Best Noise Cancelling Headphones (2025): Over-ear, Wireless Earphones, Workout Pair
Honorable mention
With the majority of new headphones and earphones offering at least a bit of noise cancellation, it would be impossible (and counterproductive) to list all of the above. If you haven’t found a fit yet, there are some favorites worth considering.
Beyerdynamic aventho 300 $400: These over-ears from Beyerdynamic (7/10 Wired recommends) It has the brand’s classic studio sound, with a crisp high range and punchy low. The downside is that it doesn’t cancel noise, just like Sony, Bose and other models. Still, they sound great and are worth considering, especially if you’re selling them.
Soundcore Life Q30 $60-85: Anker’s Soundcore line is nothing if not a sense of value. LifeQ30 often provides an embarrassing list of extras for negotiating pricing. You can’t keep up with a pair of flagships, but you’ll get clear, warm sound, great features, tons of battery life and noise cancellation that will get you done on long flights. It’s especially hard to complain about a selling price that can sometimes just exceed $50.
Soundcore Space A40 $60: Anker’s Soundcore brand, The Space A40 (8/10 Wired recommends) These are some of our favorite cheap earbuds, especially as prices are down. Elegant design, many features, high quality sound, class cancellations will be cancelled.
Apple Beats Fit Pro is $199: The Beats Fit Pro is an aging but knockout pair of wireless buds, a pair of wireless buds with fantastic sounds, easy access physical buttons, and solid noise cancellation to activate. In addition to its six-hour battery life and spatial audio compatibility with Apple Music and other services, it has one of the best pairs of earphones “designed in California” to date.
Sony WF-1000XM4 $290: Sony’s WF-1000XM4 (7/10 Wired recommends) It has some of the best noise reductions I’ve heard from earphones, and offers the super customizable sound I love from Sony’s over-ear headphones. These are becoming harder to find and are a little too big for smaller ears, but the extra size allows for great battery life.
epos/sennheiser adapts 660 for $152: Do you need better sound, a comfortable fit and high quality noise cancellation technology, as it’s less than what you pay for Sony or Bose headphones? Check out this collaboration between EPOS and Sennheiser. EPOS/sennheiser Adapt660 (8/10 Wired recommends) Sounds fantastic and are some of the lightest noise cancelling headphones I’ve ever worn. It also has a great microphone with great silence on calls and zoom.