Tag: Earbuds

ANC type: Hybrid Adaptive | Customizable ANC: Yes | Max battery life with ANC: 6 hours | Transparency mode: Yes

Read our full review of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds

Bose’s Immersive Audio feature may be the headline grabber on its QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, but these also come with the company’s stellar noise-canceling abilities. This model is especially adept at battling airplane noise during a flight, a task I typically rely on over-ear headphones for. The QC Ultra Earbuds are slightly less effective on human voices, but that’s true of many noise-canceling earbuds. But with any kind of constant hum, and many irregular sounds, these earbuds will serve you well. Plus, Bose’s CustomTune tool analyzes the shape of your ears and personalizes both sound and ANC.

While the QC Ultra Earbuds offer the best pure noise-blocking performance on this list, the extra audio features mean they have less battery life than the rest of our picks. It lasts six hours with ANC on and Immersive Audio off, but turn on the latter and that number dips to four hours. And although Bose’s take on spatial audio yields mixed results at times, the stock tuning is an improvement over the company’s last model.

ANC type: Hybrid Adaptive | Customizable ANC: Yes | Max battery life with ANC: 8 hours | Transparency mode: Yes

Read our full review of the Sony WF-1000XM5

If I could pick two best options, Sony’s WF-1000XM5 would be the co-champion. Since its introduction, the company has improved the 1000X line of earbuds from model to model – especially in ANC performance. The gap between Sony and Bose in this respect is so slim, you’ll be happy with either set if noise-cancellation is your top priority. You’ll also get Sony’s DSEE Extreme upscaling to recover sound detail lost to compression and handy features like onboard volume controls and automatic pausing when you speak.

Like it does on its 1000X over-ear headphones, Sony uses two separate chips for audio and ANC processing on the M5 earbuds, which leads to more robust noise-blocking than on previous models. Six dual-feedback mics are better than the M4 at combating the low-frequency roar of airplanes, vehicles and transit scenarios and the ANC is adjustable in Sony’s app. What’s more, the company’s Adaptive Sound Control allows you to configure presets that can automatically change based on your activity or location. Even if you don’t want to give the software permission to track your whereabouts, there are plenty of options, including the ability to dial-in transparency mode when you need to hear more (or less) of your environment.

ANC type: Hybrid Adaptive | Customizable ANC: Yes | Max battery life with ANC: 8 hours | Transparency mode: Yes

For years, Anker’s Soundcore line has consistently offered some of the best true wireless models at a more affordable price than a lot of the competition. The company typically doesn’t cut too many corners to achieve this, either. The best current Soundcore model in terms of pure ANC performance is the Space A40. During my tests, these earbuds were particularly adept at fighting low-to-mid-range noise during flights and other transit scenarios. There’s an adaptive ANC system at work here to automatically adjust based on your environmental sound, but you can also set it to strong, moderate or weak levels of intensity.

While Anker rates the Space A40 at 10 hours on a charge, I got closer to eight during my tests with ANC on. Sound quality is also above average for this price, with a warm tone and noticeable bump to the bass. A solid but less-than-stellar transparency mode lends a hand and the companion app will let you assign up to six different gestures for various playback and call controls.

ANC type: Hybrid Adaptive | Customizable ANC: Yes | Max battery life with ANC: 12 hours | Transparency mode: Yes

Read our full review of the Master & Dynamic MW09

We’re well aware there are ANC earbuds that last much longer than 12 hours. But out of all of the models we’ve tested in the last two years, the MW09 offers the longest play time while still offering solid active noise cancellation. The ANC performance here isn’t as robust as the QC Ultra Earbuds’ or the WF-1000XM5’s, but Master & Dynamic offers three presets to help you adjust the noise blocking to your situation and to make your battery consumption more efficient.

The MW09 does, however, give both Bose and Sony a run for their money in the audio department. M&D’s trademark sound profile is on display, matching balanced, natural tuning with great clarity and detail. For example, you can hear every bit of texture in Chris Stapleton’s bluesy rock riffs, as well as things like the subtle decay in the snare drum rattle on Higher that are easily lost on other earbuds. ANC modes and volume will impact battery life, but even at their worst, the MW09 still consistently lasted 10 hours during my tests. That’s longer than both Bose and Sony manage with their flagship ANC buds.

ANC type: Hybrid Adaptive | Customizable ANC: Yes | Max battery life with ANC: 6 hours | Transparency mode: Yes

Read our full review of the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd-gen)

The latest AirPods Pro aren’t higher on this list primarily because you need an iPhone to unlock their maximum potential. However, the combo of hardware and software tricks that they offer for ANC performance makes them a worthy consideration. Out of the box, the H2 chip powers noise-canceling processing that wasn’t previously possible on such a small device. When used with the drivers, vents and microphones, the AirPods Pro can block twice as much noise as the previous model.

Apple also includes a handy tool that automates noise-canceling and transparency mode so you’re not making adjustments on your phone throughout the day. Adaptive Audio blends ANC and ambient sound, using cues changes in environmental noise to gradually change device volume as background noise increases or decreases. The setup takes into account whether you’re stationary or in motion as well as if you’re listening to music or on a call when making the tweaks. Plus, the AirPods Pro offer the best, most natural-sounding transparency mode of any wireless earbuds – a feat that shouldn’t be overlooked during your decision-making process.