Technologies

Best Headphones for 2023: Top Picks for All Styles

Here’s a look at CNET’s current top-rated headphones you can buy right now based on our hands-on testing.

There are so many different styles of headphones out there that it really depends on the person when deciding what the best headphones for 2023 are. However, the audio experts at CNET are here to help you narrow down the list as they’ve either fully reviewed or spent bounteous amounts of hands-on time with every pair of headphones you see on this page.

With so many headphone and earbuds options available, we’ve had to create a number of best lists here at CNET to cover all the various model types and use-case scenarios. For this list, I’ve taken the best of the best headphones from several categories, including wired and wireless (that includes true-wireless earbuds) and distilled that information into a top overall headphones list. We either fully reviewed or had hands-on time with every model on the list.

While many of the headphones on the list are premium models that cost a lot of money, we also like to highlight headphones that are a good value. These more affordable models can still deliver excellent quality at a good price. Regardless of budget or use case, this list will help you find the best headphones for you. As new top headphones are released, we’ll update this list.

Read more: Best Wireless Earbuds for 2023

More headphone recommendations

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 8 #676

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Jan. 8, No. 676.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle was almost impossible for me, because it’s all focused on a certain TV show that I have never watched and barely know anything about. (Its fourth season premieres today, if you want to check it out.) If you’re like me, you need hints and answers, so read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: That’s just reality (TV)

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Show with plenty of trickery.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

SIDE, HIDE, START, TART, FAITH, TENS, BANS, FATE, SILT, CAST, TRAIT

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

CASTLE, SHIELD, MISSION, FAITHFUL, BANISHMENT

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is THETRAITORS. To find it, start with the T that’s three letters down on the far-left row, and wind across and then down.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Jan. 8, #472

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Jan. 8, No. 472.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition was a bit of a stumper, though if you recognize famous-athlete names, you might get the purple category right away. And you might have never heard of the blue category topic. (That link is a big spoiler.) If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Sports in our nation’s capital.

Green group hint: Got any Band-Aids?

Blue group hint: Certain basketball league.

Purple group hint: Same first name.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: A DC athlete.

Green group: Supplies for an athletic trainer.

Blue group: Unrivaled teams.

Purple group: Jerry ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is a DC athlete. The four answers are Capital, Commander, Mystic and Wizard.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is supplies for an athletic trainer. The four answers are bandages, ice pack, scissors and tape.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Unrivaled teams. The four answers are Breeze, Laces, Phantom and Vinyl.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Jerry ____. The four answers are Lucas, Rice, Stackhouse and West.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, Jan. 8

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 8.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? I found 6-Across to be especially tricky. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.