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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want a safe, kid-proof wired headphone that works the moment you plug it in, choose Owliwise Kids Headphones; if you need to turn an old headphone jack into a wireless link for your own Bluetooth headphones, choose Twelve South AirFly Pro 2. These two products sit in completely different lanes, and the "wireless travel headphones" question is exactly where that difference matters most. One is a headphone. The other is the thing that makes other headphones wireless.
• Owliwise Kids Headphones — biggest strength: A hard-wired 3.5mm connection with an adjustable 85/94dB volume limiter, so a child can plug into an iPad, Chromebook or tablet and start listening with zero pairing, zero charging and a built-in ceiling on how loud it gets.
• Owliwise Kids Headphones — biggest trade-off: It is wired only. There is no Bluetooth anywhere in the spec sheet, so a kid who wants to roam the cabin untethered will still be dragging a cable to the seat-back jack.
• Twelve South AirFly Pro 2 — biggest strength: It is a Bluetooth 5.3 transmitter and receiver with aptX HD Adaptive support, dual pairing for two sets of headphones, and over 25 hours of battery life — the exact tool that makes a seat-back screen or gym TV feed your own wireless headphones.
• Twelve South AirFly Pro 2 — biggest trade-off: It is not a headphone and it is not a kid product. It is a small adapter that assumes you already own Bluetooth headphones and understand pairing modes.
• Who each pick is for: Owliwise for parents buying a first pair of school-and-travel headphones for a child aged 3+; AirFly Pro 2 for an adult traveler, gamer or gym-goer who already loves their wireless headphones and wants them to work everywhere.
The Owliwise set is a straightforward kids' over-ear headphone, and the spec sheet tells you exactly what that means. The headline feature is the dual volume control: 85dB for quiet home or school listening and 94dB for travel, which the brand frames as meeting safety standards. That switch is the whole point. A parent can hand this over knowing there is a physical ceiling on output, and the child gets 40mm dynamic drivers pushing stereo sound with some bass and highs rather than the thin, tinny audio you often get from cheap pack-in headphones.
The physical design is built for kids rather than for audiophiles. The earcups are over-ear with faux leather and plastic construction, the headband is adjustable and foldable, and the whole thing weighs 230 grams — light enough for a small head, substantial enough that it does not feel like a toy. The gradient electroplated finish is a deliberate kid-appeal choice, and the tangle-resistant nylon cable is the detail I appreciate most, because a 3.5mm cord in a school bag is going to get yanked. There is also an inline HD microphone and remote buttons for play/pause and volume, so it doubles as a headset for online classes and calls on iPads, Chromebooks, tablets and laptops.
Who should buy it: a parent who wants one dependable, plug-and-play headphone for a child aged 3+, especially for school, virtual learning or a flight where the seat-back jack is the audio source. Who should skip it: anyone who wants Bluetooth freedom, anyone shopping for themselves as an adult, and anyone whose device has no 3.5mm port at all. On the durability side, note that the listing data mentions both a 24-month warranty in the feature copy and a 12-month replacement warranty in the product details — worth clarifying with the seller if that term matters to you. The included cable, ear fins, headband and manual mean it arrives ready to use.
The AirFly Pro 2 is a different species entirely, and it is the product that actually answers the "wireless travel headphones" problem for people who already own good headphones. In transmit mode it takes any 3.5mm AUX output — an airplane entertainment system, a gym treadmill TV, a gaming console, a classic stereo — and broadcasts it over Bluetooth 5.3 to your AirPods, Beats, Sony or any other Bluetooth headphones. Flip the switch to receive mode and it does the reverse: your phone streams wirelessly into a car or boat's AUX input. That two-way flexibility is the core of the design.
The dual pairing is the feature I would point a travel companion toward. Two sets of Bluetooth headphones can connect at once, with dedicated pairing buttons to add the second pair, which means two people can share one iPad movie or one in-flight screen without splitting a cable. Audio quality is handled by Bluetooth 5.3 with aptX HD Adaptive support and low-latency mode, and there are quick-access push buttons for volume and mute. Twelve South deliberately skipped a display to maximize battery life, and the result is over 25 hours of playback — genuinely long enough for a transatlantic round trip plus layovers.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for a child aged 3+ → Owliwise Kids Headphones. Volume limiting, foldable build, kid-sized fit and a 3.5mm jack are all aimed at exactly this buyer.
• Best for making your existing wireless headphones work on a plane → Twelve South AirFly Pro 2. This is the job it was designed for, in transmit mode over Bluetooth 5.3.
• Best for battery life → Twelve South AirFly Pro 2. Over 25 hours versus a wired headphone that never needs charging because it draws nothing.
• Best for zero setup and zero charging → Owliwise Kids Headphones. Plug in and listen. No pairing, no battery, no mode switch.
• Best for sharing audio with a second listener → Twelve South AirFly Pro 2. Dual pairing beats passing one wired headphone back and forth.
• Best for online classes and calls → Owliwise Kids Headphones. The inline HD microphone and play/pause and volume controls make it a ready headset for school devices.
• Best for gym, treadmill, car and boat audio → Twelve South AirFly Pro 2. Receive mode and AUX output cover all of these; the Owliwise has no role here at all.
• Best for low-latency movie and gaming audio → Twelve South AirFly Pro 2. aptX HD Adaptive and low-latency support are the relevant specs.
In my opinion, these two should not really be competing for the same wallet, and the right answer depends entirely on what you are actually trying to solve. If you are buying headphones for a child and want safety, simplicity and a wired connection to a school tablet or seat-back screen, I would buy the Owliwise Kids Headphones — the 85/94dB limiter and the foldable, lightweight build are exactly the right priorities for that buyer. If you are an adult who already owns wireless headphones and wants them to work on a plane, at the gym or in an old car, I would buy the Twelve South AirFly Pro 2, because no headphone purchase solves that problem the way a Bluetooth transmitter does. Buy the one that matches the person, not the one that sounds more impressive.
FAQ
No. The spec sheet lists wired connectivity only, with a 3.5mm jack and no Bluetooth. It works with anything that has a headphone port, including iPads, Chromebooks, tablets and laptops.
No. It is a Bluetooth transmitter and receiver only. You supply the wireless headphones — AirPods, Beats, Sony or any other Bluetooth model — and the AirFly makes them work with wired audio sources.
Yes. It supports dual pairing, so two sets of Bluetooth headphones can connect simultaneously, which is ideal for sharing a movie on a flight or an iPad.
That depends on what you need. If you want a complete, kid-safe listening solution in one box, the Owliwise covers it. If you already own good wireless headphones, the AirFly Pro 2 adds wireless freedom to sources that would otherwise be wired, which can be better value than buying a second pair of headphones. Check the current price on Amazon for both before deciding.
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