Best Noise-Canceling Earbuds: Bose, Sony, Apple, and More

Here at WIRED, my colleagues and I test all headphones, including noise-canceling headphones, depending on the way you use them. We wear them for several weeks to test their comfort, battery life, and the convenience and accessibility of their onboard controls. We listen to random tunes, podcasts, and videos, but also curated playlists filled with music we’ve listened to dozens of times.

For me, that means samples of The Beatles, Radiohead, Fleetwood Mac, Beck, Nickel Creek, Snarky Puppy, Frank Sinatra, Depeche Mode, Anderson .Paak and many others. We each have our own list, but the common factor is a range of styles to confirm how they work for all types of listeners. Whenever possible we take the time to test lossless or high-resolution sound codecs with supported devices, and I use Spotify Lossless as my main streaming source.

To test noise cancellation, my colleague Parker Hall and I take both earbuds around the world, testing sounds coming from lawnmowers, vacuums, construction sites, traffic, and other local sounds, including their transparency and noise-canceling modes. Because we’re both audio producers, we also take them into our acoustically treated home studio, where we test their noise cancellation against airplane drone demos, vocal chatter, and white or pink noise played through studio monitors. When possible, I also take any earbuds I’m testing on long trips and flights to see how they react to real-world environments. The goal is to wear these earbuds to make sure you are getting your money’s worth.