These headphones have the best noise canceling (ANC)
What does active noise cancellation actually sound like on ANC headphones? We investigated this question with the help of a special test setup – now you can judge with your own ears how well the following noise-cancelling Bluetooth headphones can block out the noise on air travel.
Update from 06/08/2022: Now we have our try for the second time performed this time with current models: Soundcore Life Q35, JBL Live 660NC, Bose QuietComfort 45 and Sony WH-1000XM4. Watch the video here:
Original article:
Here is our first video (December 2018) with Bose QuietComfort 35 II, Sony WH-1000XM3, B&W PX, Motorola Escape 800 ANC and TaoTronics TT-BH047:
Noise Canceling Test: We tested these Bluetooth headphones
How does noise canceling sound? ANC headphones can’t conjure up absolute silence – but they reduce ambient noise quite a bit so that you can listen to your music “in peace”. Technically, this happens with “anti-noise”, the hum of the aircraft engines is neutralized with a reversed signal in the earpiece.
So it depends on the (software and hardware) know-how of the manufacturer how well this technology works in practice. Our comparison shows that there are actually slight but clearly audible differences in the effectiveness of the noise insulation. You can hear it for yourself in our video (above) by putting on your headphones while watching.
Here is an overview of the selected Bluetooth headphones with noise canceling and the prices (RRP). Detailed GIGA test reports are linked in brackets:
Noise-cancelling headphones in comparison: this is how we tested it
So that you can experience for yourself how noise canceling “sounds”, our editor put the Sennheiser Ambeo Smart Headset in his ears. Using tiny microphones in the earpieces, it records exactly what our editor is hearing at that moment. To do this, we used aircraft noise at 80 dB per speaker and then put on the five different noise-cancelling headphones.
Our result: The Bluetooth headphones Sony WH-1000XM3 deliver the best noise cancellation in the test field. The inexpensive Motorola Escape 800 ANC may end up in last place in the noise-canceling test, but it is still convincing: It also takes some of the power out of annoying aircraft noise and makes for a more pleasant situation when listening to music.
More ANC headphones in our detailed purchase guide:
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