Best Noise Cancelling Earbuds for 2024
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 S2: For 2023, Bowers & Wilkins has upgraded its great-sounding PI7 noise-cancelling earphones. The new S2 model features improved battery life and Bluetooth range, now up to 25 meters (double the previous range). Additionally, the earphones are now integrated into the new Bowers & Wilkins Music app for iOS and Android and have a much-improved set-up experience.
Sony LinkBuds S: Unlike the “open” LinkBuds, the LinkBuds S are traditional noise-isolating earbuds with tips that fit inside your ears. They’re more compact and lightweight than Sony’s former flagship WF-1000XM4, and also feature Sony’s V1 processor (Sony has since released the more compact WF-1000XM5). While their sound and noise cancellation don’t quite stand up to the XM4s or XM5s, they’re still pretty good. They’re the Sony earbuds for people who can’t afford Sony’s flagship buds but want 80% of the features and performance of those buds for considerably less.
Sony WF-1000XM4: Sony’s WF-1000XM4, released in 2021, won a CNET Editors’ Choice Award. They’re still excellent earbuds, but Sony has now released the next-gen WF-1000XM5. They can be a great option if you can find them at a good discount.
Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3: The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 were among the best new true-wireless earbuds of 2022. They’re still among the best true wireless earbuds, but Sennheiser has released the upgraded Momentum True Wireless 4. The newer AirPods Pro 2 and Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds are also demonstrably better, so only buy the Momentum True Wireless 3 if they’re significantly discounted.
JBL Tour Pro 2: JBL’s Tour Pro 2 earbuds have gotten a lot of attention for introducing something new to a true wireless earbud: a full-color touchscreen display built into the case that lets you access key functions of the earbuds, as well as control playback and adjust volume. It’s a bit of a gimmick, but it’s also useful. While the earbuds could sound a bit better for their suggested retail price, the JBL Tour Pro 2s are overall very good earbuds that offer a secure fit, a robust feature set, long battery life, and solid noise cancellation and voice call performance.
Beyerdynamic Free Byrd: Beyerdynamic may be late to the game, but it has finally introduced its first truly wireless earbuds, which offer active noise cancellation, up to 11 hours of battery life (with noise cancellation off), and impressive sound quality. Read our Beyerdynamic Free Byrd review.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2: The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 noise-cancelling headphones come in four colors and don’t offer quite as great sound or noise cancellation as the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, but they’re compact (15% smaller and 20% lighter than the previous Buds Plus, they barely protrude from your ears) and cost considerably less. Because they seal more securely in your ears — and have that angled design — they also pick up less wind noise. They’re IPX2 sweatproof, while the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are completely waterproof (IPX7).
Bang & Olufsen Beoplay EX: Bang & Olufsen’s $399 Beoplay EX earbuds are the company’s best true wireless earbuds. They have a comfortable, secure fit (except maybe for those with really small ears), top-notch build quality, great sound, solid noise cancellation, and improved voice-call performance over B&O’s EQ-enabled earbuds, with three microphones in each earbud helping to reduce background noise while picking up your voice. While they’re out of most people’s budget, they’re arguably the best stem-type earbuds available, offering a slightly better sound than the AirPods Pro 2, with better clarity, deeper, punchier bass, and richer, more accurate audio.
Soundcore of Anker Liberty 4:While the sound isn’t quite up to the levels of more expensive earbuds like the Apple AirPods Pro 2 and Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3, which cost considerably more, the Soundcore by Anker Liberty 4 earbuds have some strong features, including a spatial audio mode with head tracking, multipoint Bluetooth pairing, up to nine hours of battery life, wireless charging, and support for Sony’s LDAC audio codec, which can bring about improvements to your sound if you have the right setup.
Sennheiser CX-Plus: The Momentum True Wireless 3 are Sennheiser’s flagship true-wireless earbuds. If you can’t afford them, the CX Plus (which have very good sound and decent noise canceling) are a great alternative for much less. The step-down CX, which don’t have active noise canceling, costs even less.
