T3 - UK (2020-08)

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