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Prices checked on Monday 19 October 2026. Prices and promotions change often, so check the retailer page before you buy.
Whether it’s a taxi ride, an open-plan office or a noisy house during school holidays, good earbuds should do three things: sound decent, block out noise and let people hear you clearly on calls. We’ve picked three true wireless pairs sold in South Africa, at roughly R400, R1,300 and R7,000. All three have active noise cancelling (ANC), because even budget earbuds now offer it. For each, we explain who it suits, what you give up and how the battery and call features compare on paper.
Quick picks
| Tier | Model | ANC | Battery (buds / with case) | Water resistance | Price (19 Oct 2026) | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | soundcore R50i NC | Adaptive ANC | 7 h / 30 h (ANC on) | IP54 | R399 | Takealot |
| Better | Sony WF-C710N | Dual-sensor ANC | 8.5 h / 30 h | Not stated | R1,299 (all colours, Incredible · HiFi Corp) · R2,299 (Takealot) | Incredible · HiFi Corp · Takealot |
| Best | Sony WF-1000XM6 | Adaptive, 4-mic ANC | Not stated in listing | Not stated | R6,999 | Takealot |
Specs come from each Takealot listing and the brands’ descriptions.
Good: soundcore R50i NC
Best for: students, commuters and anyone who wants noise cancelling and long battery life for under R500.
soundcore is Anker’s audio brand. The R50i NC has 960 Takealot reviews averaging 4.7 stars. Takealot sells it itself at R399 in all five colours (black, blue, green, pink and white), with a list price of R699 (R799 for pink).
Pros – Adaptive ANC rated at up to 42 dB of noise reduction, per soundcore. – Long battery life: up to 10 hours per charge with ANC off (7 h with ANC on), or 45 hours with the case (30 h with ANC on), per the listing. – Bluetooth 5.4 multipoint, so it can stay connected to a phone and a laptop at once. – Four microphones with “AI enhancement” for calls, per soundcore. IP54 dust and splash resistance. – 10 minutes of charging gives about 2 hours of playback, per the listing.
Cons – Budget ANC and call quality are hard to judge from specs alone; we haven’t tested them yet. – 12-month warranty. – The phone-stand case is bulkier than a plain case. [Judgement]
Key specs (per listing): adaptive ANC (up to 42 dB) · 10 mm drivers · Bluetooth 5.4 multipoint · 4 mics · IP54 · 7 h / 30 h with ANC on · USB-C · 12-month warranty.
View on Takealot (no affiliate programme)
Better: Sony WF-C710N
Best for: people who want a recognised audio brand with good call features, at a mid-range price.
The WF-C710N is Sony’s mid-range noise-cancelling earbud. Takealot’s promotion has ended, and it now charges R2,299 for every colour (list price R2,499). Incredible and HiFi Corp sell all four colours at R1,299, and Amazon.co.za had the blue version at R1,289. It has 50 Takealot reviews averaging 4.5 stars.
Pros – Dual-sensor digital noise cancelling and an ambient sound mode, per Sony. – “Voice pick-up” technology for clearer calls, per Sony. – Multipoint connection to two devices, and app EQ. – 8.5 hours per charge, or 30 hours with the case, per the listing.
Cons – Takealot now charges R2,299, almost double the R1,299 at Incredible and HiFi Corp, so check where you buy. – The listing doesn’t state an IP rating. [Unverified] – Small 5 mm drivers, per the listing. Whether that matters for sound is something we’d need to test. [Judgement] – 12-month warranty.
Key specs (per listing): dual-sensor ANC · 5 mm drivers · multipoint · DSEE sound enhancement · 8.5 h / 30 h · USB-C · 12-month warranty.
View on Incredible (no affiliate link; R1,299, all colours) · View on HiFi Corp (no affiliate link; R1,299) · View on Amazon.co.za (no affiliate link; blue, R1,289) · View on Takealot (no affiliate programme; R2,299)
Best: Sony WF-1000XM6
Best for: frequent travellers and people who take a lot of calls, and who want Sony’s top noise cancelling on Android or iPhone.
