7 Best Headphones That Don’t Leak Sound (2023)
When you listen to music in public, you want to ensure the best headphones that don’t leak sound, allowing you to enjoy your audio privately without disturbing those around you. Noise-canceling headphones are particularly effective in this regard, and they come in two types: active noise canceling and passive noise canceling. Additionally, there are headphones known for their noise-isolation capabilities.
Below, you will find a list of headphones encompassing all three types. You have the freedom to choose the one that suits your preferences. These headphones not only allow you to keep your audio private but also offer various impressive features that assist with audio mixing and management.
1. Sennheiser 450BT headphones
The Sennheiser HD 450 BT is designed to provide exceptional sound quality and user convenience. With a focus on comfort and ease to use every day. Below is the information on design, comfort level, good quality, Bluetooth connectivity, battery life, and additional features. This is one of our favorites on the list.
Key Features
- Active Noise Cancelling: Yes
- Transparency: Yes
- Battery: 30 hours
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.0
- Codec code: AptX™, AptX™ Low Latency, AAC, SBC
- Built-in mic and controls: Yes
- Driver unit: 40 mm
- Water resistance: No
- Weight: 238 g
Design:
- Earcups: equally cozy with generous padding, ensuring users can wear them for extended periods without discomfort.
- Headband: easily adjusted to fit comfortably on a wide range of head sizes
- Connectivity: with Bluetooth 5.0 technology, the Sennheiser HD 450 BT offers users a seamless and reliable wireless connection to their devices.
- Voice assistance: enable your voice assistant with a press and hold of both volume buttons
- App: customize EQ sound preferences with the companion app
Performance:
- Active noise cancelling: enables users to enjoy the immersive sound, even in noisy environments, and performs admirably, effectively reducing background noise and allowing users to concentrate on their music.
- Transparency: lets you stay aware of your surroundings without taking off the headphones
- Sound quality: it’s superior and produces a clear and well-balanced sound, which enhances the overall listening experience
- Soundstage: it is impressive, providing a spacious, immersive audio experience that will delight audiophiles.
Pros:
- Detail and rich in sound
- Great design, premium looks
- Super comfortable
Cons:
- Tiny control button
Pricing:
Available on Amazon at the price of USD 162.67
2. Sony WH-1000XM5 Best Headphones That Don’t Leak Sound
Sony is known for Industry-leading noise canceling1 with Dual Noise Sensor technology that provides the best sound experience for you. It can reduce noise by up to 98% so that you can ignore the world and focus on yourself, creating peace of mind and your world. Furthermore, it has long battery life that can play for up to 30 hours, and super comfortable to wear for long hours without any pressure.
Key Features
- Active Noise Cancelling: Yes
- Transparency: Yes
- Battery: 30 hours
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.0
- Codec code: SBC, AAC, LDAC
- Built-in mic and controls: Yes
- Driver unit: 40mm HD Driver Unit
- Water resistance: No
- Weight: 254g
Design:
- Earcups: designed for comfort, with a stable fit and foldable design
- Headband: solid and adjustable to fit any head size
- Voice control: use your voice assistant (Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa) to control features without using your hands
- Touch control: automatically turn down the volume to hear others by placing your hand over the earcup
- App: customize your sound preference with the companion app
Performance:
- Active Noise Cancellation: HD noise-canceling processor QN1 blocks external noise well, and the atmospheric pressure optimizing feature activates when traveling
- Adaptive sound control: an intelligent function that automatically adjusts the ambient sound for a better listening experience
- Microphone: advanced pickup voice and delivers clear voice quality during phone calls
- 360 Reality Audio: immerse yourself in the best sound quality
- Speak to chat: automatically stop the music whenever you speak without taking off the headphones
- Auto pause: the proximity sensor and two acceleration sensors in the headphones automatically pause music when you take them off
Pros:
- Multi-device connectivity
- Free code for four months of Amazon Music
- Powerful customizable ANC
Cons:
- Expensive
- No support for aptX or aptX HD
- USB-C port cannot be used for audio.
Pricing:
Available on Amazon at the price of USD 348.00
3. Sony – WH-1000XM4 Best Headphones That Don’t Leak Sound
Sony is known for Industry-leading noise canceling1 with Dual Noise Sensor technology that provides the best sound experience for you. It can reduce noise by up to 98% so that you can ignore the world and focus on yourself, creating peace of mind and your world. Furthermore, it has long battery life that can play for up to 30 hours, and super comfortable to wear for long hours without any pressure.
