Bang & Olufsen Cisco 950 True Wireless Noise-Cancelling

The Bang & Olufsen Cisco 950 is an enterprise-grade true wireless earbud with phenomenal call quality, B&O's signature sound, and a tank-like build. ANC and battery life are just okay, and the pricing is all over the map from $400 to over $12,000. It's the ultimate work bud for IT pros and anyone who lives on Webex, but music-first listeners should look at Sony or Bose.

If your workday is a blur of Webex calls, IT tickets, and open-plan noise, the Bang & Olufsen Cisco 950 probably isn't the first true wireless earbud you'd think of. But Cisco and B&O teamed up to build exactly that: an enterprise-focused bud that puts call quality and security front and center. The 9.2mm drivers, Hi-Res Audio, and aptX Adaptive support mean it's no slouch for music, but the star of the show is the six-microphone array with beamforming. In our database, it lands in the 97th percentile for mic performance, meaning it outranks almost everything we've tested for call clarity. The build is equally ridiculous, sitting in the 99th percentile. These things feel like jewelry. They're also IP57 dust- and water-resistant, so a sweaty sprint to the train won't kill them.

For IT teams, the Cisco 950 has some tricks no consumer bud can match: native Webex/UC device management, enterprise-grade security, and remote configuration through Cisco's backend. Multipoint connects to two devices simultaneously, so you can jump from laptop to phone without re-pairing. The companion app lets you tweak sound and controls, though it's more utilitarian than the slick apps you get from Sony or Bose. If you've been hunting for 'true wireless earbuds with UC certification' or 'best earbuds for Webex,' this is literally the one that's built for it.

But before you swipe a corporate card, there's a catch: the price is all over the place. We've seen the Cisco 950 listed from $404 to over $12,000, depending on the bundle and vendor. That spread alone should make you shop around. The lowest price we've tracked is from an authorized reseller at around $404, but many enterprise bundles include dock connectors, extended warranties, or bulk licensing that inflate the sticker. For comparison, the Sony WF-1000XM5 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds live in the $250 to $300 range, and they wipe the floor with the Cisco on active noise canceling. We'll get to that.

Sound-wise, the 950 is pure B&O. The 9.2mm dynamic driver delivers a refined, spacious presentation that landed in the 96th percentile of all earbuds we've measured. There's real texture in the low end, and the treble stays smooth even at high volumes. It's not a bass cannon, but it's balanced enough for podcasts, jazz, and the occasional Friday afternoon playlist. We measured a frequency response from 20Hz to 20kHz with a 32-ohm impedance, so a good dongle DAC or flagship phone can noticeably wake it up if you're using aptX Adaptive. AAC and SBC are there for everything else.

Where the 950 really earns its keep is calls. Those six beamforming mics with noise cancellation slice through background chatter like a hot knife. In a noisy coffee shop test, our voice came through crisp and the barista's blender was reduced to a soft hum. For anyone who spends hours in conference calls, this is the best-in-class mic setup we've heard in a true wireless bud, hitting the 97th percentile. But while the adaptive ANC does a solid job of hushing low-frequency hum, it's not the absolute best. At the 71st percentile, it lands well above average but behind the Sony XM5 (around the 90th percentile) and Bose QuietComfort Ultra (often top of the charts). The transparency mode works well for quick conversations, toggling on with a tap.

Battery life is 6 hours in the buds with another 20 in the Qi-compatible case. That's fine, if not exciting, putting the 950 in the 68th percentile. A 20-minute quick charge gives you an hour of listening, which is handy. Connectivity via Bluetooth 5.2 is rock-solid, and multipoint switching between a laptop and phone was seamless in testing, landing in the 92nd percentile. For fitness, our scoring puts it at 79.5/100, so it's decent for workouts if you can get a snug fit, but it's not a first choice for long runs.

Value gets tricky because of that $404 to $12,446 price range. At the low end, you're getting a gorgeous-sounding earbud with elite mics and build quality that trumps most consumer flagships. If you absolutely need the Cisco management and security features, even the low price is a steal compared to integrating separate headsets into a corporate deployment. But if you're just looking for noise-canceling earbuds for music and occasional calls, the Sony WF-1000XM5 or Bose QuietComfort Ultra deliver superior ANC and a more complete feature set for around $300. We spotted the 950 at its lowest price through an authorized Cisco reseller, so we'd suggest shopping around before paying anything close to the higher bundles. For pure enterprise use, the cost might be invisible on a corporate budget; for personal purchase, it's a harder pitch unless you need the best call quality in the business.

Stacked against the Sony WF-1000XM5, the Cisco 950 wins on call quality, build, and security, but Sony fights back with longer battery life, top-tier ANC, and a more consumer-friendly app. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds offer even stronger noise cancellation and a similar price if you catch the 950 at its minimum, but Bose can't match the mic clarity or enterprise control. Sennheiser's MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 comes closer in sound signature and build, but again sacrifices the mic performance and doesn't have Cisco's IT management. The Technics EAH-AZ100-K is a bit of a dark horse with excellent sound and call quality that nearly rivals the Cisco, yet it also lacks the enterprise suite. If you prioritize music over meetings, any of those consumer buds will satisfy you more and cost less. But for a corporate environment where every call counts, the 950 is in a league of its own.

Skip the Cisco 950 if you're a music lover who wants the absolute best noise cancellation under $300. The Sony WF-1000XM5 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds block out noticeably more background din and last longer on a charge. If you don't need enterprise-grade security, device management, or cloud-configuration features, the price premium is tough to justify, especially when you can catch a pair of Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 or Technics EAH-AZ100-K for less. Runners and gym rats will also find more secure fits from sport-specific buds with ear wings, so unless call quality is your number one priority, these are overkill.

Should you buy these? If your job involves managing a fleet of devices or you're on calls all day and need zero compromise on how you sound, the Bang & Olufsen Cisco 950 is easily the best enterprise-focused true wireless earbud we've tested. The mic quality is freakishly good, the build feels costly, and the sound is B&O through and through. It's also basically the only bud with Cisco's remote management baked in, so if your IT department demands UC certification, your options are these or a clunky headset. For everyone else, the ANC and battery life just aren't competitive with the consumer flagships, and the wild pricing makes it a hard sell as a personal purchase. But in the right setting, these are a secret weapon for sounding like you're in a broadcast studio.