RHA T20i

The RHA T20i in-ear headphones are the upgrade of the T10i headphones, a previous favourite of ours at Macworld. So, what makes the noise-cancelling premium headphones worth the £150 price tag?

First off, the quality of materials used scream premium. The T20is feature a gold-plated, reinforced, oxygen-free copper cable that helps to improve overall sound quality and help the cable last longer. While the T10is cabling generated quite a bit of friction when passing over clothes, it’s one of the issues RHA fixed with the T20is.

The ‘i’ branding is specific to iOS devices, so you’d expect a lightning cable right? It’s not the case; while it features a 3.5mm jack that’ll require an adaptor for use with recent iOS devices, it does feature a three-button remote built into the cable, enabling an easy way to change volume/song and talk to people hands-free.

The headphones come with a total of 10 sets of tips (including two sets of memory foam tips) to help find the perfect fit for your ears. The level of customisation available with the T20is isn't something we see every day, and the company should be commended on getting the experience right for every single user (no matter the shape of their ears!).

The T20is also come with three custom tuning filters - one for reference, one that boosts treble and one that boosts bass. When testing the bass filter, the headphones achieved a level of bass that we hadn't experienced with many in-ear headphones. There's always a worry that using bass enhancement will ruin the treble and mid-range, drowning in a sea of bass. We didn't find this to be the case with the T20i and overall, the headphones produced a great level of clarity and a satisfying sound.

It's even more impressive when paired with RHA’s memory foam tips, which do a phenomenal job at noise cancellation even when in incredibly loud environments like the tube. We’d even go as far as to say that the T20i’s memory foam tips provide a better noise cancelling experience than what you’d find on high-end headphones like the Bose QC35s.

Overall, the RHA T20is are great, possibly even fantastic, but they're not quite there yet in terms of design. There are certain elements of the headphones that need more work (i.e. the hooks) but with regards to audio, which is what matters most, they wholeheartedly deliver.

Denon AH-MM400

Denon is well respected throughout the audio community, so its no surprise that we love these Denon AH-MM400 headphones. Launched with a £349 price tag, they can already be found for under £200 in the UK.

The build quality is fantastic, offering a combination of good looks and functionality. They're portable listeners, easy to fold up and take out and about. We loved the wood design, which gives the headphones a touch of class and prestige.

The sound quality of the AH-MM400 is very impressive, given its size and portability. Compared with the competition in the portable headphone market, these are definitely among the best we've tested. You can tweak the sound quality of your Denon headphones through the Denon Audio app, too.

Denon AH-C821

If you're keen on buying a pair of Denon headphones but aren't a fan of the over-ear design, we offer the Denon AH-C821 in-ear headphones as a decent (and cheaper!) alternative. With an RRP of £169, the C821s offer a great combination of design, comfort and audio quality based on Denon's 50-year headphone engineering experience.

While they aren't marketed as noise cancelling, the Denon C821s come with specially designed Comply TX500 tips with built-in memory foam to provide a secure fit without compromising on comfort over long periods. While generally we tend to avoid in-ear headphones as they tend not to be as secure as over-ear headphones, we've not had a single issue with the fit of the C821s, making them ideal for use when exercising too.

As well as that, the headphones are actually the first in the world to feature Double Air Compression Drivers, which moves more air inside your ears to help deliver powerful (but distortion free) bass. While we think that there are small sacrifices in the high end to compensate for impressive levels of bass, it's not enough to put us off using the headphones on our daily commute.

B&O Play E4

Bang & Olufsen has an excellent reputation for superior audio products, and these in-ear headphones are no exception. Despite a design that places a clunky ANC (active noise cancellation) box in a position that tends to tug the 'phones out of your ears slightly.

We got round this by tucking the box into our pocket, and then these worked a dream. They come with several sizes of ear buds to suit you and promise 20 hours of noise cancelling on a charge.

The ANC works brilliantly for such small cans, and songs across the board showed a top range of sound - bass is particularly impressive. If you want subtle noise cancelling in-ears, these could well be the ones.

Bose QuietComfort 20

Close to the summit of the noise-cancelling pile is this great pair of headphones from Bose. Renowned for its quality audio products, the QuietComfort 20 carries on the good reputation of the company's on-ear cans into a smaller form factor.

The intelligent sensors on the earbuds 'listen' to the noise around you while in use and cancel out frequencies that would otherwise interrupt the music you are listening to. This results in effortless, excellent audio quality straight out the box.

The earphones are a tad pricey, but you're paying for quality here. Make sure you get the model specifically designed for iPhone and iOS devices, as opposed to Android.

Bowers & Wilkins P5 Series 2

Bowers & Wilkins is one of the most stylish brands in the audio world. The P5 Series 2 look great in the stylish and sleek combination of black and silver. As with the first generation, the cups are leather-clad on the front and back with the headband also making use of the material with almost invisible black stitching.

