Ah, the freedom to travel! The world is your oyster in 2023.
But once the burden of choice regarding a destination for your trip has been eased (Ambling through the Louvre in Paris? Snorkeling with sea turtles in Maui? Snapping selfies by the Basilica de la Sagrada Família in Barcelona? Boating around the Amalfi Coast?) you'll need to consider the one less-than-lovely aspect of holidaying: long-haul flights. In economy.
Research has shown that aircraft engines represent a pretty intense noise source and can exceed 140 decibels (dB) during takeoff. Once airborne, those engines and high-speed turbulence over the fuselage create what some audiologists call "pink noise" in the cabin – white noise's low-pitched sibling. While this deep, largely continuous thrum can have a calming effect, it's not great for your music collection. The good news is it can be dealt with.
If you're a nervous flyer trying to work out whether the cheap, wired in-ear headphones handed out by the flight attendant will do just fine at nixing noise, trust me when I tell you it'll be a whole different experience with one of these good-quality, wireless, noise-cancelling over-ear headphones strapped over your ears.
If you want even more choices, our best noise-cancelling headphones guide is the place. Want earbuds? It's a decent idea – the best noise-cancelling earbuds are far easier to slip into your hand luggage – but for truly cozy sonic immersion and noise cancellation, I'd opt for an over-ear design.
So without further ado, grab a set of these ANC cans (all of which I've personally taken on long-haul flights) and get ready to feel cocooned in a bubble of silence – and when you're ready for them, great-sounding playlists.
With incredible battery life, a likable app, an extensive feature set, easy on-ear controls, zealous sound that'll have you nodding your head happily wherever you go, and, most importantly, talented noise cancellation that adapts to your surroundings, there's very little wrong with Sennheiser's newest cans – except that the aesthetic is a little beige.
As I mentioned in my Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless review, these August 2022-issue wireless over-ears boast a whopping 60-hour battery life, even with ANC deployed. To save you the hassle of checking, you only get 30 hours from the Sony WH-1000XM3, XM4 and XM5 models. And a flight from Chicago to Paris is eight hours.
The sound quality with ANC deployed truly shines here. I particularly love the tweakable active noise cancellation, which works so well for the level it shouldn't be allowed (you can actually control it by 'pinching' the right ear cup in the same way you'd pan in and out of photos on your smartphone).
One of the most novel inclusions (and make no mistake, Sennheiser threw everything, including the kitchen sink, at these) is ‘Sound Zones’. You can create up to 20 profiles – think home, the office, the gym, the train station – complete with specific EQ and noise isolation levels that'll magically activate or deactivate when you enter or leave a specific 'zone' wearing the Momentum 4 Wireless.
If you want fantastic noise-cancellation in a design that boasts strong battery life (and you can put up with the slightly boring aesthetic), Sennheiser's Momentum 4 Wireless headphones are for you.
Sony's WH-1000XM4 headphones deliver excellent noise cancellation and surprisingly agile sound quality in a comfortable foldable design – excellent for storing in your hand luggage.
Multipoint pairing, DSEE Extreme upscaling, conversational awareness and auto-play/pause using a built-in sensor all help the WH-1000XM4 claim the title of best noise-cancelling headphones right now. Yes, even when pitted against their younger sibling, the May 2022-issue Sony WH-1000XM5.
To clarify, these fourth-generation Sony wireless cans were released in August 2020 and are still among the best of the bunch for comfort, sound quality and ANC. They're just that good…
Even a cursory glance over our Sony WH-1000XM4 review reveals a wonderful pair of wireless noise-cancelling headphones, but support for Sony’s 360 Reality Audio format and the LDAC codec (that can send a bitrate of up to 990 kbps) certainly adds weight to the spec sheet. There's no support for aptX or aptX HD, so your Hi-Res Audio support mileage may vary. However, for meaty, zealous sound and effective noise-nixing, these slightly older headphones are still nothing short of excellent.
Full disclosure: the Sony WH-1000XM4 and Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless definitely edge out the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 in terms of battery life and probably price, too, depending on where you shop (you'll find the best deals below).
However, Bose wrote the book on ANC, creating the first pair of consumer-level noise-cancelling headphones (called the Aviation headset, in case you were wondering) in 1989, over 30 years ago. The Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 are worthy of their heritage.
The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 can apply noise-cancellation to phone calls as well as music, which is a fantastic feature – that's why they're our pick for the best noise-cancelling headphones for making calls. The sound quality is undeniably good to boot, with a vibrant, lively character and well-balanced soundstage.
Here, you can choose between 11 noise cancellation settings (which you won't find in Bose's newer QuietComfort 45 cans), all of which can be controlled via the Bose app. Three settings can be selected as presets and toggled using the physical button on the earcup.
When using the headphones at their highest setting of 10 (0 being the lowest), low-level cabin noise is all but eradicated, and with music playing it's a truly impressive performance.
They were released in August 2019, but because they remain both relevant and competitive in 2023 they're still not cheap. But then, you came here for quality noise-cancelling headphones rather than a bargain…
