Travelling can be stressful. Bustling airports, packed trains, babies crying on buses — there’s a lot to take in. I have a love-hate relationship with commuting. While I love watching the world go by and hearing the chatter of people walking past me, if I’m stressed or miss a connection, I need complete silence until I can figure out my next move. Because while I’m a pretty calm person, there’s something about an airport that brings out a different side of me.
Luckily, as part of my job, I’m tasked with trying out some of the best noise-cancelling earbuds, meaning I always have a pair on hand to block out noise around me. Since I travel a lot, they have become somewhat of a saving grace for me. A couple of weeks ago, I did a lot of travelling, and I got to put two of the best flagship earbuds to the test to find out which are best for commuting. And there can only be one winner.
Sony WF-1000XM6
The WF-1000XM6 are Sony's new flagship earbuds released this year, and they come with some super cool upgrades. But beyond the impeccable sound quality, the outstanding ANC performance is what stands out the most.
I’ve used these earbuds on trains, busses and even planes, and all of the ambient sound around me was blocked out. Some of my colleagues who also tested these earbuds noted that they could hear faint talking around them, but my experience was one of complete silence.
I also love that I’m able to adjust ambient awareness levels in the app, so if I do need to be aware of what’s going on around me, I can choose to let in the sound of traffic or voices separately.
Apple AirPods Pro 3
The Apple AirPods Pro 3 earbuds have great active noise-cancellation. From the previous aversion of the buds, they have worked on blocking out sounds across the frequency spectrum, which means more sounds are blocked out.
With that said, I’ve noticed that sounds closer to me, such as someone speaking next to me, creep through a little more. This is great if someone needs to get my attention, but not so much if I want to be in my own bubble when travelling.
One thing I’m not such a big fan of with these earbuds is the humming sound they make when ANC is turned on. This sometimes ruins my listening experience, depending on how loud my music is.
Which one comes out on top?
After using all of these earbuds in different scenarios and evaluating them when using them on my commute, I can safely say that the Sony WF-1000XM6 comes out on top for me. But not everyone has this same experience. My preference here is totally subjective; I love the Sonys, but my colleague Erin is an AirPods girl and swears by the Apple AirPods Pro 3.
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