Event Coverage

HWM+HardwareZone.com Tech Awards 2017: Editor's Choice - Part 1

By Team HardwareZone - 7 Mar 2017

Best Noise Canceling Headphones

Best Noise Canceling Headphones

Noise-canceling headphones are most seen on commercial flights, where everyone tries to drown out the drone of the plane to get some sleep or watch a movie in peace. But they’re not just for travel only; good noise canceling also enables you to listen to your music at lower volumes, while drowning out nearby chatter. These year's contenders have even upped the ante, with some offering wireless capabilities and the ability to fine tune the audio signature by a companion app on your smartphone.

 

Nominees:

  • AKG 60NC
  • Audio Technica ATH-MSR7NC
  • Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay H8
  • Beats Studio Wireless
  • Bose QuietComfort 35
  • JBL Everest Elite 700
  • Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 SE
  • Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless
  • Sony MDR-1000X

 

And the winner is...

Sony MDR-1000X

Noise-canceling headphones are always a crowded segment, with new models coming out from an increasing number of brands each and every year. For the longest time, Bose held the crown as the headphones best able to cancel out ambient noise, but this year we were pleasantly surprised to find that Sony had upped their noise-canceling game to match Bose, and in some situations, surpass the noise-canceling capabilities of the well-regarded QuietComforts. In terms of audio quality, the Sony MDR-1000X was again amongst the best in the group, with only the Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless offering slightly better quality overall. The combination of great noise-canceling performance and audio quality is what propelled the MDR-1000X to this win.

Scoring Breakdown

Criteria
/Model

AKG 60NC Audio Technica ATH-MSR7NC

Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay H8

Beats Studio Wireless

Bose Quiet
Comfort 35
JBL Everest Elite 700 Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 SE Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless Sony MDR-1000X
Performance 8.5 8.5 8.5 7.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 9.0 9.0
Design 8.0 8.0 8.5 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.5 8.5 9.0
Features 7.5 7.5 8.5 8.0 8.5 8.5 8.5 9.0 9.5
Value 9.0 8.0 7.5 7.5 8.0 9.0 9.0 8.0 8.5
Overall 8.0 8.0 8.5 7.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 9.0
Price S$369 S$338 S$698 S$590 S$549 S$429 S$319 S$649 S$599


For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.

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