Active noise cancellation only works well with certain types of noises.

Earplugs or ear muffs will do a better job.

The Sony Xm4 headphones are amazing, I got them on sale for half off and they have helped my studying so much, I recommend them over anything else

The Bose over ears are my favorite

try playing "Brown Noise" on the highest volume with your best headphone. never had any trouble after found out about that.

I have a pair of Bose QC earbuds that I love. They were expensive, but I’ve spent as much on textbooks, and as somebody who struggles to focus in noisy environments they’re one of the nicest things I’ve gotten myself for school.

The way they fit your ear provides a similar function to ear plugs, and the noise cancellation on top of that actually works really well. They make my daily bus commute, or like a moderately trafficked Starbucks level of noise, silent. For anything louder I play white noise with the noise cancellation on.

Their downsides are the battery life is a bit short. They’re also better at blocking lower frequency sounds than higher ones, conversation and bus engine etc will be totally blocked but screaming child for example you could still hear. If you’re listening to music with them, the sound quality is really tailored to the noise cancellation feature, and sounds kind of tinny without it on. With the noise cancellation on though it’s very good.

Tl;dr pricy but worth

the Sony xm1000 5’s

bose qc ultras, best in class noise cancellation

I personally have the Sony WH-1000 XM-5's which on sale can reach about 379 cad. This I realize is not what most people like spending a weeks worth of work on. Instead the XM-4's cancel just about as well and sound amazing and can be found around 250.

The XM-5's completely cancelled the sound of an airplane motor right next to me and a snoring dude. Recommend.

Loop

Apple has the best noise-cancelling headphones, imo. I use the AirPods Max rn, and it's amazing for studying around people who are talking. The main con is that they are really expensive. I got them on sale during black friday tho so it was worth it for me. You can go to the Apple store, and they let you test them out. AirPods Pro 2 are also a good option if you prefer earbuds instead, they're the same in terms of noise-cancelling, but they're less expensive.

my air pod pro 2's are the first noise cancelling headphones I've gotten and, while I had to get memory foam tips due to ear size issues, I love them. If you're not stuck on iphone, there may be other options that are cheaper but any headphones besides these have given me hell with iphone.

Bose QC ultras or Sony xm5

Airpods pro are pretty good, but regardless you need to try before buying. Ymmv

If you have an iPhone the airpod pro 2 are great

I'm a fan of Bose QCs but I definitely think you should go try some in the store if you can because everyone has a different shaped head and you want the right headband for something you're going to be wearing half the day. 

Pro tip.

I have the XM3 from Sony (over the ear headphones), which I prefer over the XM4 for their more compact case and foldability.

I wear foam earplugs inside, then put these headphones over it, and bam, good to go. Can study perfectly fine even in something like a busy coffee shop and if you really need to hear some audio, you still have the headphones on and can dial up the volume a bit and it works great.

Bose QC35 ii headphones are the best I’ve tried. Very good noise canceling and combined with earphones will block our virtually everything.

I have ADHD and external noise is infuriating when I’m trying to study. I’ve tried a lot of things. Best solution I’ve found:

WH 1000XM4 from Sony. Over ear noise canceling headphones. By themselves they are excellent at filtering out ambient noise. Not excellent with music and talking though. Solution? Combine with drugstore foam in-ear buds. You’re still going to hear things like car horn, bloody murder screaming, and a coffee grinder, but not much else. 9.5/10, and likely the best available option before hitting the high high end price point.

Another option that I like is brown noise. I HATE white noise, but brown noise awesome. It’s less harsh, softer, more muted, and less distracting. Definitely helps drown out external noise without being distracting. Give it a try with some cheaper headphones and you might find it’ll save you some $$.

Not an apple guy but gotta give credit to the airpod pros if you're looking for something you can also use daily.

I loved my QC35s. Now I have XM4s and they’re really nice but sometimes feel a bit uncomfortable. I think it’s bc the foam isn’t broken in.

I use beats. I like the earbuds which have noise cancelling and are convenient for me. I used the headphones a while ago because they were a hand me down from my dad and those were also really good, and had awesome noise cancelling.

Sony WHXB900N might be a good option

I absolutely love Skullcandy ANC 2, its amazing from every aspect, the bass, the fit, the noise cancelling, the sound quality everything is amazing

Für mich tun es die Soundcore Q20 völlig. So um die 50 Euro. Ich kombiniere das mit Endel, das ist so eine Geräusch App für ADHS mit ziemlich vielen Programmen, Study, Focus, Move, Relax. Bei der Kombi höre ich nix und ich kann die auch den ganzen Tag trotz Brille tragen.

Bei Ohrstöpseln ohne Elektronik schwöre ich auf Loops. Die haben mittlerweile welche ohne Filter zum Schlafen, die auch etwas softer sind. Die konnte ich noch nicht testen, würde ich aber kaufen, wenn ich was neues suche. Für Konzerte und für den Proberaum sind die Experience 2 mein heiliger Gral. Ich lauf mit den Dingern auf Festivals teilweise 6 Stunden am Stück mit rum. 4 Tage lang. Drückt nix, einfach super. Für etwas mehr Stille kannst du so Silikonringe separat erwerben, die du dann einsetzen kannst.

