The Best Noise Cancelling Headphones - 2022
We looked at the top 10 Noise Cancelling Headphones and dug through the reviews from 25 of the most popular review sites including and more. The result is a ranking of the best Noise Cancelling Headphones.
Why Trust The DWYM Score?
DWYM is focused on helping you make the best purchasing decision. Our team of experts spends hundreds of hours analyzing, testing, and researching products so you don't have to.Learn more.
Our Picks For The Top Noise Cancelling Headphones
- The Best Noise Cancelling Headphone
- 1. Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Noise Cancelling Headphones
- 2. Bose QuietComfort 35 II Bluetooth Noise Cancelling Headphones
- 3. Sony WH-1000XM4 Alexa Controlled Noise Cancelling Headphones
- 4. WYZE Hybrid Active Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones
- 5. MOVSSOU E7 Padded Ear Noise Cancelling Headphones
- 6. FALWEDI Apt-X CVC8.0 Noise Cancelling Headphones
- 7. Sennheiser PXC 550 30-Hour Batter Noise Cancelling Headphones
- 8. Beats Studio3 Built-In Microphone Noise Cancelling Headphones
- 9. Tribit Dual Device Connection Noise Cancelling Headphones
- 10. Srhythm NC25 Low-Latency Noise Cancelling Headphones
Seamless Noise CancellingThe secure fit and active noise-cancelling feature keeps your music front and center.
Cozy and ReliableControl, comfort and connection are the main highlights of these wireless headphones.
Superior Sound QualityThe speakers in these headphones deliver pleasing audio in a light, compact package.
Squeeze-Free FitListen in comfort with these headphones' form-fitting design and great sound quality.
Why we recommend these noise cancelling headphones?
Products Considered
Products Analyzed
Expert Reviews Included
User Opinions Analyzed
Our experts reviewed the top 10 Noise Cancelling Headphones and also dug through the reviews from 25 of the most popular review sites including and more. The result is a ranking of the best of the best Noise Cancelling Headphones.
DWYM is your trusted roduct review source. Our team reviews thousands of product reviews from the trusted top experts and combines them into one easy-to-understand score. Learn more.
The Best Overall
Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Noise Cancelling Headphones
Our Take
If you're looking to keep the outside world from disrupting your groove, these snug-fitting headphones feature some of the best noise-cancelling tech around. The ANC algorithms effectively detect and counter most mid-frequency sounds and long battery life ensures you can enjoy up to 60 hours of playing time.
What other experts liked
What other experts didn't like
The Best Bang For Your Buck
MOVSSOU E7 Padded Ear Noise Cancelling Headphones
Our Take
The pads on these headphones manage to fit snugly without cramping the ears. Once they're on, you can expect a consistent connection with good sound quality. They can be connected to most devices and the noise-cancelling ability works well on them all. This product comes in a nice selection of colors, too.
What other experts liked
What other experts didn't like
Overall Product Rankings
2. Bose QuietComfort 35 II Bluetooth Noise Cancelling Headphones
3. Sony WH-1000XM4 Alexa Controlled Noise Cancelling Headphones
7. Sennheiser PXC 550 30-Hour Batter Noise Cancelling Headphones
8. Beats Studio3 Built-In Microphone Noise Cancelling Headphones
Our Noise Cancelling Headphone Findings
Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Noise Cancelling Headphones
What We Liked: If you’re looking to keep the outside world from disrupting your groove, these snug-fitting headphones feature some of the best noise-cancelling tech around. The ANC algorithms effectively detect and counter most mid-frequency sounds and long battery life ensures you can enjoy up to 60 hours of playing time.
Bose QuietComfort 35 II Bluetooth Noise Cancelling Headphones
What We Liked: Smart design is a key feature of these wireless headphones, both inside and out. They’re comfortable enough to wear for hours, and the Bluetooth connection has impressive range and stability. The controls allow audiophiles to customize their sound and there’s an option for a wired connection.
Sony WH-1000XM4 Alexa Controlled Noise Cancelling Headphones
What We Liked: These wireless headphones boast solid sound both incoming and outgoing. The speakers deliver well across all frequencies and the microphone reproduces calls with crisp accuracy. It’s all the more impressive considering how light and comfortable these are. They have a 30-hour battery life.
WYZE Hybrid Active Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones
What We Liked: Busy listeners will love the range of features available on these headphones. The wireless Bluetooth connection is solid and the interface makes it easy to issue voice commands. The active noise-cancelling tech works great at filtering out distractions and the battery charges very quickly.
