The best noise-canceling headphones you can buy: Expert tested

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra are a great option for people who take their headphones everywhere they go. These headphones have highly effective noise-canceling technology and sport plushy, soft ear cups. These two factors make them useful, comfortable, and suitable for all-day wear. To see how they stack up, here is a summary of the best noise-canceling headphones.

Whether you're in the workplace or at home, environmental noise can be a hindrance to productivity and entertainment. While every option on this list can help dampen noise, no noise-canceling headphones can completely eliminate noise, especially in noisy environments. Still, each option offers a unique set of features that make it best suited to particular users with more specific goals than just blocking noise.

The ZDNET team conducted thorough, hands-on testing of the headphones on this list. Aside from simply including options that advertise noise-canceling tech, we tested the strength of each pair of headphones' noise-canceling properties. We also considered other metrics like design, build quality, and battery life.

• Design: Some people want their headphones to have a sleek and uniform design, while others prefer flashier, standout design elements. We considered headphones that can fit into each category to offer the most design diversity possible.
• Build quality: If your headphones are going with you everywhere you go throughout the day, you'll want a pair that can withstand some short drops, bumps, and scrapes. We chose headphones with frames made from hard plastics and tough metals to ensure they can handle everyday wear and tear.
• Battery life: Noise-canceling headphones are likely to stick with you through your daily activities, and their battery life shouldn't give up on you halfway through the day. We chose headphones that have at least 24 hours of continuous use battery life, so you can stay focused all day.

The ZDNET team spends weeks with a pair of headphones, using them in many environments like libraries, coffee shops, grocery stores, trains, and the office. We do so to test how well a pair of noise-canceling headphones perform in various environments, as each environment offers a different symphony of sounds.

Although you can test noise-canceling headphones objectively on a noise isolation graph, you should conduct your own testing in your frequented environments to see how they hold up. At the end of the day, the only way to know if a pair of headphones works for you is to try them yourself.

Headphones employ multiple types of noise-canceling technology, with the most common being active noise cancellation (ANC). However, some headphones use hybrid or adaptive noise cancellation, and all headphones use a degree of passive noise cancellation.

Active noise cancellation uses microphones on the inside of your ear cups to detect external noise and produce an equal but opposite sound wave to cancel the extraneous noise inside your ear cups. Headphones with only internal mics have less effective noise canceling, but the sound quality tends to remain untouched by the sounds produced by the microphones.

Hybrid noise cancellation is a type of ANC that uses microphones inside and outside your ear cups to listen for a greater frequency of external noise. The additional external microphones make the noise-canceling properties stronger, but sometimes the sound quality is compromised.

Adaptive noise cancellation works similarly to passive and active noise cancellation but uses computer algorithms to assess the noise in your environment. If your headphones with adaptive noise cancellation detect you've entered a noisier environment, they will increase the noise cancellation. 

Passive noise cancellation, sometimes called noise isolation, refers to how well headphones naturally block ambient by solely covering your ears. There is no technology involved with this kind of noise reduction. Closed-back headphones with a snug fit will have better passive noise cancellation, while open-back and loose-fitting headphones will allow more ambient noise to reach your ears.

If you work from home, are a student, frequently travel, or work in a shared office, noise-canceling headphones will benefit you. If you find yourself spending hours of your day in deep work but are frequently distracted by external noises, invest in a pair of noise-canceling headphones.

Noise-canceling headphones can also help you if you feel overwhelmed by the loud noises of crowded public spaces like airports and grocery stores. Keep in mind that noise-canceling headphones cannot completely mute the world around you, and you're likely to hear voices, cars honking, and other loud noises, just at a lower volume.

Do you feel pressure in your ears when wearing noise-canceling headphones? You may feel the urge to pop your ears, similar to how it feels when you're on an airplane, riding an elevator, or diving in a body of water. This urge is the result of ear barotrauma (sometimes called airplane ear). When your middle ear senses a change in air or water pressure, your ears may feel clogged or blocked. However, noise-canceling headphones are not actually causing changes in your ear pressure. 

The pressure-like feeling you're experiencing with noise-canceling is your brain playing a trick on itself. You're more likely to experience this sensation if you're new to noise-canceling headphones. This phenomenon is normal, and it will go away after a few uses.  

Without noise-canceling technology, your brain is used to hearing, processing, and filtering out ambient noises in your environment. However, noise-canceling technology blocks ambient noises from your ears. Usually, a lack of ambient noises signals a change in pressure in the middle ear, and you will pop your ears to relieve discomfort.

Still, noise-canceling headphones do not create pressure in your ear canal, and you shouldn't be concerned about experiencing minor cabin pressure. 

Noise-canceling headphones can quiet the sounds around you. But noise-canceling technology has limitations. Noise-canceling headphones are most effective at canceling consistent sounds like an airplane engine or a lawnmower. They are not as effective at canceling sudden, sharp sounds, such as loud laughter or conversational noises.

Your noise-canceling headphones will serve you best when commuting or traveling. However, noise-canceling headphones can help decrease conversational noises when you're studying or working in public spaces.

Additionally, the fit and quality of noise-canceling technology affect its strength. If your headphones are too loose on your head or around your ears, external noises can slip through the ear cups.

Headphones with lower-quality noise-canceling tech are not as effective at canceling consistent or sudden noises.

The market is full of noise-canceling headphones to consider. Brands like Audio-Technica, JBL, and Sennheiser make great ANC headphones as well. In addition to our top picks, here are a few other noise-canceling headphones worth looking into.