Updated by Lucian Bergstrom. Three to buy with the headphones, six that fix a specific complaint, three for the job headphones cannot do.
What to buy, briefly
Buy three things with any pair on this site: a USB-C to 3.5 mm headphone adapter with a DAC, the two-prong airline adapter, and a case that matches whether your pair folds. After that it is situational: fresh pads when the seal goes, foam ear tips if earbuds leak, a cleaning pen when one bud goes quiet.
What to settle first
Which is comfortable for long wear, and what about glasses?
Bose, by most accounts. SoundGuys found the Ultra's thicker padding clearly better over long sessions than the Sony's firmer clamp, and a firmer clamp is also what pushes on glasses arms. If you wear glasses, the things to look for are deep pads, low clamp force, and a band that sits behind the head rather than on top of it.
Not the flagships. Neither the Sony WH-1000XM6 nor the Bose QC Ultra publishes a water rating, which tells you they are indoor and travel headphones. Sport models publish an IP figure, and that is the number to look for: the first digit is dust, the second is water.
Buy the listing, not the photo. Check who it ships from and who it is sold by, prefer Amazon itself or the brand's own storefront, treat a flagship priced far below everyone else as a warning rather than a win, and register the serial number with the brand when it arrives. Headphones are one of the most counterfeited categories on any marketplace.
Check sold-by before you payRetail guidance and brand counterfeit notices
The adapter, the airline plug and the case. All three solve a problem you will meet in the first month.
A USB-C to 3.5 mm adapter with a DAC
UGREEN USB-C to 3.5 mm adapter
Every pair on this page is wireless, and almost every modern phone has no headphone socket. This is the cable that still gets you sound when the battery dies mid-flight.
What to look for: One that states a DAC and a sample rate. The passive ones only work on phones that still output analogue.
On earbuds the tip is the noise cancelling. Foam expands into the canal and usually beats the silicone in the box, which is why reviewers test fit before they judge ANC.
What to look for: Match the stem diameter, and size up until the seal holds without pressure.
Sleeping, television, and the person in the house who will not pair a Bluetooth device.
Foam earplugs, when ANC is the wrong tool
Mack's ultra soft foam earplugs
For sleeping, mowing or a concert, passive foam beats every pair here and costs the price of a coffee. We would rather tell you that than sell you headphones for the job.
What to look for: An NRR figure printed on the box, and a size that does not ache after an hour.
An over-ear with a published battery figure above 24 hours, and a two-prong airline adapter if you want the in-flight films. Cabin noise is mostly low-frequency, the part ANC removes best, so this is the scenario where the flagships earn their price.
Can I sleep in noise cancelling headphones?
Not comfortably in any of these. For sleep, foam earplugs cost a few dollars and outperform every pair on this page. We would rather say that than sell you a $400 solution to a $6 problem.
Which headphones work with glasses?
Look for deep pads, a soft clamp and, best of all, a band that sits behind the head. Glasses arms break the seal, and a broken seal is the main reason ANC underperforms for people who wear them. Our fit checklist walks through the five-minute test.
How do I know an Amazon listing is genuine?
Open the buy box and read who it ships from and who it is sold by. Amazon itself or the brand's own storefront is the safe pair. A flagship priced far below every other listing of the same model is the classic counterfeit signal, and so is a listing with a model name that does not exist on the brand's own site.
What is multipoint, and do I need it?
Multipoint keeps two devices connected at the same time, so a call on your phone interrupts music from your laptop. If you work at a desk with a phone next to you, it is the feature you will use every day. Every over-ear pick on this page has it.