15 best noise-cancelling headphones, tried and tested

The marginal gains made by Sony’s latest cans means there’s a new pair at the top of our list of the best noise-cancelling headphones. The WH-1000XM5s provide smaller improvements when compared with the stunning evolution of the XM4s, and there’s a design refresh that won’t be to everyone’s taste (the omission of hinges that would enable the headphones to fold up like the XM4s is a personal bugbear).

However, “smaller improvements” doesn’t mean you won’t discern the leap – there’s a precision with the XM5s that builds on the previous generation’s class-leading clarity and gives it a nitrous boost, taking them to the top spot on this list.

Read our full Sony WH-1000XM5 review

Nokia has joined the earbud game with its clarity design, offering some high-end features at a bargain price. The base clarity earbuds offer echo cancelling and noise suppression, meaning close to crystal-clear chats alongside a solid performance when it comes to music and audio reproduction. While echo cancelling and noise suppression sound impressive, our advice would be to stump up the extra fiver for the earbuds pro, which offer proper ANC at a tempting price.

Beats has long left behind its reputation as all-talk-no-trousers sort of audio brand. Gone are the days when flashy advertising and nice looks were all you got from a pair of Beats – the solo pros have done plenty to shake off this image. But another pair are continuing the revolution, this time on the earbud side of the market.

The Beats fit pro are characteristically sleek, yes, but deliver a considered, sophisticated experience alongside. They’re potentially the most comfortable earbuds we’ve ever worn, thanks to the ergonomic shape and clever little wingtips that you place inside instead of around the ear (trust us, it works). The most important aspect – the sound – is joyously full, especially for earbuds, and the class-topping ANC saps away even the loudest alpha grunts in the gym.

Read our full Beats fit pro wireless earbuds review

These are brilliant headphones: in fact, one of the best examples of wireless headphones we’ve ever tested. The sound profile is delicate and impressive, with options for EQ tweaking in the corresponding Sony app if you want a little more oomph, and the battery life is a massive 30 hours. The PNC does a lot of heavy lifting itself, but the ANC is supreme, immediately shutting off almost all ambient noise, and leaving you with your own thoughts and your music. If you’re a fan of Sony audio, or want more control over your listening experience, then it’s a no-brainer.

Read our full Sony WH-1000XM4 wireless headphones review

Apple’s first over-ear product doesn’t disappoint. These are among the best NC headphones out there. From the super-premium build and feel, to the intricate, stunning audio, to the impressive ANC, the AirPods max really do head straight to the top of the tree. They’re pricey, the accompanying case is laughably pointless, and as always, you’ll ideally need an Apple product to pair with, but as this is all we can come up with against them, you can tell that we’re struggling. A technically superior pair of headphones, with the best sound on the list.

Read our full review of the Airpods max

The Philips fidelio L3s are among the most sophisticated Bluetooth headphones available. The brand, formerly known as Philips Electronics, might’ve dropped the second half of the name in 2013, but its fidelio range of headphones is a strong standard bearer for its technological heritage.

They’re high-end, cultured headphones, looking the part for any would-be Business Class passengers. They deliver, too: from the impressive range of listening options, both in terms of multiple EQ options and elite ANC, to the intuitive touch controls and supreme comfort (thanks to the cloudy cushioning of memory foam). Basically, the L3s tick the boxes the top end of the market now rightly insists upon.

Philips might be more in the healthcare game these days, but its audio department has a worthy champion in the fidelio L3s.

Read our full Philips fidelio L3 headphones review

The HX headphones are perhaps the best-looking on the list, with a slimline sophistication, amazingly lightweight feel and chrome finish, alongside a massive 35-hour play time. They also happen to produce one of the best sounds around. The flip side of this is that the ANC, when switched on, doesn’t block out as much as other premium models here: however, if we had to choose between blocking out every sound around us and getting to listen to Bang & Olufsen’s class-leading audio performance, B&O would win out every time

Speak to anyone who likes talking about sound, and the name Sennheiser will usually conjure a comforted smile. The German audio expert is one of those brands that feels like a warm embrace, thanks to its long-standing presence at the top of the game and some classic design signatures.

Unfortunately for the Sennheiser traditionalists among us, the follow-up to the brand’s fantastic momentum 3s – the momentum 4 – have done away with the 1980s cool of the momentum range. The result is a neat design that does the job in a wireless world of sleek black cans, but doesn’t pull up the trees the way the range once did. You forgive the design change, however, as soon as you put them on. The momentum 4s, like their predecessors, produce warm and rich audio: compared with the slightly more analytical nature of most other wireless headphones, the Sennheiser experience feels like putting on your favourite vinyl.

Sennheiser has also managed to blow battery life out of the water – it can now last up to 60 hours with ANC on, which is significantly more (at least double) than any of its competitors at this end of the market.

