If you’re serious about getting your sweat on at the gym, then you surely know by now that no workout routine is complete without a barrage of uptempo songs to keep you going as you sweat it out. Music is scientifically proven to increase your attitude and motivate you to stick to your workout and fitness routines.
One of the most important pieces of equipment at the gym isn’t the dumbbells or your yoga mat. It’s your headphones! Today, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the best over ear headphones on the market.
Our #1 Pick Plantronics BackBeat FIT 500
Our #2 Pick RunPhones Classic
Our #3 Pick Mpow 059 Bluetooth Headphones
Our #4 Pick SOUL Electronics X-TRA
Our #5 Pick Tundra Bluetooth Sports Headband
What To Look For When Buying Over Ear Headphones For Working Out
While some may opt for “earbud” style headphones during a workout due to their lighter weight and overall smaller design, some may simply find the whole earbud experience far too intrusive to feel comfortable to deal with for a prolonged amount of time. Fortunately, manufacturers have caught on to this and many have taken things back to the drawing board in terms of design to ensure you the utmost comfort while working out.
One of the key things we’ll be looking at during our reviews is how easy each pair will be to clean and how resistant they are to build up of grime. There’s no escaping the fact that after a long grueling workout, there’s gonna be a lot of sweat dripping. Aside from the hygiene issue, we’ll also need to make sure the pair you pick is even capable of operating normally after coming into contact with sweat, and in some cases, rainwater.
Finally, we’ll be looking at overall comfort. Considering most workout routines involve plenty of movement, you’re going to need something that can stay in play without the risk of them falling off mid-workout.
Are They Waterproof?
This will play a big part in the decision-making process. Since you’re likely to be going to heavily sweat during a workout you’re going to want to make sure they are sweat resistant as a minimum. Most of the products on the list will cover you against this and many should even also cover against light rain showers if you plan to take your workout outdoors in the rain.
You may have heard terms such as “IPX4 rated” etc. before. Many manufacturers use something called an “IP” rating for gauge how waterproof their devices are. Unfortunately, getting this rating requires rigorous testing with extremely specific requirements, making it quite difficult to obtain for over ear headphones. Since there are many ingress points for water to get in, most of the manufacturers in this list have opted for internal testing which focuses on things that matter most to their target audience, in this case, fitness fanatics. This helps keeps costs down as they don’t need to over manufacture the headphones just to get this rating.
Connectivity
Connectivity will also play an important factor in your decision making. Ideally, you’re going to want something wireless if you want maximum freedom. That said, there are a few downsides to going wireless. The obvious downside being that you’ll have to keep them charged and even though the average battery lasts around 8-12 hours, if you’re looking for a pair which you can just leave in your bag and forget about or a pair you plan on leaving at the gym, then this may be something to look out for.
If you do go down the wired route, pay special attention to the connection ports available. If you’re an iPhone owner, you’re probably well aware by now that you will likely need an adapter to plug in a standard 3.5mm pair of headphones.
Sweat It Out
When picking a good pair of headphones for your workouts, we’ll be paying close attention to just how susceptible they are to build up of grime and dirt. We want to avoid small crevasses and porous material as that could harbor nasty germs and cause hygiene issues.
A well-designed pair of workout headphones will feature earpads which can be wiped clean and not feature any material that could easily absorb the sweat and dirt that result from a heavy workout session.
Our Top Picks In The Best Over Ear Headphones For Working Out Category
Our #1 Pick Plantronics BackBeat FIT 500
COST
QUALITY
OUR VERDICT
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✓ Sweat Resistant
✓ Wipe Clean Earpads
✓ Lightweight
✓ Wireless & Wireless
✘ Price
If you’re serious about working out then these headphones are the perfect choice. They offer a lightweight yet snug, sweat-resistant design with fantastic audio quality. They are built with quality materials which are resistant to sweat and grime buildup making them the perfect match. The fact that they offer both wired and wireless connectivity is a huge bonus too. If you happen to forget to charge them, then you can always rely on a trusty aux cable to back you.
