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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want one pair of true wireless earbuds that does noise cancelling, gaming-grade low latency and gym duty all at once, choose HyperX Cirro Buds Pro; if you need to get wireless audio out of an airplane seat's 3.5mm jack and share it with a travel partner, choose Avantree Relay & SoundJet. These two products share a keyword — aptX HD and clean wireless audio — but they solve completely different problems. One is an in-ear listening device. The other is a transmitter that turns a wired audio source into a Bluetooth one.
• HyperX Cirro Buds Pro biggest strength: A complete true wireless package — hybrid ANC with two mics per earbud, an Ambient Sound mode, a 90ms Game Mode, Bluetooth 5.2, IPX4, and up to 35 hours of total battery life with a fast charge that hits 50% in 15 minutes.
• HyperX Cirro Buds Pro biggest trade-off: It is an in-ear bud, so it depends on a Bluetooth source (phone, PC, Switch) and a fit from one of three silicone tip sizes — there is no wired fallback and no headphone jack.
• Avantree Relay & SoundJet biggest strength: It connects two Bluetooth headphones to one 3.5mm AUX source at the same time, runs on Qualcomm aptX Adaptive, and gives up to 25 hours of playtime per charge — built specifically for in-flight entertainment.
• Avantree Relay & SoundJet biggest trade-off: It is a transmitter only. It does not pair with phones or tablets, and it is not intended for TVs, hearing aids or musical instruments.
• Choose HyperX Cirro Buds Pro if you want earbuds for music, mobile gaming, calls and workouts.
• Choose Avantree Relay & SoundJet if you already own good headphones or AirPods and want to use them wirelessly on a plane, with a companion.
The Cirro Buds Pro is the more self-contained product of the two. Everything you need to listen is inside the box: the earbuds, a charging case, a cable and three sizes of silicone ear tips. It runs Bluetooth 5.2 with a stated range of up to 30 metres, so it pairs with phones, PCs, the Nintendo Switch and other Bluetooth devices, and the touch controls handle volume without you reaching for your phone.
The feature set is aimed at two crowds. The first is mobile gamers. Game Mode drops audio latency to 90ms, which is the difference between a sound effect landing with the action and landing after it. The second is anyone who moves between noisy and quiet environments. Hybrid active noise cancellation uses two microphones per earbud to cut wind and background noise, and Ambient Sound Mode flips that around so you can hear announcements, traffic or a seatbelt-sign chime without pulling a bud out. In my opinion, that pairing of ANC and Ambient is the most useful thing here for commuters and flyers.
Battery is the quiet headline. Up to 35 hours total on a full charge, with the case contributing its own reserve, plus a charge to 50% in 15 minutes and a full charge in 40 minutes. The buds are IPX4 rated, which covers sweat and light splashes, and the rounded-tip in-ear shape with a 20Hz–20kHz frequency range and hybrid drivers is tuned for everyday listening rather than studio work.
Avantree Relay & SoundJet: Who It's For
The Avantree Relay & SoundJet R1 bundle is not a pair of earbuds and should not be judged as one. It is an airplane Bluetooth adapter: you plug it into a 3.5mm AUX output, and it broadcasts that audio wirelessly to Bluetooth headphones. The audio input is 3.5mm AUX, the output is Bluetooth, and the whole thing is battery powered with up to 25 hours of playtime on a single charge.
The standout capability is pairing two Bluetooth headphones or AirPods at once. That makes it a genuinely different product from a single-user dongle. Two people on a long-haul flight can watch the same seatback screen with their own headphones, each at their own volume, without a splitter cable tangling across the armrest. If you travel as a couple or with a friend, that is the entire reason to own one.
Under the hood it uses Qualcomm's aptX Adaptive technology, which Avantree positions around balanced sound and dependable wireless performance. The bundle name also references aptX HD audio, and the point of that family of codecs is to keep wireless audio closer to the source than a basic Bluetooth link would.
