78 T3 AUGUST 2020
Best of the best
With a 30-hour
battery life, very
quick charging,
Google Assistant,
amazing bass
response and an
incredibly clever
noise cancellation
processor, these are
superb headphones.
£329, sony.co.uk
AKG N60NC WIRELESS
If you want the
best cheapo
noise cancelling
headphones, look no
further. Audio quality
is really excellent
for what you pay,
and consistently
good whether you’re
wired or wireless.
£130, uk.akg.com
BOSE NOISE CANCELLING
HEADPHONES 700
Close rivals to the
Sony and B&W
options above,
they’re less exciting,
but also very easy to
listen to for hours on
end. If you are easy
like Sunday morning,
maybe these are
your babies.
£299, bose.com
A bit dull-looking,
but the audio quality
and noise cancelling
are extremely
close to that of the
Sonys. B&W’s usual
exciting, but well
balanced, sound
meets excellent
noise cancelling.
£275, bowers-wilkins.co.uk
These are both
wired and wireless
- the in-ear bit has a
cable to a DAC box,
which you can then
play music through
over Bluetooth or
by plugging in. The
sound is fantastic –
huge and nuanced.
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SOUNDMAGIC E11C
Can we really be
recommending a pair
of headphones for
under £50? Yes we
can! The grown-up
sound quality and
exemplary comfort
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them the sonic
bargain of the year.
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FLARE AUDIO FLARES JET 3
Maintaining the
quality of the Flares
Pro (see Bluetooth
headphones),
removing the DAC
element and thereby
slashing the price,
these audiophile in-
ear headphones are
a tremendous option.
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but nonetheless
immediately felt
comfortable and
solid. The audio is
boosted, primped
and pop-friendly,
with plenty of bass
and a very lively and
engaging sound.
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When you factor
just how good these
sound, they’re a
bargain. In a quiet
room, they sound as
good as headphones
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more. They’re among
the leakiest we’ve
tried, however.
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FOCAL STELLIA
Carefully engineered
to give you the kind
of big soundscape
expected of high-
end headphones,
the audio quality is
stunning. Detail and
expansiveness at
the high end is really
impressive too.
£99, focal.com
These have
absolutely no right to
sound half as good as
they do. For at-home
listening they offer a
massive soundstage,
impressive balance
and a frankly
ludicrous amount of
detail for the dosh.
£25, akg.com
Forget about MP3s
or EDM: these
headphones don’t
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sound quality for
bass. But if you give
them a good amp
and a good sound
source they do
incredible things.
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NOISE CANCELLING
HEADPHONES
WIRED IN-EAR
HEADPHONES
WIRED OVER-EAR
HEADPHONES
Find the lowest prices at:
t3.com/bestnoisecancelling
Find the lowest prices at:
t3.com/bestinear
Find the lowest prices at:
t3.com/bestoverear
SONY WH-1000XM3 FLARE AUDIO FLARE PRO 2HD GRADO SR325E
BOWERS & WILKINS PX7 KLIPSCH T5M WIRED AUDIO TECHNICA ATH-A1000Z
AKG K52