Noise-cancelling headphones show one of the widest price spreads of any category on this site: the Soundcore Space One launched at US$99.99, while the Focal Bathys opened at US$799 — an eightfold gap. What that premium buys is usually not "quieter" (ANC at the US$100 tier is already good enough for a commute) but driver materials, build quality and tuning.

More counter-intuitively, battery life barely tracks price. The longest-lasting model here is the US$349.95 Sennheiser Momentum 4, rated at 60 hours with ANC on; the shortest is the US$549 AirPods Max at 20 hours — a threefold gap running the opposite way to price. The reason is a design trade-off: AirPods Max spends its weight and volume budget on an aluminium enclosure and stainless-steel headband.

One last buying note: the "ecosystem tax" is far lighter here than on smartwatches. Only AirPods Max leans meaningfully toward iOS; the other nine behave much the same on iOS and Android, and the Sonos Ace can even swap audio channels with the company's own soundbars. Filter on comfort and battery life first, phone brand second.