We love the “big bud energy” of Jabra’s elite active earbuds, so it stands to reason that the brand’s pro offering would provide us with a similar buzz. The elite 7 pro design has been seven generations of bud in the making: Jabra apparently used data from 62,000 ear scans to design the best-shaped bud, and the research seems to have paid off, with earphones that still feel pretty comfortable after a few hours’ use.

Jabra was an early adopter of wireless designs, which you can see (well, hear) in its products. The brand’s engineers have done a fine job fine-tuning adaptive ANC, and Jabra’s HearThrough tech works wonders to let you hear slices of the outside world without affecting your carefully curated tunes.

Simply put, the Elite 7 pro earbuds are Jabra at its best: strong design, lightweight feel, snug fit and crystal-clear listening. Our record as Jabra enthusiasts remains untarnished.

The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 headphones were one of our favourite pairs of the last headphone generation. They had a joyful sound to them, dealing with complicated tracks, treble and bass with ease, and looked fantastic. Now, the Px8 does all this and more. There’s barely a soundstage on the market that handles music better than the Px8: there’s a masterful delicacy to their sound, barely affected by the versatile ANC that envelops you in your own bubble of serenity. This clarity of sound is matched by the to-die-for looks. They’re utterly exceptional. The price point tallies with this, but they’re a luxury well worth investing in.

These headphones are pretty much everything Marshall should be. The sound is characteristically Marshall – the custom 40mm drivers wrap the music around your head as if on stage, and the ANC does a laudable job of replicating this sound while shutting out your annoying coworkers. The collapsible cans create one of the more satisfying foldaway designs, and squish them down to an easily transportable and sturdy shape.

While the app does a solid job of helping you switch between EQ presets and noise cancelling modes, the monitor II also features tactile options for each, with transparent mode or your expertly crafted Take That EQ preset only a tap away on one of two on-ear buttons. A brass control knob also lets you play music, adjust volume and switch between phone functionalities. The headphones come with an aux cable in the box, too, for wired listening – a refreshingly traditional move that had us reaching for the turntable.

Marshall might be best known for its supreme amp credentials, but it’s taken all that know-how and packed it into personal listening. You can always tell an old-school audio brand from their signature sound, and Marshall is no different, with a rock-skewed but composed audio balance. ANC is decent, and transparency mode is a highlight, performing better than some over-ear offerings.

Listening in comfort is a doddle, as the motifs are among the most comfortable buds on the market; you could easily wear them until the six-hour battery life (down to a mildly disappointing four and a half hours with ANC) starts to dwindle.

As with all Marshall wearables, the best bit – besides the aforementioned audio quality and comfort – is the little guitar lick that sounds as you switch them on and off. It’s a little touch that goes a long way.

Bang & Olufsen has an unerring habit of making beautiful things. The beoplay EX buds are another example of this, but behind the beauty lies plenty of audio sophistication and physical sturdiness. They’re an all-rounder pair of earbuds for the top end of the market. IP57 accredited (aka completely waterproof and dust-resistant) and comfortable in the ear, they’re perfect for everyday use but look fantastic, from the slender stalk to the mirrored touchpad on the outside of each bud – just remember to wipe your hands before using them.

The sound is as good as you’ll find in earbuds anywhere. The balance is spot on for all manner of genres, with the option of switching your EQ preferences up via an accompanying app that uses a more user-friendly, descriptive system to get you to where you need to be.

The ANC is fine – it does the job without pulling up any sound-sapping trees but, on the flip side, this means the sound retains even more depth and quality. There’s a reason they’re priced towards the top end of the market: they sound great and they’re the classiest-looking earbuds around.

These earbuds come from audio masters Denon and they offer the option for audio personalised to your hearing by way of a listening profile test where the earbuds measure the sensitivity of your ears. Turning the personalised profile off and on reveals a big difference: overall the sound is more focused and appealing. The large size means they can look a bit daunting, and they’re heavier than many others here. There’s excellent noise-cancelling, though not quite matching that of the best here. The bass is decent but can be boosted in an immersion mode if that’s your taste. Overall sound is tremendous, and spatial audio sounds especially good. The touch controls make the most of the large flat surfaces and can be customised to your liking.

Like the setting sun, Apple’s inclusion for both over-ear and in-ear audio is inevitable. The mega brand has earned it, however, with the AirPods pro 2, the purest earbuds to come out of Cupertino. They feel great, look great and sound even better, with excellent noise cancelling capabilities.

Like the rest of Apple’s audio empire, the AirPods pro 2 don’t offer high-definition Bluetooth audio codecs like aptX, an odd choice in an era of lossless connectivity. This isn’t noticeable in the sound quality, however, with the pro 2s easily the best-sounding AirPods made to date, and among the best-sounding buds full stop. If you’re an Apple superfan, the pro 2s won’t disappoint.