Noise-cancellers

There are plenty of refined performers in the active noise-cancelling over-ears market. So can Apple tempt you to pulverise your budget?

Let’s find out just how overpriced those new Airpods are

Apple Airpods Max £549 / stuff.tv/airpodsmax

Apple’s first over-ears are a lavish affair with generous 40mm drivers, but come with a comically bizarre carry-case that’s close to useless.

While it’s impossible to remove the price tag from the conversation (a PS5 costs less!), the Airpods Max are unsurprisingly excellent, particularly if you’re an ithing devotee. They sound brilliant, noise-cancel as well as pretty anything out there and are wonderfully easy to pick up and use.

But they’re not going to pull in the proper audiophile chin-strokers… and they’re not close to being worth £200 more than the rest of the pack.

STUFF SAYS ★★★★✩

Big, heavy, often brilliant, and far too expensive

B&W PX7 Carbon Edition £349 / stuff.tv/px7carbon

Now available with a custom carbon-fibre composite shell for lightness and reduced resonance, the PX7S are as much about comfort for long listening sessions as they are about sonic splendour.

Noise-cancellation is as effective as you’ll find anywhere; but throw in the inclusion of aptx Adaptive for low-latency synchronicity and hi-res audio, and it becomes clear Bowers & Wilkins is onto a winner.

Other brands might offer a few more hi-tech features (touch-sensitive controls, for example), but judged on sonics alone these are a superb choice.

STUFF SAYS ★★★★★

Up there with the best for sound quality

Korg NC-Q1 £279 / stuff.tv/ncq1

Designed to protect DJS’ hearing when playing live, and with smart monitoring for more effective mixing, Korg’s NC-Q1S are sort of ‘specialist’.

But peel back those specifics (sister brand

Vox has a similar pair for bands) and you’re left with high-spec ANC cans supporting all the major codecs including aptx HD. They’re good with Siri and

Google Assistant, can handle hi-res audio and feature an attenuation function for extra-noisy environments.

And all of this works. The design is subtle, the controls intuitive, and precise sound is provided by 41mm custom drivers.

STUFF SAYS ★★★★★

Designed for DJ types, good for just about anyone

Marshall Monitor II ANC £269 / stuff.tv/monitor2

Marshall’s amp-inspired design is the big sell here, and for many of us it’s as close as we’ll ever get to a backstage pass. But there’s a lot more at work here than styling.

A sturdy folding design, excellent controls, a comfy fit, customisable ANC and great all-round sonic performance make these cans a big hit with Stuff staffers. They’re pretty cheap compared to the competition too – and as Marshall’s most advanced headphones yet, they’re giving you substantial bang for your buck.

If you like the look, the Monitor IIS should be very close to the top of your most-wanted list.

STUFF SAYS ★★★★★

Marshall’s best yet, and a great money-saving option

Sony WH-1000XM4 £349 / stuff.tv/xm4

No noise-cancellers list is complete without them… and as they’re a full £200 less than Apple’s upstarts, if anything their position at the top is now even stronger. It’s simple: the XM4S improve on their already ace predecessors in numerous ways.

What’s trickier to tackle is whether XM3 owners should upgrade. It’s true features like automatic wear detection are hard to relinquish once you have them; they’re probably not, however, enough to justify another £300+.

But we do love the new Speak-to-chat feature, which pauses the music and lets ambient noise in when you start talking.

STUFF SAYS ★★★★★

Simply the best all-round ANC cans you can buy