Best Noise-Canceling Headphones for Music and More in 2025

Over the last several years, Sony has made some of the best noise-canceling headphones on the market, so it's a big deal when the company comes out with a new flagship model, like the WH-1000XM6, which arrives three years after the release of the WH-1000XM5. Though the XM5 was -- and still is -- one of the top over-ear Bluetooth headphones, there's always room for improvement. With the XM6, Sony has fixed the small design flaws of its predecessor while bumping up the overall performance. The result is a headphone that's arguably edged just ahead of the competition and is now at the top of its class. Read my WH-1000XM6 review.

Reasons to buy

The WH-1000XM6 are excellent for frequent travelers, remote workers and commuters who demand top-tier sound quality, noise canceling and call quality in a very comfortable headphone. If you can afford the high price, you'll appreciate what Sony has achieved here.

Reasons to skip/keep looking

If you're budget-conscious or already own Sony's WH-1000XM5 headphones, you should hold off until they go on sale. They offer some significant improvements over the XM5s, but not enough to justify rushing to upgrade at full price.

While Bose's new flagship QuietComfort Ultra Headphones may not be a huge upgrade over the company's Noise Cancelling 700 headphones, they feature a more premium design along with Bose's new Immersive Audio feature, which delivers some sound-quality enhancements. Along with excellent sound and great noise canceling, the QC Ultra Headphones are also superb for making calls, with top-notch background noise reduction. All that adds up to the best new noise-canceling headphones of 2024 and a worthy adversary to Sony's highly rated WH-1000XM5 and Apple's AirPods Max.

Why I like them

A lot of people expected Sonos' first headphones to be able to stream lossless audio over Wi-Fi in your home and then use Bluetooth outside your Sonos home network. However, Sonos reps told me that listening to music over Wi-Fi would greatly reduce the headphone's battery life and the company opted to leave that feature off. So even though they're equipped with a Wi-Fi chip so you can tap into a Sonos sound bar at home for private late-night viewing (Sonos refers to this as the TV Audio Swap feature), they're not really Wi-Fi headphones and are first and foremost noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones -- and I was mostly quite impressed by them. Read my Sonos Ace review.

Sleekly designed, at 312 grams, they're not as light as the 254-gram Sony WH-1000XM6s or the 253-gram Bose QuietComfort Ultras, but they're considerably lighter than the 385-gram AirPods Max and I found them quite comfortable to wear, with a relatively small gap between the headband and my head (they hugged my head nicely with just the right amount of clamping). I also appreciated tat their chrome metal yoke allows the headphones to swivel in multiple directions -- the hinge is hidden - and the ear cups adhere magnetically like they do on the AirPods Max and are replaceable, which is good.

All in all, the Sonos Ace headphones perform very well across the board with strong noise canceling, excellent sound quality and very good voice-calling performance. Well balanced, they're clean sounding with nice detail and sparkle in the treble along with punchy, powerful bass that doesn't get boomy. Vocals sounded natural and the headphones have a relatively wide soundstage. It's also good to see that the headphones have USB-C audio support (wired listening with a USB-C cable) and spatial audio with head-tracking.

Reasons to buy

The Sonos Ace are one of the top noise-canceling headphones on the market, rivaling flagship models from Sony, Apple and Bose. Now that they've been out for more than a year, we're seeing some good discounts on them, which makes them a better value, and a potential alternative to Sony's new WH-1000XM6 headphones. While you don't have to be an owner of Sonos speakers to buy them, Sonos soundbar owners can leverage the TV Audio Swap feature for private late-night viewing (the Ace delivers virtual surround sound in this mode).

Reasons to skip/keep looking

You can make the argument that Sony's new WH-1000XM6 are slightly better overall for around the same price (I'm talking list price -- and yes, they're too pricey for some folks). But with the Ace selling for as low as $330, they're an easier sell.

Why I Like Them

QCY is another Chinese brand like Tribit, Earfun and plenty of others that make budget-priced headphones that sound better than you'd think they would for their relatively low price (the company says the Q stands for quality, C stands for creative and Y stands for youth). Its new-for-2024 H3 Pro headphones are similar to models in this price range from 1More, Tribit and Edifier, but they arguably sound a touch better and I found them relatively comfortable to wear, as they feature a lightweight design and memory foam ear pads.

