Noise-Cancelling Headphones for the Tube and the UK Commute

How loud the Underground actually is

Loud enough that ear specialists have measured it. A 2020 study in The Laryngoscope, from readings taken on moving carriages on the Northern line between Euston and South Wimbledon and the Victoria line between Euston and Vauxhall from 2006 to 2019, found passengers "routinely and consistently subjected to sound pressure levels exceeding 80 dBA, with levels sometimes reaching over 100 dBA". A BBC Inside Out London investigation with Dr Joe Sollini of the UCL Ear Institute, reported in January 2018, logged peaks above 105 dB on ten journeys, named the Central, Northern and Jubilee lines as the worst, and put the Victoria line's average above 87 dB; Sollini said a daily half-hour on that line would be enough to increase the risk of hearing loss.

TfL's own figures agree. It does not routinely monitor noise inside passenger carriages, it told a Freedom of Information requester, but its cab readings from sections fitted with the track fastenings it has linked to in-carriage noise run from 82 to 97 dB LAeq on the Victoria line between Pimlico and Victoria. Every reading above comes from a deep-level line; none we found were taken on the sub-surface Circle, District, Hammersmith & City or Metropolitan lines.

What cancelling removes, and what it leaves

Active noise cancelling samples the sound around you with microphones on the earcups and plays an inverted copy into your ear, so the two cancel. It works best on steady, low-pitched sound, which is a train in a tunnel, and worst on sudden or high-pitched sound, which has changed by the time the electronics have measured it. The rumble between stations is where cancelling earns its keep; the screech on a tight curve, the door alarms and the announcements are softened rather than removed. The strongest cancelling on our headphones page, from the Bose QuietComfort Ultra and Sony WH-1000XM6, takes more of the rumble away than the value picks, whose cancelling reduces train noise rather than erasing it, per our category notes. None of the seven removes the screech.

Over-ear or in-ear on a packed carriage

Everything on our headphones page is over-ear, because that is where the deepest cancelling and the longest quoted battery life are. Against that, over-ears are wide, warm and one more thing to manage when you are pressed against the doors with a bag. Glasses tip the balance for some people: the harder a pair clamps, the more the arm of the frame is pressed into your head, which is why our category guide singles out clamping force and why the Bose pairs, with low clamping force and deep earcups, are the comfort picks of the seven. In-ears sidestep the problem, and a glasses wearer on a long commute may be better served by a good pair than by anything on our list.

Passive isolation, and why some commuters go wired

The other approach is to block noise mechanically. A foam tip that seals the ear canal is most effective on exactly the high-pitched screech that electronics handle least well, and it needs no battery and no pairing, which is why you still see cables on the Northern line. The trade is a fit some find intrusive and nothing done about the rumble beyond what the seal manages. The WHO's advice is to use "well-fitted" as well as noise-cancelling headphones: a seal that works lets you keep the volume down.

Hearing: the real reason to bother

The point of cancelling on a commute is that you stop turning the volume up to beat the train. RNID, the UK hearing-loss charity, puts it plainly: with background noise blocked, "you won't have to turn up the volume to a dangerous level to hear your music properly over background noise". It puts the level at which the ear's hair cells start to be damaged at around 85 dB and above. On a carriage averaging 87 dB, hearing the words without cancelling means going past that.

The 60/60 rule (no more than 60 per cent of maximum volume, no more than an hour at a stretch) is a rough version of the official guidance. The WHO says no more than 60 per cent of maximum and below an 80 dB average; RNID says a break of at least five minutes every hour and no higher than the safe level your phone shows. Both recommend noise-cancelling headphones as a hearing measure.

Battery and multipoint for a phone plus a laptop

A Tube commute is an easy battery case: an hour or two a day, charged at a desk. Sony quotes up to 30 hours with cancelling on for the WH-1000XM6, per the listing, Bose up to 24 hours for the QuietComfort line, and the JBL Tune 770NC is quoted for longer than the Sony flagship. Multipoint, connecting to two devices at once, keeps the headphones paired to the laptop for calls and takes the phone on the platform without re-pairing. Sony's help guide confirms it for the WH-1000XM6, the listing states it for the WH-1000XM5, and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra has it. For the three value picks, check the listing; our category data does not record it.

Transparency mode for platforms and the bike

The microphones that do the cancelling can also pass the outside world through. Sony calls it Ambient Sound Mode; Bose calls its version Aware Mode. Sony's help guide adds two cautions worth repeating: wind noise may increase with the mode on, and the headset should not be used "in places where it would be dangerous if you are unable to hear ambient sounds, such as on a road with car and bicycle traffic". Sony's Adaptive Sound Control, per the help guide, adjusts the cancelling automatically by what Sony calls behaviour recognition.

Rain and sweat at either end

Our category data records no water-resistance rating for any of the seven, and Sony's help guide for the WH-1000XM6 says outright that "the headset is not waterproof", warns against rain and sweat, and says to dry a wet pair before charging it. So: a hood or an umbrella for the walk, and the case in the bag if it is really coming down. The WH-1000XM6, the standard Bose QuietComfort and the JBL Tune 770NC fold into a compact case; the WH-1000XM5 swivels flat into a larger one.

Which of our picks fits which commute

Deep-line Tube, forty minutes or more each way: the Bose QuietComfort Ultra. The strongest cancelling of the seven and the least fatiguing fit, on a very deep owner record with an excellent rating, and the most expensive pair on the page.
Tube plus a desk, phone and laptop: the Sony WH-1000XM6. A new twelve-microphone cancelling processor per the listing, multipoint, up to 30 hours, and it folds, with the strongest published reviews in the category.
The same commute for considerably less: the Sony WH-1000XM5. Strong cancelling, multipoint, strong call handling and LDAC for Android phones, per the listing. It does not fold.
Long rail commute, headphones on all day: the Bose QuietComfort. The Ultra's comfort, cancelling a step below it and ahead of the value picks, up to 24 hours, and it folds. The deepest owner record of the premium picks.
Bus and overground, where the noise is lighter: the Sony WH-CH720N. Very light, with Sony's app and ambient mode, and cancelling that reduces rumble rather than removing it.
A mixed journey, with cancelling that adjusts itself: the soundcore Space One. Adaptive cancelling that measures the noise around you and adjusts, unusual at its tier, and an equaliser you will want for its bass-heavy default.
The least outlay and the longest quoted battery: the JBL Tune 770NC. The highest owner rating of the seven, adaptive cancelling and a folding design, with cancelling a step behind the Sony and soundcore value picks.

Do noise-cancelling headphones block Tube noise completely?

No. Cancelling removes a large share of the steady low rumble and much less of the screech, the door alarms and the announcements, which are sudden or high-pitched. The flagship pairs remove more rumble than the value pairs; none removes the screech. The realistic goal is a carriage quiet enough to listen at the volume you would use at home.

Are in-ear or over-ear better for the Underground?

Over-ear for the journey itself: deeper cancelling, longer quoted battery life and a fit that stays comfortable for an hour. In-ear for a crowded carriage, for glasses wearers whose frames break an earcup's seal, and for anyone who cycles or walks a long way at either end. If the screech bothers you more than the rumble, wired in-ears with foam tips block it better than any cancelling does.

Is it safe to wear ANC headphones while walking or cycling?

Walking on a platform or pavement, use ambient mode rather than cancelling. On a bike, the cautious answer is nothing on your ears. No Highway Code rule bans cyclists from wearing headphones, but Rule 148, which applies to cyclists as well as drivers, says to avoid distractions such as loud music because it may mask other sounds, and Sony's help guide names roads with car and bicycle traffic as where not to use the headset.