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The best noise-canceling earbuds you can buy
When is the last time you experienced true, unobstructed silence? Natural quiet might be hard to come by in this cacophonous world, but we can get by with a little help from noise-canceling earbuds. The best noise-canceling earbuds don't just deliver tunes that sound good -- they also offer up sweet, sweet silence sans music.
Active noise cancellation (ANC) is a highly coveted feature in the earbud market right now. With the help of tiny microphones on the earbuds' exterior, ANC earbuds actively listen to cancel out incoming sound waves, preserving quiet and amplifying in-ear sound. But, no matter how strong a pair's noise-canceling powers are, it's important they don't have connectivity problems or major sound leakage issues.
Also: The top noise-canceling headphones
If you're looking for earbuds that prioritize both connectivity and noise cancellation, I've rounded up a list of my favorites below with my top pick being the Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds, for their unmatched noise cancellation, amazing sound, and sealed earbud fit. Read on for more of my favorite picks.
The best noise-canceling earbuds of 2024
- The best noise cancellation I've tried
- Amazing sound
- Earbuds stay in your ear
- Just fine battery
- Uncomfortable to wear for long periods
- Large case
Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds specs: Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3 | Battery life: 6 hours | Frequency range: NA | Noise cancellation: Yes | Waterproof rating: Water resistant
My upstairs neighbor is a Brooklyn DJ who has been mixing and editing the same song for months on end. How do I know? Because his speakers are so loud that I can hear his every edit from the floor below. I put in the Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds when I'm trying to read and focus on my book, and not on the noise from that talented mixmaster, the honks and beeps of car horns outside my window, nor the roommate conversations happening in the kitchen. I don't put on any music -- the noise cancellation on these earbuds is so good that every sound dissolves once these are in my ears, so I can read and think in peace. You can't say that about most of the noise canceling earbuds on the market.
More: Forget AirPods Pro: These Bose noise-canceling earbuds sound better and feel premium
As far as music goes, the QuietComfort Ultra deliver impressive wide-ranging sound. On runs, these earbuds stick in my ears, which I can credit to the oval shape of the ear tip as well as the extra grip from the stability band.
Another notable feature is Bose's Immersive Audio mode, which brings music to the forefront of your ears and allows music to move with you. It's a great feature, but it does significantly reduce battery life. Speaking of which, the battery life on these isn't the most competitive at only six hours, but the case provides extra juice for on-the-go charging when you need it.
- Comfortable, secure fit
- Rich sound
- Impressive noise-canceling
- Steep-but-worth-it price
Sony WF 1000XM5 tech specs: Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3 | Battery life: Up to 12 hours | Frequency range: 2.4 GHz - 2.48 GHz | Noise cancellation: Yes | Waterproof rating: IPX4 (resistant to water splashes)
The Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds are the best in the game for sound quality, and according to ZDNET reviews writer Jada Jones, cancel out noise like a pair of over-ear headphones. Jones calls them "as good as true wireless noise-canceling earbuds come," and you should take her word for it.
"With them on, gone are the extraneous noises at the gym, including sounds of overused machines, dropped weights, background music, and people talking," Jones writes in her review.
Review: These are the best premium earbuds on the market right now
The battery life is the longest on this list, at up to 12 hours, and the upgraded ear tips create a suction that seals noise into the ears and blocks out any background noise. Even with that strong suction, the earbuds are still comfortable enough to wear all day long, according to Jones.
- Adaptive transparency mode
- Personalized spatial audio settings
- Four sizes
- Long battery life
- Not ideal for non-iPhone users
- Expensive
Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) features: Battery life: Six hours | Waterproof rating: IPX4 | Earbud weight: 5.3 g each | Wireless charging: Yes
AirPods, now iconic, have come a long way from skeptics just thinking of them as a cordless version of Apple's classic wired headphones. But Apple's design of the AirPods Pro ushered in an impressive combination of excellent sound quality, comfort, and noise-canceling capabilities -- especially with the 2nd generation.
Thanks to Apple's new H2 chip, these AirPods significantly upgrade performance via high-band connectivity and a low-distortion audio driver with a custom amplifier. These combined technologies ensure clearer audio across a wider range of sound frequencies.
