A lot of headphones come with active noise cancelling (or cancellation) but with transparency modes, hybrid ANC and other complex terms, buying a pair can be difficult – especially when it appears that you can either spend under $50/£50 or over $500/£500. Our chart and buying guide will help you choose the right pair.
Headphones come in all manner of shapes, sizes and types and although noise cancelling used to be fairly rare, it’s now widely available with lots of choices. While many fetch a high price, there are some cheaper options too.
Bose and Sony are well-known for the tech but there are various alternatives out there. We also have round-ups for overall best headphones, true wireless earbuds if you’re looking for something else. Scroll to beyond the list for our advice on noise-cancelling headphones.
1. Sony WH-1000XM5
- Phenomenal audio quality
- Great noise cancellation
- Serious smarts
Cons
- No longer fold
- Expensive
Sony remains the one to beat when it comes to premium headphones and the WH-1000XM5 retain the crown after the excellent XM4s.
Class-leading active noise cancelling is yet again a highlight with things like Adaptive Sound Control and plenty of user tweaking available in the Sony Headphones app. There’s so much more to enjoy though, including incredible sound quality despite smaller drives this time and lots of smart features.
The new design might not suit everyone and has advantages like smooth headband adjustment but no longer fold down. The other thing to factor is the new higher price, when previous models, including the WH-1000XM4 are available for almost half the price.
Read our full Sony WH-1000XM5 review
2. Sony WF-1000XM4
- Class leading ANC
- Incredible sound
- Smart features
Cons
- More expensive than some
- Bulky for small ears
If you want noise cancelling earbuds then Sony has nailed the formula, as long as you can afford them and don’t mind them being a little bigger than some rivals.
Otherwise, there’s nothing to dislike here with the best ANC we’ve tested on any pair of earbuds so far along with the top-notch sound quality you’d expect from a flagship Sony product.
There’s also strong battery life and the earbuds come with the same smart features as the over-ear model such as Adaptive Sound Control and Speak to Chat.
Read our full Sony WF-1000XM4 review
3. Razer Opus
- Impressive ANC
- Auto-pause technology
- Well-balanced audio
Cons
- Only one main ANC mode
- A bit too quiet for some
The Opus represents a new direction for Razer, a company solely focused on gaming peripherals up until this point, and the company has done very well indeed.
While some ANC headphones in our chart come with an expensive price tag, the Razer Opus offer impressive noise cancelling technology at an affordable price – albeit simply on or off.
Combine that with the stylish monochromatic finish, complete with silver detailing, and handy features like auto-pause tech and THX certification and you’ve got a phenomenal pair of cans that can handle music, TV, film and more.
They’re also super comfortable.
Read our full Razer Opus review
4. Bose QC Earbus
- Excellent ANC
- Useful app
- Solid sound
Cons
- Bulky design
- Middling battery life
The QuietComfort Earbuds can’t match Sony on price or battery life, but they are still brilliant wireless earbuds with top-notch ANC.
They are bulkier and dated in style, but lightweight and secure. The main reason to buy these is the amount of control you get over the noise cancelling.
In the app, you can choose 11 different levels and set three favourites which can be cycled through via the touch control on the left earbud. Great if you want to customise ANC for different situations like exercise, working and commuting.
5. Bose QuietComfort 45
- Super comfortable
- Great ANC performance
- Decent battery life
Cons
- No ANC adjustment
- Lacking smart features
- Plasticky build
Considering the five-year wait for these headphones, a startling amount of things here are still the same.
Still, Bose fans will likely be pleased to see the iconic design remain largely the same and these are still one of the most comfortable pairs of headphones you’ll ever wear.
They sound good and ANC performance is solid. However, you can only swap between Quiet and Aware modes with no further adjustment and they lack smart features like wear detection.
This makes the price a little hard to justify if you’re not a die-hard Bose fan, although you could look to the older QC35 II as a cheaper option.
Read our full Bose QC45 review
6. NuraLoop
- Superb personalised sound
- Excellent ANC
- Great value
Cons
- Proprietary eartips and adapter
- No digital assistant support
- Bulky case
NuraLoop manages to condense the custom tuning audio wizardry found in the company’s first product and deliver an in-ear alternative that’s hard to beat in terms of sound quality.
They’re also very comfortable, have decent noise cancellation and long battery life to boot.
Better yet, they undercut Apple’s AirPods Pro while delivering a better audio experience overall. Just be aware that it lacks virtual assistant support and relies on some proprietary components that might cost a little extra to replace.
If you prefer true wireless earbuds you can go for the NuraTrue.
Read our full NuraLoop review
7. Apple AirPods Pro
- User friendly
- Solid ANC
- Secure fit
Cons
- Sub-par battery life
- Better sound quality elsewhere
Noise cancelling is one of the main new features of the AirPods Pro and these wireless earbuds do a great job of cutting out the likes of traffic, trains and appliances. They’re not so good at higher frequencies such as kids screaming but that’s tough for any in-ear headphones.
You can’t adjust the strength of the noise cancelling manually but the automatic adjustment works well. There’s also a transparacy mode you can toggle with a squeeze of the stem which allows you to pipe in some sound from the outside world to have a converstation or listen out for dangers. It’s one of the best we’ve tested.
These are great wireless earbuds with noise cancelling if you can afford them.
Read our full AirPods Pro review
8. Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC
- Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation
- Powerful bass
- Great battery life
Cons
- No auto-pause tech
- Case feels a little cheap
- No auto-switching of ANC profiles
If you don’t have much to spend on noise cancelling earbuds then look no further than this pair from Anker. They’re already available for a lot less than the RRP.
Hybrid ANC does a great job of keep noise out, with three different modes available as well as a transparency option, too. Far more than you would expect for a pair this cheap and they also offer great bass and battery performance.
The price does mean you’re missing out on some features though, like auto-pause and the build quality is understandably on the basic side.
Read our full Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC review
9. Apple AirPods Max
- Incredible sound quality
- Premium build
- Great ANC
- Impressive smarts
Cons
- Limited Android support
- No power button
- An ill-designed Smart Case
- No Lossless support
They are expensive, but the AirPods Max are a great option for those wanting luxurious over-ear headphones – although you’ll probably want to look elsewhere if you have an Android phone.
Apple offers amazing sound quality here along with stunning build quality and brilliant noise cancelling. There are also various handy smart features making them a great pair of headphones.
It’s odd there’s no power button but early battery life issues have been fixed. You just might want to get a third-party case to avoid Apple’s ridiculous Smart Case.
Read our full Apple AirPods Max review
10. Sennheiser HD450BT
- Comfortable design
- Great audio range
- Good ANC
Cons
- Plastic build
- Mic muffles if worn reversed
The Sennheiser HD 450BT offer a rich sound. The accompanying app allows you to equalize the bass and trebles so you can get the sound that’s just right – whether you prefer bass heavy tones or clear mids and trebles for vocals and podcasts.
They might not technically be budget, but they are one of the cheapest pairs of noise cancelling headphones we’ve tested and are around half the price of many rivals. The ANC is pretty decent, too.
The headband and ear pads don’t clasp onto your head so you can expect a comfortable fit – useful if you want to wear them for a few hours at a time. The combination of features make them a particularly good choice for students.
0 comments:
Post a Comment