Key Features
- Active Noise Cancelling: Yes
- Transparency: Yes
- Battery: 30 hours
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.0
- Codec code: SBC, AAC, LDAC
- Built-in mic and controls: Yes
- Driver unit: 40mm HD Driver Unit
- Water resistance: No
- Weight: 254g
Design:
- Earcups: super comfortable and soft, stable fit, and foldable design.
- Headband: strong and adjustable to fit any head size
- Voice control: use your voice assistant to control features without using your hand, and it’s available for google assistant and amazon Alexa.
- Touch Control: automatically turn the volume down to hear other people talking to you, and place your hand over the earcup
- App: customize your sound preference with the app
Performance:
- Active Noise Cancellation: HD noise canceling processor QN1 blocks external noise well. Atmospheric pressure optimizing features activate when traveling.
- Adaptive sound control: an intelligent function that automatically adjusts the ambient sound for you to listen in a better experience.
- Microphone: advanced pickup voice and delivers clear voice quality while on phone calls.
- 360 reality audio: immerse yourself in the best sound quality.
- Speak to chat: automatically stop the music whenever you speak without taking them off.
- Auto pause: the proximity sensor and two acceleration sensors in the headphone automatically pause music when you turn them off.
Pros:
- Multi-devices connectivity
- Free code to use free four months in Amazon Music
- Powerful ANC customized
Cons:
- Expensive
- No aptX or aptX HD support
- USB-C port cannot be used for audio
Pricing:
Available on Amazon at the price of USD 348.00
4. Apple AirPods Max Best Headphones That Don’t Leak Sound
Key Features
- Active Noise Cancelling: Yes
- Transparency: Yes
- Battery: 20 hours
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.0
- Codec code: AAC, SBC
- Built-in mic and controls: Yes
- Driver unit: 40mm
- Water resistance: No
- Weight: 385g
Design:
- Ear cushions: made of memory foam designed to provide comfort, soft as a pillow.
- Headband: made of breathable knit mesh, distributes pressure across your head.
- Steel frame: made from stainless steel, super flexible, strong, and comfortable.
- Connectivity: easy and fast connection with Apple devices
- Touch control: touch control on the ear cups and more essential handy features automatically pause music when taking them off
- Voice control: simply using your voice to control music and make calls with your voice assistant
Performance:
- Noise Cancellation: the advanced algorithms to block all unwanted noise delivers an unparalleled listening experience.
- Microphone: Six outward-facing microphones detect the noise and help isolate your voice clearly to be heard by phone calls.
- Transparency: allows you to be aware of the surrounding sound when needed.
- Sound quality: High-fidelity audio delivers sound across a wide range of frequencies;
- 360 reality audio: you will enjoy the best experience with spatial audio and adaptive EQ that adjusts the sound to shape the ears.
Pros:
- Free Apple Music for six months
- Cinematic spatial audio
- Available in Active noise canceling and Adaptive transparency
- Brilliant extra features for IOS
Cons:
- Near-pointless case
- Expensive
- Limited features for Android
Pricing:
Available on Amazon at the price of USD 599.00
5. Soundcore Life Q30 Headphone
Soundcore has both quality and minimalist design, making the most suitable headphones for autistic adults this year. Their noise cancelling feature can reduce noise by up to 95%, block out background noise well, and offer an immersive sound experience that will shock you. Thus, the price is affordable at only USD 85.99.
Key Features
- Active Noise Cancelling: Yes
- Transparency: Yes
- Battery: 40 hours
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.0
- Codec code: AAC, SBC
- Built-in mic and controls: Yes
- Driver unit: 40mm dynamic
- Water resistance: Yes (IPX7 Waterproof)
- Weight: 265 g
Design:
- Earcups: made from memory foam, soft and comfortable to wear in long hours
- Headband: a lightweight frame, solid and secure without pressure on your head
- Voice control: enable your voice assistance phone’s default and control features only using voice
- Touch Control: control music playlist, skip/pause or even pick up the call by using the right earcup
- Set up: fast pairing and easy to connect to Android phone
- Soundcore App: choose your preferred Mode, and customize your white noise
- Muli-Point connection: connect to two Bluetooth devices simultaneously, switching devices quickly.
- Cases: convenience and keeping headphones secure and protected against daily wear
Performance:
- Active Noise Cancellation: isolates outside noise well, and it works best depending on the situation with three modes:
-
- Transport Mode: Cancel up to 95% of outside noise, and enjoy listening to music while traveling
- Outdoor Mode: block all the traffic and city noise while walking on the street, just you and music.
- Indoor Mode: This Mode helps you focus on the playlist and block all the background noise surrounding you.
