Best Noise Cancelling Headphones Travel-Tested & Rated by our Experts

Noise Cancelling Headphones Showdown

Headphone Solutions Ranking

Models Reviewed:
  • Denon AH-NC732 headphones
  • Sennheiser PXC450 Noise Cancelling headphones
  • Sennheiser PXC350 Noise Cancelling headphones
  • Bose QuietComfort® 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® headphones
  • Phiaton PS300 NC headphones
  • Sony MDR-NC500D Noise Cancelling headphones
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One common feature of all the models we tested was the excellent carrying cases they included. The Denon and Phiaton cases were the smallest and had no tradeoffs. Because of their easy portability during airplane travel, they had the slight advantage.

1) Denon AH-NC732 Noise Cancelling headphones - The AH-NC732 is lighter than the Bose and features small earcups instead of a “flat on the ear” design. You could say the Denon is a hybrid between the bigger Sennheiser earcup models and the Bose QuietComfort 3 “flat on the ear” design. The Denon had the best overall sound quality, not too bright like the Sennheisers and not muddy like the Bose. The Denon will play with or without the battery so you never take the risk of being headphoneless on your way to Singapore. The playback quality is excellent with or without the active noise cancelling turned on. While the mid range takes a second-row presentation when you turn on the active noise cancelling, the Denon does not overemphasize the highs like all the other models we tested. There’s no hissing coming from the Denon either. They’re also very comfortable.
Pros: overall sound quality, comfort.
Cons: no rechargeable batteries.

2) Sennheiser PXC450 Noise Cancelling headphones - The PXC450 is a fancier version of the PXC350. The size and shape are very similar; however, the finish is a notch over every other model. The earcups are large and cover the entire ear like the PXC350, but the pads are softer and plusher. The volume control is on the right earcup, and it takes some getting used to (no more than a day) to figure out what is where. With the most comfortable full-size earcup, the PXC450 has a “talk through” feature that will attenuate the sound completely so you can hear the flight attendant asking what variety of champagne you would like. The sound quality is superb and comparable to the other Sennheiser audiophile headphones. Like all the other models (with the exception to Denon), when you turn on the active noise cancelling, the treble gets boosted and some hissing comes with it. The playback at this point becomes a bit too bright for my taste, so I’d much rather listen to music with the NC turned off. The earcups cover your ears entirely, providing better isolation than the smaller, lighter, more comfortable units.
Pros: looks, overall sound quality, volume control on the right earcup, plays with or without battery (Sony and Bose fail this criterion), high quality finish.
Cons: price, bulky, a bit too bright when active noise cancelling is turned on.

3) Sennheiser PXC350 Noise Cancelling headphones - The PXC350 is quite bulkier than the Bose, Denon and Phiaton; however, its larger earcup design will provide better noise isolation on its own. It includes an inline volume control, works without the battery, and is lightweight despite its bigger size. The highs are more pronounced, and when you turn on the active noise cancelling, the highs become overemphasized. The overall sound quality for music listening is clearly superior to that of the Bose, but a bit too bright. The earcups cover your ears entirely, providing better isolation than the smaller, lighter, more comfortable units.
Pros: sound isolation, price, overall sound quality is clearer than the Bose, inline volume control.
Cons: Less bass, bulky size, a bit too bright.

4) Bose QuietComfort® 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® headphones - The Bose model presented slightly stronger bass than most (except the Denon), but at the cost of some muddiness to the overall sound. It also showed a bit more hissing than the other models we tested. It was the second lightest and smallest (only losing to the Phiaton PS300 NC in the size category). The Bose model is the only one that does NOT work without the battery and will not work with active Noise Cancelling turned off. So if you’re on a long flight and your battery runs out, you’re out of luck; you won’t be able to listen to your music or in-flight movie.
Pros: size, finish, lightweight, stronger bass, noise cancelling works fine for low frequency noise (like airplane engines), but if the baby next to you starts screaming, your only recourse is to crank up the music volume.
Cons: will not work without the battery, bass is strong at the expense of overall sound quality and detail, most hissing in the background.

5) Phiaton PS300 NC Noise Cancelling headphones - This dark horse has great sound quality, but the noise cancelling was the least effective. The Phiaton comes with all possible types of power adapters so no matter where you travel, you’ll be able to charge the battery. It comes with a complete travel kit, including USB (the only model to include USB). It plays when the switch is set to OFF, however the battery must be in place. The rechargeable battery is exactly like the one the Bose uses. Shape and form are very similar to the Bose QuietComfort 3, but it’s smaller than the Bose. It comes with a convenient level attenuator on the cable to allow external sound to come through by attenuating the sound by what we guesstimate to be 25 dB. This model could become a big hit in the first class cabin because of its very stylish-looking leather housing and toned down “goldish” finish. The Phiaton offers a bass booster switch on each earcup that will work independently (we haven’t figured out the use for this independent control). The case is the smallest and sleekest of the bunch we reviewed.
Pros: looks, travel kit (USB), good sound quality, nice small case, weight and size.
Cons: noise cancelling at the ON position barely alters the effective isolation when compared to its OFF position, price.

