Best headphones with noise cancelling in 2023

Mar 06, 2024

Drown out the outside world with the best noise-cancelling headphones available

We live in a hectic, bustling world, and sometimes all the chaotic noise can be overwhelming. That's where the best headphones with noise-cancelling come in, blocking out all the unwelcome background sound and stress, so you can get lost in a world of music or your favorite soothing podcast. Noise-cancelling is an impressive technology that works by listening to the environment around you and then creating anti-noise to counteract it.

However, like the best noise-cancelling wireless earbuds, only having good active noise cancelling (ANC) isn't enough to justify laying out your hard-earned cash. The best choices also include great headphones with excellent sound quality, long battery life, useful features, and a comfy fit.

The best keeps getting better

Sony followed up the excellent WH-1000XM4 with another winner, indisputably the best all-around pair of cans with noise-cancelling you can buy at anything approaching a reasonable price. They're understated, boast amazing sound quality, and pack a battery that lasts up to an impressive 30 hours with ANC enabled (or 40 without).

Sony's WH-1000 line has been a contender for the best noise-cancelling headphones title for years, and the latest iteration is no exception. The WH-1000XM5 pair some of the best active noise cancelling in consumer headphones with a great fit, top-notch sound quality, and an understated design that matches nearly any aesthetic. They might not pop with RGB lighting or have a hyper-stylized design like current streamer and gaming headphones, but they focus on functionality and an impressive battery life of up to 30 hours with ANC enabled and 40 hours without.

We chose the WH-1000XM5 as our headphones of the year in 2022, and they remain one of the best models on the market. They take the tried and true approach to hardware upgrades: it wasn't broke, so Sony didn't go out of their way to "fix it." That's not to say that these are a carbon copy of the WH-1000XM4, however. The latest model adds more mics to improve the already very good noise cancelling, as well as high-end and bass quality, making these the best all-around headphones with noise cancelling you can find.

Stellar quality at a low price

Anker's Soundcore Life Q30 cans are a masterclass in delivering a balance of quality and features without devastating your bank account. For a reasonable price, they provide great sound quality, a 40-hour battery life, and solid connectivity in a sleek, futuristic-looking package.

With the way the audiophile market works, if you're looking for the best of the best, you can end up spending a tremendous amount of money. While that's fine for the independently wealthy with an unlimited budget, a set of cans like Anker's Soundcore Life Q30 is a godsend for mere mortals. With the Q30, you can avoid blowing through a large pile of cash without sacrificing some of the things you value most to save money.

The Q30 boasts sound quality that impresses at this price point, though they won't rival a $3,000 pair of studio headphones. They also have a broad range of connectivity and communication options, alongside graphic and EQ presets for finding the audio presentation you want for whatever you're listening to. Perhaps most impressive, they boast a battery life of over 40 hours with noise-cancelling enabled, so you're unlikely to end up with dead cans at a crucial zen-seeking moment.

Worth every penny

If you're willing to splurge a little, the Px7 S2 are an improvement in almost every way over an already great pair of headphones, with upgraded sound quality, top-shelf noise-cancelling, quick charge functionality, and a cozy fit. These premium headphones genuinely earn the title.

If you're going to spend a little extra, it's important to know you're getting your money's worth. The Bowers and Wilkins Px7 S2 headphones are a premium product that live up to their reputation. The S2 model takes a great product and upgrades the most crucial features, such as improved sound quality, elevated noise cancelling (to rival the best out there), and earcups that won't make you uncomfortable even during marathon listening.

The premium tag shines with some of the bonus features and extras like angled drivers to deliver crisp bass and better sound throughout the range, a wear sensor to detect when you take the headphones off and auto-pause your music, and quick charge functionality that can provide 7 hours of battery life off of a 15-minute charge or 30 hours when charged for 2 hours. There's also a pair of mics to improve voice quality for calls and a fully featured app to customize stuff like EQ settings or ANC modes.

Street flair meets Apple design

With a premium matte finish and several appealing colors, Studio3 are some of the slickest-looking headphones on our list. But they are more than good looks. Built around Apple's W1 chip, they do an excellent job of counteracting noise and pack great connectivity and wireless performance with a solid battery life. And due to a rapidly declining price tag, these are easier to recommend than ever.

Apple buying Beats by Dre was initially met with some understandable skepticism, but if the Studio3 are any indication, the tech giant is moving the brand in the right direction. These headphones take advantage of the Apple-built W1 chip, which means improved connectivity while optimizing power usage to stretch battery life. They haven't abandoned their Beats legacy in the process, however, as these are still stylish and slick, with an attractive matte finish in a number of colors. The soft plastic looks and feels great, with plush synthetic leather earcups that won't punish your ears.

The Studio3 also have excellent noise cancellation. Apple has deployed a technology it calls Pure ANC, the primary aim of which is to eliminate as much of the distortion associated with the active version of noise cancellation as possible. The Pure ANC on the Studio3 largely succeed by improving on previous iterations in the overall quality of the ANC and limiting that distracting distortion effect. While the mids and bass aren't quite up to snuff compared to some of the best headphones out there, the bevy of other features compensate for any dips in sound quality.

Listen forever

With a remarkable 60 hours of battery life proven during our testing, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 ensure that even the most forgetful among us won't end up with drained headphones. Beyond that headlining feature, the Momentum 4 pack great sound quality and robust app support to customize a huge number of settings and features.

If, like me, you're constantly forgetting to charge your army of wireless devices, Sennheiser's got your back. With a charge of up to 60 hours, they may feel like the battery never runs out, a feature that's even more impressive when you consider the top-quality audio. While the aesthetic isn't the flashiest or most appealing, the upside of the design is that they are very comfortable, with a great padded band and faux leather earcups lined with plush, comfy foam.

