How I choose my ANC Headphones

There are two reasons to buy a Active Noice Cancelling Headphone

1. Reduce Ambient Noise

The biggest misconception about ANC headphones – in my opinion – is that their function is to create silence in every situation, but their task is to reduce noise: What I mean by that is that there needs to be noise for the ANC to eliminate. They are mainly build to reduce a sonorous constant noise like in an airplane. For safety reasons most models will let the frequencies through that are used for announcements inside the plane. Because of this you will find that not all conversations will be muted out by most ANC headphones.

At the same time, the sound waves that the ANC calculates and generates to eliminate ambient noise create a very unnatural sonic environment. This doesn’t work for everybody. I personally prefer a passive isolation with a good passive headphone or InEar whenever I’m not in a plane or train.

If you are a frequent traveler who doesn’t care for music, you will be super happy with your Sony or Bose headphones, there is no need to look further. I recommend testing them at airport shops and focus on how the ANC “feels” to you. It should not create an uncomfortable sensation of vacuum in your head and always test them with ambient noise.

I would advise against using ANC during the day in an office situation without them playing music or something to keep your hearing entertained. Otherwise there seems to be a risk of creating a hypersensitivity for sound.

2. Listen to Music

Being a HIFI Store, I only have products that reproduce Music well, and my criteria is: Will my customers, who are used to very (very, very!) good systems tolerate the ANC headphone that I consider for the shop… And there are not many models that pass this test. Most of the main stream models will have either a boost in the low and high frequencies which may impress you which certain genres for s short time, but will not work with acoustic music and will become fatiguing. Others are just plain dull – and again, these are traveling noise cancelers, they are not designed with the focus on playing music well.

Those models which did past the test, you will find on this webpage.

And here is the good news: Fortunately you will find that the best sounding headphones are also the best ANCs on the market: You will not have to compromise on the ANC to get good sound! And even better: The same model is also safely among the he best passive Closed Back headphones on the market. So basically, this means that if the Solitaire T is within your budget you’re done searching.

If music is important to you, and you need a travel companion, then please make an appointment and let’s give the different models a good listen!