6) Sony MDR-NC500D Noise Cancelling headphones - The new MDR-NC5500D were a bit disappointing. The first two samples presented the same crackling noise, and it made for a very tough unbiased review. Like the Sennheiser, these have a mute button as well which allows exterior sound in. Unfortunately, like the Bose, these headphones will only work with the active noise cancelling turned on. We can only wonder why that is. If you’re paying $400, why not be able to listen to your headphones without the sound artifacts that all active noise cancelling will add to the playback? Aside from that, if you’re on your way to Hawaii and the battery dies, you’re out of luck, again, as with the Bose. The sound was good, but bass was muddy. What Sony calls, “digital” is the use of a digital equalizer combined with a software that should improve the noise cancelling when compared to the other existing NC devices. Unlike the other models that use a microphone, usually on the outer shell of the earcups, the Sony uses a microphone that sits closer to the eardrum. The claim is that it’s better able to “read” what’s coming in so it can isolate the sound more effectively. It all seems really good on paper, but when it comes down to the action, we were disappointed with the overall performance. Headphones that cost $400 should work with or without the noise cancellation turned on. The bass should not be muddy, and quality control should be improved. The crackling noise was frustrating coming from a product at this price range.
Pros: mid range was good, the mute button is always useful—especially on a trip, noise cancelling was good (better than Phiaton).
Cons: price, overall sound performance, bass was muddy, it only plays with the active noise cancelling turned on, highs were too bright, quality control could be improved.


Unfortunately, while all these active noise cancelling headphones work well for lower mid to low frequency noises, they do not perform well with upper mid to high frequency noises such as crying babies or the high-pitched, non-stop, talking head behind your seat. If you’re looking for that type of isolation, we invite you to visit our other website: . There we offer in-ear earphones that provide passive noise isolation of up to 44db in the higher frequency ranges. They fit inside your ear canal and work like an earplug. No sound artifacts are created trying to isolate the exterior noise; they simply block them out. Inserting in-ear earphones in the ear canal may not be for everyone, especially those who do not like the feel, but most others will have no problem at all.

Results:

First Place: Denon AH-NC732 headphones - Overall sound quality, lightweight, hybrid design of a smaller earcup, can play music without the NC turned on, comfort, and especially the sound performance with the NC on which does not overemphasize the highs.

Second Place: Sennheiser PXC450 headphones - Excellent sound quality, excellent build quality with an effective NC. The earcups cover your ears entirely, providing better isolation than the smaller, lighter, more comfortable units.

Third Place: Sennheiser PXC350 headphones - similar to the PXC450, but without the bells and whistles (which we found useful). The earcups cover your ears entirely, providing better isolation than the smaller, lighter, more comfortable units.

Fourth Place: Phiaton PS300 NC headphones for playback, travel kit, and looks (poor NC).
Bose QuietComfort 3 headphones for NC, portability, and comfort (no playback with NC off).

Fifth Place: Sony MDR-NC500D headphones - Good NC, but no playback with NC off, and a $400 price tag for sound quality inferior to Denon and the Senheisers.

Side Note: We also tested the Sennheiser PXC300 which is in a different price category by itself. It should be considered only if you really don’t want to spend more than the $149 they cost. The NoiseGuard noise cancelling unit is a separate piece on its own where you install the batteries and where the cables attach. The PXC300 is a great economical option because the noise cancelling works; however, the two-piece solution is not ideal for everyone. During airplane travel, a single drop cable is preferable, but the cables on the PXC300 are attached at each earpiece. The earcups are also very small, and will not cover your ears completely. However, the Sennheiser PXC300 is also extremely light and portable. It could be your best buy if you don’t mind the two-piece configuration, especially if you’d rather save your money for some iTunes music.

We briefly tested the Sony MDR-NC40 and MDR-NC60 Noise Cancelling headphones, but they couldn’t hold a candle to the Sennheiser PXC300 in the $60-$149 price range. The bulkiness of the NC60 and its okay performance put it far behind the PXC300. In our opinion, the NC40 should be renamed because there was no noise cancellation at all.

For $149, in the NC universe, the PXC300 is by far the best option.