We live in a busy and loud world so it can be nice to have some peace and quiet, even when you’re out and about. Luckily this is possible thanks to the invention of noise cancelling headphones and these are the best ones you can buy.
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 choice. While many fetch a high price, there are some cheaper options too.
Bose and Sony are well-known for it but there are various alternatives out there. We also have round-ups for overall best headphones, wireless headphones, true wireless earbuds and cheap headpones if you're looking for something else. Scroll to beyond the list for our advice on noise-cancelling headphones.
1. Sony WH-1000XM3
- $349.99
These have unrivalled noise cancelling combined with top-notch sound quality and intelligent Adaptive Sound Control. There's also long 30-hour battery life, USB-C charging and a reliable Bluetooth connection.
Throw in great build quality and you've got some amazing headphones. They're not cheap, but you have to pay to get the best.
2. Bose QC35 II
- $329
Noise cancelling is great including three levels to choose from, sound quality is crisp and clean with even the option to use the cans wired if you like. Battery life is a little off Sony at 20 hours (wireless) and the QC35 II use the older micro-USB port.
They include NFC for easy set up and a digital active EQ so you can adjust the sound.
3. Marshall Monitor II ANC
- $319.99
If noise cancelling is your top priority then Marshall is a little behind rivals in this area, but the Monitor II ANC headphones have a lot to offer.
For starters, they have a more affordable price (RRP) and offer one of the most compact and comfortable designs for a pair of over-ear headphones. They also sound very good, too.
We also like the useful buttons, long battery life and the way the app allows you to customise various elements.
4. Sony WF-1000XM3
- $229.99
This 3rd-gen edition, still with the clunky model name, have improved noise cancelling as you would expect from Sony along with useful touch controls and fantastic sound quality.
A charging case can recharge the earbuds three times giving you a battery life of 24 hours. They're a little chunky compared to rivals but they're very lightweight so it doesn't matter too much.
They might be expensive for wireless earbuds but in the noise cancelling world, they're fairly affordable.
5. Bowers & Wilkins PX
- $399
The PX bring elements of the premium P9 Signature into a portable design with luxurious build quality. These are one of the best sounding pairs of wireless headphones we've tested and the noise cancelling is decent, too, with three different modes and adjustble voice-pass.
There are also wear sensors so the PX know when you take them off to pause the music automatically.
6. Libratone Track Air+
- Unavailable
If Sony and Apple noise cancelling wireless earbuds are too pricey then look to Libratone and the Track Air+ which are under £180.
They offer all-round versatility and value for money with very good sound quality and effective noise cancelling. Pretty essential to make this chart.
What you might not expect is all the extras such as water-resistance and wireless charging case. We're also impressed with the build quality and battery life.
7. AirPods Pro
- $249
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.
8. Bose QuietComfort 20
- $249
We find the QC20 to be extremely comfortable and the noise cancelling is excellent too, including an aware mode so you can keep tabs on what's around you when needed. Battery life is also strong so they won't run out quickly.
Since they've been around a while, you can get them at a cheaper price.
9. AKG N700NC M2
- $299.99
Sound quality is superb, with a great mid-range supplemented by balanced bass and treble. There's even the option to customise this to your liking via the companion app.
There great virtual assistant implementation, and we had the option to choose between Google, Alexa or Bixby (if using a Samsung phone). Battery life is also fantastic.
However, these headphones are a worthy rival to Sony and Bose's offerings, even if they do fall just short in noise cancellation and sound isolation.
10. Nuraphone
- $399
Nura has made an impressively unusual and unique pair of headphones here. If you can get on with the strange design which incorporates in-ear and over-ear parts at the same time, they're worth a go.
The Nuraphones main feature is the incredible way they can tune the sound to your personal hearing. It sounds like a gimmick but really does work and will likely blow your mind. Good battery life and a range of cables (as well as wireless) are bonuses.
The G2 software update brought along noise cancelling which is welcome. It's not up to the standard of Bose or Sony though and you need the app to switch it off.
What Do Noise Cancelling Headphones Do?
Noise cancelling shouldn’t be confused with noise isolation. The latter is simply the way putting some headphones on - no matter the type - creates a physical barrier and blocks out some of the sound around you.
Using earplugs to sleep is an example of noise isolation. You may see it described as ‘passive noise cancelling’ on headphones.
In contrast, noise cancelling headphones are doing something more than just physical. They are digitally playing sound into your ears - other than the music or audio book you’re listening to - to negate the sound around you.
The headphones listen to the world around you with microphones and play an inverted waveform of whatever they hear. So if the ambient sound is a number, say 5, the headphones play -5 to you equalling 0.
This is all done and processed in real-time so you get the effect of not hearing the things around you.
These days many noise cancelling headphones are more advanced than simply switching the feature on or off. Some will allow you to control how much noise cancelling there is so you can adjust it depending on where you are. This helps with battery life as you can save power when somewhere less demanding like an office.
Some also have modes that help you hear announcements so you don’t miss something important like a call to gate at the airport or have a conversation with someone without removing your headphones. This feature goes by many names such as ‘aware’ and ‘social’ mode.
Now you know how they work, here are the best noise cancelling headphones you can buy. All fully tested, reviewed and ranked.
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