This content originally appeared on Mashable for a US audience and has been adapted for the UK audience.
Listening to music is one of life’s greatest pleasures. But its more than that: Its a way of life, too — absolutely intrinsic to leisure, work, travel, and your overall state of mind. It’s little wonder that everyone needs a great pair of headphones. Listening to music is a deeply personal business.
But theres an issue with headphones: The modern world can be a loud place. Who can enjoy their favourite tunes or podcast over the incessant rumble of car engines, the non-stop nattering of coworkers, and the earth-rattling din of that nearby building site? If all that racket sounds ear-achingly familiar, we suggest you invest in some noise-cancelling headphones.
Buying headphones is never simple, though. All the brand names, jargon, and ever-evolving tech create another kind of noise. It can be hard to drown it out and tune into the basic facts. To help cut through it all, weve done the hard work of researching the best noise-cancelling headphones and put together some helpful information.
Noise cancelling headphones do what they say on the box. They block, dampen, or outright kill external noise so you can fully immerse in your tunes and isolate yourself from the outside world. There are two main kinds on noise cancellation: Passive and active noise cancellation.
Passive noise cancellation works via the design and build of your headphones. They block out noise through physical features, such as large over-ear cups which create a seal and stop environmental noise leaking in.
Active noise cancellation — usually referred to as ANC — uses a system of mini microphones that listen to whats happening in the world around you, then invert the noise and send it into the loudspeaker. The idea is that both the output and the input will cancel out, leaving you with near-silence. Or just the music you want to listen to.
Keep these in mind when considering your options.
There are all kinds features to look out for when buying a set of noise cancelling headphones. These are the ones we think you should know about.
Adaptive noise cancellation — Noise cancellation that detects a change in the surrounding environment and automatically adapts to give you real-time ANC.
Battery power — Battery life will vary but most modern headphones will offer around 30 hours or more. Remember than some features, particularly ANC, can drain the battery and cut down the advertised battery life.
Codecs — A codec is a piece of software that compresses music to transmit digitally and decompresses again at the other end. For best quality wireless sounds, look out for headphones that support high bitrate codecs such as aptX.
Drivers — These are little cone-shaped gadgets in the ear cups that are responsible for your tunes. They convert electrical signals into sounds. They usually measure between 20mm and 50mm in headphones.
Transparency mode — This allows you to let ambient sound back in. This is handy for things such as having conversations or listening out for announcements. Some transparency modes are adjustable, so you can choose which external sounds to let in. Most brands have their own name for this — such as ambient or passthrough modes — but theyre all essentially the same thing.
These features are a good place to start when shopping around for your next pair of headphones.
There are lots of brands out there, from the household names — Sony, Bose, Apple — to lesser-known brands that offer surprising quality and features for lower prices. If you’re looking for a headphones bargain, such as a pair of headphones for under £100, it’s worth looking at all the alternatives.
For noise cancelling, the best known brands tend to deliver the very best in ANC technology — as you’ll see from the selection below. Now that you know how it works, here are some of the best noise cancelling headphones out there.
These are the best noise-cancelling headphones in 2025.
The Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones arent just our pick for best noise cancelling headphones — theyre arguably the best pound-for-pound headphones in any given category right now, with superb tech and sound performance that matches up to audiophile standards.
In terms of the ANC, these deliver Sonys best ever performance — though theyre not a major upgrade on the previous gen model in this range. The headphones use a impressive combination of tech — four microphones in each ear cup plus two processors and Auto NC Optimizer — to monitor your environment and external noise and adjust the sound accordingly.
They also have Adaptive Sound Control, a smart function that can learn your daily routine and adjust the ANC, such as pumping up up the noise cancelling levels on your commute or dialling it down when youre in the office.
If you need to stay engaged with people around you, switch on Speak-to-Chat feature, a feature that automatically pauses the music whenever you start up a conversation. Be warned, though: Speak-to-Chat is super sensitive and will stop music if you sing along to your tunes too loudly.
