Noise-Cancelling Headphones for the Tube and the UK Commute

How loud the Underground actually is

It's loud, and ear specialists have measured it. A 2020 study in The Laryngoscope, a medical journal, used readings taken in moving carriages from 2006 to 2019. They came from two stretches: the Northern line between Euston and South Wimbledon, and the Victoria line between Euston and Vauxhall. The study found passengers "routinely and consistently subjected to sound pressure levels exceeding 80 dBA, with levels sometimes reaching over 100 dBA". Loudness is measured in decibels (dB), and dBA is the same scale weighted to match how the ear hears.

Then there's a BBC Inside Out London investigation with Dr Joe Sollini of the UCL Ear Institute, reported in January 2018. It logged peaks above 105 dB on ten journeys. It named the Central, Northern and Jubilee lines as the worst, and put the Victoria line's average above 87 dB. Sollini said half an hour a day on that line would be enough to increase the risk of hearing loss.

TfL's own figures agree. It doesn't routinely monitor noise inside passenger carriages, it said in reply to a Freedom of Information request. But it does have readings from the driver's cab. It has linked certain track fastenings (the fittings that hold the rails in place) to noise in the carriages. On the Victoria line between Pimlico and Victoria, cab readings from sections fitted with those fastenings run from 82 to 97 dB LAeq. LAeq is the level averaged over the reading, rather than the peak.

Every one of these readings comes from a deep-level line, the kind that runs in tunnels well below the street. We found none taken on the sub-surface lines, which run nearer the surface: the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan.

What noise cancelling removes, and what it leaves

Cancelling takes out a large share of the rumble between stations, and that's where it earns its keep. The screech on a tight curve, the door alarms and the announcements are softened rather than removed.

Active noise cancelling (ANC) works like this. Microphones on the earcups sample the sound around you. The headphones then play an upside-down copy of that sound wave into your ear, and the two cancel out. It works best on steady, low-pitched sound, and that's what a train in a tunnel makes. It works worst on sudden or high-pitched sound, because that has changed by the time the electronics have measured it.

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra and the Sony WH-1000XM6 have the strongest cancelling on our headphones page. They take more of the rumble away than the value picks. The value picks reduce train noise rather than erase it, as our category notes put it. 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's where you get the deepest cancelling and the longest quoted battery life. The downside is that over-ears are wide and warm. They're also one more thing to manage when you're pressed against the doors with a bag.

For some people, glasses tip the balance. The harder a pair of headphones clamps, the harder the arms of your glasses are pressed into your head. That's why our category guide singles out clamping force, which is how tightly the headphones grip. It's also why the Bose pairs are the comfort picks of the seven: they have low clamping force and deep earcups.

In-ears sidestep the problem. If you wear glasses and have a long commute, a good pair of in-ears may serve you better than anything on our list.

Blocking noise with a seal, and why some commuters go wired

The other approach is to block noise physically, which is called passive isolation. A foam tip that seals your ear canal works best on exactly the sound the electronics handle least well: the high-pitched screech. And it needs no battery and no pairing. That's why you still see cables on the Northern line.

There are two catches. Some people find the fit intrusive. And the only thing working on the rumble is the seal itself.

The World Health Organization (WHO) advises using "well-fitted" as well as noise-cancelling headphones. A seal that works lets you keep the volume down.

Your hearing is 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, it says, "you won't have to turn up the volume to a dangerous level to hear your music properly over background noise".

The ear's hair cells, the tiny cells that pick up sound, start to be damaged at around 85 dB and above, according to RNID. On a carriage averaging 87 dB, you'd have to go past that just to hear the words without cancelling.

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

Battery life, and multipoint for a phone plus a laptop

A Tube commute is easy on a battery. It's an hour or two a day, and the headphones can charge at your desk. Sony quotes up to 30 hours with cancelling on for the WH-1000XM6, according to the listing. Bose quotes up to 24 hours for the QuietComfort line. The JBL Tune 770NC is quoted for longer than the Sony flagship.

Multipoint means the headphones connect to two devices at once. They stay paired to your laptop for calls, and pick up your phone on the platform without re-pairing. The WH-1000XM6 has it, Sony's help guide confirms. The WH-1000XM5's listing says it has it too. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra has it as well. Our category data doesn't record it for the three value picks, so check their listings.

Transparency mode for platforms and the bike

The microphones that do the cancelling can also let the outside world through. That's transparency mode. Sony calls it Ambient Sound Mode, and 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 shouldn't 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 adjusts the cancelling automatically, according to the help guide. It uses what Sony calls behaviour recognition, which means working out what you're doing.

Rain and sweat at either end of the journey

Our category data records no water-resistance rating for any of the seven. For the WH-1000XM6, Sony's help guide says outright that "the headset is not waterproof". It warns against rain and sweat, and says to dry a wet pair before charging it.

So wear a hood or take an umbrella for the walk. If it's really coming down, put them in their case and the case in your bag. 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

A deep-level Tube line, forty minutes or more each way: the Bose QuietComfort Ultra. It has the strongest cancelling of the seven and the least tiring fit. A great many owners have rated it, and the rating is excellent. It's also the most expensive pair on the page.
The Tube plus a desk, with a phone and a laptop: the Sony WH-1000XM6. It has a new twelve-microphone cancelling processor, according to the listing. It has multipoint and up to 30 hours of battery, and it folds. It also has the strongest published reviews in the category.
The same commute for considerably less: the Sony WH-1000XM5. It has strong cancelling, multipoint, strong call handling and LDAC for Android phones, according to the listing. (LDAC is a Bluetooth format for higher-quality sound.) It doesn't fold.
A long rail commute, with headphones on all day: the Bose QuietComfort. It has the Ultra's comfort, with cancelling a step below the Ultra's but ahead of the value picks. It lasts up to 24 hours and folds. More owners have rated it than any other premium pick.
Bus and overground, where the noise is lighter: the Sony WH-CH720N. It's very light, with Sony's app and ambient mode. Its cancelling reduces the rumble rather than removing it.
A mixed journey, with cancelling that adjusts itself: the soundcore Space One. Its adaptive cancelling measures the noise around you and adjusts to it, which is unusual in its price bracket. Its default sound is bass-heavy, so you'll want its equaliser, the setting that adjusts bass and treble.
Spending the least, with the longest quoted battery life: the JBL Tune 770NC. It has the highest owner rating of the seven, adaptive cancelling and a folding design. Its cancelling is 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. It removes much less of the screech, the door alarms and the announcements, because those are sudden or high-pitched. The flagship pairs remove more of the rumble than the value pairs, but none of them removes the screech. The realistic goal is a carriage quiet enough to listen at the volume you'd use at home.

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

Over-ear, for the journey itself. You get deeper cancelling, longer quoted battery life and a fit that stays comfortable for an hour. In-ear is better on a crowded carriage, and for glasses wearers whose frames break an earcup's seal. It's also better 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?

When you're walking on a platform or a 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 places not to use the headset.