There are many great headphones and speakers that didn’t make it in, and a ton that may not have even made it on our radar. No other category of consumer technology has so many different variables, let alone wide-ranging price tiers that completely change the argument. Narrowing down the entire year of audio equipment to 10 selections was an experiment in insanity. In all, this list was impossible to make. Wireless headphones and speakers improved to become a legitimate choice, even for those traditionally hard to impress, and there were a slew of great traditional options, as well. Whether it was Bluetooth or Lightning and USB-C, this year brought a variety of ways for users to consume audio, and some great devices resulted. With the iPhone 7 and Moto Z already lacking a 3.5mm headphone jack and more possibly on the horizon, headphone companies offered new solutions to replace the long accepted standard. Thanks to a bit of courage, 2016 was the year that wireless audio came to the forefront.

Top neckband bluetooth headphones 2016