Sony WH-1000XM4 are the best noise cancelling headphones you can buy. By keeping the sound as good as it always was to satisfy music lovers and adding some extra features tech heads wanted, Sony manages to keep its nose just in front of Bose, Bowers & Wilkins and Beats by Dr. Dre.

Lively; balanced and detailed sound; Insane noise-cancelling; A full suite of cutting-edge extra features

Can get trebly under the wrong circumstances; No aptX or aptX HD support – seriously Sony?

Improved audio, more effective noise cancellation and smart new features make the Sony WH-1000XM4 the over-ear headphones to beat

Class-leading noise cancellation; Supremely comfortable; Excellent audio quality

Lack water resistance; Microphone quality could be better

Is Sony WH-1000XM4 one of the best noise cancelling headphones? Here's our review....

Improved audio, more effective noise cancellation and smart new features make the Sony WH-1000XM4 the over-ear headphones to beat

Class-leading noise cancellation; Supremely comfortable; Excellent audio quality;

Lack water resistance; Microphone quality could be better;

Improved audio, more effective noise cancellation and smart new features make the Sony WH-1000XM4 the over-ear headphones to beat

Class-leading noise cancellation; Supremely comfortable; Excellent audio quality;

Lack water resistance; Microphone quality could be better;

Improved audio, more effective noise cancellation and smart new features make the Sony WH-1000XM4 the over-ear headphones to beat

Class-leading noise cancellation; Supremely comfortable; Excellent audio quality;

Lack water resistance; Microphone quality could be better;

Improved audio, more effective noise cancellation and smart new features make the Sony WH-1000XM4 the over-ear headphones to beat

Class-leading noise cancellation; Supremely comfortable; Excellent audio quality;

Lack water resistance; Microphone quality could be better;

It’s quite simple: the WH-1000XM4s improve in numerous ways on the best noise-cancellers going. If you have cash to burn and need some new cans, these are our number one pick. What’s trickier to tackle is whether or not XM3 owners should think about upgrading. While it’s true that features like automatic wear detection and multipoint connection are hard to relinquish once you have them, they’re probably not enough to justify another £350. And Speak-to-Chat, smart as it is, is inessential when there are already so many control options at your disposal. You’ll no doubt be able to pick up the old but just as great-sounding model at a very good price come Black Friday. Still, these headphones are the best of their kind ever released, and it’ll take something special to knock Sony off its perch.

Speak-to-Chat works well (and stops you singing); Noise cancellation even better than before; Wear detection a much-needed addition; They sound fantastic with any genre;

Expensive; Samey design might put people off upgrading;

The Sony WH-1000XM4 deliver excellent noise-cancellation and surprising sound quality all in a lightweight, comfortable design. While they don't look significantly different from their predecessors, a number of new features including multipoint pairing, DSEE Extreme upscaling, conversational awareness and auto-play/pause using a built-in sensor all help the WH-1000XM4 claim the title of best headphones in 2021.

Improved noise-cancellation; DSEE Extreme audio upscaling; Multipoint pairing; Auto-play/pause and conversation awareness;

Imperceptible design changes; Not water-resistant; Call quality still isn’t perfect; Singing can pause the music

To improve upon what were considered to be the best noise-cancelling headphones seemed like a tricky task, but the WH-1000XM4 do exactly that, making the XM3 feel slightly dated in doing so. They sound better, noise-cancelling is excellent and they're one of most comfortable headphones to wear. The XM4 raises the barrier even further. Sony has outdone itself here.

Superb audio; Great noise cancellation ; Comfortable fit, lightweight design; Useful smart features;

No aptX/aptX-HD;