The 8 Best Travel Headphones - Winter 2020
Reviews

The best headphones for traveling are the Sony WH-1000XM3. They're Sony's flagship wireless headphones that come with tons of features and an industry-leading active noise cancelling to make your trip as pleasant as possible. The ear cups and headband are well-padded, and there's very little clamping force, so you should be able to wear them for hours without any fatigue. The 27-hour battery life should last through a long flight, but if you run out, they charge up very quickly and can be used wired. As mentioned, Sony's active noise cancelling is among the best on the market, and they do a great job at blocking out noise across the entire frequency range, with an overall attenuation of almost -30dB.

The default sound profile of these headphones is bass-heavy, with a warm treble. If this type of sound doesn't suit you, Sony's mobile companion app is chock full of customization options, from several presets to a graphic EQ. Other features available through this app include room effects, button mapping, and controls for ANC, which has an option to optimize the noise cancelling by accounting for atmospheric pressure. Last but not least, there's a feature called DSEE HX, which aims to upscale compressed music to make them sound better.

These headphones have a touch control scheme that's fairly easy to use; unfortunately, there have been reports that they don't work properly in colder climates, though your mileage may vary. Nonetheless, these are great travel headphones that should please most people.

If comfort is your priority on those long flights, then check out the Bose QuietComfort 35 II/QC35 II Wireless 2018, they're the most comfortable headphones that we've tested so far. Their ear cups are large, spacious, and well-padded, and shouldn't cause any discomfort over long periods. The noise isolation performance is also outstanding, however, they do leak a bit, which means that listening at high volumes may be bothersome to those around you.

These headphones have a remarkably well-balanced sound. The bass is powerful and deep without overpowering the mids, while vocals and lead instruments are well-emphasized. Although these headphones do come with a mobile companion app, the features are fairly limited, as it only lets you control the active noise cancelling and set an auto-off timer to help conserve battery. The battery lasts around 20 hours, though, so you shouldn't have to worry too much about it. Another nice feature to have is multi-device pairing, which allows you to pair up to two devices at the same time, so you can switch between them easily.

Overall, if you need a comfortable pair of headphones to get you through those long flights, these are a good choice.

The best portable headphones for travel that we’ve tested so far are the Apple AirPods Pro, thanks to their compact truly wireless design. They're lightweight, quite comfortable, and even pack impressive active noise cancellation in their small and portable design. As you'd likely expect from an Apple product, they have a premium and polished design and feel very well-built, even being rated IPX4 for water resistance, though we don't currently test this.

Unlike previous versions of Apple AirPods, these headphones have an in-ear fit with silicone tips which gives them a much more stable fit as well as better bass response. They're among the most comfortable in-ear headphones that we've tested to date, and should even be good for long flights without causing too much fatigue. The noise isolation performance of these headphones is excellent thanks to their ANC, which does a great job of blocking out both engine rumble and speech, making them a great choice for flights.

While their out-of-the-box sound profile is well-balanced and fairly neutral sounding, unfortunately they don't offer a companion app for any sort of EQ customization. Their battery life is also shorter than that of most over-ear options, at just over 5 hours, though their charging case should provide an additional five charges and can charge your headphones to 70% in about 20 minutes. Overall, these are a comfortable pair of truly wireless in-ears that pack an impressive ANC despite their very portable design, making them a great travel companion.

If you have a noisy commute and are looking for headphones that will help bring some peace to your daily routine without putting a dent in your wallet, the best headphones for commuting in the budget category are the AUKEY Latitude. They have great passive noise isolation and are very portable, which makes them well-suited for daily use in the subway.

They sound decent for budget headphones and are especially well-suited to more bass-heavy genres of music like EDM, dubstep, or hip-hop. Their battery isn’t bad for wireless in-ears and provides about 7 hours of continuous playback on a charge, which should be enough for your morning and evening commutes. They also support multi-device pairing and have magnetic earbuds that clip together for easier cable management.

Although they have a couple of EQ presets built into their controls, they aren’t compatible with a companion app, so they can’t be customized in great detail. They’re also not as well-built as more premium in-ears like the Jabra Elite 65e Wireless, but that’s to be expected at this price point. They provide good value for budget headphones and are overall a good choice for commuters.