While we love the home theatre experience and would always pick a setup with a quality soundbar when we want the latest Marvel flick or upcoming episodes of Bridgerton to sound their booming best, we also know you don’t always want to dial the volume up to 11.
If you want to stop your neighbours from hearing your TV or keep things quiet while others are sleeping, a pair of headphones that work with your set will be really useful.
Our guide to the best wireless headphones for TV viewing goes through some of the best over-ear and in-ear options — along with those best suited to gaming or watching shows and films from a mobile device like an iPad or phone.
Best wireless headphones for TV
Best TV wireless headphones with ANC for TV and gaming
JBL Quantum TWS
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Best TV wireless headphones for iPad or Apple TV
Apple AirPods Max
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Best TV wireless headphones for iPhone users
Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation)
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Best TV wireless headphones for gaming with a custom fit
Logitech G Fits
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In the past, you’d have had to connect a pair of wired headphones with a very long cable to get audio from your TV set over to the other side of the room. But now, there are several wireless pairs out there that will beam sound over to where you’re sitting on the sofa.
“What about lag and latency?” we hear you ask. We’ve focused on models with low latency here — but most Bluetooth models using modern codecs in 2024 will sync up the audio and video stream to match, so any latency won’t be noticeable on non-real-time content. Thus, you can pick any of our favourite noise-cancelling headphones, budget headphones or AirPods alternatives.
While most video playback apps compensate for latency, we wanted to include several low-latency options that’ll also work just as well for gaming (where latency is crucial) or watching live broadcasts.
How Digital Spy tests wireless headphones for TV
We test headphones out just as you would — although, for this roundup, we focused on using them for gaming and watching shows and movies. For headphones with a wireless dongle, we connected the dongle to our devices — including our Nintendo Switch, iPad and laptop — and we also tested them out with projectors and televisions.
We assessed the design and comfort of the models, as it’s essential that they don’t become irritating to wear if you want to wear headphones for the entirety of Avengers: Endgame.
Our picks for the best wireless headphones for TV viewing below are a mix of our hands-on trials and expert recommendations from our rigorous research.
Pros
- Lightweight and comfortable
- 30 hours of battery
- Subtle Spatial Audio
Cons
- Not all soundbar features are available yet
- Pricey
Type: Over-ear | Battery life: 30 hours with ANC | Weight: 312g
How they connect: Bluetooth
Why we like them: The Sonos Ace headphones deliver impressive audio quality that feels more realistic thanks to Spatial Audio. They're super easy to connect using Bluetooth and you can wear them for hours without any discomfort.
Stylish, modern and lightweight, the Sonos Ace headphones are a great choice for watching TV and movies, and they're a fantastic choice for listening to music too.
The sound quality is crystal clear, the noise-cancelling is rock solid and the Spatial Audio feature keeps the sound in front of you, even if you move your head.
If you own a Sonos soundbar, you can quickly and easily switch the TV audio between the headphones and the soundbar at a press of a button. Plus the upcoming TrueCinema feature delivers surround sound to the headphones by using your soundbar to map out the room. Initially, these features will only be available for Sonos Arc users.
Pros
- Dialogue enhancement
- True wireless design
Cons
- Too expensive
Type: In-ear | Battery life: 15 hours with the transmitter | Weight: 6.37g per earbud
How they connect: TV transmitter (with optical and analogue connections) or Bluetooth
Why we like them: These are the top pick if you’re after a pair of in-ear buds that connect to your TV, as they come with a low-latency transmitter to hook up to your telly via its optical or analogue ports.
These deliver if you’ve had enough of rewinding to catch what everyone’s saying in your favourite shows and movies, or you’re finding that everyone sounds like Bane and the subtitles read “speaking indistinctly” every ten minutes. That’s because these have five levels of speech clarity to enhance any dialogue.
Their “Ambient Awareness” mode is great for staying aware of what’s going on around you.
However, they’re very expensive for the performance they deliver at the standard £349 price.
Pros
- Comfortable
- Low-lag connection
Cons
- Very pricey
Type: Over-ear | Battery life: 18 hours | Weight: 340g
How they connect: TV transmitter (with optical and analogue connections)
Why we like them: Once you’ve connected the multi-functional TV transmitter to either the analogue 3.5mm stereo jack socket or the optical audio port on your telly, these will fling the audio from your TV over to you with zero lag — and they’ll do it over a ridiculous 330-foot line-of-sight range.
These are an excellent pick if you want clarity in your audio, and they’ll make dialogue sound clearer too, with lots of customisation and a noise suppression mode available. They’re comfortable and designed for long-wearing sessions, but they aren’t made to be taken out of the living room. They also lack Bluetooth compatibility.
