What started out as a 6-way review featuring a couple of small, cheap headphones has become a large investment of time and resources in an attempt to provide a consistent introduction to portable headphones for newcomers to portable hi-fi. I put my meager (at the time) collection of portable headphones to good use and tested them against each other. I started planning this review around the same time I joined head-fi and saw how useful multi-headphone comparisons could be for a newcomer. Spider-realvoice-vertical-in-the-ear-headphone Sennheiser-px-200-ii-b-closed-on-ear-mini-headphones Sennheiser-hd-25-1-ii-professional-headphone Sennheiser-hd-238-stereo-open-aire-headphone Sennheiser-hd-228-closed-back-headphone-with-excellent-bass M-audio-studiophile-q40-closed-back-dynamic-headphones Koss-ksc75-portable-stereophone-headphones If a product hits nearly every mark, it’s awarded an Editor's Choice badge.Akg-high-performance-closed-back-dj-headphones-k181djĪudio-technica-ath-em7-gm-adjustable-aluminum-clip-on-headphonesĪudio-technica-ath-es7-portable-headphones-blackĬreative-aurvana-live-2-headset-with-40mm-drivers-and-in-line-micĭenon-dj-professional-headphones-denon-dnhp700 Once we complete our testing, we rate headphones based on our five-point system (1 = worst, 5 = best). Find out what we listen for during our testing process and how to get the best headphone sound for you.Īnd now that more streaming music services are offering high-resolution audio, be sure to read our audio codec FAQ for all you need to know about FLAC files, MP3s and everything in between. ANC headphones programmed with transparency modes are also tested thoroughly to determine how well the listener can hear their surroundings.įor sound quality, we listen to many different sample tracks and span as many music genres as possible, including hip-hop, rock, jazz, classical and R&B, while evaluating volume, clarity and fullness. This includes airplanes, city parks, convenience shops, offices, and public transportation. Our reviews also weigh special features, such as included apps, and how easy they are to use.ĭuring the testing phase, our reviewers wear each pair of headphones for 2 hours at a time throughout the course of a week, to test comfort over time.ĪNC, meanwhile, is tested in both indoor and outdoor environments where ambient sounds are produced at high levels. The best noise-cancelling headphones are rated based on several factors: audio performance, battery life, Bluetooth range, call quality, comfort and fit, and the effectiveness of the noise cancellation. View Deal (opens in new tab) How we test noise-cancelling headphones Alternatively, consider one of the five top-rated options listed below. In this guide you'll find plenty of alternative models to consider, but if you're specifically looking for in-ear designs then you'll want to take a look at our regularly maintained best noise-cancelling earbuds buying guide. In terms of over-ear headphones, the recently updated Sony WH-1000XM5 strike a great balance and are top of the best noise-cancelling headphones overall. This is handy for having a quick conversation or giving yourself some extra awareness, and you can switch between ANC and ambient modes at will. Most ANC headphones have such a mode, and it repurposes the onboard microphones to amplify surrounding noises instead of cancelling them out. Still, these don’t need to be reasons to avoid ANC headphones, and ambient/transparency modes enable wearers to maintain a level of awareness of their surroundings. It’s often harder to tell when someone is trying to speak to you, too. One other potential downside to ANC is the reduction in situational awareness for instance, reducing traffic noise could carry risks if you’re trying to cross a busy street. However, ANC is starting to show up on relatively affordable headphones, and our guide to the best cheap noise-cancelling headphones has several models with excellent battery life even with ANC. The most common drawbacks to noise-cancelling headphones is that they usually cost more than headphones without this technology, and the fact that ANC reduces battery life. On an overnight flight, ANC can also help you get some sleep, even if you’re not listening to music. They’re particularly useful for commutes and long-distance travelers, as plane engines and the trundling of trains are exactly the kind of consistent sounds that ANC excels at cancelling out. As such, just about anyone can enjoy the upsides of ANC headphones. It’s worth clarifying that active noise cancellation doesn’t improve the sound quality of your headphones as such, though it indirectly benefits the clarity of music and podcasts by removing distractions.
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