MOVSSOU E7 Padded Ear Noise Cancelling Headphones
What We Liked: The pads on these headphones manage to fit snugly without cramping the ears. Once they’re on, you can expect a consistent connection with good sound quality. They can be connected to most devices and the noise-cancelling ability works well on them all. This product comes in a nice selection of colors, too.
Our Noise Cancelling Headphone Buying Guide
Ever since headphones were invented, people have wanted more out of them — more volume, more reliability, more fidelity, and finally more portability — as wireless sound has become more common. Lately, though, it’s all about what headphones can give you less of.
We’re talking about noise, of course. Thanks to noise-cancelling technology, it’s no longer enough for headphones to put out great sound. Headphones are now desirable because they can also detect and stop ambient sound from the world outside their speakers.
The feature has become so common that headphone makers boast about the different kinds of noise-cancelling technology they use. Some of them are proprietary and not all are created equal. To help you buy the best noise-cancelling products, it’s helpful to know how noise-canceling earbuds and headphones work.
The first method is called passive noise cancellation, and it’s used by any headphone set that covers your ear. Passive noise cancellation is simple: a physical barrier blocks out noise. This is of course a low-tech method, but it can be pretty effective depending on the materials used. Well-designed headphones can create a nice “cocoon” of silence just with the tight seal that the ear cushions make.
But that doesn’t always work in noisy settings, and that’s where active noise cancellation (ANC) comes in. Sound, of course, travels in waves, and the frequency of the waves determines the kind of sound you hear — high or low. Headphones with active noise-cancelling properties use an extra microphone to pick up the sound that’s heading for your ears from outside. Then they employ additional, dedicated speakers to produce a sound wave of their own. This wave is like an inverted mirror image of the original wave, countering its frequency with “peaks” with “valleys” of the same depth. This effectively cancels out the incoming noise so that what reaches your headphones is basically silence.
This “fight sound with sound” approach seems counterintuitive, but it can work extremely well. Of course, it all depends on how well the headphones can match that incoming sound. The frequency waves have to match up perfectly — otherwise, you’re just getting more noise.
The technology does tend to work best on consistent, low-frequency background noise — the kind of chatter you might hear in a busy office, for example, or the traffic outside a bus. High-end ANC headphones use complex algorithms that help the microphones decode those sound waves faster, allowing them to catch a wider frequency of noise. For obvious reasons, ANC works better on over-the-ear headphones than it does on earbuds, but the technology gets better every year.
DWYM Fun Fact
Active noise cancelling may be the hottest feature in today’s headphones, but the technology is far older than you might think. Way back in 1933, a patent was submitted by Dr. Paul Lueg of Germany. It laid out the principle that sound waves could cancel each other out if their frequencies were mirrored.
While Lueg’s theories were influential, they were ahead of their time and couldn’t be put into practice until Dr. Lawrence Fogel patented a set of noise-cancelling headphones in the 1950s. These were initially used to help helicopter pilots filter out cockpit noise. ANC finally found its way into commercial headphones when Dr. Amar Bose started refining the tech in the 1970s and had a working model by 1986. The research his engineers did has been estimated to cost $15 million.
The Noise Cancelling Headphone Tips and Advice
When audiophiles get their first set of noise-cancelling headphones, it can be hard to imagine listening to music without them. Just keep in mind that it might not always be the best idea to have the feature on. It’s not hard to imagine situations where you might actually want to hear some of the things going on around you. Office workers might need to keep their ear out for a phone call, and it can be dangerous for joggers or bikers to get too “tuned out” from the surrounding traffic on busy roads.
That’s why the most important feature of noise-cancelling headphones might be the ability to turn it off. The latest ANC audio gear even gives you the ability to calibrate it, allowing in some louder sounds or those with a certain frequency. These can be worth the extra price if you’re going to be using them on busy streets.
About The Author
As a homeowner of seven years and a journalist for the past 20, Tod Caviness had to learn to be a handyman quick — or at least stock a garage like one. He's happy if he can log as many weekly hours on his stationary bike as he does on PS4 strategy games, but how-to sites on the internet win out over both of them.
You May Also Enjoy Our Other Reviews
- Robotic Vacuum
- Cordless Vacuums
- Electric Pressure Washer
- Gas Pressure Washer
- Air Mattress
- Pressure Washer
- Drone
- Electric Razor
- Convertible Car Seat
- Dyson Vacuum
- Infant Car Seat
- Dry Dog Food
- Carpet Cleaners
- Kick-Start Every Morning With Coffee Maker
- Air Fryer
- Laptops
- Home Printer
- Wireless Router
- Streaming Device
- Electric Pressure Cooker