The sound quality on these budget models tends to vary a bit from track to track. While I encountered some occasional distortion on badly recorded material and the treble just can't produce the clarity and detail that you get with more premium headphones, all in all, the sound quality was quite respectable. The noise canceling also is fairly decent -- there are a few different modes to choose from in QCY's companion app for iOS and Android, which has a low-frills-looking interface but is robust enough under the hood -- and callers said the voice-calling performance was also good, especially given the price of these headphones.

You do get multipoint Bluetooth pairing that allows you to connect two devices simultaneously (you have to activate it in the app), but features like wear sensors that pause your music when you take the headphones off are missing. Also, you can set the headphones to automatically turn off after not being in use for a certain amount of time (I set it for 15 minutes), but the headphones turned off in the middle of a long call I was making, not seeming to realize that I was using the headphones. The H3 Pro are decent value for the cost, particularly when their price dips closer to $50.

Reasons to buy

Like the handful of other budget headphones I recommend, the QCY H3 Pro are better than you'd think they'd be for their modest price in terms of both design and performance.

Reasons to skip/ keep looking

If you're a critical listener, these probably aren't for you as these headphones occasionally distort audio and lack the treble clarity found in higher-end models. Also, it's too bad they don't come with any sort of carrying pouch and noise cancelling isn't available when using the cable for wired listening (you'd kind of want noise canceling if you watching a movie on a plane plugged into your seat's inflight entertainment system).

When you have a product that a lot of people love, change can be risky. Such is the case for Sony's WH-1000XM5, the fifth generation of the 1000X series headphones, which were first released in 2016 as the MDR-1000X Wireless and have become increasingly popular as they've improved with each generation.

Over the years, Sony has made some tweaks to the design, but nothing as dramatic as what it's done with the WH-1000XM5. Other than the higher price tag, most of those changes are good, and Sony's made some dramatic improvements with voice-calling performance, as well as even better noise-canceling and more refined sound.

Why I like them

In late 2024, Apple updated the AirPods Max with USB-C charging -- instead of Lightning -- and added new color options but didn't upgrade the headphones in any other ways that we're aware of. Yes, they're expensive, but the AirPods Max deliver impressive sound quality, excellent noise canceling, very good voice-calling performance, as well as high-end build quality (aluminum ear cups and stainless steel telescoping arms) and Apple's virtual surround spatial audio feature with head tracking. While they're heavy, they manage to be surprisingly comfortable, though I did have to adjust the mesh canopy headband to sit a little more forward on my head to get a comfortable secure fit when I was out walking with them. It's also worth noting that Apple enabled USB-C audio for the AirPods Max in March of 2024. Read my review of the original Lightning-enabled AirPods Max.

What that means is that you can use the included USB-C charging cable to connect the headphones to your USB-C-equipped PC, phone or tablet to get lossless audio (the sound quality is slightly improved with wired listening, especially if you're listening to lossless audio files). While Apple doesn't include a USB-C-to-3.5mm cable -- yes, such a cable should be included with headphones that cost this much -- it will sell you one for $39.

Reasons to buy

Yes, they're pricey, but the AirPods Max remain top-notch noise-canceling headphones that are right there with Sony's and Bose's flagship models. Like other AirPods, they have some Apple-only only features, including spacial audio with head-tracking and automatic switching between Apple devices, that Apple users will appreciate.

Reasons to skip/keep looking

While the AirPods Max were updated with USB-C connectivity, which has some advantages, they haven't been substantially upgraded since their release in 2020. I'd like to see them at least updated with Apple's more powerful H2 chip (they're equipped with the H1 chip) that delivers some additional features and is available in the AirPods Pro 2. Could we get an AirPods Max 2 in 2026? Maybe.

JBL's new flagship noise-canceling headphones, the Tour One M3 Smart Tx, are a nice step up from the company's earlier Tour One M3. Not only are the more comfortable (they weigh 278 grams and have an upgraded ear cup design), but they feature better noise-canceling, slightly improved sound quality and good voice-calling performance. The headphones also come with an accessory that isn't included with competing premium noise-canceling models: the JBL Smart Tx audio transmitter, which enables you to wirelessly deliver audio to the Tour One M3 from any USB-C or analog audio source such as an inflight entertainment system, PC, tablet or television. It has a touchscreen LCD that allows you to control the Tour One M3's features, including music playback, call management and EQ Settings JBL says the Smart Tx -- it's rated for up to 18 hours of battery life -- also has the ability to broadcast any audio source to an unlimited amount of Auracast-enabled devices.