The back of the cups and the remaining construction is crafted from aluminium and you can tell just from looking at these headphones that a lot of thought has gone into the design. What's really impressive is how small and lightweight (195g) these headphones are, and the cups don't stick out too far either, which makes for a nice change.

Although the P5 Series 2 are closed-back headphones, they sound nicely open but still do a good job of noise isolation whether you're in the office and don't want to be distracted or trying to relax on the commute. You don't need to pump the volume up to uncomfortable levels to compensate.

By far the biggest improvement in the sound is at the top end which now has much more sparkle - without getting to the point of irritation. Cymbals sound particularly alive and crisp thanks to this change. Like the original P5 headphones, the Series 2 still sound warm, smooth and balanced. With a nice boost to the top-end, B&W hasn't forgotten about the rest of the frequency range. The bass sounds great most of the time, with impressive power for small headphones, but can get a little out of control occasionally allowing other elements to get somewhat swallowed up.

Echobox Finder X1

This set up is a bit harder to achieve, but worth the effort. Echobox's Finder X1 headphones are already excellent. They have an acoustic filter tuning system that allows you to change filters on both ears and pick the right ones for you - bass, middle or treble to accentuate the music to your tastes.

However, only when paired with Snuggs do they truly excel. Snugs are custom made rubber tips that are moulded and unique to your ear. We had some made using the scanning technique, and when paired with the X1s and they are phenomenally good. Check out how Snugs are made here.

So you could get the already excellent X1s, but you can get the Snugs tips fitted in a national fitting centre as directed on the website, and your earphones not only will never fall out, they will perfectly isolate sound without the need for big on-ear cans. Simply take off the included rubber tips and put the Snugs on and voila.

You just need to make sure that you're buying Snugs made to fit your headphone of choice and that's the beauty of them - we recommend the X1s, but they can be made to fit any type of earphone with changeable earpieces. Consult with Snugs for peace of mind. In fact, you can get Snugs Originals (headphones and tips) for under £200, saving you a lot of money.

Kef M100

We were impressed with Kef's in-ear headphones, particularly considering how young the company is. These offer excellent build-quality, a lightweight and comfortable design as well as nicely balanced and crisp sound performance.

They're not as pricey as we had expected when we first got our hands on them, making them a solid choice for a pair of in-ear headphones to replace your Apple Earpods.

Rock Jaw Kommand

Traditionally, headphone manufacturers will either opt for balanced armature, which delivers excellent detail and clarity for high frequencies, or dynamic drivers, which offers better bass and warmth for mid-tones. However the Rock Jaw Kommand Hybrid IEM (in-ear monitor, another word for ear buds) opted for both 8mm dynamic drivers and balanced armature.

That’s not the only reason these headphones are an impressive piece of kit – you also get interchangeable filters, which change the characteristics of the sound. By default, the silver ‘bass’ filters are installed, which enhance lower frequencies without compromising the treble clarity. However if you prefer a more neutral sound that doesn’t favour highs or lows, the champagne coloured filters may be the better option for you.

The headphones are crafted from both ebony and aluminium, using the same twisted cable as the Rock Jaw Alfa Genius. It features a built in microphone and button, which is compatible with iOS, Android and Windows Phone, enabling the user to skip tracks, answer calls or activate Siri on the iPhone.

You’re given two sets of filters, but these are easy to loose and tend to fall off the ear buds when in use. Our colleague dropped a bud and the filter fell off, meaning he spent the following 10 minutes on his hands and knees trying to locate it (which he did in the end). But what if that was happened in a train station and not the office?

Audio wise, the Kommand Hybrid is impressive. The level of clarity on offer means there’s a great soundstage where instruments are defined and separated and you may even pick up sounds in your favourite songs that you hadn’t heard before (like the creaky chair in Birdy’s “Skinny Love”). The bass is great if you can get a tight fit, something, which we struggled with when using the supplied buds. However with custom sleeves, the experience is much better and makes the headphones sound amazing.

It’s punchy and tight, but the only downside is that the treble is a little too harsh, which becomes apparent when you turn up the volume. Vocals had nice warmth to them and were clear when using any of the supplied filters. This is a very personal product and the different filters means that you’re more likely to find your perfect fit and sound.

Best headphones for iPhone: Lightning headphones

With the removal of the traditional headphone jack on the current iPhone, many of us are thinking hard about our next choice of headphone.

Wireless is one option, and we'll talk about that next; but with prices generally higher and audio generally lower than the audio equivalent, it's not right for everyone. Another option is to get a pair of headphones that connect via the Lightning port.

Best headphones for iPhone: Wireless headphones

In this feature we've looked at the best wired headphones, but these days many music fans - and particularly those listening to music while exercising - would prefer to go wire-free.

It's a question of priorities: for the amount of money you're spending you're likely to get better sound quality with wired headphones, but wireless models are generally more convenient to use; and with the removal of the headphone jack on the iPhone, they're more future-proof too.