The 10 Best Noise-canceling Headphones of 2024, Tested and Reviewed

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Enjoy a quieter, more immersive listening experience whether you’re traveling, commuting, working, or relaxing. bicycle communication system

Noise-canceling headphones have become essential for creating a focused, immersive environment, whether for flights, commutes, work, or simply enjoying high-quality audio. They’re different from regular headphones because they generate sound waves to cancel out the ambient sounds picked up by built-in microphones — a process called active noise cancellation (ANC). Living in New York City for the past 18 years, I don’t think there’s been a single day I haven’t used headphones. I rely on various models for different reasons and even carry two pairs of headphones in my bag at all times — just in case.

Travel + Leisure editors thoroughly tested 45 pairs of noise-canceling headphones — both over-ear models and earbuds — evaluating each model for ease of setup, noise-canceling abilities, comfort, how secure they felt, functionality, and value. We also examined sound quality for regular listening, active noise-canceling, transparency mode, and phone calls to ensure versatile performance in various environments — first wearing them in our New York City lab, then wearing them on our commutes home through noisy streets and subways. We continued testing them for an additional three months to see how they perform on airplanes, trains, and other travel scenarios, and will check back in after six months to gather further insights.

Our detailed breakdown below provides expert insights on our favorite noise-canceling headphones to help you find the best match for your audio needs.

These headphones have exceptional sound quality and silenced chaotic subway commutes and airplane rides for a peaceful listening experience.

Though they were extremely comfortable to wear on the plane, they’re clunky to wear for active use like workouts.

The Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2E headphones are an ideal choice if you’re looking for high-quality audio and advanced features. These are designed for a premium listening experience and provide detailed sound that enhances everything from music to movies. The adaptive noise cancellation effectively reduces background noise, creating an immersive environment ideal for focusing in noisy settings – whether commuting or working. “I was already impressed with the noise-canceling abilities when I could hear my music crystal-clear on the subway at rush hour, but I’m even more impressed after flying with these headphones,” says T+L testing editor Jackie Cucco. “When I switched on the ANC mode, it drastically dulled the roar of the engine and helped me sleep on the plane."

The pass-through mode works great, too, when you want to be aware of your surroundings, and the headphones are comfortable to wear for long periods of time, with cushioned ear cups and an adjustable headband that stay secure — though they’re a little bulky if you plan to exercise in them. Setting up the headphones is easy, but you must download the Bowers & Wilkins app, which has a straightforward pairing process and customization options, like adjusting sound settings such as bass and treble.

The headphones feature long battery life, providing hours of listening without frequent recharging. Their reliable Bluetooth connectivity allows seamless switching between devices, enhancing their versatility for daily use. Combining solid sound quality, comfort, and practical features, the PX7 S2E headphones are exceptional for audiophiles and everyday listeners.

These lightweight headphones won’t put pressure on your head, and the battery life is impressive.

They’re not waterproof or water-resistant, which may be a limitation for users who need headphones suitable for intense workouts or outdoor use.

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones stand out as a reliable choice for daily commutes, travel, and general listening, especially when comfort is key. With rich sound quality across music, movies, and podcasts, these headphones deliver immersive audio that is customizable through the Bose Music app. The noise-canceling feature worked great, drowning out noise on the subway and in a busy gym, though the volume seemed to suffer in noisy settings, sounding unbalanced at times. We combatted that by creating our own customized modes for different locations, like one for the gym with a louder volume (however, if you plan on using them for workouts, they are not water-resistant).

We found that the seamless switching between paired devices allows effortless transitions from a work laptop to a personal phone. A significant highlight is the battery life; we only needed to charge these headphones twice over three months of casual use, which is a significant upgrade compared to other wireless models. These are comfortable enough for long listening sessions without squeezing your head, though we noticed our ears warmed up after extended wear. These headphones are ideal for lightweight comfort, dependable performance, lasting battery life, and adaptable connectivity.

These sleek headphones have unique customization options in the app, allowing for a highly personalized listening experience.

They’re a little heavy, and the inability to pair with multiple devices simultaneously may be inconvenient for those frequently switching between devices.

The Dyson OnTrac Headphones combine innovative design and functionality for a premium listening experience. Setup is straightforward, with pairing instructions available via a QR code. Once connected, the MyDyson app opens to access various customization options for your listening needs. We could adjust sound settings to fit specific needs, from workout sessions to everyday listening, using equalizers such as enhanced, bass boost, and neutral. The noise cancellation is paired with a transparency mode that displays real-time decibel (dB) readings, which is the unit measuring the loudness of surrounding sounds to alert us if we are in overly noisy environments or if we’re listening to music too loudly.