JBL's previous two Tour One models fell a little short of Sony's and Bose's premium noise canceling offerings. But its upgraded and more refined third-generation Tour One M3 headphones are more viable alternative to those models, though they would be more enticing if they were priced closer to $300. Equipped with newly designed 40mm Mica Dome drivers, the sound is well-balanced and dynamic, with well-defined bass and some sparkle in the treble. The mids, where vocals live, could sound a tad more natural and clear, you can make some tweaks to those aforementioned EQ settings to dial in a sound profile that's optimized for your hearing and specific musical tastes. In the end, the Tour One M3 are very good noise-canceling headphones, with a robust feature set, including JBL Spatial Sound with head tracking, 8 mics (4 on and in each ear cup) and support for the LDAC audio codec for Android devices. Their only issue is that their sound and noise canceling doesn't rise above the competition in this price range. So, as I said, they probably need to cost a $50-$100 less for someone to choose them over Sony, Apple or Bose.

Why I like them

While Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are a little bigger than many true-wireless earbuds, they've always fit my ears comfortably and securely thanks to their "interlocking fit" system with Fit Kit eartips and stabilizers (the Ultras feature a new notch to keep the stabilizers in place). Not only do the Ultras feature very good sound, but they deliver exceptional noise canceling -- possibly the best available -- and a pretty natural transparency mode. I also liked Bose's new Immersive Audio spatial audio technology with head-tracking, which helps open up the soundstage and improves the sound a bit (it does use extra battery life). These buds also have good voice-calling performance, though it's not quite as good as what you get with the AirPods Pro 2. Multipoint Bluetooth pairing was added in July 2024. Read my QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds review.

Reasons to buy

If you're looking for earbuds with best-in-class noise canceling and very good sound quality, the QC Ultra Earbuds fit the bill. They should also fit most ears well, and Bose tends to have good customer support should you have any issues. Just look for them at a discount because they've been on the market since September 2023.

Reasons to skip/keep looking

These buds are pretty pricey, and there are premium buds to consider in this price range (or cost less if you're on a tighter budget). Also the the QC Ultra earbuds are bulkier than options like AirPods Pro 2, which may be an issue for those who prefer a more compact earbuds design.

When Sony's WF-1000XM4 earbuds came out in 2021, we awarded them a CNET Editors' Choice. And while they're excellent, we had some quibbles -- they're on the large side and aren't a good match for certain ears. Clearly, Sony took those gripes to heart when it set out to design its next-generation WF-1000XM5 flagship noise-canceling earbuds. Not only are the XM5s smaller, but they also offer improved performance pretty much across the board, with better noise canceling, sound and voice calling. Are the XM5s perfect? Not quite. And at $300 -- $20 more than their predecessor -- they're costly too. But overall they're really impressive -- easily among the very top earbuds on the market.

Apple not only swapped in USB-C for Lightning connectivity in its iPhone 15 models, but it made the switch with the AirPods Pro (2nd gen). The new AirPods Pro 2 with MagSafe (USB-C) are nearly identical to their Lightning predecessor, delivering the same excellent sound, noise canceling and voice-calling performance. That said, they offer some other small upgrades, including additional dust resistance and a new acoustic architecture that allows for Lossless Audio with the Vision Pro.

Nevertheless, the AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C) are easy to recommend to Apple users despite their high price. Pro tip: Don't pay more than $190 for these, which is the online sale price at which they're now frequently available.

Sony's improved entry-level noise canceling headphones, the CH-720Ns, have a bit of a plasticky budget vibe, but they're lightweight and very comfortable. Part of me was expecting them to sound pretty mediocre, but I was pleasantly surprised. No, they don't sound as good as the WH-1000XM5s. But they sound more premium than they look (and feel), and their overall performance is a step up from their predecessor, the CH-710Ns. Are they worth $150? Maybe -- or maybe not. But the good news is that, like the CH-710N and WH-XB910 before them, these should see significant discounts in the not-so-distant future, which is what you may want to wait for.

Why I Like Them

The Edifier W830NB looks slightly more premium than its predecessor, W820NB Plus, and like that earlier popular budget model, is fairly lightweight (265 grams) and comfortable, with cushy memory foam ear pads. They also sound very good for their price, offering decent clarity and fairly well-defined bass with an amply wide sound stage (they lack the refinement and depth of higher-end headphones, but you can't expect the world from sub-$80 headphones). You can tweak the sound profile in Edifier's companion app for iOS and Android.

