While we would never wear headphones riding outdoors, Zwifters can enjoy tunes or podcasts while we suffer. In fact, apart from getting your smart trainer and display sorted a quality audio setup is arguably the most important part of a truly delightful Zwift experience.
And it’s not just about the quality of what you hear: with more rides using Discord for voice chat a quality microphone is also essential.
In reality, just about any set of Bluetooth earbuds will “do the job.” But in our opinion, it’s worth investing a bit more to boost sound quality, longevity, and ease of use. Here are the top three wireless Bluetooth earbud solutions we recommend.
Share your experience with wireless earbuds on Zwift in the comments section!
Key Considerations
- Battery life/speed of charging: regular use will require weekly charging, so make sure it’s fast and easy.
- Durability: these will be sweated in and tossed around your pain cave a bit.
- Fit: ears are unique. If you can’t test first, buy a set with fit options.
- Sound quality: here you generally get what you pay for.
- Microphone quality: important for Discord and phone use.
Jaybird X3
(~$59USD)
Quality earbuds that won’t break the bank. Also the longest battery life of our top three selections. These are the headphones I most often recommend to Zwifters due to their high price/performance ratio.
Pro tip: if you want earbuds for swimming, check out the Jaybird X4’s which cost more but come with IPX7-rated water resistance (down to 1 meter for 30 minutes) and improved sound quality.
Bose SoundSport Free (~$149USD)
Bose has always been a premium sound solution: never cheap, but always top-notch in terms of build and sound quality. These are truly wireless (no cord between the earbuds) and you can buy them in Zwifty orange!
Pro tip: if you want Bose quality with a cord between the earbuds and a bit more battery life, save $20 and buy the standard Bose SoundSports.
Apple AirPods
(~$155USD)
Like everything Apple, AirPods come at a premium price for a premium experience. Sound and microphone quality get consistently high reviews. The one downside? You aren’t able to customize the fit unless you purchase an accessory kit or buy the pricier AirPods Pro.
Pro tip: AirPods work on Android phones too.
Eric, potentially controversial question for your consideration. Have you ever tried aftershokz aeropex bone induction bluetooth headphones on outdoor rides? I too would not wear headphones during outside rides, but I read about these, bought a pair and have started to use them. I don’t turn the volume up high, and can still hear cars approaching me from behind on roads and faster bikes on trails. But when the road noise is low, I can hear music, which is helpful on longer rides. Also really good for phone and video calls off the bike.
I haven’t personally – I’m not really looking for something to listen to when riding outdoors (silence is golden, as they say). But I have some local buddies who use them and like them.
I use the Aftershokz while Zwifting. I find them more comfortable than earbuds and the microphone works well for Discord.
Michael: Which Aftershokz model are you using? Any issues with the folks on the other end of your chats hearing/understanding what you are saying?
Eric: Are you saying that your friends use Aftershokz with Zwift/Discord and like them, or just that they use them while riding outdoors and like them for that? I am considering a set for Zwift/Discord and am primarily concerned about the mic quality (since most everything seems to have decent sound quality for Zwift/Discord).
My local friends who use them are just wearing them outdoors… so I don’t know how well the mic works for Discord.
I do not use the Aftershokz but several friends I Zwift/Discord with use them. The issue with them is that the mic performance really falls off when you get sweaty. Initially, the mic performance is great but as soon as you sweat, you sound like you are under water.
I would need to be convinced there was ever a safe way to listen whilst cycling on the roads and the benefits outweighed the risks. I learnt the lesson the easy way 30 years ago when as a student I stepped into the road in front of a bike whilst listening to music. It only cost me an apology and the price of a cheap front wheel (a lot for a student). A good friend is currently in hospital (during this pandemic) thanks to a hit and run driver knocking him off his bike. Not directly related, but the risk… Read more »
Hi Eric, had any reviews of people trying to get their Jabra elite sport headphones to sync with Zwift so the heart rate is detected? I’ve bought a pair and assumed Zwift would see them but alas it doesn’t seem to work?
Never heard of anyone even trying that before.It looks like they only “talk” to the Jabra app itself, which means they don’t use a standard heart rate communication protocol. But I could be wrong…
Is this a joke? Apple airpods absolutely don’t get along with discord, it kills the audio quality..
Kills what audio quality? I’m unclear what you’re saying… tons of Zwifters use Discord with Airpods.
I have the charging AirPods and new air pods pro. Using discord on my phone I have been told from others listening that the pros sound terrible and robotic compared to the normal AirPods. Anyone else having issues with the pros?
Landed on this page precisely because when I have the fan on, people really struggle to hear me on Discord when I’m using AirPods Pro, even with all the background noise reduction gubbins on. I was wondering if something more like the mics gym instructors wear might be useful to have when I’m racing in a team and we’re using Discord.
Eric, a noobie question from someone who doesn’t use earphones in real life – do the ones without the connecting wire have a microphone somewhere or do you have to speak into the phone?
The ones without a wire typically have the mic built into one of the earpieces.
Fan noise is the biggest problem I’ve found racing on Discord. After research I’ve gone with a boom mic headset, after researching ‘mics and wind’ I then fitted a DIY fur windshield to cut down the fan noise. Seems to work. No other earbud or over the ear headsets were able to handle wind noise. I found that if they cut out the wind noise, then they also reduced your voice quality a lot.