We have removed the 1More Dual Driver ANC Pro from our guide as it was no longer in production. Current testing of Best Headphones is underway for new earbuds.

Reduced noise can make a difference in whether you enjoy your trip or not. You can hear your music better and have a more peaceful world thanks to noise-canceling headphones. We love the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, but there are other options for those who prefer earbuds or headphones.

How we selected and tested

To test the noise reduction potential of headphones, we use a specialized audio measurement system that simulates an ear.

Our pick

Bose 700 headphones are lightweight, comfortable and noise canceling. However, they come at a steep price.

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 are the most advanced wireless noise-canceling headphones ever made. Although these headphones are pricey, we believe they are worth it for frequent travelers who value comfort and performance.

These headphones offer superior noise cancellation, which Bose is well-known for. They also have more adjustability than any other noise-canceling headphones we tested.

The active noise cancellation (ANC), can be adjusted on a scale of 0-10, so you have the option to adjust it to suit your needs.

The noise-canceling headphones are lightweight and comfortable. They also feature a combination of touch controls as well as physical buttons that can be accessed without having to look.

You can also use them in wired mode, with the ANC activated, if you wish to access in-flight entertainment systems, for instance. The supplied case folds flat so they can be stored in a convenient place.

These headphones are not perfect. The sound quality is not great, but it is better than the best over-ear headphones.

Budget Selection

These wireless headphones for noise cancellation offer excellent sound quality, comfort, and low prices.

The Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Bluetooth headphones are great for noise cancellation. The Anker Soundcore Life Q20 over-ear Bluetooth headphones are effective in noise cancellation.

However, the sound quality can be a little bit too loud for some people.

For a model of this price, the battery life of 30 hours is remarkable. These headphones can be used in wired mode. The controls are simple to use.

The Life Q20 does not offer EQ manipulation, adjustable ANC, or touch controls. However, it delivers on the ANC-headphone basics and offers a surprising amount of quality for less than $100.

The upgraded Soundcore Life Q20+ has adjustable EQ and hear-through modes. It is worth the extra money.

Great also

The 1More True Wireless ANC is the only wireless option that offers true wireless. It has the best combination of noise reduction and features.

We love true wireless earbuds, even though they are not our first choice for noise canceling. The 1More True Wireless ANC is the best choice if you are looking for wireless noise-canceling earbuds.

The best pair for reducing plane noise is this one. The buds are small, so they fit comfortably and securely in your ears. The controls are simple to use and the case supports Qi and USB-C charging.

The average battery life is 5 hours, but it can be longer if you turn ANC on. Also, these earbuds cannot be used in a wired mode so you will need a Bluetooth transmitter in order to use the pair with in-flight entertainment systems.

Everything we recommend

Bose 700 headphones are lightweight, comfortable and noise canceling. However, they come at a steep price.

The research

How noise-canceling headphones function

Privacy and security

Other noise-canceling headphones that are also good

Sources

Ithaca College gave me a bachelor’s degree with a focus on music production and audio performance. I have also tested over a thousand headphones and earbuds during my time at Wirecutter.

Apart from reviewing gear for AV magazines I have been working in top recording studios for more than ten years, first as a producer and then as an on-air talent, and finally as a professional voice actor.

My articles have appeared in Fast Company and Forbes, Time, Los Angeles Times, Time, as well as Good Morning America, BBC World Service, and NBC Nightly News.

Brent Butterworth, a senior staff writer, also tested the finalist products and did the noise-canceling measurements. Since 1990, Brent has been professionally reviewing audio gear.

He previously worked as an editor or writer for Sound & Vision, HomeTheaterReview.com, Home Theater Magazine, and numerous other publications.

Brent is one of a few audio journalists who have laboratory-grade headphones, which he used in part of our testing. He has analyzed more noise-canceling headphones in-depth than any other journalist and has measured and evaluated more than 350 headphones over the past eight years.

John Higgins, my spouse, is a professional musician/composer who has written for Wirecutter Sound & Vision and Home Theater. He also lent his ears to us for this project.

These noise-canceling headphones can reduce the low-pitched humming or droning sounds that you hear in airplane cabins and on buses, trains, and boats (although we haven’t tried them).

 You can also reduce the sound of some machinery like loud air conditioners.

An excellent set of headphones with active sound canceling (ANC), can make plane travel more enjoyable.

This feature allows you to clearly hear music and movies in flight without having to increase the volume. These headphones can be used even when you aren’t listening to anything.

Some people also use noise-canceling headphones for long flights to fall asleep.

The microphones used to record the noise around you are then fed a phase-reversed version of the sound through the tiny speakers or drivers built into the headphones.

Noise-canceling headphones do not use any kind of headphones.

Although the technology is not perfect, it can be used in certain situations to enhance listening enjoyment. The best noise-canceling headphones combine passive and active noise cancellation.

This means that the headphones have physical barriers or dampers that absorb or block noise.

