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We may not be able to travel now but that doesn’t mean you should junk our noise-cancellation headphones. What used to be an invaluable tool in the skies has now become an indispensable companion for working at home. At home, these headphones are excellent at nullifying noises from the environment and creating a silent cocoon in which to do your work. And even if you aren’t working at home, they are equally adept at cancelling out external noises during your commute so that you can better enjoy your music. Furthermore, their wireless nature means we are not encumbered by our source and have the freedom to move around.
To make the cut for this year’s award, the headphone must be the flagship of the brand, have an over-ear design, wireless, equipped with active noise-cancellation technology and released in the year of 2020.
The Sony WH-1000XM4 is the company’s fourth-generation flagship wireless noise-cancelling headphone. Unsurprisingly, it is Sony’s most accomplished yet. It improves on its predecessors in almost every single way. Comfort is better thanks to plusher earpads and it’s now more convenient to use thanks to the ability to connect to two devices simultaneously. Active noise-cancellation has also been improved thanks to a new Bluetooth Audio SoC that samples noise at over 700 times a second, making the WH-1000XM4 more adept that nullifying higher frequency sounds like human conversations. Audio performance remains respectable with deep impactful bass and a fun sound signature. Battery life is one of the best in the business at 30 hours long. And while we may not be able to fly anytime soon, the WH-1000XM4’s foldable design means it can be carried easily in a bag.
Overall, I cannot think of a better pair of headphones to have with me at all times.
| Model | Design | Performance | Features | Value | Overall | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple AirPods Max | 8.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 7.0 | 8.5 | S$849 |
| Beoplay H95 | 9.0 | 9.5 | 8.0 | 6.5 | 8.5 | S$1,300 |
| Bowers & Wilkins PX7 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | S$619 |
| Harmon Kardon Fly ANC | 7.0 | 7.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 7.5 | S$369 |
| Huawei FreeBuds Studio | 8.0 | 8.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | S$398 |
| JBL Tune 750BTANC | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 8.5 | 7.5 | S$199 |
| Marshall Monitor II ANC | 7.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 7.5 | S$549 |
| Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 | 8.5 | 9.0 | 8.5 | 9.0 | 8.5 | S$302 |
| Sony WH-1000XM4 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | S$549 |
For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed in the References section below.
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