Great sound balance; Excellent, versatile noise cancelling; Long battery life;

Neckband is a bit too rigid;

Completely cutting the cord is great and all, but not at the expense of battery life. Truly wireless in-ears can get you through a short commute, but they’ll be deader than a dial-up modem before you’ve even reached the mid-way point of a long haul flight. The WI-1000X is a fantastic mid-way point, untethering you from your smartphone but finding room in the neckband for a significantly bigger battery. You haven’t got to worry about losing an earbud with these, either. They sound fantastic, arguably more so than Sony’s own WF-1000X in-ears, do an excellent job at silencing the outside world, and don’t dominate your head like a pair of over- or on-ear cans might. Frequent flyers that don’t like full-size headphones should absolutely pick up a pair.

Great sound balance; Excellent, versatile noise cancelling; Long battery life;

Neckband is a bit too rigid;

not very useful in noise cancelling, even qc20 is better. But in general, is ok

If you can't stand over-ear headphones, the Sony WI-1000X are a great in-ear alternative. The inclusion of aptX HD support makes the Sonys one of the best wireless headphones we've heard. While battery life may just be average, the WI-1000X are a great set of headphones for audiophiles on the go.

Audiophile wireless sound; Good noise cancellation; Unique features

Average battery life; Adaptive Sound Control is slow; No multi-point connection

The best of both worlds - great sound and noise-cancelling capabilities - make these a smart choice

Punchy bass; Insightful midrange; Well balanced; Range of noise-cancelling modes

Neckband could be more flexible

Finding a decent wireless noise cancelling headphone that has a good battery life and great sound can be tough. But finding one that's in-ear and lasts more than 8-hours is even harder. The Sony WI-1000X wireless noise-canceling headphone may just be the answer.

Sony's new around-the-neck style wireless headphone, the WI-1000X, costs a whopping $300 (£300, AU$449). Why so much? Well, it's one of the few in-ear wireless headphones with active noise cancelling and also packs in several other features, including Atmospheric Pressure Optimizing that's supposed to help optimize noise-cancelling performance on planes.

The pricey around-the-neck WI-1000X wireless noise-cancelling headphone is set to take on Bose's QuietComfort 30.