Noise-Canceling Headphones: Enhancing Airplane Travel Experience

Noise-cancelling headphones are a must-have for air travel, and there are plenty of options to choose from. While premium headphones offer improved noise cancellation and customizable settings, budget options are also available for under $100. When choosing noise-cancelling headphones for air travel, it is important to consider comfort, battery life, sound quality, and noise-cancelling performance. Additionally, features such as multipoint Bluetooth pairing and voice-calling capabilities can enhance the overall experience.

The pros and cons of noise-cancelling headphones for airplane travel

Noise-cancelling headphones can be a great investment for air travel, but there are some pros and cons to consider before purchasing a pair.

Pros:

• Noise-cancelling headphones can significantly reduce the sound of a plane's engine and block out background noise from passengers, creating a more peaceful environment.
• They can be comfortable for long-haul flights, with soft-padded ear cups that provide superior noise isolation and comfort.
• Some noise-cancelling headphones have long battery lives, ensuring they last for the duration of long flights without needing to be recharged.
• They can offer an immersive listening experience, with rich and expansive sound quality.
• Some headphones allow for wired connections, which is useful for in-flight entertainment systems.
• They can be compact and portable, making them convenient for travel.

Cons:

• Noise-cancelling headphones can be expensive, with prices ranging from $250 to $500 for premium options.
• Some cheaper noise-cancelling headphones may not effectively block out all sounds, particularly high-pitched noises, and may struggle to connect to devices.
• They may not be as comfortable for extended wear as more premium options, and can cause discomfort on long flights.
• Some headphones do not fold up, making them bulkier and less travel-friendly.
• Certain headphones do not have a power button, which can lead to battery drainage.
• Some noise-cancelling features only work during wireless use and are disabled during wired connections.

Overall, noise-cancelling headphones can be a great addition to your travel gear, providing a more peaceful and immersive listening experience during air travel. However, it is important to consider your budget and the specific features you require to ensure you get the best value for your purchase.

The best noise-cancelling headphones for comfort

Noise-cancelling headphones are a great way to improve your travel experience, especially on airplanes. Here are some of the best noise-cancelling headphones for comfort:

Sony WH-1000XM5

The Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones are an excellent choice for air travel, offering a comfortable fit with effective noise cancellation. The headband is supportive and light, while the ear cups seal snugly around your ears without applying too much pressure. They provide an impressive 31 hours of battery life on a single charge, and you can customise your EQ preferences, control settings, and noise cancellation levels using the Sony Headphones app. They also support Bluetooth 5.2 and include a 3.5mm headphone jack for wired connections, making them a versatile option.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones are another great option for air travel, featuring exceptional noise cancellation and comfort-focused design. The large, dense ear pads provide excellent isolation, effectively blocking out external noise. They are also designed with wide, soft-padded ear cups that comfortably encompass the ears, ensuring superior noise isolation and comfort during long-haul flights. Additionally, they are impressively lightweight at 253g, reducing head and neck strain during extended wear. The angled dynamic drivers take into account ear positioning, further enhancing the wearing experience. These headphones also offer a robust battery life, ensuring they last through long flights without frequent recharging. They come with a compact carrying case, making them easy to store and transport.

Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless

The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless headphones are a stylish and comfortable option, delivering high-quality noise cancellation and audio performance. They are designed with comfort in mind, featuring exposed metal on the headband and soft, fabric-covered ear pads. The leatherette and fabric combination ensures comfort during extended listening sessions. While the noise cancellation isn't class-leading, it still effectively cancels out a lot of environmental noise. The battery life is impressive, offering up to 56 hours of use, making them ideal for multiple trips without the need for frequent recharging. They also support a wide range of codecs, including AAC, SBC, and aptX, ensuring low latency for videos.