Ich hatte die MX4 Earbuds und klangtechnisch kommt da nicht so viel dran. Ich hatte bei meinen ein recht bekanntes Problem mit der Firmware, weswegen links der Akku hinüber ist. Es gibt da einen Reddit-Post zu, viele haben auch die Earbuds ersetzt bekommen. Ich hab nur lange den Kassenzettel nicht gefunden und dann aufgeschoben. Es gibt ne iFixit Anleitung wie man neue Akkus einlötet, falls dich das auch betrifft.

Habe mir dann Airpods Pro 2 gekauft und bin sehr zufrieden. Gutes ANC und guter Klang beim Musikhören ist schwierig in Earbuds zu erreichen. Sony ist da noch immer der Platzhirsch gewesen, als ich vor einem halben Jahr recherchiert hab. Die Airpods Pro 2 sind aber auch nicht so weit weg davon, ich musste nur so Silikon-Teile auf Amazon bestellen, damit die in meinen Ohren halten.

Ich nutze die Bose Quiet Comfort bei der Arbeit. Funktioniert super, bekomme kaum etwas von Aussen mit. Privat nutze ich ein Modell von Teufel, die sind auch zu empfehlen.

Wenn dir Over-Ears auch passen kann ich die Sony WH-1000XM Reihe sehr empfehlen. Ich hab aus der Reihe die XM2 seit inzwischen fast 10 Jahren (glaub ich?). Das NC von denen ist unglaublich gut und die Klangqualität ist einmalig. Und da red ich noch von den alten. Inzwischen gibt es glaub ich schon die XM5, aber da kann ich nicht allzu viel sagen dazu. Ich kann nur sagen dass diese Reihe von Sony Kopfhörern mich absolut begeistert hat und ich bisher noch keine bequemeren und gefunden habe (bei Freunden, im Elektroshop etc.), außer halt die neueren Modelle.

Habe die quiet comfort sc und muss sagen sie haben mein Leben revolutioniert. In-Ear, vorallem bei langer Trage Dauer sind einfach doof.

I have the Bose QC. They are wonderful, but expensive and kinda heavy/bulky. I'd love to find a lightweight, low profile budget pair.

I love mine. I rarely leave to house without it. I bought the Bose QuietComfort about.. 7-8 years ago and it still works well. Changed the earpads twice, super easy to do. 1000% worth it.

I like earbuds since over-ear headphones annoy me. I love my airpod pros 2. My budget friendly option before them was the soundcore Space a40s. *Soudcores also take a beating. I know cause I drop them all the time and even left the case out in the rain once lol.

(Edit for clarity)

I have a Sony WH 1000XM3. I’ve had it for years. The sound is awesome and they’re really comfortable. There’s a newer model out, the XM4. It’s 230 euros. I’d buy a similar headphone again in a heartbeat if anything happens to the one I have now. 

I really love my Fresh 'n Rebel Clam 2 ANC. It is budget, comes in a lot of fun colors and you can turn on noise cancelling without turning it on and connecting to Bluetooth. It has a little button which only turns the noice cancelling on which I love so much. They are a bit bulky but fit great, dont feel heavy and don't squish your head. I would recommend. I also have the famous Sony wh-1000xm4. Also love them, great noise cancelling and I wear them a lot outside. But they are a bit pricey.

Not even the best ANC will completely cancel voices, especially high-pitched ones. ANC is better with constant, low-pitched noises like motors. That being said, Sony is the market leader in ANC. Right now, you can get the WH-1000XM4 at a very decent price.

Remember to take into account latency I'd advice get a samsung buds frm buds 2 up, I have a buds 2 I use for gaming and the ANC is great and it's really cheap now, great latency when gaming

Clever asking this when all of YouTube just released their reviews of the new Sony XM6 headset on the same day. I saw one thumbnail with it and was like "already a new model?", watched it and now my feed is flooded with every YouTubers video on the pair and all released within a few hours of each other. 😆

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Buds 2

Agreed. I got some Sony WH-XB900Ns about 2 years ago and I'm not kidding when I say they genuinely changed my life. One of the best gifts I have ever ever received.

I love them for studying in public/the library/shared spaces because I get really bothered by people talking, eating sounds etc etc. Good for noisy neighbours too.

I’m also autistic, and these are a literal lifesaver for me. Sometimes the hustle and bustle of campus is very overwhelming and my $60 over the ear noise cancelling headphones do wonders to help myself stay grounded.

Totally agree, OP! My AirPod Pros are a lifesaver. I had regular AirPods until they went missing, and decided to splurge on the pros. I don’t know anything about sound quality (sounds good to me!), but the noise canceling and “transparency” settings are top tier. They charge super fast, too.

I get really distracted and overstimulated by a lot of noise. Putting my AirPods in creates a little bubble where nothing bothers me. I love them.

Any time I have headphones in, I get super conscious of my breathing and the noise I make from moving around/existing. I feel like noise-cancelling headphones would be a nightmare for me.

I survived off of $5 headphones for like 3 years until I got quality wireless earbuds that I can still hear through. Good headphones are probably a good investment, but noise cancelling is an extra.

would recommend souncore anker q30(slighlty over $70 but worth the money).

Totally worth spending the extra money if you really have a hard time studying in noisy environments. My campus only has one small area officially designated a quiet study space. The rest is all collaborative study.

Definitely look into paying a little more for active noise cancelling. For me, the difference between NC and ANC was night and day! I've been using a pair of Jabra elite 75, but they're in-ear, so their battery life is short. I just got a pair of Bose Quiet comfort 45 for the longer battery life and more comfortable feel. Trying them out now.

If you're on a budget, Sennheiser has a pair for about $100 or less.