Pros & Cons
-
- Comfortable, flexible fit
- Long battery life
- Active noise cancellation
- AAC codec support
-
- Pricier than the competition
- Mids can be hollow
iClever BTH20 Specs
| Active Noise Cancellation | |
| Connection Type | Bluetooth |
| Connection Type | Stereo 3.5mm |
| Connection Type | USB-C |
| Type | Circumaural (over-ear) |
| Wireless |
The $54.99 iClever BTH20 tick off most of the right boxes to make for a winning pair of headphones for kids. By adding active noise cancellation, they allow for listening at lower volumes and limit the maximum volume to 80dB, both of which help them accomplish the primary job of kids' headphones: protecting their hearing. They may be twice as expensive as the $24.99 EarFun K2 Kids, but their child-friendly design, comfortable fit, long battery life, and lower volume limit make them our Editors' Choice winner for kids' headphones.
Design: Colorful and Rugged
The iClever BTH20 headphones bear a passing resemblance to the Sony WH-1000XM models and feature the same pivoting and fold-flat earcups, which facilitate compact storage. The headphones are relatively lightweight at 7.69 ounces, and measure 6.9 by 6.1 by 3.1 inches (HWD).
(Credit: Mark Knapp)The headphones are brightly colored, which makes sense given their target audience. The pair I reviewed features bright lime green padding on the ear cushions and headband, along with matching buttons, complemented by a dusty blue hue. The left earcup features an "L" printed inside, while the right has an "R". Another iteration combines hot and pastel pinks, and a third combines teal and white for a more understated look.
Although the headphones are adjustable (and feature cute musical notations to indicate the various sizing options), they may be too large for very small children, but they should fit toddlers and older children just fine. The clamping force isn't too strong, and it wasn't uncomfortable even when the headphones were somewhat stretched to fit on my adult-sized head.
(Credit: Mark Knapp)The leatherette cushioning is soft and plush, and is attached firmly so it doesn't come loose even with a strong pull. That earcup interior is also padded with foam between the drivers and the wearer's ears for added comfort. I've used headphones before where the grille in the earcup touches my ears and found it unpleasant, so this is a smart and welcome design choice.
The right earcup features a power button, two volume buttons, a noise-cancelling button along its bottom edge, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a USB-C connector for charging. The power button has multiple functions: Long presses will power up or down the headphones, although they require a rather long hold to have the desired effect (approximately four seconds). A single press serves as play/pause, and a double press pulls up your phone’s assistant. Holding either volume button for 2 seconds can skip forward to the next track or go back to the previous track.
(Credit: Mark Knapp)Encouragingly, the BTH20 headphones don't creak or groan, even when handled roughly. The buttons feel a little cheap, but I appreciate the debossed icons on each that make them easy to identify and distinguish by feel. Despite feeling rugged, the headphones don't include an IP rating, so you should keep them away from dust and water.
Internally, the headphones have 40mm drivers that deliver a frequency response of 20Hz to 20kHz. Aside from active noise cancellation (ANC), they do not provide any other high-end features. They connect via Bluetooth 5.4 and support the AAC codec, which means they work well with Apple devices. They don’t support Bluetooth multipoint or high-fidelity codecs. The EarFun K2 Kids also have 40mm drivers with Bluetooth 5.4 and AAC.
(Credit: Mark Knapp)Along with the headphones, iClever includes a small fabric carrying pouch, a short USB-A-to-C cable for charging, and a 3.5mm cable for unpowered listening.
There is no associated app, which means there's no way to adjust the settings or change the controls.
Battery: Long-Lasting and Quick-Charging
The BTH20s can run for up to 60 hours with active ANC off and up to 35 hours with it on, at a volume of 80%. Even if your kid forgets to turn the headphones off when they’re done using them (something I did often because of how long the power button needs to be held), they should last for a long time. In my testing, I never managed to run them flat and found them more than loud enough below 80%, so they should last even longer than the stated 35 hours.
Similar Products
Our Current Picks for The Best Kids' Headphones for 2026
If you need to top them up, plugging in for 10 minutes will deliver up to five hours of listening time (long enough for most flights). A full recharge takes two hours. The Kids K2 need 2.5 hours to recharge and last 40 hours.
Noise Cancelling: 2 Levels to Choose From
Thanks to their comfortable fit, the headphones provide a small level of passive noise isolation, which helps attenuate higher-pitched sounds, although lower-pitched sounds still push through. That's where the ANC helps.
You can choose from two settings: high and low. The low setting effectively reduces deep, droning sounds, such as a fan I had running in my office. At the high setting, they reduce low-end and dull repetitive sounds even more effectively, but the trade-off is the introduction of a high-pitched hiss. This is fairly common with cheaper noise-cancelling solutions, but it only becomes noticeable when there's no audio playing. Put on some music, and the hiss goes away.
iClever claims its ANC reduces ambient noise by up to 40dB, which is quite a lot. Reducing the surrounding din by this amount allows kids to listen at far lower volume levels. The K2 Kids doesn't include noise cancellation.
Sound: Designed to Protect Hearing
Because their focus is on protecting kids' hearing, the BTH20s don’t try to be faithful to the audio, and they make deliberate sacrifices beyond peaking at 80dB. Many kids' headphones have a soft limit of 85dB, which gives the BTH20s an advantage. Further, the 85dB limit can often be defeated for a secondary limit of 94dB, which has more potential to lead to hearing damage. The K2 Kids not only allows for 94dB of listening, but the noise limit can be switched off entirely.
They have a frequency response curve that intentionally dips in the 2kHz to 4kHz range. The company calls this the iClever Sound Refiner. It subdues transients and makes the audio sound a bit empty at times, but I don't expect most kids will notice, let alone mind.
(Credit: Mark Knapp)Listening to Kendrick Lamar’s “Loyalty"—a decidedly not kid-friendly track—the audio doesn’t sound empty, but there is a dip in the upper midrange. It’s enough that I tried bumping up the volume, but that results in too much bass. The headphones may be designed to limit volume, but they still sound plenty loud to me, especially when they are pumping out the deep sub-bass content on this track, which they do quite effectively.
They prove they can pack a punch with The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” where the bass triplets and sub-bass quarter notes are pumping throughout the track. The vocals are crisp and clear, but again, there is a hollowness to the mids. It isn't enough to ruin the listening experience, but because I know the track so well, it sounds off. It mellows out some of the turnarounds that feature multiple pad hits, which are moments I really enjoy on higher-end headphones.
On Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” the acoustic guitar doesn’t sound as bright as it ought to, with its harmonics and overtones missing, and when the fiddle comes in, it feels similarly flat. Nonetheless, Callahan’s baritone vocals remain rich and full.
The perception of extra bass created by the frequency response curve can muddy orchestral music, such as John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary. The low end is rather dominant and unclear when multiple instruments are playing in that range. The main vocals are still clear, but the background singers aren’t.
Like many Bluetooth headphones, the mics are average. They picked up my voice clearly, but it sounds a little distant and digitized. Still, they're good enough for calls in a pinch (which we don't imagine kids will be doing very much).