Apple AirPods Max

The Apple AirPods Max is a stylish and comfortable option for Apple users, featuring soft mesh ear cups that conform to the shape of your ears while effectively isolating noise. They offer a battery life of just over 21 hours, ensuring you're unlikely to run out of power during your travels. The H1 chip and AAC codec ensure a stable connection with Apple devices. While they are on the expensive side, they deliver best-in-class noise cancellation and excellent audio features, making them a top choice for Apple users seeking both comfort and performance.

Anker Soundcore Life Q30

The Anker Soundcore Life Q30 headphones offer a great balance of quality, comfort, and value. They feature active noise cancellation, significantly reducing low and mid-frequency noise, making them ideal for minimising cabin noise during flights. The transport mode is particularly useful, blocking out frequencies that passive isolation struggles with. They provide an impressive 46 hours of battery life on a single charge, and the fast-charging feature gives you an additional four hours of listening time with just a five-minute charge. The hard-shell carrying case adds convenience and protection during travel, making them a great choice for travellers seeking comfort and affordability.

The best noise-cancelling headphones for sound quality

Noise-cancelling headphones are a great way to block out distractions and engine noise when travelling by plane. Here are some of the best noise-cancelling headphones for sound quality:

Sony WH-1000XM5

The Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones are lightweight and comfortable, making them ideal for long-haul flights. They feature excellent noise-cancelling technology and offer a battery life of up to 31 hours on a single charge. They also have a Bluetooth 5.2 connection and come with a 3.5mm headphone jack cable, allowing you to connect to in-flight entertainment systems. The only downside is the price, as they are one of the more expensive options on the market.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones are known for their exceptional noise-cancelling capabilities and comfort features. They have wide, soft-padded ear cups that provide superior noise isolation and comfort during long-haul flights. They are also impressively lightweight at 253g, reducing head and neck strain. Additionally, they offer a robust battery life and come with a compact carrying case, making them a travel-friendly choice.

Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless

The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless headphones offer a comfortable fit, superior noise cancellation, and impressive battery life of up to 60 hours. They deliver detailed and rich sound quality, with well-defined bass and a relatively wide soundstage. They also support a range of Bluetooth codecs, including SBC, AAC, aptX, and aptX Adaptive. However, they are slightly more expensive than some other options.

Apple AirPods Max

The Apple AirPods Max headphones offer premium noise cancellation, superior sound quality, and seamless integration with Apple's ecosystem. They feature a stylish design, mesh ear cups, and a digital crown for easy controls. While they are expensive, they deliver an immersive listening experience and have a battery life of up to 20 hours. However, they do not come with a headphone cable in the box.

Anker Soundcore Life Q30

The Anker Soundcore Life Q30 headphones offer a balance of quality, comfort, and value. They feature active noise cancellation and are comfortable enough to wear for extended periods. They provide a battery life of up to 46 hours and come with a hardshell carrying case, making them a great choice for travellers. Additionally, the Soundcore app allows for EQ customization.

The best noise-cancelling headphones for battery life

Noise-cancelling headphones are great for air travel, as they can help block out the constant drone of the plane's engine and other background noises. If you're looking for the best noise-cancelling headphones for battery life, here are some top picks:

Sony WH-1000XM5

The Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones offer excellent noise-cancelling capabilities and boast an impressive 30 hours of battery life on a single charge. They are lightweight and comfortable, making them ideal for long-haul flights. They also come with a carrying case, making them easy to transport.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones are another excellent choice for air travel. They feature exceptional active noise-cancelling technology and are designed for comfort during long flights. These headphones offer up to 24 hours of battery life, ensuring they last through extended periods of use. They also come with a compact carrying case, making them convenient for travel.

Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless

The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless headphones offer superior noise-cancelling performance and an impressive 60 hours of battery life, making them ideal for long flights. They have a comfortable fit and deliver excellent sound quality. They also come with a carrying case, making them easy to transport.

Apple AirPods Max

The Apple AirPods Max provides impressive noise-cancelling capabilities and offers up to 20 hours of battery life on a single charge. They are designed for comfort and style, making them a great choice for air travel. However, they do not come with a carrying case, so you'll need to make room in your bag.

