At a glance
By Adam Turner
Noise cancellation was once restricted to large over-ear headphones, designed to offer relief from the roar of jet engines on long-haul flights. Today, the technology is also built into a range of tiny wireless earbuds, perfect for exercising, commuting or working in a noisy environment.
Keep in mind, over-ear headphones support wired connections, so users have the benefit of plugging into an in-flight entertainment system.
Noise cancellation works by listening to the world, inverting the sound and playing it back. Unfortunately, it can’t completely block out everything and create a Maxwell Smart-style cone of silence.
Instead, noise-cancelling headphones work best on constant low-frequency background noises like murmuring voices, droning air conditioning or humming traffic.
While it’s tempting to simply increase the volume on normal headphones to drown out the sounds of the world, it puts hearing at risk. With noise-cancelling headphones, music doesn’t need to be loud to get some solitude.
Of course, sometimes noises are important, such as the sound of approaching cars when out for a run. Thankfully, many new noise-cancelling headphones and earbuds feature what Apple calls “Transparency mode”, which lets users listen to music while still hearing the outside world.
There’s also “Conversation Awareness” mode, which temporarily turns down music and enables Transparency mode when users start talking to someone.
Enable “Conversation Boost” to make it easier to hear during a face-to-face conversation.
Meanwhile, “Adaptive Audio” mode takes the edge off extremely loud noises without impacting sound quality. It’s handy for those who struggle with the loud volume in concerts and movies, but don’t want to use earplugs that simply muffle the sound.
Here are six noise-cancelling headphone options.
Apple Airpods Pro 2
Along with noise-cancellation, the Apple AirPods Pro 2 earbuds offer Transparency mode, Conversation Awareness, Conversation Boost and Adaptive Audio. While they can work with non-Apple bluetooth devices, when connected to Apple there are the added benefits of summoning Siri and taking advantage of “Spatial Audio” with head tracking.
Google Pixel Buds Pro 2
Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 earbuds feature Transparency mode and Conversation Detection, although the latter pauses your music rather than turning it down.
When connected to Android devices via bluetooth, users can summon Google Assistant, with advanced features like translating conversations in real-time. Spatial audio with head tracking is also available when connected to Google Pixel devices.
Sennheiser momentum True Wireless 4
They lack an automatic Conversation Mode, but the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 earbuds do offer adjustable Transparency Mode, courtesy of an in-app slider that allows users to set how much of the outside world they can hear.
When it comes to summoning smart assistants, the earbuds work with both Apple and Google devices via bluetooth. One key strength is music quality, with support for high-end aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless audio.
Apple Airpods Max
Like most premium over-ear headphones, the Apple AirPods Max offer superior noise cancellation to earbuds. They feature Transparency mode, Conversation Awareness and Conversation Boost but lack Adaptive Audio.
The headphones connect via bluetooth, with support for high-end lossless audio coming, but there’s also Apple’s optional Lightning-to-3.5mm audio cable for wired listening.
Sony WH-1000XM5
Sony’s WH-1000XM5 headphones offer best-in-class noise cancellation, although they lack automatic conversation mode — instead users engage transparency mode by touching hand to ear.
In terms of music quality, they support high-res and 360-degree spatial audio thanks to Sony’s LDAC audio-coding technology. Along with bluetooth, these come with a 3.5mm cable for wired listening.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra
Bose QuietComfort Ultra’s transparency mode is also activated manually, and additionally features an Immersive Audio mode that activates full noise cancellation along with Bose’s spatial audio feature with head tracking.
Music lovers will appreciate support for high-end aptX Adaptive audio. Along with bluetooth, there’s a 3.5mm cable for wired listening.
