I’ve already looked at rtings.com and have tried XM5 which I didn’t like because the ANC wasn’t good enough.
Planning to get Bose Quietcomfort Ultra (the earbuds, not the headphones) very soon but unsure if there’s going to be any new and quality release by any brand of high-end ANC earbuds that would be worth waiting for.
What can you recommend?
In case it matters, my preference goes like this, in order of priority:
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Comfort of the earbuds within the ear (ideally something that won’t damage the ear canal while sleeping on the side).
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The quality of the noise cancellation. I need the strongest ANC because I live in an extremely noisy environment.
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The sound quality as well as battery life come third.
The active, in active noise cancelling means listening by using microphones then playing the exact inverse of the heard sound to cancel the noise, actively. Opposed to passive, which tries to restrict noise like ear protection by enclosing an ear and adding insulation against noise from getting in.
So no, not white noise, though that’ll sometimes be generated too. You’ll realise quickly most active noise cancelling headphones only listen on the microphones on specific frequencies which is why different settings can allow sound through.