Anker Soundcore Life Q30

The Anker Soundcore Life Q30 headphones are an affordable option that delivers excellent noise-cancelling performance. They offer an impressive 40 hours of battery life on a single charge, ensuring you won't run out of power during your flight. They also come with a hardshell carrying case, making them convenient for travel.

The best noise-cancelling headphones for value for money

Noise-cancelling headphones are a great way to block out the world around you and focus on your music, a podcast, or whatever else you're listening to. They are especially useful when travelling, helping to drown out the background noise of planes, trains, and other passengers.

If you're looking for noise-cancelling headphones that offer the best bang for your buck, here are some great options to consider:

• Sony WH-1000XM4: These headphones offer strong noise cancellation and rich sound quality in a lightweight, comfortable design. While they are an older model, they often go on sale and are packed with great features, including multipoint pairing, DSEE Extreme upscaling, and auto-play/pause. They also support Sony’s 360 Reality Audio format for spatial audio and the LDAC codec for CD-quality audio.
• 1More Sonoflow: These over-ear headphones deliver impressive ANC for under $100. They feature a simple design, quality hinges, and a matte finish. The ear cups are adjustable and made with super-soft memory foam, ensuring a comfortable fit. They offer a huge 70 hours of battery life without ANC and 50 hours with it turned on.
• Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones: If you're looking for the best noise-stopping power and don't mind spending a bit extra, these headphones offer top-notch noise cancellation and phenomenal sound quality. They are lightweight and comfortable, with soft-padded ear cups that provide superior noise isolation. The battery life is a bit lower than average at 24 hours.
• Sony WH-CH720N: These headphones strike a great balance between price and performance, offering active noise cancellation and Sony's well-balanced sound. They are lightweight and comfortable, with excellent dynamic range and clarity. They also feature multipoint Bluetooth for easy device switching and a 3.5mm jack for wired audio.
• Cambridge Audio Melomania P100: With a battery life of 100 hours without ANC and 60 hours with it on, these headphones are a great choice for long listening sessions. They deliver energetic, detailed, and convincing sound and come with a seven-band EQ for customization. The design is comfortable, with vegan leather and memory foam earpads, but the case is a bit large.
• Edifier W830NB: As the successor to Edifier's popular W820NB Plus, these headphones offer improved sound quality and noise cancellation. They are lightweight and comfortable, with cushy memory foam ear pads. They also support Bluetooth 5.4 and the LDAC, SBC, and AAC audio codecs. The noise cancellation is decent but not as good as more expensive brands.
• Earfun Wave Pro: These headphones offer comfortable wear and decent sound quality and noise cancellation. They are rated for up to 80 hours of battery life without noise cancellation and 55 hours with it on. They support multipoint Bluetooth pairing and Sony's LDAC audio codec. They come with a hard case and a cable for wired listening, but noise cancellation is disabled in wired mode.
• JLab Lux ANC Wireless: These headphones offer a comfortable fit, decent sound, and good noise cancellation. They are well-designed and seem pretty well-built, with padded ear cups. They fold up but don't come with a carrying case or pouch. They don't have a port for wired listening, and there is no app for customization.
• Soundcore by Anker Space One: These headphones offer good sound quality, performance, and features for the price. They are comfortable to wear but look a bit bulky compared to more premium models. They feature wear-detection sensors and a carrying pouch, and they support LDAC audio codec for Android users.
• Anker Soundcore Life Q30: These headphones offer solid build quality, good sound, decent noise cancellation, and strong battery life at an affordable price. They come with a hard carrying case and support Bluetooth multipoint pairing. However, the voice-calling performance could be better, as they don't reduce background noise well.
• OneOdio A10: These headphones deliver more than you'd expect for the price, with a sturdy build, comfortable fit, and reasonably good sound and noise cancellation. They have a dual-hinge design and come with a decent carrying case. They are a bit bulky and may not fit smaller heads well.

Frequently asked questions