NOISE-CANCELLING

Many of the 'phones in this guide offer ANC, but these five are the specialists at silencing the world to leave you and Cliff Richard in your own sonic bubble

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BANG & OLUFSEN BEOPLAY HX

Danish firm Bang & Olufsen is known for its lush design work, so it's no surprise that its latest luxury wireless cans are a work of art. Available in black, dark maroon, 'sand' or this eminently Instagrammable timber' finish, the Beoplay HX headphones sport soft leather and shiny recycled aluminium for an eco-friendly premium look. And the lightweight design feels really nice, even worn for hours at a time.

But it's not just about how they look and feel. The HXs also sound fantastic. Delivered via two custom 40mm drivers, their audio output is warm and detailed. B&O's next-gen adaptive ANC changes to suit the sounds around you, or you can turn it off and choose how much outside noise you want to let in. The genuinely useful B&O app also lets you choose from different sound profiles, such as 'commute' and 'podcast'.

Automatic wear-detection will pause whatever you're listening to when you take the headphones off; but if you find this a bit keen, as we did, you can reign in the sensitivity on the app - or just turn it off altogether if it's driving you nuts.

You'll get up to 35hrs of playback, which is more or less the equivalent of five working days, depending on your skiving levels, and the cans take around 3hrs to charge up fully via USB-C. The automatic standby setting will turn them off after 15 minutes of inactivity, which is good to know if you've ever turned up for a long-haul flight with your noise-cancelling powers vanquished because you accidentally left your headphones on in your bag.