THE BEST ACTIVE NOISE
CANCELLING ’PHONES
If you want to enjoy the silence, allow us to
point you in the following directions...
Noise cancelling is everywhere, but not all ANC is made equal. Some
is, frankly, absolutely rubbish, adding more hiss than it removes.
Some is so intense that it drains whatever battery it’s pulling from in
minutes. Some isn’t even ANC at all – it’s just a constant burst of
anti-noise within a certain frequency range, or it’s passive
cancelling with a devious and misleading label on it. You have to be
choosy about what you go for.
If you really want to indulge in noise cancelling tech, you’ll need
to shell out a little – but trust us, once you’ve tried one of these audio
masterworks, you’ll never want to go back.AMAZON ECHO BUDS
Forget the gimmicks like Alexa
integration (even though that’s
very cool) and look towards the
noise cancelling expertise on
display here – it’s Bose-tuned,
and uses three microphones per
earbud (two outer, one inner) todrive a particularly sharp hybrid
ANC. For the price you won’t
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convenient; if you’re running low
on juice, 15 minutes in the case will
get you a full two hours’ playback.
£119, amazon.co.ukEven outside of the addition
of noise cancelling, these are a
remarkable upgrade over the
standard AirPods, with a better
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supremely low latency. Bring the
strong hybrid ANC into the mix
and things get even better: the
inner mic doubles as a conduit for
Apple’s excellent adaptive EQ, and
the transparency mode sounds
natural despite the fact you’ll have
silicone tips wedged in your ears.
£249, apple.com/ukIf it’s style you’re after, Bowers
& Wilkins’ latest take on noise-
cancelling cans absolutely hits
the mark. Great-looking (and, of
course, awesome sounding) the
PX7s may be, but don’t overlook
the quality of the ANC. With three
levels of cancelling easily selected
by tapping an ear cup, you can
switch from just a mild block of
the outside world to some of the
strongest silence you’re ever likely
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£349, bowerswilkins.comSony has been working hard and
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years, but the latest cans in its
line hit the mark better than ever
before. Massively comfortable,
structurally strong and perfectly
portable, this is just about peakANC. Sony’s new QN1 processor
does an impeccable job, and
enables you to customise cut
frequencies, upscale the resolution
of your tunes and more. We can’t
wait to see what’s next from Sony.
£269, sony.co.ukAPPLE AIRPODS PRO
B&W PX7 SONY WH1000-XM 3
SARTORIAL SOUND
TRUE WIRELESS HERO
THE BEST EVER ANC
ABSOLUTE BARGAIN ANC
T3 recommends...
MARCH 2020 T3 61Noise cancelling headphones