It’s nowhere near December, but I feel like the Grinch: “All the noise, noise, noise, NOISE!” Lawn mowers mowing, leaf blowers blowing, dogs with their barking, trucks with their parking! It’s enough to make you want to steal Christmas. Luckily for everyone in Whoville, I have excellent noise-cancelling earbuds to block out all that racket. And they’re just as great for travel (don’t get me started on planes that fly high and trains that go by) as they are for working from home. I tested a bunch of them; below you’ll find my picks for the best noise-cancelling wireless earbuds. Below that: how I tested, what to look for, frequently asked questions and more.
Reality check: ANC (active noise-cancelling) technology doesn’t help with all kinds of discord. It’s best against low frequencies: the hum of a fan, the drone of an engine, etc. It’s less effective against things like crying babies and barking dogs. ANC can reduce the intensity of those sounds, but you’ll still hear them.
Read more: The best cheap wireless earbuds for 2024
Take note of a potential safety issue: If you’re out walking or jogging with ANC activated, you’re less likely to hear an oncoming car or cyclist, or even a shouted warning. (“Look out for that runaway sleigh!”) Thankfully, these earbuds all have transparency mode, which disables ANC and enables the microphones to allow for better “situational awareness.”
Best noise-cancelling earbuds overall
Amazon
Ear detection: Yes | Spatial audio: Yes | Multipoint connectivity: No | Case charging: USB-C | Max battery life: 6 hours on a charge | Water resistance: IPX4 | Ear tips included: 3 sizes
The prize for best noise-cancelling goes to the Bose QuietComfort Ultra. In my tests, they edged out Apple’s AirPods Pro 2, at the same time rivaling the latter’s superb sound quality and spatial audio capabilities.
There are, however, some sour notes. For starters, the $299 price tag is $50 higher than AirPods, and more like $100 when you factor in the latter’s seemingly permanent discounts. This is despite the fact that Bose’s charging case doesn’t support wireless charging, and the earbuds don’t support multipoint connectivity. (A promised firmware update should remedy the latter.)
Even so, if any earbuds were to replace my AirPods Pro, I’d want them to be these.
Read my Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds review to learn more.
- Superb sound quality and ANC
- Excellent in-app tutorials
- Logical, responsive touch controls
- Highly immersive spatial audio
- No printed setup or operation instructions
- No wireless case-charging or multipoint connectivity
- Limited touch-control customization
- App needs work
Other noise-cancelling earbuds we liked
Amazon
Ear detection: No | Spatial audio: No | Multipoint connectivity: Yes | Case charging: USB-C | Max battery life: 8 hours on a charge | Water resistance: IPX6 | Ear tips included: 3 sizes
How can $40 earbuds possibly be this good? That’s the question I kept asking myself while testing the Baseus Bowie MA10, which surprised me with their nicely balanced sound, robust ANC and amazing battery life (up to eight hours on a charge and up to 140 hours of total playtime thanks to the extra-large charging case).
Yes, you have to forgo extras like ear detection and wireless case charging, and the case is hard to fit into a pants pocket. I also found that it was difficult to hear myself talk during phone calls, even with transparency mode engaged.
But, come on, a measly $40 (often discounted even lower) for earbuds that sound really good? If you want to experience the joy of ANC without the high price, start here.
Read our full Baseus Bowie MA10 review.
- Exceptional battery life
- Very good sound and noise-cancelling
- Smart touch controls
- Useful companion app
- Low price, and often discounted even lower
- No in-ear detection
- Hard to hear yourself on phone calls
- Charging case too large for most pockets
Rick Broida/Yahoo
Ear detection: Yes | Spatial audio: Yes | Multipoint connectivity: Yes | Case charging: USB-C or wireless | Max battery life: 6 hours on a charge | Water resistance: IPX4 | Ear tips included: 4 sizes
If you’re an iPhone user, there’s simply no better option than Apple’s latest AirPods Pro. Although the earbuds incorporate only minor improvements over the first-generation model, they were superb to begin with. (Android users, take note: You can use these with your phone, albeit without the panoply of software niceties. If that’s a problem, opt for any of the other choices on this list.)
