In the past decade, noise-cancelling headphones have gone from being a niche technology enjoyed by frequent flyers to being worth £4.2 billion a year in sales worldwide. Pioneered by Bose, all the major audio brands now sell them, from Sony to Beats By Dre and budget contender JBL.
So picking out the best noise cancelling headphones has become a tricky task. The price range goes from bargain basement to eye-wateringly expensive. In fact, noise-cancelling is increasingly offered as a ‘standard’ option both in the over-the-head headphones (which we’ve focused on here) and in the best wireless earbuds and running headphones to which we’ve written separate guides.
I explain how noise-cancelling works below, along with my full reviews of this year’s best headphones, but if you just want the headlines, here are my top five: Which are the best noise-cancelling headphones of 2024? At a glance: Best overall : Sony WH1000XM4 Best noise cancellation: Bose 700 Best sound quality: Bowers & Wilkins Px8 Best bass : Beats Studio3 Wireless Best budget noise-cancelling headphones : JBL Tune760 NC What are noise-cancelling headphones? There are actually two kinds of noise-cancelling headphones, says Spencer Chrislu, Director of Content Services at Cambridgeshire-based audio tech pioneer MQA. “ Passive noise cancellation works by sealing the headphone or earbud and thus blocks outside noise interference.” says Chrislu.
Most of today’s headsets use active noise-cancelling, which .