The limits are stated plainly by the brand, and you should take them seriously. This is a transmitter only — it does not pair with phones or tablets. It is not for TVs, hearing aids or musical instruments. In other words, do not buy it expecting a general-purpose Bluetooth gadget. Buy it if you fly, if you have a wired audio jack in front of you, and if you want your own headphones to work with it.
Who should skip it? Anyone who does not already own Bluetooth headphones. Anyone who wants earbuds for the gym or gaming. And anyone hoping to use it with a TV or a phone, because that is explicitly outside what it is built for.
• Best for noise cancelling → HyperX Cirro Buds Pro. Hybrid ANC with two mics per earbud plus an Ambient Sound mode you can toggle.
• Best for mobile gaming → HyperX Cirro Buds Pro. A 90ms low-latency Game Mode and Bluetooth 5.2 with up to 30m range.
• Best for total battery life → HyperX Cirro Buds Pro. Up to 35 hours on a full charge, with 50% in 15 minutes and 100% in 40 minutes.
• Best for workouts and travel sweat → HyperX Cirro Buds Pro. IPX4 rating, three ear tip sizes and a carrying case.
• Best for sharing audio on a plane → Avantree Relay & SoundJet. It pairs two Bluetooth headphones to one 3.5mm AUX source simultaneously.
• Best for long flights → Avantree Relay & SoundJet. Up to 25 hours of playtime per charge from a battery-powered transmitter.
• Best for aptX-family codec support → Avantree Relay & SoundJet. Qualcomm aptX Adaptive is the core of its audio chain.
• Best for using headphones you already own → Avantree Relay & SoundJet. It turns any Bluetooth headphones into in-flight wireless headphones.
If I had to pick one, I would buy the HyperX Cirro Buds Pro. It is a complete product you can use every day — commute, gym, gaming, calls — and it does not require you to own anything else first. The Avantree Relay & SoundJet is excellent at a narrow job, but that job only comes up when you are on a plane with a 3.5mm jack in front of you, and it assumes you already have headphones worth pairing. In my opinion, most people shopping the phrase "aptX HD earbuds" want earbuds, and the Cirro Buds Pro is the one that actually goes in your ears. If you fly often with a partner, buy the Avantree instead — or in an ideal world, both, since they do not overlap at all.
which earbuds support aptx hd
Of these two, only the Avantree Relay & SoundJet is built around the aptX family — it uses Qualcomm aptX Adaptive technology, and the bundle is positioned around aptX Adaptive and HD audio. The HyperX Cirro Buds Pro does not list aptX in its specs; it lists Bluetooth 5.2, a 90ms low-latency Game Mode and a 20Hz–20kHz frequency range. So if aptX HD support is your deciding factor, the Avantree is the one to look at — but remember it is a transmitter, not a pair of earbuds.
is the avantree relay & soundjet a pair of earbuds
No. It is an airplane Bluetooth adapter with a 3.5mm AUX input and Bluetooth output, powered by its own battery. You plug it into a wired audio source and it sends that audio to Bluetooth headphones or AirPods — up to two pairs at once. The earbuds in this comparison are the HyperX Cirro Buds Pro.
can i use the hyperx cirro buds pro on a plane
Yes, in the sense that they are Bluetooth earbuds with hybrid active noise cancellation, an Ambient Sound mode and up to 35 hours of total battery life, which suits long flights. What they cannot do is plug into a seatback 3.5mm jack, because there is no headphone jack on them. If your flight only offers a wired jack and you want to use the Cirro Buds Pro, you would need a separate transmitter — which is exactly the job the Avantree Relay & SoundJet performs.
do i need bluetooth headphones to use the avantree relay & soundjet
Yes. The Avantree Relay & SoundJet is a transmitter only and does not pair with phones or tablets, and it is not intended for TVs, hearing aids or musical instruments. Its whole purpose is to take audio from a 3.5mm AUX source and send it wirelessly to Bluetooth headphones or AirPods. Without a Bluetooth listening device on the other end, it has nothing to send audio to.
Whichever way you lean, check the current price on Amazon before you decide — the two products sit in very different categories, and the numbers move.
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