Drowning out the sound of babies, jet engines, and the outside world isn’t as difficult as you think, or as expensive as you fear. These are the best noise-canceling headphones for all budgets and all types of uses. Whether you prioritize style, comfort, or sound, we’ve got a pair of noise-canceling headphones for you.
Sony’s WH-1000XM4 are the best noise-canceling headphones. They’re also the best wireless headphones, which in turn led us to crown them the best headphones, period. Yes, they’re that good. With supreme comfort, sparkling sound, fantastic noise cancellation, a unique pressure equalization feature, and a host of options, we’d pick these headphones even if they were more expensive. For most people, the Sony WH-1000XM4 are an unbeatable choice for a set of noise-canceling headphones. Our team has more than 50 years of combined audio experience, and we’ve tested more than 300 headphones — many of which offer noise cancellation. If the WH-1000XM4 aren’t right for you, we’ve assembled a list of excellent alternatives. They all cancel noise, but each has its own specific strengths. Why you should buy them: Superb sound, great comfort, and impressive noise-canceling make Sony’s WH-1000XM4 our pick of the list. Who they’re for: Those who want to block out distracting ambient noises, but without sacrificing terrific sound quality. Why we picked the Sony WH-1000XM4: Let’s get right to it. The previous leader of this list was Sony’s WH-1000XM3, and the WH-1000XM4 have everything that made those headphones amazing, plus a bit more for the exact same price. That by itself should be all you need to know to be sold on the XM4. For the sake of thoroughness, we’ll break down these new headphones from Sony anyway. The design of the 1000XM4 remains largely the same, making for the same comfort and stability as the previous model. The battery life of these new cans is unchanged, providing 30 hours with active noise cancellation on and 38 hours without. And while Sony says its improved its software algorithms and hardware when it comes to active noise cancellation, the 1000XM4 are basically the same as theXM3 – excellent. Bose’s Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 are also a standout choice, but the WH-1000XM4 get the edge because of all the other features they offer. The few significant changes that were made with the WH-1000XM4 include the introduction of Bluetooth multipoint connection, allowing them to be connected to two different devices at the same time. Essentially, you could be watching Netflix on your laptop, field a phone call on your mobile device, then effortlessly return to your streaming enjoyment. The XM4 also got a wear sensor to automatically pause content when you remove the headphones, as well as Sony’s latest music upscaling tech, DSEE Extreme. None of these changes are major, but they don’t have to be. Sony’s headphones were already the best, and this new model only cements that position. If you’re looking for a way to silence the outside world so you can be left alone to enjoy your favorite music, there’s simply no better way to do it. Read our full Sony WH-1000XM4 review Why you should buy them: If you want active noise cancellation in a pair of wireless earbuds, these are the best ones to offer it. Who they’re for: Travelers and business people in loud offices, or anyone who needs excellent noise cancellation in a set of earbuds. Why we picked the Sony WF-1000XM3: Hey, this is a roundup of the best noise-canceling headphones, so why is there a pair of earbuds included? Well, until Sony launched the Sony WF-1000XM3, there weren’t any quality true wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation. And despite a recent influx of new ANC true wireless earbuds, Sony’s version are still the best. Much more than just noise-canceling earbuds, they’re the true wireless equivalents of our pick for best noise-canceling headphones, the WH-1000xM3. As such, you can expect superb noise-canceling performance whether you use them as a pair, or even using just a single earbud for making calls. Sound quality is just as impressive, thanks in large part to Sony’s inclusion of its proprietary DSEE HX engine, which magically makes every sound source — from the lowly MP3 to the lossless FLAC — sound much better than they would without Sony’s processing. Battery life is a perfectly acceptable six hours when you engage active noise cancellation, but rises to a stellar eight hours when you turn that feature off. The included charging case, which somewhat hilariously looks like a massive Duracell battery with its copper-colored flip-lid, packs an additional three full charges. This extends the full life of the WFs to a most remarkable 32 hours with noise cancellation turned off.