“I love that it creates a report so you can refer back to how loud certain things, days, and situations were. This helps you know if you are listening to music at a harmful volume for your ears and track how long you've listened to music as well,” says T+L associate editorial director Morgan Ashley Parker.

In addition to the customizable sound settings, you can also customize the look of the headphones by mixing and matching different colored ear cups and outer caps (you can buy more colors and switch them out). We also loved the joystick nozzle that you can use to adjust the volume or skip tracks and the case that folds completely flat, unlike other bulky cases that take up space in your travel bag. We wish the headphones themselves were a touch lighter, and the one other downfall is that you can only pair them to one device at a time, making it difficult to transfer between a laptop and a phone.

With exceptional ANC and clarity, these headphones have excellent sound quality.

Even though there are multiple ear tip sizes available, the earbuds themselves are not the most comfortable.

Bowers & Wilkins recently redesigned its noise-canceling headphones with this latest model that has an improved ANC feature. Though it’s not 100 percent as silencing as the Bowers & Wilkins over-ear headphones, the ANC was still impressive on a rush hour commute — it was a stark difference to toggle between the different modes and create a hushed background that brings your podcast or music to the forefront with crisp details so you can hear voices, beats, and instruments distinctly. The sound quality was impressive, making music sound more vibrant than some other earbuds we’ve tried. The pass-through mode allows more sound in but in a muted way so you can be aware of your surroundings — which comes in handy if you want to be aware of any announcements in an airport or people walking nearby.

You can either use the tap controls on the earbuds to change modes, volume, or tracks, or you can do it directly in the app on your device. The earbuds come with four different sizes of tips so you can find the ones that fit best, but the earbuds themselves are a bit large. They stayed securely suctioned in our ears, and we never felt like they would fall out or get lost, but they weren’t the most comfortable to wear for long periods of time.

With advanced H2-powered transparency, these AirPods automatically adjust to minimize loud sounds, providing a safer and more comfortable listening experience in busy environments.

The features make these AirPods ideal for Apple users, so non-Apple users may not experience their full capabilities.

The Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation) is a consistently strong choice for Apple users who want seamless connectivity, superb noise cancellation, and versatile features. These AirPods come with four sizes of silicone tips for a snug, customizable fit, making them secure during physical activities as they may shift with intense movement. The noise cancelation rivals over-ear headphones because they can block out sounds effectively, even without playing music. “I have never used an earbud that cancels noise so well,” says T+L editor Taylor Fox. “Even when it's not playing music, you have the option to cancel noise, so they really double as ear plugs, which has been great for blocking out noisy neighbors on trains and planes. The sound quality is great for listening; however, I've gotten feedback from people on the phone that they can't always hear me when I'm using these to talk.”

Connecting to an iPhone is automatic and easy, while pairing with a laptop requires pressing the connection button on the case for a few seconds. We had these connected to three different devices — an iPhone, an iPad, and a MacBook — and it was easy to switch between each without having to manually click or remove any devices based on which device was playing audio. You can still use these even if you don’t have Apple devices, but you may not get to enjoy all the features, like the double-tab shortcuts and Siri. Like the Dyson headphones, these now offer hearing protection, available with a free software upgrade on your iPhone or iPad.

These headphones deliver clear, crisp audio with powerful ANC at a lower price point than many options on this list.

We found that the fit on these headphones isn’t the most secure.

If you don’t want to drop $400 on headphones, this pair from Sony delivers a sound quality within the ballpark of the more expensive brands at half the cost — and with better quality than any double-digit pairs. Built for comfort, the padded ear cups allow breathable, long-term wear that we found easy to wear for long days at work, an eight-hour flight, and at the gym. The connection is solid and consistent across multiple devices, allowing easy transitions between a laptop and a phone. T+L senior writer Merrell Readman shares, “The battery continues to impress me, lasting for weeks while I feel I’m using them constantly.” She only had to charge them three times while consistently using them for two months and shared that they take about an hour to fully charge.

The ANC worked great while listening to an audiobook on the subway, and unlike some other headphones on this list, the quality of phone calls was just as crisp. “I was really impressed with my phone call experience while using these headphones — especially since I took the call out on the busy — and noisy — New York streets,” Readman says. “I had no trouble at all hearing the person at the other end of the line, and when I turned on the noise-canceling setting, she told me that I got even clearer, and all the other outside noise faded away. Overall, I could not have asked for a better experience with eliminating background noise.”

There is also an adaptive sound control function that adjusts ambient sound settings based on your frequent locations, giving you the ability to switch the sound settings to suit different situations. The only negatives we experienced were that we had a hard time pairing them to our laptop, and we wish we could make them fit tighter because they tend to slip at times.