These are expensive at £349, so if you’re okay with missing out on the noise suppression, balance control and speech clarity modes, we’d take a look at their sibling for an alternative, the £230 Sennheiser RS 175.
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Best TV wireless headphones with ANC for TV and gaming
JBL Quantum TWS
Pros
- Handy low-latency dongle
- Active noise-cancelling
Cons
- Expensive next to the Soundcore VR P10
Type: In-ear | Battery life: 21 hours (5 hours on a single charge) | Weight: 11g per earbud
How they connect: Bluetooth and low-latency 2.4GHz USB-C dongle
Why we like them: As with other gaming buds, the dongle in the case with these JBLs delivers a 2.4GHz low-lag connection. In this case, you’ll get under 50 milliseconds of latency.
This makes them ideal for use with the PlayStation 5 and the Nintendo Switch, and we found them perfect for our adventures around Hyrule in Breath of the Wild. They’re also great for connecting to your iPad or any other USB-C device for a quick connection via the dongle if you don’t want to deal with the fuss of Bluetooth pairing.
We also used a little USB-A adapter and hooked them up to a Nebula projector, which worked perfectly when we watched The Novice on Amazon Freevee. They’ve got six microphones for enhanced call quality, an eight-hour battery life and great ANC. Overall, they’re an ideal versatile package for gamers.
Pros
- Affordable
- Optimised sound for shows and movies
Cons
- Lacking sound customisation
Type: Over-ear | Battery life: 40 hours | Weight: 200g
How they connect: TV transmitter (with optical and analogue connections) or Bluetooth
Why we like them: These are great for a no-fuss plug-and-play solution at a reasonable price. They deliver an audio signature that’s far from what audiophiles would call “balanced” and is much more geared towards your TV and film content, with exaggerated thumping bass to add thrills to action-packed adventures.
As budget-friendly TV headphones, they do lack customisation options — but they still have excellent battery life and won’t disappoint when it comes to ease of use.
While we wouldn’t recommend them for listening to music, and that bass-heavy signature could make some dialogue muddy, they’re overall a great value pair for TV viewing.
Pros
- Excellent sound and noise-cancelling
- Highly comfortable
Cons
- Very expensive
Type: Over-ear | Battery life: 20 hours | Weight: 384.8g
How they connect: Bluetooth
Why we like them: If you watch on your iPad or an Apple TV 4K all the time, Apple’s pricey over-ears are a great option for private listening.
They come at a high cost, but like a lot of other Apple audio gear, they instantly pair with all the devices connected to your iCloud account. Plus, they deliver a gorgeous sound quality and impressive noise-cancelling for use both at home and on the go.
We love using these with an iPad, where they enhanced the sound of every show and movie we threw at them. They’re also brilliant when connected to your Apple TV, and the immersive spatial audio effect that works with content on Disney+, Apple TV+ and Netflix brings an incredible surround sound effect that you can’t get from non-AirPod options.
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Pros
- Simple to use
- Affordable
Cons
- Low battery life
Type: Over-ear | Battery life: 13 hours | Weight: 268g
How they connect: TV transmitter with an analogue connection
Why we like them: This budget option is a good pick if you’re after a cheaper over-ear set to connect to your audio jack and broadcast over an RF signal. They should work for those who have difficulty hearing, allowing them to listen to the TV at their own personal volume while others in the room listen at a different level.
While this will work on many TV models, it’s worth noting that once this transmitter is plugged into your TV using the 3.5mm headphone jack, it may force the TV speakers to mute. This will depend on your TV brand.
The MDR-RF811RK RF are comfortable to wear and have a self-adjusting headband and fabric ear cups. The headphone adapter should provide a 100m range, too — more than anyone needs for watching TV in their living room. These are just for home use, though, as there’s no Bluetooth to use them on the go.
Pros
- Wireless and open-back design
- Wide soundstage
Cons
- Not the most comfortable
Type: On-ear | Battery life: 46 hours | Weight: 188g
How they connect: Bluetooth or with a 3.5mm auxiliary audio cable
Why we like them: Open-back headphones are perfect for a wide soundstage, and we’ve found this Grado pair works well for watching streaming TV and movies from Bluetooth-capable devices.
It’s quite rare to find an open-backed design in the wireless world, as this leaks a lot more sound, which would be noticeable on your commute, for example. For watching at home, though, these are a great option for the job.
They’re a stripped-back pair when it comes to design, and we think you can find more comfort with an over-ear set rather than this on-ear approach.