The WF-1000XM6 is Sony’s current flagship earbud. Sony describes a four-microphone noise-cancelling system with its QN3e chip, and a bone-conduction sensor with AI beamforming for calls. Takealot sells it at R6,999 in black or silver. So far it has only four reviews, averaging 4.0 stars, which is too few to read much into.
Pros – Sony’s flagship ANC system: four mics, the QN3e chip and an “Adaptive NC optimiser”, per Sony. – Bone-conduction sensor and AI beamforming to cut background noise on calls, per Sony. – Works equally well with Android and iPhone. [Judgement] – Sold by Takealot, in stock in both colours.
Cons – R6,999 is a big step up, and the listing doesn’t state battery life or an IP rating. [Unverified] – Very few SA buyer reviews yet. – 12-month warranty, per the listing.
Key specs (per listing): adaptive ANC with 4-mic system and QN3e chip · bone-conduction call sensor · Bluetooth · 12-month warranty. Battery and water resistance are not stated.
View on Takealot (no affiliate programme)
Also worth a look
- For iPhone owners: Apple AirPods Pro 3. Apple quotes ANC, IP57 and up to 8 hours of listening with ANC (24 hours with the case), and the listing mentions a heart-rate sensor. It’s R4,899 on Takealot (R5,099 on Amazon.co.za and R5,299 at Incredible), which is cheaper than the Sony, and has 4.7 stars from 183 reviews.
- A cheaper mid-range option: JBL Tune Beam 2 (ANC). It’s R999 on Takealot and has 4.7 stars from 151 reviews. We haven’t checked its full specs.
How to choose wireless earbuds
Noise cancelling: what to expect
ANC works best on steady, low-pitched noise such as engines and air-conditioning. It is less effective against voices and sudden sounds. Fit matters too: try the different ear-tip sizes, because a good seal improves both bass and noise blocking. [Judgement]
Calls
Look for multiple microphones and noise-reduction features for calls. All three picks list them. Specs don’t guarantee how you’ll sound in a taxi or at a busy shopping centre. We haven’t tested call quality yet, and we’ll update this guide when we do.
Battery life
Check the “ANC on” figures, because that’s how most people use them. Budget models often quote the bigger “ANC off” number first.
Multipoint and your phone
Multipoint lets the earbuds stay connected to two devices, such as a phone and a laptop, which is handy if you work from home. Some features work best within one brand, for example Apple features with an iPhone. [Judgement]
Water resistance
For gym or running use, look for an IP rating. IP54 means splash resistant; IP57 means it can survive brief immersion. Where a listing gives no rating, assume it has none.
FAQ
Are cheap noise-cancelling earbuds worth it? They can be. The R399 soundcore R50i NC lists adaptive ANC, four mics and a long battery life. Flagship models usually do better on noise cancelling, calls and sound, but cost far more.
Which earbuds are best for calls? On paper, the Sony WF-1000XM6, with its bone-conduction sensor and AI beamforming. We’ll confirm with hands-on tests.
Do I need an iPhone for AirPods? They work with Android over Bluetooth, but many features are designed for Apple devices. If you use Android, the Sony picks are the more flexible choice. [Judgement]
Why is the same Sony earbud cheaper at some shops? Retailers price colour versions and promotions separately. On 18 October Takealot had the WF-C710N at R1,299 in black or pink and R2,299 in glass blue or white. On 19 October it charged R2,299 for every colour, while Incredible and HiFi Corp had all four colours at R1,299.
What warranty do earbuds come with? All three picks list 12 months. Keep your invoice, and check whether claims go through the retailer or the brand’s local distributor.
How we choose
These picks are research-based. We have not tested these earbuds ourselves yet. We compared specifications from live Takealot listings and brand descriptions, checked prices on 19 October 2026 (including each colour version), and used Takealot customer ratings and review counts as a guide to buyer satisfaction, not as our own verdict. Where a listing leaves out a spec, we say so. When we test a product hands-on, including calls in noisy places, we’ll say so clearly on this page and describe what we measured. Prices, stock and promotions change often; we re-check them each time we update this guide.