T3 - UK (2021-07)

86 T3 JULY 2021

Best of the best

Nailed it. Light, with

broad, soft ear cups

and a remarkably

comfortable

headband, these

offer best-in-class

noise cancellation

with great sound,

rich bass and a lively

approach to music.

£349, sony.co.uk

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

SHURE AONIC 50

The sound quality

of the Aonic 50

should have purists

purring. There isn’t

an excess of bass

and it delivers all

the sparkling detail

and painstaking

accuracy you

could want.

£359, shure.co.uk

BOWERS & WILKINS PX7

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

MEZE AUDIO RAI SOLO

With a single-driver

design capable of

excellent dynamic

range, these can pull

from a deep well

of bass as well as

shimmering treble.

A well-priced, unfussy

and great-sounding

pair of headphones.

£179, mezeaudio.com

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

of the 1 1c make

them the sonic

bargain of the year.

£49, soundmagicheadphones.com

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.

£ 89 , flareaudio.com

KLIPSCH T5M WIRED

The fitting is unusual,

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.

£65, klipsch.com

FOCAL CLEAR MG

Simply sumptuous,

with soft microfibre

on the earpads and

a headband that you

can sink into; then

comes the rich, warm

sound to totally

lose yourself inside.

They’re just fantastic

in that regard.

£1,399, focal.com

AKG K52

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

AUDIO TECHNICA

ATH-A1000Z

Forget about MP3s

or EDM: these

headphones don’t

flatter or sacrifice

sound quality for

bass. But if you give

them a good amp

and a good sound

source they do

incredible things.

£439, audiotechnica.com

GRADO SR325E

When you factor

just how good these

sound, they’re a

bargain. In a quiet

room, they sound as

good as headphones

that cost five times

more. They’re among

the leakiest we’ve

tried, however.

£399, gradolabs.com

NOISE-CANCELLING

HEADPHONES

WIRED IN-EAR

HEADPHONES

WIRED OVER-EAR

HEADPHONES

Find the lowest prices at:
t 3 .com/bestnoisecancelling

Find the lowest prices at:

t 3 .com/bestinear

Find the lowest prices at:

t 3 .com/bestoverear

SONY WH- 1000 XM4