These stylish headphones are reliable, available in 10 colors, and offer seamless integration with Apple devices.

Like the AirPods Pro earbuds, some features will only benefit Apple users.

These are the most expensive pair of headphones on this list, but Apple users are used to shelling out premium prices for their tech devices. First things first: they’re sleek and stylish, available in 10 metallic color options (only five if you buy them on apple.com). If you do buy them directly from Apple, you can also get them engraved at no additional cost with text, numbers, or emojis for a personalized touch.

We thought setup was straightforward; they connected easily via Bluetooth for immediate use. The sound quality is sharp and clear, capturing every detail, making these headphones suitable for both music and calls. The responsive buttons allow ease of control of volume, playback, and ANC/transparency modes. The noise cancellation effectively blocked background sounds, even in busy environments. They weren’t the lightest headphones we tried, but they were still comfortable and snug on our head, staying in place during movement. Some of their more unique features will benefit Apple users most, like the ability for Siri to read notifications as they arrive from your text messages, phone calls, calendar, reminders, and more, and audio sharing so you can share audio streams between two sets of AirPods when listening on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV. They come with a charging case that covers the ear pads, but it's not very protective like some of the larger hardside cases that other brands offer.

The Details: ANC and transparency mode | 20-hour battery life with ANC and spacial audio on | 5-minute quick charge for 1.5 hours of use | Bluetooth 5.0 | 13.6 ounces for headphones; 4.74 ounces for included charging case

These affordable headphones will get the job done at an unbeatable price point.

The noise-canceling feature is not as powerful as some other brands, and it comes with a soft travel pouch rather than a hardside case.

These affordable headphones deliver reliable performance for various activities, from work Zoom calls to listening to music while walking or flying, at a fair price point. Though the noise-canceling abilities aren’t as strong as some of the headphones’ more expensive counterparts, they still help block out a lot of background noise. The ANC and transparency levels both have a default setting, but you can adjust those to five different levels through the Soundcore app to allow different volumes of ambient sound through.

The sound quality for both entertainment and phone calls is good, just not as vibrant as some other headphones. We also thought they were comfortable to wear, though the headband is not as secure as some others we’ve tried. They are the only pair on this list that do not come with a carrying case but with a thin travel pouch instead. Overall, we think these are a great choice if you’re looking for something more budget-friendly that still has noise-canceling abilities.

The Details: ANC and transparency mode | 40-hour battery life with ANC on; 55-hour battery life without ANC | Bluetooth 5.3 | Compatible with Soundcore app | Travel pouch included

These water-resistant earbuds impressed us during intense workouts with their effective noise cancellation and long battery life.

The sound quality on phone calls was not great, and the volume is hard to hear in noisy settings.

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds deliver powerful noise-canceling capabilities, ideal for blocking distractions in louder environments like airports or gyms. Users can customize bass and treble settings through the Bose Music app, with personalized modes for workout sessions or home listening. While the active noise-canceling feature performs effectively in quiet spaces, we found it harder to maintain our ideal volume in noisier settings, and the sound quality wasn’t the best for phone calls. We found that the Bluetooth connection is quick and consistent, making it easy to switch between devices seamlessly, and the battery life lasted around six hours on a full charge, which is high for earbuds.

We thought they were comfortable to wear, despite feeling heavier than AirPods. They fit securely and the water-resistant design worked well for gym sessions because they didn’t slip out when sweating. They come with three sizes of ear tips and three pairs of stability bands that you can adjust to get the right fit.

The Sennheiser Accentum Plus Wireless headphones boast an impressive battery life of up to 50 hours on a full charge, ideal for extended trips or busy days.

The ANC works but still lets in some background noise.

The Sennheiser Accentum Plus Wireless headphones deliver outstanding audio quality and effective noise cancellation, making them perfect for both home use and travel. We tested their performance in various environments, including busy offices and on public transport and found the adaptive hybrid ANC adept at reducing background noise, though it’s not as silencing as some other pairs we’ve tried. The sound adjusts to changing noise levels in different

Featuring Bluetooth 5.2, the headphones allow seamless connectivity between devices and easy switching without requiring an app, though there is one if you want to to customize your sound. Notably, the battery life lasts up to 50 hours on a full charge, and a quick 10-minute charge provides an additional five hours of playback, making the headphones ideal for long trips or busy days. The battery has never drained on us through consistent use — we just plug it in once a week to give it some extra juice. Overall, these headphones combine comfort, functionality, and superior sound quality, making them a strong choice for not too high of a price point.

bluetooth for your phone The Details: Adaptive hybrid ANC and transparency mode | 50-hour battery life | Bluetooth 5.2 | Compatible with Sennheiser Smart Control app | Case included