Other handy features include multipoint pairing, which allows you to connect them to multiple devices at once, plus ambient awareness mode, on-ear swipe controls, and voice assistant connectivity. If theres a quibble, its that these dont fold away for easier portability, but its a small problem, and one thats counter balanced by other hugely convenient features, such as fast charging and 40 hours of battery with the ANC switched off.
The Apple AirPods Max fit seamlessly into Apple’s roster of devices and combine superb performance and style. Theyre not just an evolution of the AirPods, but part of that ongoing evolution of Apples entire range.
The AirPods Max have stunning sound, top performing ANC, and extra iOS features. The quality build means they’re much heavier, though you’d barely know it once they’re on. Thats thanks to the efficiency of their construction. There are good colours options too, a rarity in many high-quality headphones. Elsewhere, it comes equipped with just two buttons — one for the ANC and a multi-functional dial for volume and playback options.
The battery life is a bit average at 20 hours. Thats especially disappointing when compared to other headphones in a similar price range and spec. But they do go into an automatic low power mode when you put them in the carry case (the case doesn’t do a very good job of protecting the headset, though).
Dont get us wrong — the AirPods Max are ace. But theyre definitely best suited to Apple users. Android users will find them an excellent pair of noise cancelling headphones, of course, but they’ll be missing out on certain features and paying a big price for the pleasure. But if you are an Apple user and you dont mind the price tag, these are arguably the best headphones around.
Theres a reason that most of the headphones on this list come at a premium price: It takes high-end technology to deliver top-level ANC. But JBL, which has emerged as one of the most popular headphones brands, excels at the mid-level. Thats why were recommending the JBL Tune 770NC, a great example of JBLs low-cost, high-performance noise cancellation cans.
The wireless JBL Tune 770NC headphones look the part, with a more premium design and hard-wearing plastic. Large, over-ear cups create a comfortable seal that blocks out external sound — even without the ANC switched on.
But let’s get to the important bit — performance. The sound is solid and packed with bass (some might even say too much, if you’re finicky about refined mids and highs). And the ANC is as good as it gets at this price, with True Adaptive Noise Cancelling tech and a Smart Ambient function to stay in tune with the outside world. Just push a button to activate the ANC or ambient modes.
On that note, the buttons on JBL headphones, which are located on the ear cups, can be slightly fiddly — theyre not quite as intuitive as we’d like and all feel a bit similar — but you’ll soon feel your way around them.
As for connectivity, they have multi-point pairing. Some reviewers have noted bugs when connecting the Bluetooth on JBL headphones, but this listener has never had a problem. And while JBL promises up to 65 hours of battery life, its more like 40 hours with the ANC switched on.
The German-built Sennheiser is well known for building some of the most durable, best-sounding headphones on the market. Take, for instance, the Sennheiser Momentum 4, the most up-to-date iteration of the brands signature headphone range.
The ANC itself is very good, with adaptive technology that reacts to external noise and adjusts the ANC levels in real time. Theres a transparency mode that you can activate with a double tap on the ear cup. The ANC isnt quite as good as Sonys version but its still very good. In addition to that high-end ANC, the sound quality is excellent. That comes as no surprise with Sennheiser. The family-run brand has been perfecting the art of audio for generations.
The sound comes courtesy of an audiophile-inspired 42mm transducer system. It comes with a built-in EQ, presets, and sound modes, though you can control the EQ levels within the Sennheiser Smart Control Plus app. Theres also a Sound Personalization feature, which optimises the audio to the specifics of your individual hearing. That means tailor-made sound.
The real sweetener, as far as were concerned, is the immense battery life of 60 hours — double what Sony is offering at this level. And while were used to seeing battery performance depleted by using ANC, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 maintain 60 hours when youve got the ANC switched on. Thats seriously impressive. And while theyre not the most attractive headphones on this list, thats an issue of personal taste.
