ANC HEADPHONES: A QUICK GUIDE

Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) If you’ve yet to experience the joy of a quiet plane journey, you’re in for a treat. ANC headphones feature a miniature microphone in the earpiece that picks up ambient sound. This is then cancelled out by some ingenious circuitry that flips the soundwave erasing the background noise. Bluetooth There’s little denying the practicality of Bluetooth headphones, and the best can sound sensational. If you use a compatible smartphone, look for the aptx logo which means you can stream in better-than-cd quality. If not, just make sure you’re streaming the highest resolution – for Spotify this is ‘High Quality’ at 320kbps.

Features to look for Bluetooth won’t work with most in-flight movie systems, so check they come with a separate cable. It’s essential your battery life is at least 16 hours so you can be sure there’s always a charge when you need it.