Q. You have written about noise-canceling headphones for flying before and I hope you can help me with a recommendation. I am interested in headphones with good sound but most importantly, very effective noise cancellation that makes the sound of the airplane engines as unobtrusive as possible. My budget is up to $200, maybe $250 if it makes a big difference.
—J.M., Atlantic City, New Jersey
A. One of my top recommendations for great noise cancellation is the aptly named Soundcore Space Q45 headphones, which reduce noise by up to 98% with their adaptive three-stage noise cancellation system. I was not aware of the rated effectiveness the first time I tried them, but it seems accurate as the utter silence is almost creepy, akin to what you might expect deep space to be like. The audio quality rates highly in their price class and high resolution audio is supported. Playtime per charge is a very long 50 hours with noise cancellation and 65 hours without. The Soundcore Space Q4 headphones currently sell for $149.99 and they should easily satisfy your desire for very quiet headphones. soundcore.com