What you get here is even better ANC, a bump in battery life, extra-small ear tips for users with smaller ears and an adaptive audio mode that adjusts noise cancellation and transparency modes based on the sounds around you.
Meanwhile, Apple’s charging case now has a speaker (for use with Find My) and a USB-C port in place of Lightning (the better to match with the USB-C iPhone 15). I don’t love the charge-status LED, which isn’t very helpful, but that’s a minor quibble.
Indeed, AirPods Pro 2 are excellent, and the price is actually a bit lower than that of premium rivals from the likes of Bose and Sony — especially when there’s a sale, which is nearly always these days.
Read our full AirPods Pro 2 review.
- Excellent sound quality and noise-cancelling
- Great for phone calls
- Improved battery life
- Amazing spatial audio
- Now supports USB-C charging
- Unhelpful charge-status LED on case
- Many features not available for Android users
- Hope you like white
Amazon
Ear detection: Yes | Spatial audio: Yes* | Multipoint connectivity: Yes | Case charging: USB-C and wireless | Max battery life: 12 hours on a charge | Water resistance: IPX4 | Ear tips included: 4 sizes
If you like to listen all day — and I mean all day — Sony’s got your earbuds. The XM5s can last up to eight hours on a charge, and that’s with ANC turned on. Turn it off and you can expect up to 12 hours. No other earbuds in this roundup even come close.
This isn’t a one-trick pony. These are premium in-ear speakers, and it shows in the beautifully broad and balanced soundstage, the crackerjack ANC and the AirPods Pro-level voice call quality. I also like Sony’s speak-to-chat feature, which automatically pauses playback and enables transparency mode whenever you start talking.
Unfortunately, if you want *spatial audio, you’ll have to subscribe to one of a handful of obscure services supported here; the XM5s don’t work with the likes of Apple Music, Spotify or Netflix. And, of course, premium earbuds mean premium pricing.
Read my Sony WF-1000XM5 review to learn more.
- Compact earbuds and charging case
- Wonderful sound
- Very good noise-cancelling
- Exceptional battery life
- Great for voice calls
- Pricey
- Perplexing companion app
- Spatial audio works only with select apps
- Touch controls can’t be modified
Rick Broida/Yahoo
Ear detection: Yes | Spatial audio: No | Multipoint connectivity: Yes | Case charging: USB-C | Max battery life: 5.5 hours on a charge | Water resistance: IP54 | Ear tips included: N/A
If you like “regular” AirPods, meaning the ones with hard-plastic earbuds that rest just inside your ears rather than augering in with silicone tips, look to Edifier’s alternative. At first blush, they’re virtually identical (especially if you choose the ivory color rather than the gray ones shown above), but there’s one key difference: noise-cancelling.
Regular AirPods don’t do that, but the W320TNs do — and surprisingly well. When I parked myself next to a noisy air-conditioning unit and enabled adaptive noise cancellation, the hum was reduced dramatically. This is despite the lack of added noise isolation that comes from silicone ear tips.
I liked the overall sound quality, light on bass though it was, and the AirPods Pro-style “pinch” controls. There’s even ear detection. Only battery life and the non-wireless charging case are a bit disappointing.
- ANC works well even without silicone ear tips
- Useful “pinch” controls
- Good companion app
- Built-in “find my earbuds” feature
- So-so battery life
- May not fit well in all ears
- Case doesn’t support wireless charging
Factors to consider when choosing noise-cancelling earbuds
ANC: Active noise-cancelling is the technology that helps reduce outside sound. Many modern earbuds pair that with noise-isolating silicone earbuds so you can listen in peace. Some now employ “adaptive” ANC as well, meaning the strength and/or frequencies of the noise-cancelling will automatically adjust based on your environment (indoors, outdoors, etc.).
Battery life: There’s the battery life of the earbuds themselves and the battery life of the charging case. The former can vary dramatically depending on volume level, ANC usage, spatial audio usage and so on. The “max battery life” referred to above reflects the company’s estimate, and it’s based on ANC and other potentially battery-draining features being off. Thus, earbuds with a max battery life of, say, six hours might last only four hours with ANC on.
Companion app: In the old days, you would pair your earbuds with your phone, and that was the end of it. Today, you’ll often find companion apps that let you check battery life, install firmware updates, tweak touch-control settings, add equalizer effects and more. It’s not a crucial thing to have, but it’s useful.