The W830NBs do have a few additional improvements over the W820NB Plus. First, you get Bluetooth 5.4 (instead of 5.2). Also, along with the LDAC and SBC audio codecs, the W830NB supports the AAC audio codec. The noise canceling is a tad better (it's decent but not up to the level of what you get with Bose and Sony headphones) and battery life is rated for up to an impressive 54 hours with noise canceling on, up from 49 hours. A couple of things are still missing. There's no official carrying case or headphone jack, although you can connect them to your computer with a USB-C cable for a wired connection.

Reasons to buy

The Edifier W830NB headphones are one of the few budget noise-canceling headphones I recommend to folks who don't want to spend too much on a headphone but want something decent that doesn't look and feel too cheap, is comfortable to wear and delivers respectable sound and noise-canceling.

Reasons to skip/keep looking

You can only expect so much from these headphones. They're better than you'd expect given their price, but more premium models that cost significantly more do offer better performance and built quality. Also, although these have USB-C audio, they're missing a 3.5mm headphone cable to plug into the headphone jack of an inflight entertainment systems. And no carrying case is included.

Earfun has made some very solid budget earbuds, and now it's entered the full-size ANC headphone space with its new-for-2024 Wave Pro headphones. They list for $80, but click the $20-off instant coupon on their product page and add the code EWPROCNET at checkout for some sweet discount. While they may not sound as good as premium noise-canceling headphones from Bose or Sony, they're comfortable to wear, feature decent sound with punchy bass (they're a bit lacking in clarity and bass definition compared to more expensive models), and they offer respectable noise canceling (you can toggle between two levels of ANC) and voice-calling performance. I found them to be a step up from the Soundpeats Space headphones, which sometimes cost a little less.

They're rated for up to 80 hours of battery life with noise-canceling off and 55 hours with it on and support multipoint Bluetooth pairing as well as Sony's LDAC audio codec for Android smartphone and other compatible devices. I also like that they come with a hard case and a cable connection for wired listening (though noise-canceling is disabled when you go wired, which is a bit of a bummer).

The well-designed and comfortable JBL Live 770NC offers some modest improvements over its predecessor, including better battery life (up to 65 hours with ANC off and 50 hours with ANC on) and Bluetooth 5.3 with LE Audio (via a future firmware upgrade). Equipped with 40mm drivers, you get bold, nicely defined sound with powerful bass that's relatively tight. JBL's Ambient Aware and TalkThru features are on board along with multipoint Bluetooth pairing (the one feature that's missing is ear-detection sensors that pause your music when you take the headphones off). I thought the headphones' noise muffling capabilities were good and callers said they could hear me well even in noisier environments except when the wind picked up around me. The headphones fold up and a simple carrying pouch (no hard case) is included along with a cable for wired listening.

Love 'em or hate 'em, Beats Studio headphones are among the most popular headphones of all time, launching as a wired headphone back in 2008. This is the fourth generation of them, and they carry the same list price as their predecessor and look very similar on the outside but have some big changes on the inside that make them significantly better headphones. I'm tempted to describe them as more affordable plastic versions of the AirPods Max. However, that's not quite accurate due to a choice in chipsets and one notable missing feature. But read our full review to find out what makes this a very good headphone with some caveats.

Why I like them

Sennheiser's previous-generation Momentum Wireless headphones have always had a pretty distinct look that was part retro, part modern and stood out for the exposed metal on their headband. For better or worse, that's all gone now, and the new Momentum 4 Wireless, Sennheiser's flagship noise-canceling headphones, look a bit more subdued and also a bit more like some of their competitors.

The Momentum 4 Wireless offers superior performance over the Momentum 3 Wireless in every regard, although the biggest gains are with noise canceling and voice-calling performance as well as battery life, which is outstanding -- up to 60 hours at moderate volume levels. There's also a transparency mode that allows ambient sound in, and they have the ability to create a custom sound profile in the Smart Control app for iOS and Android using the built-in EQ, sound modes and a new Sound Personalization feature that "assesses the user's listening preferences and adjusts the listening experience according to their taste." 

