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It's become my custom to bring along two pairs of the latest headphones or earbuds when I have air travel planned -- one pair for my outbound flight and one for my return.

Although I can gauge a pair of headphones' performance on trips to the grocery store or while working in my home office, there's no more authentic testing ground than the most overstimulating place I know: Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Also: I wore 5 different headphones across 8 flights - here's how each pair handled my stress tests (2025)