Recently, I overhauled our list of the best noise-cancelling headphones by filtering the options down to just under 20 prime candidates across the whole budget range, then testing them all against each other in a series of real-world tests.
The idea was not only to get a feel for how options at different price levels compare to each other, but also to compare them to the options above and below to assess which are really standout value.
I tested the noise-cancellation effectiveness of these headphones in four trials based on real-world use cases. I was testing for both higher and lower frequencies (because performance can be quite different across these areas), and for their ability to handle both consistent droning noises (like a plane engine or air conditioning) and more inconsistent noises (like people talking).
So my tests consisted of the following:
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Droning sound | Chaotic sound |
Higher frequency | 2m away from a hair dryer | Sitting in a busy café |
Lower frequency | 1m away from a microwave | Standing by road traffic |
And here were my final scores for all the headphones I compared, including the options I'm recommending here (highlighted in bold). I think the 'chaotic' tests are the most important for real-world effectiveness, so I weight their scores at double the weight of the droning scores.
Model | Total score | Hair dryer | Microwave | Traffic (2x) | Café (2x) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) | 29.5 | 4.5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones | 29.5 | 4.5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Sony WH-1000XM6 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
Sonos Ace | 28 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 5 |
Bose QuietComfort Headphones | 27 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
AirPods Max | 26 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4.5 |
Sony WH-1000XM5 | 24 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Sony WH-1000XM4 | 23 | 4 | 4 | 3.5 | 4 |
Cambridge Audio P100 SE | 23 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.5 |
1More Sonoflow HQ51 | 22 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4 |
Nothing Headphone (1) | 22 | 3 | 4 | 3.5 | 4 |
Sennheiser Accentum Plus | 19.5 | 3 | 3.5 | 3 | 3.5 |
Amazon Basics | 17 | 2 | 3 | 2.5 | 3.5 |
Soundcore Q30 | 15.5 | 2.5 | 2 | 2.5 | 3 |
Soundcore Q20i | 15 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2 | 3 |
Audio-Technica ATH-S300BT | 13.5 | 3 | 2.5 | 1 | 3 |
Runolim WH301A | 9.5 | 1 | 2.5 | 1 | 2 |
As you can see, the 1More massively outperformed its price – it beat headphones that cost twice as much and performs at about the same level as Sony headphones that go for $200 or more.
The Amazon Basics were easily the best of the more budget bunch, and nearly performed as well as Sennheiser headphones that cost 5x as much – though the Sennheiser headphones naturally have much better sound quality that feels worth the extra money, and lots of extra features up their sleeves, too.
But still, if it's good-sounding headphones with nice designs, good build quality, and the best noise cancellation you can get at their price brackets, then these two are picks, especially for these prices.
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