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If you want a ready-to-use, pack-of-five wired headset you can hand out on the plane and not worry about, choose EXMAX HWE-05; if you need to keep using your own wireless earbuds or Bluetooth headphones with an in-seat 3.5mm jack, choose Airfrex Transmitter. Those are two completely different jobs, and the "better" pick depends entirely on which job is yours.
• EXMAX HWE-05 biggest strength: A complete, self-contained wired headphone — over-ear fit, 3.5mm plug, 50 g, adjustable headband, and it comes as a 5-pack, so you're covered for a family or a group.
• EXMAX HWE-05 biggest trade-off: It's explicitly built as a disposable, short-term-use headphone, and the spec sheet is upfront that it isn't designed to last. It's also wired, so you're tethered to the seat jack.
• Airfrex Transmitter biggest strength: It converts a wired 3.5mm audio source into Bluetooth, so your existing AirPods, Sony, Bose or other wireless headphones work on the plane — and Dual Link lets two people listen to the same source at once.
• Airfrex Transmitter biggest trade-off: It is not a headphone. It's a small aluminum transmitter with a rechargeable battery (1.5-hour charge time) — no headphones, no earbuds, nothing to put on your ears.
• Who each is for: EXMAX HWE-05 → travelers, schools, hotels and groups who want cheap, simple, wired headsets to hand out. Airfrex Transmitter → travelers who already own good Bluetooth headphones and want to use them on a flight.
The HWE-05 is a wired, over-ear headphone with a slim headband, soft leatherette-style ear pads and a 3.5mm plug. It weighs 50 g, so it's light enough to forget you're wearing it, and the adjustable headband is sized to fit "most heads" — the sheet specifically calls out everyone from kindergarten-age students up to adult learners. The cable is listed at 150 cm/5 ft in the feature list and 120 cm/47.24 in in the description; either way, it's long enough to reach a seat-back jack or a tray-table device without pulling.
Sound-wise, the sheet lists a 20 Hz–20 kHz frequency range and 100 ohm impedance, and describes passive noise reduction from the padded ear cushions sealing against ambient sound. That's the practical part for flying: the cushions sit around your ears and take the edge off cabin drone, and the seal is also what helps the stereo sound stay clear. There's also a media control listed on the cable.
Where it genuinely shines is volume and disposability. This is sold as a 5-pack, individually heat-sealed in plastic bags, and it's aimed at exactly the situations you'd expect: schools and testing, tour groups, hotels, gyms, class labs, hospitals, fitness centers and giveaways. The sheet is blunt that these are not for long-term use and aren't expected to last more than a few uses — with proper care, a few months as school headphones.
So who should buy it? Anyone who needs several pairs of cheap, functional wired headphones for a trip, a classroom, a gym or a giveaway — and anyone who just wants a spare pair in their carry-on that they won't stress about losing or breaking. Who should skip it? If you already own good Bluetooth headphones and want to keep using them, or if you want one durable headphone you'll rely on for years, this isn't the product. It's a disposable tool, and it's honest about that.
The Airfrex Transmitter is a different category entirely. It's a small Bluetooth audio transmitter — 0.63" x 0.43" x 2.56", aluminum body — with a 3.5mm AUX input, a rechargeable battery, and push-button controls. Its whole purpose is to take a wired audio source and broadcast it wirelessly to Bluetooth headphones or earbuds.
The headline spec is the Qualcomm Bluetooth 5.2 chipset, which the sheet frames around low-latency performance — the classic problem being lip-sync delay where audio trails the video. It also lists a Texas Instruments DSP for signal processing, aimed at clarity, soundstage and bass. Supported codecs are broad: AAC, aptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, aptX Low Latency and FLAC, and it's stated to work with AirPods, Sony, Bose and any other brand of Bluetooth headphone.
The feature that matters most for a plane is Dual Link. It connects two sets of Bluetooth headphones or earbuds to a single source at the same time, which is exactly what you want if you and a travel companion are watching the same seat-back screen. The sheet also lists automatic on/off, fast charging, low latency and noise cancellation among its features, and the battery charges in about 1.5 hours.
Who should buy it? Frequent flyers who own quality Bluetooth headphones and hate the airline's loaner sets. Anyone who wants to share one in-flight movie with a partner. People who want to turn an older TV, MP3 player or iPod into a Bluetooth source at home. Who should skip it? Anyone who doesn't already own Bluetooth headphones — this gives you nothing to listen with. And anyone who wants zero fuss, zero charging and zero pairing: a wired headphone is simply simpler.
• Best for "I just want headphones, now" → EXMAX HWE-05. It's a complete wired headphone; nothing to charge or pair.
• Best for using your own AirPods or Bose on a flight → Airfrex Transmitter. That's its core job: a 3.5mm-to-Bluetooth bridge.
• Best for two people sharing one screen → Airfrex Transmitter. Dual Link connects two sets of Bluetooth headphones to one source.
• Best for groups, classrooms, hotels and giveaways → EXMAX HWE-05. The 5-pack, individual bagging and disposable positioning fit those uses directly.
• Best for travel-light packing → EXMAX HWE-05. At 50 g it's lighter than the transmitter plus a charging cable and a second device to manage.
• Best for long-term ownership → neither, honestly, but Airfrex Transmitter is the durable pick. Aluminum body and rechargeable battery versus a headphone the sheet calls disposable.
• Best for sound quality you already trust → Airfrex Transmitter. It lets you use headphones you chose, on a Bluetooth 5.2 link with aptX and FLAC support.
• Best for zero setup → EXMAX HWE-05. Plug into the 3.5mm jack and you're done.
In my opinion, if you already own a decent pair of Bluetooth headphones and you fly more than once or twice a year, the Airfrex Transmitter is the smarter buy — it upgrades every flight, every TV and every older audio device you own, and the Dual Link feature is genuinely useful for couples and families. I'd pick the EXMAX HWE-05 only when the job is "hand out headphones to several people and don't care if they survive the trip." That's not a knock; it's a genuinely different product. If you're torn, ask yourself one question: do I already have headphones I like? If yes, buy the transmitter. If no, buy the 5-pack.
FAQ
what headphones for airplane
what is the best headphones for airplanes
There's no single best — it depends on what you already own. If you have Bluetooth headphones you love, the Airfrex Transmitter is the better add-on because it makes them work with in-flight 3.5mm systems and even links two pairs at once. If you own nothing, the EXMAX HWE-05 gets you listening immediately with no charging or pairing. Check the current price on Amazon before deciding.
what earphones for airplane
Earphones work the same way: wired ones need a 3.5mm jack, and wireless ones need a transmitter like the Airfrex, which supports AirPods, Sony, Bose and other Bluetooth earbuds. Note that the EXMAX HWE-05 is an over-ear headphone, not an in-ear earphone, so if you specifically want earbuds, the transmitter route with your own pair is the fit.
what kind of headphones for airplane
The practical answer is a lightweight, over-ear or on-ear design with soft cushions and a 3.5mm plug — exactly what the HWE-05 is, at 50 g with an adjustable headband and passive noise reduction from the ear pads. The catch is that the HWE-05 is built as a disposable, short-term-use headphone. If you want something you'll keep, pair the Airfrex Transmitter with your own Bluetooth headphones instead.
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