Equipped with 42mm drivers, Sennheiser says the Momentum 4 Wireless offers "best-in-class" sound, which is debatable. I'd say the Momentum 4's sound quality is right there with other models in this price range -- they sound excellent, with the requisite well-defined, punchy bass, relatively wide soundstage (they sound pretty open) and smooth treble that brings out some of the finer details in well-recorded tracks. They're a pleasure to listen to.

Reasons to buy

The Momentum 4 Wireless costs less than flagship models from Sony, Bose and Apple and offer excellent sound and good build quality.

Reasons to skip/keep looking

While I'm fan of the Momentum 4 Wireless and like their sound a lot, they're noise canceling and comfort level isn't as good as what you get from the Bose QuietComfort Ultra or Sony WH-1000XM5 or WH-1000XM6.

Why I Like Them

If you can't afford Sennheiser's flagship Momentum 4 Wireless and other premium models from Bose, Sony and Apple, the Sennheiser Accentum Plus is a good midrange alternative that doesn't quite offer the same performance as those higher-end models but offers better build quality and sound than most budget noise canceling headphones. In essence, these are a slightly stripped down version of the Momentum 4 Wireless and share a similar aesthetic and the same touch controls but feature different drivers (the Momentum Wireless 4 have larger 42mm drivers and offer richer, more detailed sound with slightly better bass performance). Still, these sound good for the money, offer respectable noise canceling and support USB-C audio wired listening and the AptX Adaptive audio codec that's compatible with some Android devices.

Reasons to buy

They cost about half the price of premium models in the $350-$400 range and deliver 75-80% of their performance while featuring good build quality.

Reasons to skip/keep looking

The Accentum Plus has a little more clamping force than some headphones so not everybody finds it incredibly comfortable (it helps to stretch the headband and break it in a bit so to speak). While it sound quite good for the money, its noise canceling performance isn't as good as what you get from premium models from Bose and Sony.uild quality

When Bose released its new flagship QuietComfort Ultra Headphones, it also replaced the QuietComfort 45s with a new, slightly updated model simply called the QuietComfort Headphones. Like the QC 45s, this model carries on the very comfortable tried-and-true legacy QuietComfort design that's been around for a few generations that a lot of people continue to love. The QC Ultra Headphones add Bose's new Immersive Audio feature and have a more refined design with some metal parts (they also have Bluetooth 5.3 instead of Bluetooth 5.1). But the QuietComfort Headphones still feature very good sound (the Ultras offer a small step up in sound quality), excellent noise canceling and strong voice-calling performance.

As for differences between these and the QC45s, Bose says it adjusted some of the electronics to improve battery life (now 24 hours vs. 22 hours) and adjusted the logos to make the products "visually distinguishable and more in line with its latest design language." It also added an inline microphone to the auxiliary cable to "help with some users who may prefer a plug-and-play solution rather than Bluetooth pairing." There's also a Wind Block feature and some additional small performance improvements due to software upgrades. Finally, the headphones come in new color options, including green and a light blue version that's only available at bose.com.

While the QuietComfort Headphones carry a $350 list price that's $50 higher than that of the QC 45s, we expect them to be regularly discounted to $250 and possibly less than that in 2024 -- so look to buy them when they're on sale. You can read our review of the QuietComfort 45 to get a good take on the QuietComfort Headphones.

The ULT Wear (WH-ULT900N) is the successor to Sony's popular extra bass model, the WH-XB910N, and features upgraded drivers (better sound) along with improved noise canceling and voice-calling performance. Both Sony's flagship WH-1000XM5 and entry-level CH-720N offer more balanced sound, but the ULT Wear deliver on their promise of delivering dynamic, powerful sound with deep bass. The only downside is that bass can get sometimes get a little too boomy, especially when you engage the bass boost mode with the ULT button.

The JBL Tune 670NC is one of a relatively small number of on-ear headphones to offer active noise canceling. It's something of a value model -- no carrying case is included -- but it does have memory foam ear pads that get you a comfortable fit for an on-ear headphone. Deliver clear sound with punch bass, it has 32mm drivers and improves on its predecessor's battery life, offering up to a whopping 70 hours (or 44 hours with ANC on), and an extra three hours of battery with just five minutes of charge. This model includes the latest Bluetooth 5.3 (with LE Audio) and multipoint Bluetooth pairing. It also has JBL's Ambient Aware (transparency mode) and TalkThru features. It's available in black, white and blue and comes with a cord for wired listening.