With release the WH-1000 series of noise-cancelling headphones, Sony has secured a leading position in the market since early 2017. An updated version can be anticipated from the manufacturer almost every year. The latest to look forward to: the WH-1000XM3.

Jack of all trades and master of all; the Sony WH-1000XM3s are a superb all-round package Add all of the ingredients together – the increased comfort, improved noise-cancelling and serious audio ability – and you have as close to the perfect pair of noise-cancelling headphones as it's currently...

Natural; all-round sound quality; The best noise-cancelling out there; Supremely comfortable

Good enough to expose weaker recordings; Touch controls feel fiddly at first

If there's anything surprising about the new Sony WH-1000XM3 it's that they're so consistent with what Sony has released in the last two years in the form of the Sony WH-1000XM2 and Sony MDR-1000X .

Outstanding noise cancellation; Fantastic sound quality; Quick Attention Mode; 30-hour battery life

Small tweaks from 1000XM2; Mediocre call quality

Sony announced a bunch of new products at its pre-IFA press conference, and among them was its latest flagship pair of headphones, the WH-1000XM3. This is an iterative update to the WH-1000XM2 , which happens to be one of the best pairs of active noise cancelling headphones in the market right now.

Sony may not have intended the coppery highlights on its new WH-1000XM3 noise-canceling headphones as a nod to the old adage that "silence is golden," but faced with a crying baby and a ten hour flight they proved themselves worth their weight in the precious metal.

Noise cancelation is incredibly good; Comfort levels allow for hours of use; Huge battery life and fast USB-C charging; Sony has fixed most Mark 2 frustrations

Status LED is frustrating; Multipoint Bluetooth could be more elegant; No on-ear sensor

Sony's WH-1000XM3 absolutely knock it out of the park. You can't buy a better pair of wireless, noise-canceling headphones.

Highly effective; customizable noise-canceling; Excellent sound quality; Best-in-class battery life; Clever; useful features; Handy headphone app

Can't connect to more than one device at a time

The new king of noise-canceling headphones. They feel almost perfect.

At some point in the past five years, Bose took control of noise-cancelling in headphones, becoming the de facto brand you'd see when walking down the aisle of an aircraft. Sony , it seems, doesn't like this, and for the third year in a row has pushed out a version of the 1000X, looking to knock the...

Noise-cancelling performance is superb; Comfortable for long periods of wear; Lots of personalisation options via the app

Google Assistant doesn't really work; App can cause some confusion in mode selected; Recharging is slow

Sony now offers the best active noise-cancelling headphones you can buy. Your move, Bose.

Very comfortable and sleek design; Excellent audio quality when powered; Industry-leading active noise cancellation; Easy to use app and gesture...

Audio quality is only average when the headphones are not powered; Minor learning curve required to master gesture controls; Very slight...

We said last year that Sony had put Bose "on notice" when it comes to active noise-cancelling headphones. Our review of Sony's WH-1000XM2 reported that Sony not only delivered incredible audio quality, but that the company offered some high-tech features Bose couldn't match.