I bought eight of the most popular noise-cancelling wireless headphones to find the best. Sadly, there is no one set that is clearly “best”, but I can help you choose your next pair wisely.
Seven of us tested all eight headphones, and I quickly learned that everyone has completely different preferences. I’m afraid I’m gone after three days of testing and not even fully satisfied with the “best” headphones for me personally.
Instead of rating each set of headphones, I will write the pros and cons of each. Due to your music preferences and the shape of your head and ears, you’ll probably want to try a few of them out for yourself to find the best option.
Soundcore of Anker Life Q30
Advantages
- By far the cheapest is only $79
- Bigger, deeper bass than any other headset tested
- The sound quality is amazing overall, especially for the price
- Very comfortable, even for people with large ears
Defect
- Poor build quality
- Poor noise cancellation
- Terrible in windy environment
Bose QC 35 II
Advantages
- Simple physical buttons
- Good sound quality
- Best performance in windy environments
- Very comfortable even for people with large ears
Defect
- Much worse noise cancellation than newer Bose models
Bose QC 45
Advantages
- Simple physical buttons
- Good sound quality
- Great noise cancellation
- Very comfortable even for large ears
Defect
- Terrible in windy environment
Bose 700
Advantages
- Good sound quality
- Great noise cancellation
- Very comfortable even for people with large ears
Defect
- Annoying touch controls don’t work with gloves
- Acceptable performance in the wind but could be better
Sony XM4
Advantages
- Good sound quality
- Great noise cancellation
Defect
- Moderately uncomfortable for people with large ears
- Annoying touch controls don’t work with gloves
- Terrible in windy environment
Sony XM5
Advantages
- Sound quality is good, but most of us like the sound of the XM4
- The best noise cancellation we’ve tested
- Second best sound in windy environments
Defect
- Moderately uncomfortable for people with large ears
- Annoying touch controls don’t work with gloves
Beats Studio3
Advantages
Defect
- Worst Sounding Headphones We’ve Tested
- The worst noise canceling
- The most annoying headphones
- Don’t buy these
AirPods Max
Advantages
- Most of us agree that these are the best sounds
- Most premium materials
- Great noise cancellation
- Amazing transparency mode
- Comfortable for people with large ears
Defect
- Ugly
- The heaviest headphones we’ve tested
- Auto on/off is annoying
- The strange and strange “wallet” box
- Acceptable but not great in windy environments
Inference
As someone who regularly uses headphones outside when biking or skating, I chose to stick with Bose QC 35 II Headphones because they work best in the wind, and they have the biggest cup for my large ears. They don’t have the best sound quality or the best noise cancellation, but I had to choose the best option for me. And like me, you’ll have to settle in some areas based on your use case.
I’ll keep searching for the perfect set of wireless earbuds, but as of 2022, I don’t think they exist.
