If you want a pair of no-frills, great-sounding headphones that you can take with you anywhere and wear all day, look no further. These headphones will do that for you. They're not the most exciting to look at, but they are solid performers.

Great sound; Lightweight and comfortable design; Portable and compact; Noise-cancelling is effective;

Would like more adjustable EQ; Not the most premium design; Touch-sensitive panel can be over-sensitive;

While Bose remains the top name when it comes to noise-cancelling headphones, it's been seeing some awfully strong competition from the likes of AKG, Apple, Bower & Wilkins, Sony, and others. You can add Sennheiser and its $349.95 PXC-550-II headphones to the mix, which deliver an elegant design with built-in Amazon Alexa support, strong audio performance, and some of the best ANC (active noise cancellation) available. The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 are still an overall better pair, so Bose doesn't need to worry too much, but its once-dramatic lead over other competitors is narrowing, and there are reasons you might prefer the Sennheiser PXC 550-II. Design Available in black, the PXC 550-II headphones have a matte finish with leatherette accents on the headband and the circumaural (over-the-ear) earcups. There are touch-sensitive controls on the outer panels of the earcups, but you wouldn't know it from looking, as the panels are blank. The earcups themselves are ear-sh...

The Sennheiser PXC 550-II headphones deliver excellent noise cancellation and strong audio performance in a user-friendly design.

Strong audio performance with rich bass depth and sculpted highs; Good active noise cancellation; Amazon Alexa support; Easy-to-operate controls; Detachable audio cable included

Headphones can feel a little tight; Limited maximum volume

This is my second pair of Sennheiser headphones (the battery in the previous pair lasted 8 years, and I thought it was time for an upgrade), and I am again not dissapointed with the warm and clear sound. I especially love the touchpad feature that controlls volume, pause etc. My only complaint is that as they are designed to be compatible with Apple products, when I listen connected to my Mac, but to another music app other than Apple Music, they tend to open the Music app whenever I pause, but the quality of sound and great noise cancelling override this little annoyance.

I Love them. The sound out of them is really warm, and the 3 different noise cancellation options are great, especially the wind noise cancellation for when you're walking. Its annoying that the microphone doesn't work if you're using the cable but Its not a big deal at all. Microphone itself is actually pretty good. The ability to be able to connect to two devices with bluetooth at once is actually really useful and I didn't think too much of it when I originally got them. Overall, quite comfy, rich enough sounding, excellent noise cancellation and decent battery life.

Excellent pair of headphones that balance Sound quality, comfort and call quality. Spent a lot of time research a strong all round set of headphones with ANC and this came up tops. They have not disappointed. Would comfortably wear these all day, connected to both phone and laptop, and switch between calls and music. Easily portable also as they fold up very nicely.

Overall great headphones. Im 6ft5 with large ears and these earphones fit over my ears and head with ease with plenty of adjustment left in them. Music sounds good to me but im no musician. Have only used them outside and inside my house and dont have any dropout issues. All good so far. Only had headphones for 2 months.

These headphones are really comfortable to wear. The battery life is excellent and you can connect two devices at a time. Sound quality and noise cancelling are excellent which are the main features I was looking for in a set of headphones.

The Sennheiser PCX 550-II Wireless were released in 2019 for £299/$349/€349/CAD$460/AUD$549. At the time of review they were £249, and have since fallen to £199.

Clean and clear sound, Large, comfortable pads, Effective noise cancellation

Bose and Sony ANC is better, Power slider clicks during runs, Slight BT lag, Mild treble sibilance, and less rich mids than some

Build and materials quality, battery life and sound quality are all impressive. Only latent treble troubles prevent a whole-hearted recommendation.

Judicious sound, Good battery life, Subtly premium looks

Struggles on trebly recordings, Not showy, Competition from other Sennheiser cans

It’s not often big over-ear headphones can be described as ‘discreet’ - but that’s how the PXC 550-IIs look and sound

aptX Bluetooth (and low latency too), Decent battery life, Deft noise-cancelling, Balanced, enjoyable sound

Intolerant of careless recordings, An absolute stack of competition