Enhancing the audio quality is Sennheiser's Smart Control app, which allows you to customize EQ settings to your heart's content, and also features a number of handy extras. For example, there's "smart pause," which will freeze your music anytime you take the headphones off, while a similar option will hold calls whenever the cans detect that they're not on your head. There are also a ton of ANC options built into the app, including setting adaptive ANC to dynamically adjust to your environment or defining up to 20 specific locations with their own custom ANC setting.

Feather-light with crispy audio

Some of the comfiest headphones you can put over your ears, 1MORE's SonoFlow also deliver great audio via LDAC support. This wireless audio codec means you can get really crisp sound even through your smartphone. There's also an attention-grabbing purported 70-hour battery life, though that number drops steeply when you enable the (very good) ANC.

One of the chief advantages of earbuds over headphones is that they don't deliver wearer fatigue, one of the most irritating drawbacks to intimate listening. 1MORE has somehow managed to find the unicorn solution: a pair of over-ear headphones that you'll barely notice you're wearing. And that comfort isn't achieved by sacrificing the other most important features you want from ANC headphones. There's still excellent sound quality, effective ANC, and support for Sony's LDAC codec. LDAC allows you to stream high-quality audio (up to 32-bit/96kHz at up to 990kbps) over Bluetooth, so you can get good audio even via a wireless smartphone connection.

While your eyes might bulge when you see the advertised, impressive 70-hour battery life, bear in mind that the number drops significantly when you're using ANC. However, for relatively inexpensive headphones, that's still a remarkable battery, and the SonoFlow is a good value when you consider all the other marks in its pro column.

Elegant with great bass

The Bose 700 wireless headphones are a no-brainer pick for this list, with ANC so effective that they sometimes feel like a magic trick. Bose has always been a leader in noise cancelling and continues to rule the roost with these elegantly designed headphones, complete with excellent sound quality and voice clarity, plus powerful and clear bass.

Bose has long been the leader in consumer-level noise-cancelling technology, mainly due to its QuietComfort series. However, the 700 model takes some of the best qualities of the QC range to the next level, providing the best and most customizable active noise cancelling you can buy. They also feature that other Bose hallmark: truly remarkable sound rivaling expensive studio equipment at a slightly more consumer-friendly price.

The 700 particularly shine in the low end, with rich, deep bass that doesn't sound too forced or overpowering. This bass is an essential part of the sonic range meant to enhance the sound, not bass as a bludgeon designed to make your ears bleed. The 700 is also a refinement in design, with a modern, elegant look and build that'll make you feel like you're engaged with a premium product instead of a utilitarian piece of tech. There's also an array of four microphones to ensure voice quality is nearly as clear as the other audio. Besides the elevated price, the only real weakness in the 700 is the battery life, which maxes out at around 20 hours, less than a third of some of the other options on our list.

Candy for your ears and your wallet

With the Hesh ANC, Skullcandy has delivered an impressive pair of headphones that stand out with very punchy bass, competent noise cancelling, and a cozy fit — all at a very consumer-friendly price. In addition, bright highs and mids pair with thunderous low ends, resulting in a sculpted and impressive sound for cans in the budget range.

Skullcandy has made a name for itself by crafting audio experiences that truly stand out, and the Hesh wireless headphones move the company even further in that direction. With sculpted audio, the listening experience feels almost active, featuring sparkling highs and mids that make treble feel like a star — and truly thundering, intense, borderline overwhelming bass (depending on the track). For less than a third of what you'd spend for some of the pricier consumer ANC headphones, the Hesh is comfortable, well-designed, and takes the edge off of background noise, though they do not reach the peak of noise-cancelling performance provided by a headset like the Bose 700.

For a company called Skullcandy, the aesthetic design here is surprisingly understated. Unlike some of its other offerings, the Hesh is only available in black or white color schemes, with minimum visual frills outside of the logo on the headband. The earcups are generously stacked with soft memory foam, prioritizing comfort over flash, a move I heartily applaud.

In today's world, we're bombarded with more stimuli than ever before, which makes it super easy to get distracted. A good pair of noise-cancelling headphones are a great way to ensure you're giving your music the attention it deserves, whether you're at the gym, on a flight, or tucked into a crowded coffee shop. However, with so many options available, picking a pair that perfectly fits your needs can be challenging. Luckily, you can't go wrong with Sony's WH-1000XM5; they offer a balance of premium features that should work for just about anyone looking to disappear into an aural landscape of their choosing.

That said, Sony's flagship offering isn't cheap, so for those on a more restrictive budget, consider the Anker Soundcore Life Q30. Without undue sacrifice, the Q30 are available for significantly less than some of the top-end ANC options, and they offer great audio and a long-lasting battery. On the other hand, if money is no object, Bowers and Wilkins' high-end Px7 S2 are full of features and premium touches that make them the luxury automobile of noise-cancelling headphones.

The best keeps getting better

Sony followed up the excellent WH-1000XM4 headphones with another winner, indisputably the best all-around pair of cans with noise-cancelling you can buy for a reasonable price. They're understated, boast amazing sound quality, and pack a battery that lasts up to an impressive 30 hours with ANC enabled (or 40 without).

Alan is an experienced culture, commerce, and tech writer with a background in newspaper reporting. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, The Escapist, ESPN, PC Gamer, and a multitude of other outlets. He has over twenty years of experience writing reviews, deals posts, and roundups of the best tech and his debut novel, The Sixth Borough, is coming soon.