2026 BEST Noise Canceling Earbuds 🌸 Spring Edition
Today we’re going to find out which are the best noise canceling earbuds but this time, instead of testing in a controlled environment, I took the earbuds outside and made binaural recordings in an actual crowded cafe at peak hour!
And just to see how well they can block voices, I’m also going to personally say something in each clip at my regular speaking volume. If you listen to the recordings, the more you can’t hear my voice, the more the earbuds are doing a great job at canceling voices.
We have 14 earbuds in total from the budget to the premium tier, including both new earbuds and some other popular earbuds well known for their noise canceling. This will be trial by elimination, so I’m going to compare them in groups of 4, and the winners of each group proceed to the next round until only one is declared the winner.
Here are the candidates (Click links for latest prices on Amazon)
AirPods Pro 3
Bose QC Ultra Gen 2
Creative Aurvana Ace 3
Earfun Air Pro 4+
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 5
JBL Tour Pro 3
Melomania A100
Nothing Ear (3)
OnePlus Buds4
Samsung Buds3 FE
Sony WF-1000XM5
SOUNDPEATS Air5 Pro+
SOUNDPEATS H3
Technics AZ100
Round 1a -
AirPods Pro 3 vs Bose Qc Ultra Gen 2 vs Creative Aurvana Ace 3 vs Earfun Air Pro 4 Plus
The AirPods Pro 3 definitely cancels the most noise in general, and when it comes to canceling voices, it’s also the most effective. The Bose isn’t too far behind in both areas, so it still is one of the best noise cancelers, although not at the AirPods Pro 3’s level. The Creative is noticeably less effective but in actual usage, I would say its noise canceling is still rather effective, and these are also less expensive than the AirPods or Bose.
The Earfun Air Pro 4 Plus is the least effective here, letting in much of the lower mid and low frequency noises, and it’s also much less effective at canceling voices. If I had to pick a winner, it’s definitely the AirPods Pro 3. So the AirPods Pro 3 proceeds to round 2.
Round 1b -
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 5 vs JBL Tour Pro 3 vs Melomania A100 vs Nothing Ear (3)
It sounds to me like the JBL Tour Pro 3 has the best noise canceling in this group, and the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 5 comes in second place. Both of them are very effective against lower mids and bass frequency noises, but the JBL is also more effective in the upper mid and high frequencies than the Huawei. The Nothing Ear 3 is less effective than them, and the Melomania A100 is the least effective in this group, although I will consider them effective noise cancelers overall. So the JBL Tour Pro 3 proceeds to Round 2.
Round 1c -
OnePlus Buds 4 vs Samsung Buds3 FE vs Sony WF-1000XM5 vs SoundPEATS Air 5 Pro Plus
In this group, the WF-1000XM5 has the best noise canceling. It is not only the quietest in the lows and lower mids, it also muffles voices better than the rest. As for the Samsung and SoundPEATS, they are pretty much comparable in noise canceling power.
Not as quiet as the Sony, but quieter than the OnePlus Buds 4 in the mids and highs. The OnePlus Buds 4’s noise canceling is great too, but there seems to be little blocking of voices and high frequencies, instead being effective mostly in the lows. So the Sonys come out on top in this group.
Round 1d -
SoundPEATS H3 vs Technics AZ100
The Technics is definitely quieter, and my voice was blocked out even more than the SoundPEATS. But you might have also noticed this high-pitch sound coming through? Thats because it’s not as effective as the SoundPEATS in the region around 1.3khz.
In real life usage, you won’t hear the high pitched sound, it’s something only microphones can pick up, but certain kinds of noises do come through easily. Even so, the Technics is still quieter than the SoundPEATS overall.
Round 2 -
AirPods Pro 3 vs JBL Tour Pro 3 vs Sony WF-1000XM5 vs Technics AZ100
To me, the AirPods Pro 3 is the quietest, but not in terms of reducing the sound of voices. For that, the Sony WF-1000XM5 is better, even though it doesn’t cancel as much in the lower mids and bass regions. If I were to rank them, the AirPods Pro 3’s the quietest, followed by the Sony, the JBL, and lastly, the Technics AZ100.
But what do you think? Which one do you think is the quietest? Let me know in the comments.
👉 Listen to the ANC quality samples
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