While they do come at a premium price wise, it’s certainly a worthwhile investment. Users are extremely satisfied with the overall quality these headphones provide and they are one of the very few over ear options on the market truly dedicated to providing comfort during heavy workouts. These headphones provide fantastic audio quality and could easily double as your daily driver when you’re not working out too.
For that reason, this is our top pick without doubt.
Our #2 Pick RunPhones Classic
COST
QUALITY
OUR VERDICT
✓ Headband Style
✓ Choice of colors and sizes
✓ Machine Washable
✘ Susceptible to Sweat buildup
✘ Wired
This over ear offering goes against the grain of usual over ear design by going for a headband style instead. It comes down to personal preference whether you’ll be comfortable with this style or not but it does come with a few major benefits. First of all, it’s machine washable. This means if it gets dirty you can simply toss them in the wash for fresh new headphones during your next workout. They also fit around your ears much more snugly. There’s very little wiggle room which makes them ideal for workouts which involved lots of head movement.
They do come with a few drawbacks, however. Despite the fact they’re machine washable, you’re going to be washing them a LOT. Since the material is porous, naturally its a magnet for sweat and grim. They also aren’t wireless meaning to connect them to your device you’ll have to deal with a trailing wire.
That said, these are definitely the perfect companion for anyone doing a workout with rigorous movement and I would highly recommend them.
Our #3 Pick Mpow 059 Bluetooth Headphones
COST
QUALITY
OUR VERDICT
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✓ Lightweight
✓ Wireless & Wired
✓ Choice of Color
✘ Not officialy sweatproof
The next entry on the list makes the cut due its firm yet lightweight design. While there isn’t anything overly standout about these in terms of features, we like them for a few reasons. Firstly, due to their simple no thrills design and cheap price point but also because a large majority of users have said how satisfied with how comfortably and snugly these fit on your head without causing irritation or unwanted sweat.
While they may not officially have any water resistance, they’ll likely be able to handle light perspiration with no issues and the sound quality and overall design makes these an excellent daily driver for outside the gym making them a great choice for anyone who is not quite ready to commit to a fully fledged pair of workout headphones at the higher price points.
Our #4 Pick SOUL Electronics X-TRA
COST
QUALITY
OUR VERDICT
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✓ Machine Washable Earpads
✓ Long Battery Life
✓ LEDs for late night training
✓ Wireless
✘ Price
✘ No Wired Backup Option
Our next entry is another pair of headphones made with heavy training in mind. One of our favorite features of these headphones is their removable earpads. This means they’re able to feature a much more comfortable fabric style earpad without the concern of sweat build up. They also feature unique LED lights on the side which allows for late night training in the dark and are also sweatproof. Finally, users seems to agree that these have an amazing fit for hard core workouts without the risk of them slipping out of place.
Unfortunately, this thoughtful design does once again come at a premium price wise. If you are serious about your workouts, however, then you may wish to seriously to consider these as your option.
Our #5 Pick Tundra Bluetooth Sports Headband
COST
QUALITY
OUR VERDICT
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✓ Machine Washable
✓ Head Band Design
✓ Wireless
✘ No Sizing Options
✘ Bulky Speaker Design
Finally, we have another “headband” style pair of headphones. These ones are slightly less bulky than the other ones, but you may still notice the speakers protruding around your ears. The machine washable design is always appreciated and headband style may be the perfect solution if you’re looking for something guaranteed to fit securely in place.
Unfortunately, these ones don’t come with a choice of sizing so you’ll have to check the specifications and match those against your own sizing if you’ve had issues with things like hats and headbands etc. in the past.
These do offer a great and reasonably priced alternative for the less hardcore trainers among us though!
Summary
Plantronics BackBeat FIT 500 offer up a pair of headphones which tick all the boxes for anyone serious about their daily workouts. While they do come at a slight premium price wise, it really shows in their overall build quality which focuses on creating a solid pair of headphones that sit comfortably on your head with little movement even during the most intense workouts.