Subj : The best noise-cancelling earbuds for all budgets, as chosen by T (2/2) To : All From : TechnologyDaily Date : Tue Sep 30 2025 17:00:09 testing these buds, they deliver great sound and have impressive battery life. But they're not quite good enough to beat the best buds in this guide. Viaim RecDot: Here's a different proposition from Viaim, buds packed with AI features that can record and transcribe, making meetings infinitely easier. Sound quality is good too, but as far as ANC goes they're a little disappointing. Although they don't beat the rivals in this list, we definitely recommend you take a closer look at our Viaim RecDot review, because if you want buds for productivity, transcription and meetings, it doesn't get better than this. How to choose the best noise-cancelling earbuds If you're looking for the best noise-cancelling earbuds, a good place to start is the design. Do you need earbuds for working out ? Then look for a pair that come with a water-resistance rating of IPX4 or above, interchangeable eartips, and earhooks that will keep them securely in place while you exercise. Do you want a pair of noise-cancelling earbuds for the commute? Then you may want to consider a pair with a simple design that look unobtrusive. It's also a good idea to have a budget in mind before you start looking for a pair of noise-cancelling earbuds. Earbuds that block out ambient sound most successfully tend to be more expensive, with most of the best models costing at least $200 / 200 / AU$300. However, you can still get great active noise cancellation on a budget, with some of the best earbuds in this guide costing less than $100 / 100 / AU$150 just don't expect best-in-class ANC at mid-range and budget prices. Of course, noise cancellation isn't the only thing to consider when buying a pair of earbuds. Whatever you're buying earbuds for, you want them to sound fantastic. If you consider yourself an audiophile, look for models with aptX HD or aptX Adaptive support, so you can enjoy your hi-res audio streams and get the most detail out of your music. Frequently asked questions How do noise-cancelling earbuds work? Noise-cancelling earbuds have built-in microphones. They use these to listen to the world around you and identify sounds. Like the rumble of an engine, the hum of a fan, or background chatter. The buds then use this information to create sound waves that are the exact opposite (called anti-noise or antiphase), which cancels those sounds out before they hit your ears. The result is that you hear more of what you want to hear and less of everything else. If you want to dig deeper, weve got a full noise-cancellation explainer . Are Apple earbuds noise cancelling? Some Apple earbuds are noise cancelling. The basic AirPods range (including the most recent AirPods 4 ) doesnt have active noise cancellation. But the AirPods Pro, AirPods Pro 2 , the AirPods Max and the AirPods 4 with ANC do. They all use ANC to reduce outside noise and also come with a Transparency Mode, which lets noises from the world back in when you want to stay aware of your surroundings or have a conversation. When did noise cancelling headphones come out? The first widely produced noise-cancelling headphones landed in the late 80s, originally for pilots who needed to cut out the loud sounds of plane engines. But the idea behind them was born a little earlier. The story goes that in 1978, Amar Bose (yes, the man behind Bose) was so annoyed by the roar of a jet engine and the useless airline headphones he was given that he sketched out the concept of active noise cancellation on a napkin mid-flight. A few years later, ANC was born. How we test the best noise-cancelling earbuds Why you can trust TechRadar More than 2,400 audio reviews 15 years of product testing Over 16,000 products reviewed in total Nearly 200,000 hours testing tech We've thoroughly tested all of the noise-cancelling earbuds in this guide, so you can be confident that you're making an informed decision when you buy. We've spent lots of time using these earbuds in different situations, putting the active noise cancellation to the test in noisy environments, on public transport, on flights, and in shared offices and of course we listen to a wide range of music from various sources to check whether the noise cancellation negatively affects your music collection. However effective the noise cancellation is when deployed, it's no good if the track you're listening to becomes constricted, tinny or otherwise compromised. The audio performance of these earbuds is thoroughly analysed to test how well balanced they are across the frequencies, how wide the soundstage is, and how much detail they eke out from audio files. Battery life and connectivity are also tested rigorously, so you can be sure that the earbuds you're buying live up to the manufacturer's claims. At the moment, we're beginning a new process for scoring earbuds' performance in certain areas, to make it easier for you to compare models in our buying guides. You can read all about it in our guide to how we test earbuds at TechRadar , but the most relevant parts are that we'll be scoring earbuds specifically on their sound quality