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Drown out distractions and make calls with these noise-cancelling headphones, reviewed by our experts
Noise cancellation has been around long enough now that most people will either own – or at least have heard of – a pair of headphones or earphones that offer apparently life-changing levels of sound sapping.
Unfortunately, this means there are plenty of less-than-impressive examples of noise “cancellation” that sound more like a snake has made its home in your headphones.
It’s true that not all noise cancellation is created equal. There are even different types of noise cancellation: passive noise cancellation (PNC) uses the shape of the headphones to block out your work neighbour, while active noise cancellation (ANC) – the type we’re mainly dealing with here – uses in-built microphones to listen for irksome external noise, instructing the speakers to match the frequencies of those sounds to provide you with an island of sonic serenity.
Noise cancellation, in theory, is there to make your listening experience much more enjoyable, but there can be too much of a good thing, especially if the ANC doesn’t find the right balance. Getting to grips with the right tech can be the difference between a cloud of sound or a waterfall of external din.
Luckily, we’ve put in the listening hours, to give you the best chance of finding the ANC headphones for you, and help our favourite artists with what we can only think will be pounds of royalty fees.
When testing noise-cancelling headphones, it’s important to try each pair in a variety of scenarios, some more obvious than others. Yes, we tested them in busy cafés and beside main roads, but we also took care to test ANC (where applicable), for instance, in a quiet room. This is due to ANC’s tendency to sometimes emit a small hiss when working, something that could begin to grate on your nerves after a while in an empty office.
We tested each pair of headphones by accosting them with a smorgasbord of different audio sources: from the deep rumbles of Billie Eilish’s Bury a Friend, to the complicated delicacy of Jacob Collier’s Flow Freely, with Yo-Yo Ma, Childish Gambino and Kaho Nakamura thrown into the mix. We made sure to listen to our favourite podcasts to check for vocal clarity, and rang friends and family so much to test microphone quality that nobody wanted to FaceTime us for a month.
Passive noise cancellation (PNC, or sound isolation) is a physical element, whereby the shape of the headphones dictates how much ambient sound can sneak in. PNC can be enough for many people, as headphone designs are more sophisticated than ever, and designers regularly conceive of ingenious ways of putting a barrier between your ear and the outside world. This is, therefore, the most effective way of protecting your ears against loud, sudden noises, such as explosions or jet engines.
Active noise cancellation (ANC) brings tech into the equation. A series of microphones within the headphones listen out for any nuisance noise in your surroundings. Then, speakers match the frequencies of those sounds, cancelling out this noise and giving you the blissful sound of silence. ANC technology usually needs a few moments to settle and note the various sounds in your surroundings, working most efficiently in settings with consistent ambient sound.
Some people experience a little dizziness or a vacuum effect when first wearing ANC headphones, as the technology removes sound and frequencies that our brains would expect to hear or feel. This isn’t harming your hearing at all. In fact, noise-cancelling headphones can actually protect against hearing loss, dampening external noise instead of having you just turn the volume up to potentially dangerous levels.
This was one of the hardest decisions we’ve had to make. Each pair we tested had its own superior elements, from Apple’s signature sound, to the supreme noise cancellation from Bose, to Sennheiser’s audio intricacy. However, Sony currently edges it with the WH-1000XM5. From sophisticated sound, to some of the best noise cancelling tech around, to hours-long comfort, these headphones are as close to the complete package as you can get.
Looking for more headphone recommendations? Here’s our list of the best wireless headphones
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