Ear detection: At some point, you’ll need to pop out an earbud so you can hear what someone is saying or have a quick chat. If it has ear detection, your music, video or whatever will automatically pause then resume when you put the ‘bud back in. It’s not essential, but it’s a feature I really love.
Multipoint connectivity: This increasingly common feature lets you pair your earbuds with more than one device and easily switch between them. This is great if you typically connect to your phone but also want to use, say, your laptop for work meetings or the like.
Spatial audio: This nifty feature tracks head movements to create a sort of focal point for your listening experience. For example, if you’re watching a movie on your phone and you turn your head, the sound will shift, so that it seems as if it’s still coming from the screen. It’s tricky to explain but really cool to use.
Water resistance: Good earbuds should be able to survive the sweat that pours off you at the gym, to say nothing of getting knocked into a puddle. Thankfully, all the products here have an IPX rating of 4 or better, which means they can withstand exactly those kinds of watery encounters. And at higher numbers (6 and 7), even a full-on dunk in the pool or bathtub won’t fry them.
How we tested noise-cancelling earbuds
This may surprise you, but I tested these earbuds by listening to … lots of music, duh. I also watched some videos, played some podcasts and so on. Sound quality is a primary focus, but it’s also quite subjective; what sounds good to me may sound like AM radio to you. I suspect most wireless earbud shoppers prize comfort, ease of use and noise-cancelling as much as audio fidelity. Consequently, much of my attention went to those areas as well.
As for battery life, we elected not to conduct real-world tests, and here’s why: There are too many variables. Earbud run time is affected by volume, ANC, spatial audio and other factors, all of which are likely to be different from one listening session to the next. We relied on manufacturers’ battery-life estimates for both the earbuds themselves and the charging cases. Anecdotally speaking, these tend to be pretty accurate, but remember what I said: many variables.
Noise-cancelling earbuds FAQs
How do noise-cancelling earbuds work?
There’s some pretty cool science behind it. Basically, microphones capture the sound around you, then an onboard processor generates an “inverse” sound and feeds that to your ears. Those audio waves nullify each other, resulting in reduced (i.e. “cancelled”) sound.
Do noise-cancelling earbuds protect hearing?
In a way. Loud noise can damage your hearing, and ANC can reduce that noise. But the bigger benefit is that it allows you to listen to music and other audio without having to crank the volume just to hear it over, say, the roar of an airplane engine. Thus, I consider it a kind of “indirect” hearing protection.
Are earbuds or headphones better for noise cancelling?
Headphones have larger audio drivers and employ padded cups that cover your entire ear, which means that, theoretically, they can produce a stronger ANC effect. Earbuds are smaller and more portable, and those that have silicone ear tips provide an in-ear seal — “passive” noise-cancelling — in addition to technology-powered ANC. In an anecdotal test between AirPods Pro earbuds and AirPods Max headphones, I found that the former did better against a lawn mower that was interrupting my workday.
Do noise-cancelling earbuds work without music?
They do! Outside sound is what drives ANC, so if you want to rest or work in silence without listening to music, you can. Of course, music offers another “layer” of outside-noise reduction, so if you want to maximize the effect, queue up your preferred playlist.
What do IP ratings mean?
“Ingress protection” indicates the level of protection against foreign objects like dust and water. The first number after “IP” relates to solids; the second, the liquids. Thus, earbuds with an IP54 rating have level 5 protection against solids and level 4 against liquids. If you see an “IPX5” rating, that means the earbuds aren’t rated (or weren’t tested) for dirt, dust and such, only for water.
What’s the difference between active and passive noise cancellation?
Think of holding your hands over your ears; that’s passive noise cancellation. It’s just a barrier, same as the silicone ear tips used by most earbuds. Those tips create a seal inside your ears to help reduce outside sounds. Active noise cancellation uses technology — microphones, microprocessors, etc. — to actively block sound.
Olivia Martin celebrates the art of living well in her lifestyle articles. She explores topics ranging from travel and fashion to home decor and culinary delights, offering inspiration for readers seeking a balanced and enjoyable lifestyle.