And for those that find constant noise cancellation a tad disorienting, these 2nd-generation AirPods Pro have a transparency mode that ZDNET contributor Jason Cipriani says he is "legitimately in love with," based on high-quality audio and surrounding sound listening.
These new AirPods feature two times more noise cancellation with a 33% longer battery life. Plus, a new feature allows you to personalize spatial audio settings to create your ideal sound experience (using iOS 16). To top it all off (literally), you can quickly charge the 2nd-generation AirPods Pro case wirelessly via an Apple Watch charger.
- Great battery life
- Impressive noise-canceling
- Convenient touchscreen case
- Heavy case
- Earbuds tend to insecurely fit during intense, sweaty exercise sessions
JBL Tour Pro 2 tech specs: Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3 | Battery life: 8 hours with ANC on and 10 hours with ANC off | Frequency range: 20 Hz - 20 kHz | Noise cancellation: Yes | Waterproof rating: IPX5
I was waiting at the subway platform the first morning I tried these earbuds out. While looking down at my phone with my JBL Tour Pro 2 earbuds in and the noise cancellation on, I barely registered the subway's arrival. These earbuds offer impressive noise cancellation, long battery life, and dual connectivity.
The Tour Pro 2 is less expensive than some of the higher end noise canceling earbuds on this list, like Sony's WF-1000XM4 and Bose's QuietComfort Ultra, and they offer a longer battery life than Apple's AirPods Pro but go for the same price. So if you're looking to spend a little money on a good pair but don't want to dive into the above-$300 range, these could be for you. They're very comfortable to wear in the office or while exercising, though they don't have the strongest grip in your ears. I've found myself running in the park with them in and constantly having to re-secure them. The ambient aware mode is pretty useless, but that's alright, because the active noise cancellation is the real winner.
What are the best noise-canceling earbuds?
The best noise-canceling earbuds are the Bose QuietComfort Ultra wireless earbuds. Although the battery life and weight are nothing to gawk at, their incredible sound quality and active noise cancellation make them the best pair of wireless earbuds on the market.
| Noise-canceling earbuds | Price | Battery life |
| Bose QuietComfort Ultra | $299 | Six hours |
| Sony WF-1000XM5 | $298 | 12 hours |
| Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) | $250 | Six hours |
| JBL Tour Pro 2 | $250 | Up to ten hours |
*MSRP at the time of writing. Please note that actual prices may vary depending on available sales, deals, discounts, and coupons.
Which are the right noise-canceling earbuds for you?
With workplaces and schools becoming so embedded with technology, the use of wireless earbuds has evolved as well. What used to be the primary way to listen to music has become a tool for taking phone calls and canceling out external noise.
There's been an evolution of wireless earbuds, with noise cancellation becoming a key feature. If you're looking for the best noise-canceling earbuds, look at this table to figure out which pair is right for your lifestyle and budget needs.
| Choose these noise-canceling earbuds... | If you want... |
| Bose QuietComfort Ultra | The best pair of noise-canceling earbuds overall. Put these in your ears and experience true silence. While they don't have the best battery life on this list, the earbuds offer amazing sound and true ANC that's worth the $280 price tag. |
| Sony WF-1000XM5 | The best noise-canceling earbuds with the best sound quality. Sony carries out its best-in-class surround sound even in a compact pair of earbuds. Plus, these pebble-like buds are comfortable and convenient for hands-free phone calls. |
| Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) | The best noise-canceling earbuds for Apple devices. A pioneer in the wireless earbud market, the 2nd-generation AirPods Pro are a fantastic encore of the original with even more powerful ANC and a transparency mode that's actually... transparent. |
| JBL Tour Pro 2 | The least expensive noise-canceling earbuds on the list with a competitive battery life. |
How did I choose these noise-canceling earbuds?
As a commerce editor who specializes in earbuds and wearables, I test out a lot of headphones and earbuds in my day-to-day to see which products live up to their promises. So, while deciding which noise-canceling earbuds are worth your money, I considered these factors.
- Noise cancellation: In essence, every earbud could be a noise-canceling earbud, because the job of a headphone or an earbud is to cancel noise by replacing it with music or another sound. We see that term attached to every headphone and earbud on the market today, but many earbuds lack the technology and the needed microphones to drown out external sound and deliver true ANC. The best noise-canceling earbuds that we have tested cancel out noise even when music isn't playing. The proof is in the pudding: when you are wearing a pair of true ANC earbuds, you will hear nothing.
