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This content originally appeared on Mashable for a US audience and has been adapted for the UK audience.<\/em><\/p>\n Watching TV is an all-timer hobby. Who doesn’t love a good binge in front of the box? There’s nothing better than a night on the sofa with your latest Netflix obsession.<\/p>\n But there are distractions everywhere \u2014 even in your home \u2014 which can interrupt your TV enjoyment. On the flip side of that, you might have housemates who get disturbed by your late night bingeing. Or perhaps you’re hearing impaired and need some help listening to dialogue? If any of those sound familiar, we recommend investing in a good pair of headphones<\/a> for watching TV.<\/p>\n Wireless headphones<\/a> will make it easier to fully immerse into a show or movie \u2014 and without bothering people around you. If you need help choosing the best pair for you, here’s some useful information and a selection of the best headset options.<\/p>\n Reasons for having headphones for the TV can vary. As we’ve already outlined, viewers may be hard of hearing, or may live in busy households. But, not only that, in this day and age of everyone having different devices \u2014 often in the same room \u2014 it just makes sense to have good headphones. Even if you’re not using them all the time. And, hey, there’s always the option of getting a pair that double up for TV and everyday use.<\/p>\n Sound is important when you\u2019re buying any pair of headphones, but if you\u2019re buying specifically for watching TV, you’ll need to consider the sort of things you\u2019ll be watching. Will you need heavy bass for the rumbling carnage of action movies? Or nuanced detail for quieter, emotionally-charged moments? Or maybe all-round, un-fussy performance for casually watching sport and comedy? Also consider headphones with noise cancelling technology. And wireless headphones are probably best \u2014 if you\u2019re relaxing in front of the TV, you don\u2019t want to actually be wired into it. In fact, check out the wireless range too, in case you like to move around your home while you’re still connected to the TV audio.<\/p>\n Most wireless headphones are Bluetooth-enabled. Bluetooth is now the standard technology for syncing your headphones to a smart device. While Bluetooth is a good option for podcasts or music on your smartphone or laptop, it’s not necessarily the best tech for wirelessly watching TV. Bluetooth sometimes creates a lag between the action on-screen and the sound in your headphones, which puts the picture and audio slightly out of sync. Believe it or not, headphones that use old school radio frequency technology (RF) are sometimes better for watching TV because lag or latency is almost non-existent, ensuring that the picture and audio are virtually seamless. This doesn\u2019t mean there are no <\/em>good Bluetooth options out there \u2014 there are great Bluetooth headphones that use codecs but minimise latency \u2014 but it’s something to consider.<\/p>\n If you do want to buy a Bluetooth-enabled set of headphones<\/a>, check out which codecs they support. These encode and decode digital audio signals. Codecs decode at a specific bitrate, which determines whether the headphones have a high or low latency (AKA lag), which is measured in milliseconds. High latency means your picture and sound may be out of sync. Look out for headphones with low latency that support Qaulcomm\u2019s aptX codecs, such as aptX Adaptive, which are generally rated as the best codecs for streaming video content or hooking up to a TV. <\/p>\n Ultimately, it\u2019s down to personal preference (or how noisy your home is!) but if you want to totally immerse yourself in a movie or show, noise cancelling headphones will shut you off from the outside world and put you right at the middle of the action. There are two kinds of noise cancellation \u2014 passive and active. Passive noise cancellation is achieved by the build of the headphones, which physically blocks out noise. Active noise cancellation (ANC) uses a system of small microphones that pick up incoming sounds and create anti-noise sound waves to cancel them out.<\/p>\n If that seems like a lot of information to take in, don\u2019t worry. We’ve scoured the product listings and online reviews, and we’ve come up with a list of headphones for watching TV, including devices from top brands such as Sony<\/a> and Sennheiser. There’s something for everyone and every budget. Take your time to consider everything on the list and weigh up these choices against your TV watching habits.<\/p>\n These are the best wireless headphones for watching TV in 2025.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nDo you need headphones for watching TV? <\/h2>\n
What makes headphones good for watching TV?<\/h2>\n
What\u2019s best, Bluetooth or radio frequency technology?<\/h2>\n
What are Bluetooth codecs? <\/h2>\n
Do you need noise cancelling headphones to watch TV?<\/h2>\n
What are the best headphones for watching TV?<\/h2>\n