to buy $199 worth of special hardware that will allow you to create a DSP profile for whatever headphones you're using. While this is indeed a great solution, it's unlikely that most users will be willing to spend $300 on it.

What about the Google Pixel USB-C headphones?

They look nice enough, yet the Google Pixel USB-C is no better than the regular headphones that usually come with a smartphone.

I noticed them when Google announced them along with their new Pixel 3. Although I had high hopes that Google would give away a good USB-C compatible solution, but no, my expectations were not met. They don't fit well, so they can't provide proper noise isolation, and the weird plastic earmolds can't be replaced with other memory foam ones. They also produce some incomprehensibly muffled sound, you will not wear them for a long time either - after some time painful sensations arise. In general, the headphones are not worthy of our attention.

I also find it very telling that the subsequent Pixel 3a and 3a XL come with headphone jacks and no longer come with USB-C Pixel headphones.

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What can we expect in the near future?

While we were very optimistic to see a lot of USB-C-enabled headphones at CES 2019, they weren't there, and we were terribly disappointed. What's even worse is that headphone jacks have now started to go away on tablets as well, which means we'll soon need USB-C headphones for those as well. At CES 2020, too, we didn't see any new quality headsets with a USB-C connector that consumers might want to buy. It seems that wireless and Bluetooth headphones are "reigning supreme. It seems as if the category of headphones with USB-C support is "dead" and its revival can not be expected yet.

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