With noise-cancelling headphones you can escape your daily routine. Fade out annoying background noise and dive into your own sound world or just enjoy the silence. Frequent travelers or office workers not only use this type of headphone for more listening pleasure, but also for peacefulness and quietness.
Active and passive noise canceling
Noise-cancelling headphones reduce unwanted low-frequency noise thanks to active electronics (ANC). The ambient noise from the outside is detected by microphones and the headphone’s electronics then generate these (noise) waves but with 180 degrees out of phase. These anti-sound waves and the noise then get mostly extinguished. Good models achieve his acoustic trick without distorting the sound of the original material. The correct ear-cup design (over-ear or on-ear) ensures that unwanted noise in the mid-range and high-range gets absorbed (so called passive noise cancelling). There are also headphone models that only rely on passive noise cancelling, but these are not nearly as powerful as the active models.
Advantages and disadvantages of noise cancelling headphones
Biggest advantage: Mainly audiobooks and film scores, which usually have a much larger dynamic range than music, can be played much quieter, because the ambient noise does not have to be drowned out.
Disadvantage: The active electronics of the noise cancelling headphones require batteries or rechargeable batteries. But with play times of usually 25 to 30 hours per battery it’s enough for a long-haul flight.
Many models can also be used as normal headphones when the noise cancelling electronics are turned off or the battery is empty. With good models, there will be no sound difference to the operation with active noise canceling.
The Finns are an exceptional lot: they are the world champions of coffee drinking, EU champions of sustainability and have over two million saunas. They also love the silence of their 188,000 lakes. Perfect conditions for developing noise-cancelling headphones while chilling in the far north, you would think?
The Master & Dynamic MW08 are True Wireless in-ears that not only want to score points with their excellent sound, but also with their active noise cancelling and a long battery life. We find out whether they succeed.
The Indy ANC wireless in-ears from Skullcandy offer a high level of functionality. These fast-charging earpieces feature active noise cancellation, ambient mode for outdoor awareness and various sound customisation options including three EQ modes as well as a personal sound profile that can be generated via a listening test in the accompanying app.
JBL's Live Free NC+ TWS wireless in-ears are tuned for all-purpose everyday use, support Bluetooth 5.1 technology and can both reduce and amplify outside noise, while the additional Talkthru mode is specifically for conversations. Individual system and sound adjustments are also possible via connection with the app, and there is also integration with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant voice services.
With the Miami, the Swedish company Urbanista has expanded its range of headphones to include wireless over-ears that boast a long battery life and offer both active noise cancellation and an ambient sound mode for external awareness. In addition to Bluetooth 5.0 standard, this bass-tuned model also supports the high-quality AAC audio codec format.
With the Hammerhead True Wireless Pro, Razer has expanded its in-house headphone range with cable-free in-ears that can actively suppress and amplify external noise and offer a latency-reduced wireless connection for mobile games or movies. Using the app connection, the touch control and the bass-strong basic sound of the headphones can be adjusted via 10-band EQ. Alternatively, a much more balanced tuning is available with the THX mode.
The Razer Opus surprises us in our test as closed wireless headphones with a modern design and compact sound that, for everyday headphones, do almost everything that could be wished of them. And the reasons for this are many and varied...
With the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro, Anker offer comfortably fitting, wireless in-ears that can be flexibly adapted to your own needs and environment via app connection. While a personal sound profile can be created with the help of HearID (2.0) and EQ, a total of four noise cancellation and two transparency modes are also available.
Apple has added the first over-ear headphones to its range with the AirPods Max, which must be pretty good as they cost 600 Euros - and for those of us who live in the Apple world this is certainly the case. Those who are just looking for a good pair of true-wireless headphones are nevertheless cordially invited to read the review of the AirPods Max, knowing full well that they might change their minds afterwards.
With the Free Pro, EarFun offers very compact and completely wireless in-ears that are lavishly equipped with dual drivers, modern Bluetooth 5.2, active noise cancellation and a wireless charging case - all for a purchase price of 60 euros.