with ANC turned on and off, since that can make a notable difference. We'll also offering recordings of microphone quality so you can compare different earbuds on that front, and we'll give you exact figures for how long the battery in them lasts with active noise cancellation turned on. We'll re-test the earbuds in this guide with these new process in mind, and we'll use the new process for new reviews in the future. Latest updates to the best noise-cancelling earbuds September 30, 2025 Refreshed the introduction. Switched out the JLab Go Air Pop ANC for the newer JLab Go Pods ANC as our 'best value' pick. Added a mention of the new AirPods Pro 3 in our AirPods Pro 2 entry (review coming soon), and added a mention of the Earfun Air Pro 4+ (review coming soon) in the Earfun Air Pro 3 entry. Put details of the Nothing Ear (3) in the Nothing Ear (a) entry. August 14, 2025 Refreshed the introduction to emphasize our expert testing process and update mentions of our top pick, which is now the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen. Added a new mini review of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen, replacing the original Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. Added the OnePlus Buds 4 to our 'More we've tested' section. Read more updates June 13, 2025 Added information about the upcoming Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen. Switched the Cambridge Audio Melomania M100 for the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 as our 'best for sound' pick, based on our testing. Added more products to our list of other earbuds we've tested. April 11, 2025 Added a 'best open earbuds with ANC' pick to the end to include the recently tested Honor Earbuds Open. Included several new FAQs to explain some of the ins and outs of noise cancelling tech and how it works. March 7, 2025 Refreshed the introduction. Switched the Beats Fit Pro out for the newer Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 as our 'best for sports' pick, based on our recent testing. Alphabetized our 'also consider' recommendations to make them easier to navigate, and added the Earfun Air 2 NC and Noble FoKus Rex5 as two new devices to consider, even though they didn't make the final cut for this guide. January 10, 2025 Refreshed the introduction. Removed any older references to prices from last year. Swapped the Technics EAH-AZ80 in for the new Technics EAH-100 in the no.8 spot as our 'best for features' pick, based on our recent testing. Added scorecards to the bottom of each product so readers can get a quick overview of key factors to consider before buying. November 25, 2024 I switched the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 for the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds as our 'best overall' pick based on my testing, and following recent dramatic price drops for the Ultra. The QC 2 buds are also now very hard to find in stock. November 15, 2024 Refreshed the introduction. Included a new 'Black Friday' section to give readers advice about choosing earbuds this sales season and links to our relevant deals guides. Added new images next to our recommendations so readers can get a better look at the devices we've selected. Added some new products into our 'also consider' section, including the Edifier Stax Spirit S10. October 18, 2024 Rewrote the introduction. Added the JLab Go Pop ANC as our 'best under $30/30' affordable pick. Added some new suggestions to our 'also consider' section, including the Xiaomi Buds 5 and the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 buds. September 17, 2024 Switched the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro for the newer and better performing Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro based on our testing. Added several new options into our 'also consider' section, including the LG Tone Free T90S and Earfun Air Pro 4. Also added details about Apple's new earbud announcements, including details of the ANC variant of the upcoming Apple AirPods 4. July 19, 2024 Added the JBL Live Beam 3 in as a new option for the 'best battery'. Also added the Nothing Ear (a) as the 'best mid-range option' replacing the Sony WF-C700N, based on our testing of the two products. Updated the 'also consider' section to reflect some of the other new earbuds we've reviewed recently that didn't make it into this guide. May 21, 2024 Updated the copy throughout; added Cambridge Audio Melomania M100 in as the best-sounding option, to replace the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2. Updated the 'also consider section to reflect several new earbuds reviewed recently (Audio-Technica ATH-TWX7, OnePlus Buds 3 and more) and why they didn't make it to this list. 20 March 2024 A dded a new 'Also consider' section to highlight more earbuds that aren't in the list, and removed some products to streamline selections. 4 March 2024 Added new products based on the latest reviews. ====================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/audio/earbuds-airpods/best-noise-cancelling-earbuds --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64) * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100) .