-
- Transparency: pressing on the earcup to activate, communicating with people without taking them off
- Microphone: pick up your voice clearly and deliver through the phone calls
- Sound quality: Hi-Res audio offers great sound quality. Listen to every detail of the music because of the 40mm dynamic
Pros:
- Great noise cancellation
- long battery life
- Multiple sound modes
- Affordable
- Trendy color
Cons:
- Average microphone performance
- Connectivity issues
Pricing:
Available on Amazon at the price of USD 85.99
6. Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT2 Headphones
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT2 wireless headphones combine exceptional performance with a sleek portable design. They boast touch control and voice assistant compatibility. With an impressive battery life of 60 hours, these headphones prioritize longevity over noise-cancellation features that tend to drain power. The over-ear design effectively blocks out surrounding noise, and the generously sized ear pads comfortably accommodate those with larger ears.
Key Feature
- Impedance: 38 Ohm
- Cable: 1.20 m
- Sensitivity: 99 dB
- Frequency range: 15 – 28000 Hz (Headphone) | 85 -15000 Hz (Microphone)
- Driver diameter: 45 mm
- Weight: 307 g
Design:
- Earcups: Enjoy the flexibility of 90-degree rotating ear cups, which provide a customizable fit and offer exceptional comfort for long listening sessions.
- Headband: The headphones feature durable metal sliders, ensuring increased reliability and stability, even during extended use.
- App: Enhance your headphone experience by downloading the A-T Connect app, which provides extensive control over your ATH-M50xBT2 headphones. With this app, you can effortlessly activate low latency mode, fine-tune the EQ settings, adjust the volume balance between left and right channels, choose your preferred voice assistant, locate misplaced headphones, switch between different codecs, and enjoy various additional features and functionalities.
Performance:
- Sound quality: The ATH-M50xBT2 headphones provide a thrilling wireless listening experience by delivering the legendary M50x studio sound, characterized by exceptional clarity and precise, deep bass response.
- Microphone: Experience crystal-clear phone calls and reliable communication with the built-in Amazon Alexa voice assistant, thanks to the exceptional vocal pickup provided by dual microphones and beamforming technology.
- Battery life: When fully charged, you can enjoy free listening with the ATH-M50xBT2, which offers up to 50 hours of uninterrupted use.
Pros:
- Accurate response level
- Great noise cancellation
Cons:
- Limited bass sound
Pricing:
Available on Amazon at the price of USD 199.00
7. Master & Dynamic MW75 Best Headphones That Don’t Leak Sound
This MW75 provides perfect sound, perfectly silent the world, with active noise cancelling features which is the best headphones for audiobooks. Delivers detail and rich audio sound, perfect headphones for autistic adults, luxury and modern design, super comfortable and fit to any age. It’s available in four colors that each indemnify its beauty and luxury.
Key Features
- Active Noise Cancelling: Yes
- Transparency: Yes
- Battery: 32 hours
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.1
- Codec code: AAC, aptX™
- Built-in mic and controls: Yes
- Driver unit: 40mm Beryllium
- Water resistance: Yes
- Weight: 338g
Design:
- Earcups: the earpad wrap of memory foam is comfortable and breathable for your ears
- Headband: strong and adjustable metal frame, easy to fit in
- Voice control: activate your voice assistance and control features by using your voice.
- Touch Control: control the playlist via the button at the right earcup
- Smart detection: Auto pause music for you when it detects that you have taken them off
- Case: made from soft leather inside to protect the headphones from dust and scratch
- M&D app: personalize your sound with the app, adjust and customize your sound preference
Performance:
- Active Noise Cancellation: Perfectly blocks unwanted noise and automatically adjusts the level of noise cancelling depending on your surrounding
- Adaptive sound control: there are two modes of ambient listening, suitable for outdoor and indoor, providing better noise isolation depending on where you are.
- Microphone: 4 Microphones provide better talk quality and protect your voice from background noise, even wind sound.
- Sound quality: wide soundstage, with the driver 40mm Beryllium, delivers rich sound, tuning the music to another level of perfection
Pros:
- Multi-device connection
- Fast and easy connection
Cons:
- Quite expensive
Pricing:
Available on Amazon at the price of USD 599.00
Exclusive Summary
Merely having noise cancellation isn’t sufficient; it’s essential to evaluate the comfort of the ear pads and headphone materials. Some headphones with pads and passive noise cancellation can be overly tight, impeding sound passage. The aforementioned list offers the finest choices, ensuring you avoid any ill-advised purchases. Keep exploring to discover the perfect headphones that meet all your criteria.