- Battery life: Earbuds have shorter battery lives compared to headphones, and range between six to 12 hours of juice before a recharge. The earbuds on this list also offer charging cases that charge the earbud while it's not in your ears to lengthen the battery life.
- Price: From what I've seen, if you want noise-canceling earbuds that actually work, you normally have to pay a bit of a higher price for them. The earbuds on this list range in price from $200 to $300. $300, you may think, is a lot for a piece of audio tech, but we wouldn't put an expensive earbud on this list if it didn't truly fit the bill.
What are noise-canceling earbuds and how do they work?
Noise-canceling earbuds use active noise cancellation to reduce background noise and improve the overall sound quality of audio. ANC works by using mics to pick up external sounds, and then it generates sound waves that are the exact opposite wavelengths (or "negative" of the external sounds) to create a "cancellation" effect that reduces background noise.
Some noise-canceling earbuds also use passive noise-cancellation, which is achieved through earbud design, such as using noise-isolating materials. These are particularly useful in environments with high levels of ambient noise, like airplanes or busy streets. They can also provide a better listening experience in general, reducing the need to use max volume to overcome background noise.
For more on how noise-canceling earbuds work, check out Christina Darby's ZDNET explainer.
Do noise canceling earbuds protect your hearing?
No, ANC earbuds should not be confused with a hearing protection device, and experts agree.
"Nobody should ever think of them as, in my opinion, pure hearing protection. They're not," says ENT Dr. Joe Donzelli. And while noise-canceling earbuds can offer some passive protection like any sound wave boundary, Dr. Donzelli assures that they don't deter the culprit of hearing loss: Inner ear trauma.
"Everything is all about the sound you're delivering through the headphones, so you can get the greatest noise cancellation ever, but if you just turn up the volume and expose yourself to high decibels for long periods of time, you'll then create inner ear trauma," Donzelli explains.
However, since listening to music at high volume for long periods of time can damage hearing, a good pair of ANC headphones may have some secondary hearing protection benefits.
"If someone is using ANC earbuds to get rid of ambient noise, they may not have to turn the volume up as loud to hear the in-ear sound," Donzelli says.
Essentially, here's how ANC earbuds may help: You find your ANC earbuds effectively cancel out distracting noises. Before, you had to blast the volume just to hear accurately, but thanks to the magic of ANC, the sound is clear at half the volume. Now, you're listening at a lower volume for longer, and therefore likely have less exposure to damaging decibel levels, which means less inner ear trauma.
But Donzelli reiterates that the "tighter you put something in your ear and the louder you make it, the more damage. So if somebody runs around with their [earbuds] turned up all the way with or without noise cancellation, it doesn't make a difference."
Can noise-canceling earbuds damage your hearing?
According to ENT Dr. Joe Donzelli, noise-canceling earbuds alone don't damage your hearing. Long exposure to unhealthy decibel levels is what causes trauma to the tympanic membrane, and therefore can damage hearing.
For reference, the hearing health foundation says that sounds at or below 70dB are considered safe for our hearing and sounds at or above 80-85 dB will damage hearing over time. If you're worried your listening levels are higher than this, you can easily monitor your earbuds' projected decibel levels via your smartphone settings.
Are noise-canceling earbuds good for sleeping?
Noise-canceling headphones can be great for sleeping or falling asleep, especially for stomach and back sleepers. However, I'll warn that while the Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds are sure to cancel any sleep-inhibiting sound, they're a bit chunky -- especially for side sleepers. Also, keep in mind that they're not the best option in the case of an emergency, since you're essentially tuned out to the world.
For earbuds especially tailored for sleeping, check out our list of the top headphones for sleeping.
Is noise-canceling bad for your ears?
In short, no. Noise cancellation is not bad for your ears. However, some people have experienced dizziness while using noise-canceling modes.
Are there alternative noise-canceling earbuds worth considering?
There are over 4,000 search results when you type in, "noise-canceling earbuds" into your Amazon search bar. However, Amazon isn't the only place to secure a new pair of earbuds. You can find them at Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and so many other places!
Here are a few that didn't make the cut, including some true wireless earbuds, that are great alternatives if the options above don't sound like the best fit for you.