Many people believe that ANC headphones can cancel out all noises equally. They don’t. They are more effective at canceling low frequencies of sound like the hum from an air conditioner or jet engine.

It is not as effective when you use your voice or other higher frequencies.

You can find out more about ANC and the sounds it produces by reading “What Your Noise-Cancelling Headphones Do and Can’t Do.”

These are the four most important things to look at when buying noise-canceling headphones

Noise-canceling is effective

Sound quality

Battery life in wireless models

Overall comfort

Since we first published this guide, we’ve tested more than 150 active-noise-canceling headphones and considered dozens more.

While we’ve tested wired models of noise-canceling headphones in the past, Bluetooth wireless technology is now widely available and very affordable.

Many of these wireless headphones can also be connected to a wired connection. This is useful if you need to save battery life or connect to in-flight entertainment systems.

Because this guide includes all noise-canceling headphones models, we have not set any lower or higher price limits.

We listened to headphones with and without noise canceling. Some headphones sound great in one setting, while others sound terrible in another. The panelists chose the test music, which was sourced from different smartphones.

It was more difficult to test the noise cancellation. This was done by both ears and with test equipment. Lauren and John tested the noise cancellation by ear using a JBL L16 wireless speaker.

Then they tried the headphones to determine which one could cancel the noise the best. Brent tested the noise-canceling ability of the headphones in his audio laboratory.

He used cabin noise from four different aircraft and fed it through four speakers and a subwoofer at 80 decibels. This is the same level as what you would experience in an older plane like a McDonnell Douglas MD-80 or Boeing 737. Brent then tested the top models on Los Angeles’ Metro transit system. This includes subways and buses.

Brent performed lab tests to determine if the headphones blocked certain frequencies of sound. He connected each pair of headphones to his GRAS 43AG ear and cheek simulator, connected via an M-Audio USB interface, to a Windows laptop.

Then he played pink noise through the speaker system, using TrueRTA audio spectrum analyzer software to determine how much sound was being lost through the headphones.

Brent used a GRAS KB5000 anthropometric pinna to mount the right-channel earpieces of the in-ear headphones onto a GRAS 43AG ear and cheek simulator.

This GRAS RA0402 high-resolution ear simulator was used to conduct noise-canceling earbud testing. This fixture was connected to a Windows laptop via an M-Audio interface.

He then played pink noise through the same speaker system and used TrueRTA audio spectrum analyzer software. Brent has a more detailed description of the process.

Below are the results of our picks as well as those of other noteworthy competitors.

Brent used four recordings from different aircraft cabins to calculate the average noise reduction in decibels. This is a simplified way of looking at the measurements. The average noise reduction is greater if the number is higher.

Model of a headphone

Average NC (in decibels; higher is better).

Bose 700 headphones are lightweight, comfortable and noise canceling. However, they come at a steep price.

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 Over-Ear Set has the most versatile active noise canceling we have ever tested. There are 10 levels of noise cancellation to choose from so everyone can find the right setting for them.

These noise-canceling headphones may not sound as great as some of the best over-ear headphones, but they were very neutral in our tests. They are lightweight and comfortable and easy to use.

Although the 20-hour battery lasts is not the longest, it’s more than enough to get you to most places.

Technically, the Bose 700 does not reduce noise as much as any other pair of over-ear headphones that we tested. That honor goes to the Apple AirPods Max at lower frequencies and the Sony WH1000XM4 at higher frequencies.

However, the 700 is still extremely effective when it’s set to its maximum ANC. The Bose 700’s ANC is distinguished by the degree of adjustability it offers.

While most noise-canceling headphones only offer controls for on/off or high/low off, the Bose 700’s ANC has more options. You can adjust the ANC level between 0 and 10, which allows you to customize the setting that is right for you.

This is particularly helpful for those who have “eardrum suck”, as you can reduce the ANC intensity in small steps until the problem disappears. You can assign three ANC levels as favorites to the Bose Music App. Then, toggle between them by using the button at the left earcup.

The Bose 700 headphones will satisfy fans of Bose’s distinctive sound. The Bose 700 headphones are the perfect Bose. We tested them with a bit more bass and a little roll off in the high-frequency frequency range.

They also have forward-sounding mids. The result was that male vocals and basslines were more prominent than clicks from the snare-rim and consonants in spoken words.

While audiophiles may complain that the Bose 700 lacks detail and crispness, others might prefer the lack of high-end intensity.

The Bose Music app has recently received an update that allows you to adjust the bass, middle and treble areas.

These settings can be customized to your sound profile, although they are not very specific.

Bose has done an amazing job in ensuring that sound quality is nearly identical regardless of what listening method or setting you use: Bluetooth, cable or noise canceling, high or low, and whether you are using Bluetooth or cable.

This is a remarkable feat since most headphones have subtle to very significant differences in sound quality between listening methods.

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