However, you’ll struggle to find other headphones quite like these, especially if you’d like a spacious sound with some oomph to the bass.
Best TV wireless headphones for iPhone users
Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation)
Pros
- Seamless with Apple devices
- Volume control on earbuds
Cons
- Expensive for Bluetooth earbuds
Type: In-ear | Battery life: 30 hours (6 hours on a single charge) | Weight: 5.3g per bud
How they connect: Bluetooth
Why we like them: Watching TV shows and films on your iPhone or iPad while travelling? You can’t go wrong with these tiny, portable earbuds. The 2nd-generation AirPods Pro offer enhanced noise-cancelling and a personalised spatial audio effect that creates a cinematic surround when you watch multi-channel content — taking 5.1, 7.1 and Dolby Atmos signals and creating a 3D sound environment.
The dynamic head tracking makes it feel like the audio is all around you, and we can confirm that you can really tell the difference when this is on. We watched The Clone Wars, Marvel’s What If…? and Andor and it took them all to another level.
These also offer a wide soundstage that’s perfect for movies and music, and their dinky charging case makes them ideal for trips. When you get home, they connect to your Apple TV just as seamlessly as the larger AirPods Max.
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Pros
- Perfect customised fit
- USB-A and USB-C connection
Cons
- Pricey for the performance
Type: In-ear | Battery life: 15 hours (7 hours on a single charge) | Weight: 7.2g per earbud
How they connect: Bluetooth and low-latency 2.4GHz USB-A dongle, with USB-C adapter
Why we like them: Struggled with getting earbuds to fit in your ears? Logitech has you in mind with its G Fits model, which uses a “molding process” to reshape the tips to fit your exact ear shape.
It takes a minute, works well and makes them unique when compared to rivals. They feel a bit weird heating up while in your ears, but the whole procedure is done in minutes.
Once it’s complete, you can connect the headphones to other devices via Bluetooth as well as via the low-lag USB-A dongle that comes with a USB-C adapter. This makes them a versatile option for PC gamers, those playing on a Nintendo Switch or anyone wanting comfy headphones to use with a laptop that won’t require you to fuss around with Bluetooth too much.
We like the personalised fit, but if that feature isn’t essential for you, we’d still recommend the more affordable Soundcore VR P10 for most gamers.
How do I know if my TV has Bluetooth?
You can listen privately via Bluetooth headphones and, depending on the source, you should experience minimal lag or indiscernible latency.
It’s worth noting that most smart TVs made within the last 15 years will have Bluetooth built in. You should be able to check this by looking at the TV’s specs or the box it came in, by reading the instruction manual or by navigating through the settings menus to locate this feature.
It’ll typically be under the main settings in a “sound” section, and you may find it referred to as connecting an “external wireless speaker”.
If your TV doesn’t have Bluetooth, don’t despair. Several of the options in this list connect via transmitters that broadcast your audio straight from the telly over to your ears.
These send a radio frequency (RF) or infrared (IR) and hook into the audio ports on any TV — either the analogue 3.5mm stereo jack socket or the optical audio port. One major benefit of these is that an RF frequency travels over a much longer range. This is why you’ll see some models on this list claiming a 100m range, which is far more than anyone needs.
What can I do if my TV doesn't have Bluetooth?
It’s worth considering connecting directly to an external device to get your audio over to your headphones. For example, TV streaming devices like the Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Google Chromecast will be able to independently connect to Bluetooth devices. It’s a painless experience that saves you from wading through TV menus, and it means you don’t need to worry about whether your TV has Bluetooth.
Similarly, gamers should connect their headphones directly to their console where possible. Many options offer USB dongles that deliver low-latency connections, with these 2.4GHz adapters offering benefits for sound quality and long-range use, too.
Best TV wireless headphones verdict
Which pair of headphones you buy to watch TV will depend a lot on your current TV set or the device you intend to stream on.
If it has Bluetooth then you have loads of options that you'll be able to use for listening to music when you leave the house too — our top pick is the Sonos Ace because the true-to-life sound is immersive and they're super comfortable, especially if you use it alongside a Sonos Arc soundbar.
For those whose TV doesn't have Bluetooth, or who need low latency for gaming, we recommend the Sennheiser RS195, and the best in-ear option is the Sennheiser TV Clear Set.
Why trust Digital Spy
Digital Spy has been in business for 25 years, with a team of experts across TV, movies and tech – and between us we have plenty of knowledge when it comes to the best way to watch.
Yasmine Crossland, our Tech Ecommerce Editor, has tried out all the best streaming services, been hands-on with many of the top TV brands, used all of the leading streaming devices and she has reviewed hundreds of headphones as well.