If headphones for you are more than just some audio tech to wrap around your head — a fashion accessory that makes a statement as well as delivering sound — the Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2e are the pair for you.
Style-wise, theyre very high-end — a combo of contemporary and timeless in the framework and soft fabric finish. Slipping them on will be like proudly wearing a pair of box-fresh trainers. They’re comfortable too, with memory foam on the ear cups and headband, along with a nice selection of colours. Fortunately, the style is matched by audio quality.
These are actually an evolution of the regular Px7 S2 headphones — indeed, the “e” stands for evolved — and they take “learning and inspiration” from the more expensive Px8. But the reason were here, of course, is noise cancellation. The PX7 S2e use “hybrid” noise cancellation technology, which means they have interior and exterior mics that seek out and cancel ambient noise. Theres also a passthrough transparency mode for letting in ambient sounds, though theres no adaptive ANC like you find on other premium headphones.
The ear cups swivel flat but they don’t fold inwards for extra portability. You’re better off keeping these around your head and neck at all times. But they look way too good for that to be a problem. Other features include adjustable EQ settings and automatic pause when you take the headset off.
The brilliance of Bose is no secret. Everyone knows about the audio brand. One of the reasons people rave about Bose is that its active noise cancellation is of such a high quality. Not to mention the fact that Bose pretty much invented the noise cancellation headphone category. And right now, the Bose headphones that most reviewers are raving about are the Bose QuietComfort Ultra.
These headphones have an ANC upgrade that makes these as good as any premium noise-cancelling cans available. They have three different ANC modes — Quiet (for regular noise cancellation), Aware (which lets in ambient noise), and Immersion (which combines ANC and Bose Immersive Audio). You can even create your own ANC modes in the Bose Music app, along with adjusting your EQ levels.
The Immersive Audio, which is Boses name for spatial audio, is another bonus — essentially a 3D sound technology and one of the big buzz words in premium headphones right now. The QuietComfort Ultra also boast CustomTune technology, a clever feature that customises the sound by analysing your ears and tweaking the audio performance to suit their specific shape.
If theres a downside its the battery, which is disappointing for this price. Bose promises 24 hours of juice but you can expect 18 hour with ANC usage. However, it doesnt need to be a dealbreaker. These headphones are so slick and feature-packed that we can just about overlook the need for regular charging.
Not everyone wants to spend hundreds of pounds on a pair of headphones. Indeed, if theres one thing thing that sounds sweeter than sharp audio with noise cancellation, its a great bargain. And thats what you get with the Sony WH-CH720N, highly-rated headphones that deliver huge value.
What you get with these headphones is an overall solid performance — solid sound, solid noise cancellation, solid build — if not exceptional. You can rely on Sony, of course — the Japanese manufacturer does this stuff better than anyone — though theres obviously better audio and ANC available elsewhere. Thats always the kicker when youre shopping at the budget level.
But these have some nice extras. You get multipoint pairing, which removes the hassle of switching between devices, plus the option to refine the sound and ANC in the Sony Sound Connect app settings.
They also pack more battery than youll find on some of the more expensive models, and some reviewers report than they even exceed 35 hours with ANC on. Sony claims they last as long as 50 hours without ANC, too.
The ANC is powered by Dual Noise Sensor technology, with the option to customise the ambient sound across 20 different levels. Youll also find the on-ear control buttons pleasingly tactile — particularly in this age of fiddly swipe controls that always take some effort to master. Overall, these are excellent value headphones at an impressively low price.
Topics
Apple
Bose
Earbuds
Joseph Green is the Global Shopping Editor for Mashable. He covers VPNs, headphones, fitness gear, dating sites, streaming, and shopping events like Black Friday and Prime Day.
Joseph is also Executive Editor of Mashables sister site, AskMen.
Matt Ford is a freelance contributor to Mashable.