The Beats Studio Pro Wireless Headphones are an update to the popular Studio3 design. Although they look nearly identical, the audio quality is improved. We still prefer the QuietComfort 45’s livelier audio profile and more resonant bass, but if you like the signature Beats look, you probably won’t be disappointed by how these sound. You can toggle between three sound profiles and play lossless audio when connected to your phone, tablet or computer with the included USB-C cable. The Studio Pros squeeze the head more tightly than the Bose headphones, so some may find them less comfortable (we did). And some notable premium features are still missing, including adjustable noise cancellation levels and on-ear detection.
The Apple AirPods Max sound truly great, and the noise cancellation is incredibly effective. But at 13.6 ounces, these are some of the heaviest headphones we tested, which means they’re not as comfortable to wear for long periods, and those few ounces make a difference when you’re carrying them around all day. The “Smart Case” is a confounding single sheet of a silicone-like material folded into a holder that covers just the earcups, but not the headband. At $550, the AirPods Max are also the most expensive headphones we tested, although they’re often on sale. Apple updated this set with new colors and switched from a Lightning connector to USB-C in late 2024, but left everything else the same, making these headphones an even worse value years after they were introduced.
Dyson’s OnTrac headphones are very heavy at more than a pound (compare that to the Sonos Ace, which weigh just over 11 ounces, or top-performing headphones from Sony and Bose that weigh less than 9 ounces). That added weight and a strong clamping force made them uncomfortable to wear for extended periods in our tests. They’re also physically huge, with the round ear cups measuring 3.75 inches in diameter. The sound quality and noise cancellation are impressive, but close enough to our top picks that neither quality is a reason to buy this pair over one of our top picks, given the number of downsides. And while the 55-hour battery life is far higher than any other headphones we tested, it’s still not enough to make these a top pick.
Bowers & Wilkins’ Px7 S2 headphones are arguably among the best-looking pairs we tested, and they sound quite good. That’s why we were disappointed to find issues outside of the audio quality that prevented us from strongly recommending them. The first pair we received for review had no sound coming from the right earcup. Bowers & Wilkins swapped them out with another set that was tested to ensure this wouldn’t be an issue again. We got proper audio from the second set, but noticed a “dead zone” in the noise cancellation: When we turned our head about 45 degrees to the left, the sound on our right made it into that side’s earcup. Additionally, the headphones would just stop playing during regular activity like walking, likely due to the sensitivity of the “wear sensor” setting designed to pause audio when you take the headphones off. There are three levels of sensitivity in the companion app—low, normal (where we experienced issues) and high—and a note below saying you should switch to low “if audio pauses unexpectedly while on your head,” suggesting the company is aware of the issue.
We found the noise cancellation on Anker’s Soundcore Space Q45 to be subpar. Anytime we’d turn our head, sound would leak in, making them effectively unusable.
1More’s SonoFlow are generally well-regarded as a good lower-price option. We found them to feel cheap, though, and the volume buttons on our review unit (which we had to purchase after several attempts to contact the company went unanswered) weren’t responsive. We had to press them several times to register an input, and because a double-click is used to skip back and forth between tracks, we often found ourselves inadvertently changing songs when we wanted to adjust the volume.
How we picked
Trust us
Nick Guy has been reviewing consumer technology for over a decade, including at a leading national product-review site. In that time, he’s tested myriad headphones and closely followed the top audio brands.
Geoffrey Morrison has reviewed audio products for two decades for many print publications and websites, including CNET, Forbes and Sound & Vision magazine. He was the A/V editor of Wirecutter for five years, testing and reviewing hundreds of headphones, speakers and other audio products.
To better understand active noise cancellation, the technology that powers these headphones, we consulted Kevin Franck, Ph.D., a licensed audiologist and the chair of the board of directors of the Hearing Loss Association of America. Franck has graduate degrees in hearing science, biomedical engineering and healthcare management. He walked us through ANC’s capabilities (and limits), as well as how specific headphone design specs might enhance or detract from performance.
We tested
The gold standard for both sound quality and sound reduction, over-the-ear active-noise cancellation headphones do their job in two ways. First, ANC “listens” to the environment using built-in microphones and then emits an inverse sound wave, literally canceling out the noise. Second, over-the-ear headphones (as opposed to earbuds) block sound simply by acting as a physical barrier between your eardrums and the environment.
We began by researching headphones from every major manufacturer based on familiarity with the brands’ reputations and external reviews and ratings. To qualify for testing, headphones had to have a transparency mode and multi-device pairing. Transparency mode switches on the headphones’ external microphones so more outside noise passes through. That allows you to be more aware of your surroundings and even hold conversations without removing the headphones. Multi-device pairing means the headphones will automatically switch between, say, your laptop, where you might be listening to music while you work, and your phone when a call comes in.
We deemed more than a dozen pairs of headphones to be worthy of testing in real-world conditions. Here’s what we were looking for:
- Sound quality: Headphones need to make whatever you’re listening to sound great, whether that’s music, podcasts or phone calls. Some models offer adjustable EQ, meaning you can adjust the volume of the high-, mid- and low-frequency audio bands; if you like a lot of bass, you might turn up the lows, for example. We preferred those headphones that delivered impressive sound without needing any fussy setting adjustments.
- Noise cancellation quality: No noise-canceling headphones can completely drown out the outside world. A good pair will effectively dampen the disruptive noises around you, especially those on the low end of the audio spectrum, like the roar of a plane engine. An even better pair will also cancel out some mid- and high-end sounds, like voices.
- Comfort, weight and overall design: The headphones we rated highest neither gripped your skull too tightly nor had uncomfortable ear cups that compressed the outer ear. They needed to be lightweight, which leads to less fatigue from wear and makes them more convenient for travel. We preferred physical controls over touch-based surfaces because they’re far easier to use. Aesthetic appeal was a factor, too. While you won’t see the headphones while you’re wearing them, everyone else can, so a good set should pair as well with a business suit as casual wear.
- Other features: We also considered the adjustability, if any, of the level of noise cancellation, on-ear detection for automatically pausing your music when you take the headphones off and starting it again when you put them back on and the promised battery life.
We tested the headphones by listening to a range of audio content, including podcasts, phone calls, Google Meet video meetings and of course music—everything from The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” to “Morbid Stuff” by PUP. We then put the five pairs that rose to the top of our list through the noise gauntlet that is New York City, wearing them while walking around Brooklyn and Manhattan, on crowded subway cars and at one of the loudest environments we could find: New York’s Grand Central Terminal during rush hour. To assess their ability to tamp down typical office noise, we wore them working both at home with a partner one room over and at our noisy open-plan Buy Side headquarters.
Our expert
- Kevin Franck, Ph.D., licensed audiologist, chair of the Hearing Loss Association of America’s board of directors, and senior vice president of strategic marketing and new product planning at Frequency Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on repairing hearing loss; with graduate degrees in hearing science, biomedical engineering and healthcare management; previously worked at Bose (although he didn’t provide any specific product recommendations for this piece)
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