How to Choose the Best Over the Ear Noise Cancelling Headphones
If you’re traveling by public transport or working from your home, noise-cancelling headphones can upgrade your listening experience by creating an acoustic buffer between your ears and the outside world. How do you pick the best pair for your needs?
There are two kinds of noise cancelling headsets: passive noise isolation, and active noise cancellation. The former makes use of padded earcups that fit snugly to block out sounds from outside while the latter utilize built-in microphones to create opposite sound waves that cancel out background noise.
Comfort
Noise cancelling headphones are a great option to block out the noise of the world, whether you’re on crowded public transport, trying to sleep on a plane that’s booked to capacity or fighting with noisy coworkers. They also allow you to enjoy your music at a relaxing level without putting pressure on your ears. Furthermore, the majority of our top picks have a lightweight design that’s comfortable to wear for long periods of time.
Noise cancellation is traditionally achieved through active sound reduction technologies that create opposite sound waves in order to block ambient noise. You can find headphones with passive noise isolation, which seals the earcups or buds around the ear to block out unwanted sounds. However, the best models we tested use active sound cancellation to offer the ultimate escape.
For the most effective results, you’ll need to ensure your headphones fit snugly and are well-designed. It is also important to ensure that they don’t leak, which can annoy people near you. To truly experience a full audio experience, you’ll need headphones that have the high-resolution Bluetooth codec LDAC. This allows them to playback hi-res music at 96kHz/24 bits resolution, making them an audiophile’s dream.
A lot of new models can fold which makes them compact and practical for travel. If you’re in search of a travel headphone with an easy-to-fold design, the Bose QC45 we reviewed is a great option. If you’re a frequent flyer, the sennheiser noise cancelling headphones HD 450BT are a solid pair that fold down to the size of a carry-on bag, making it easy to transport.
Most of the models featured in our roundup are wireless, and many of them are truly mobile headsets that have built-in microphones that allow hands-free phone calls. You can also control your noise cancelling and audio settings through a separate app which is a great alternative for those who want to adjust their headphones while on the move. Some wireless models come with docking stations that allow on the going listening, while others come with a portable case that gives you hours of battery power when you are away from home or at work.
Sound Quality
The quality of sound is a major deal for most music lovers, especially when it comes to headphones. While any pair of headphones can assist in removing ambient sounds, a good pair of noise cancelling headphones will not only be able to effectively block out sounds from outside, but will also be able to provide clear, high-quality audio.
If you’re spending lots of money on headphones, you need them to play your music as effectively as they can. Fortunately that’s what they can do. As ANC headphones have advanced in sound quality, their sound has improved with time. The result is the best over ear headphones without noise cancelling audiophile headphones on the market today.
Of course, the quality of sound you’ll experience will largely depend on the way you listen to music and over the ear noise cancelling headphones what your preferences are. Some prefer a full warm, warm sound with plenty of bass, while others may prefer high-quality headphones to be able to listen to every detail in the music or album.
Noise cancellation is a personal preference. While ANC does an excellent job in removing monotonous sounds like the whooshing of an aircraft or the roar of traffic, it’s not able to stop dynamic sounds that fluctuate in frequency and intensity, such as human voices or instruments.
To this end, an excellent pair of headphones with excellent passive isolation and great ANC is an excellent choice, regardless of whether you opt for earbuds that seal around your ears or over-ear headphones that completely cover your earlobes. You can achieve impressive isolation even with no active noise cancellation with Comply memory foam tips or similar products that will precisely fit to the shape of your ears.
Most ANC headphones have several Bluetooth codes that allow you to connect to the music source you like. The Sony WH1000XM4s for example, feature both LDAC support and DSEE Extreme to ensure you can listen to your favourite songs in high-quality and stunning detail. As a result, when Sinead O’Connor sings Nothing Compares 2 U her sibilant cry and forceful chorus come through as if she were in the room with you.
Noise Cancellation
Noise cancelling headphones are an excellent option to create an extra buffer between you and the outside world. They listen for ambient sounds and then use built in microphones to «read» the environment, allowing only the audio that you want to hear. These are great for those who commute at home, work from home or in any other situation where background noises could be distracting or over The Ear noise cancelling headphones even annoying.
Noise cancelling headphones use a technology called active noise cancellation to perform their magic. Small microphones in earcups or the earbuds listen to the sounds that you’re exposed to, then emit the exact opposite frequencies, which will then meet and effectively block out unwanted sounds, leaving the music you’re listening. It’s more complicated than that, and is contingent on the hearing sensitivity of your ears, the design of the headphones and the quality of the audio processing, but the gist is that they will significantly reduce the noises you hear, whether that’s an aircraft engine or your coworker’s animated conversations.
The top over-ear ANC headsets we tested aren’t able to completely block out background noises however they are effective in blocking them. You should consider a pair of headphones with adaptive noise cancellation. This takes ANC to a whole new level by monitoring ambient sounds and reversing them in real time, while maintaining the audio you’d like to hear (including handsfree calls) at a constant level. This technology is demonstrated in the Sony WH1000XM5s.
Many pairs of over-ear ANC headphones have additional features that make listening more enjoyable. Look for features such as control buttons, high-quality audio codec support, and support for voice assistants such as Siri or Google Assistant. Wireless Bluetooth is essential for hands-free audio playback as well as convenient audio playback. A portable charging case can allow you to stay connected while on the go.
A passive mode is a handy feature. It allows you to switch off the noise cancellation circuitry and listen with the same isolation that regular headphones provide. This is a great feature to use if you do not want to hear outside noises or have enough battery to power your headphones.
Value
A great pair of headphones can make you feel like you are in a soundproof room when listening to music or making phone calls. Noise cancelling headphones cost more than non-noise-canceling models but they deliver better sound quality and block out distracting ambient sounds. Because of this, they’re worth the additional expense for those who spend a lot of time alone in the office or traveling.
The Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones boast amazing noise cancellation capabilities and come packed with lots of useful features that include a microphone that can produce clear and natural audio during phone calls and DSEE Extreme audio upscaling. The ANC system does a fantastic job of blocking out external sounds, though they struggle to shield you from the bass-range sounds like traffic or trains passing by.
The headphones are lightweight and fold into an elongated D shape which can be easily tucked away in bags for transport. They’re perfect for traveling. They support multiple voice assistants, including Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and they have a feature that automatically pauses your music when you remove them from your ears. You can also connect them with a wired connection to listen to your favorite music or podcasts in noisy environments.
The Razer Opus Wireless headphones are an excellent value for the price. In addition to an ANC system that performs well they also have a transparency mode that activates the external microphones on the headphones, so more of the noise around you can be heard. The headphones are equipped with a built in USB-C charging port, which means they can be used even while charging. They also have low latency connectivity via Bluetooth which is essential for gaming on the go and watching videos.
For a more budget-friendly option look into the Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless headphones. They’re great at cancelling out distracting noises, such as the rumble from plane engines and buses, or the high-pitched buzz of computer fans. They can last for more than 32 hours on a single charge and have an auto-off timer to conserve power.