I’ve already looked at rtings.com and have tried XM5 which I didn’t like because the ANC wasn’t good enough.

Planning to get Bose Quietcomfort Ultra (the earbuds, not the headphones) very soon but unsure if there’s going to be any new and quality release by any brand of high-end ANC earbuds that would be worth waiting for.

What can you recommend?

In case it matters, my preference goes like this, in order of priority:

  1. Comfort of the earbuds within the ear (ideally something that won’t damage the ear canal while sleeping on the side).

  2. The quality of the noise cancellation. I need the strongest ANC because I live in an extremely noisy environment.

  3. The sound quality as well as battery life come third.

  • MrVilliam@lemmy.worldEnglish
    81·
    7 months ago

    I know that it’s not what you’re asking for, but I thought I’d chime in with a lateral solution. My wife and I live in an apartment building and neighbors can be pretty loud, plus I have rotating shift schedule so my sleep schedule slides drastically to support that. If the noisy environment is mostly outside, thick blackout curtains will also dampen a lot of sound. Otherwise, a fan will do a lot in terms of soothing white noise that also kinda masks other sounds. And finally, for the actual reason I started leaving this comment, there are pretty solid Bluetooth sleep masks that are designed to be comfortable and have battery that can last all night. My wife has one and it has really helped her out. You can also remove the electronics to wash the mask as needed.

    Again, I know that this isn’t what you were explicitly asking for, but it could solve your root concern all the same. Good luck!

  • ganksy@lemmy.world
    4·
    7 months ago

    For my XM5s (and my XM4s) I had to switch the ear cushion size to the largest one before the noise cancelling was good. At first I went for what was comfortable but they softened up quite a bit. If you still have them, you may try going up one size bigger.

  • loopy@lemm.ee
    21·
    7 months ago

    I tried some Anker Liberty 4 earbuds and have found the ANC pretty good. They do stick out a bit so lying on your side wouldnt work, but there are these smaller ANC earbuds from Anker that might be worth a try: https://a.co/d/ggtEPov

  • Kidplayer_666@lemm.ee
    22·
    7 months ago

    Air Pods Pro are an obvious choice if you do have an iPhone, otherwise I’m pretty sure that Sony’s top of the line have excellent noise cancelling. One website I’d recommend is rtings.com

    • SurpriZe@lemm.eeOP
      3·
      7 months ago

      I’ve actually compared XM5 and Bose Ultra and Sony’s ANC was like 30% of Bose’s. That much worse, which surprised me.

  • TheFriar@lemm.ee
    17·
    7 months ago

    READ THE QUIETCOMFORT PRIVACY POLICY SUPER DUPER CAREFULLY. I got the quiet comfort II and ran them back to the store because they wanted permission to passively listen to my environment, listen to anything that passed through my headphones, “map my head movements” whatever the fuck that means. Fuck that company for that. Be very careful. If that stuff matters to you, I guess. If not, knock yourself out.