We’ve rounded up the best noise-cancelling headphones to keep the world out and your music in.
Best Noise-Cancelling Headphones Buying Guide: Welcome to TechRadar’s round-up of the best noise-cancelling headphones you can buy in 2019.
Commuting well and truly sucks – but it doesn’t have to. Sure, trains, buses, or even walking down a busy street can be awfully noisy, but there are tools to help block out the noise and help you reach audio nirvana.
The best tools in the anti-sound arsenal are noise-cancelling headphones, with some of the best models from audio manufacturers like Sony, Bose and Sennheiser. Put a pair on and say goodbye to the days of suffering from honking traffic, crying babies, and noisy conversations.
These wonders of the modern era totally tune out any unwanted sounds, while simultaneously making your music sound even better than a pair of in-ear earbuds.
They’re just as vital as your laptop, TV or mobile phone and to help you pick out a pair of headphones that deliver all of the above in spades, we’ve put together a list of the top 10 noise-cancelling headphones, listed below and ranked by their price-to-performance ratio.
Can’t decide which headphones to buy? Check out our guide video below:
Acoustic design: Closed| Weight: .8.99 oz| Cable length: 3.94 ft| Frequency response: 4Hz to 40kHz| Drivers: 40mm Dual-Layered Diaphragm| Driver type: Dynamic| Sensitivity: 104.5 dB| Impedance: 47 ohm| Battery life: 30 hours| Wireless range: 30 meters (98ft)| NFC: Yes
The Sony WH-1000XM3 are the best noise-cancelling headphones in the world two years running. Sure, they might be a small refinement of last year’s excellent WH-1000XM2, but subtle tweaks like using USB-C instead of microUSB and adding padding along the bridge help make Sony’s award-winning cans even better.
So why does everyone love the WH-1000XM3 so much? Well, it’s exceptionally good at cancelling outside noise. Put a pair on while vacuuming and you’ll barely hear the motor running. For music lovers, the Sony WH-1000XM3 features aptX HD and Sony LDAC, two of the best ways to listen to Hi-Res music from your phone without a wire. Finally, all of Sony’s flagship headphones offer both Google Assistant and, starting in 2019, Alexa support, making them not only the best noise-cancelling cans on the market but some of the smartest, too.
Read the full review: Sony WH-1000XM3
Acoustic design: Closed| Weight: 23g| Cable length: N/A| Frequency response: N/A| Drivers: N/A| Driver type: N/A| Sensitivity: N/A| Impedance: N/A| Battery life: 10 hours| Wireless range: 33 ft| NFC: Yes
If you can find a pair, the Sony WH-1000XM2 are still some of the best noise-cancelling headphones around: They sound great, deftly wield noise cancellation technology and cost just as much as a pair of Bose QC35s. They might have a slightly shorter battery life than Bose’s flagship over-ear headphones, but Sony’s WH-1000XM2 outclass the QC35 in terms of performance and feature-set.
You’d want to pick these Sony headphones over the Bose because not only do they provide the same level of awesome noise-cancellation, but they have three neat tricks that Bose just doesn’t have on its headphones: One is an ambient noise mode that only lets in mid-to-high frequency tones (announcements over a loudspeaker, for instance) and another being Quick Attention mode that allows you to let in all outside noise without taking off the headphones. (The latter is perfect when giving a drink order on a plane or speaking to a coworker for a brief moment before diving back into your work.) The last trick Sony has up its sleeve is the LDAC codec. Alongside the widely adopted aptX HD standard, LDAC enables Hi-Res Audio playback using the 1000XM2.
Great-sounding, feature-packed and just as affordable as the competition? The Sony WH-1000XM2 are a solid all-around pick for noise-cancelling cans.
Read the full review:Sony WH-1000XM2
Acoustic design: Closed| Weight: 0.68 pounds| Cable length: 3.94 feet| Frequency response: N/A| Drivers: N/A| Driver type: N/A| Sensitivity: N/A| Impedance: N/A| Battery life: 20+ hours| Wireless range: N/A| NFC: Yes
Coming in at the number two spot is the Bose QuietComfort 35 II – a nearly identical product to the already-excellent Bose QuietComfort 35 but updated for 2018 with Google Assistant. This means you still get the class-leading noise cancellation Bose is known for, good sound quality and incredible comfort, plus a convenient assistant to answer any inquiries you might have while traveling.
Taken as a whole, the Bose QC35 II NC is an excellent headphone for travelers and commuters.
