Six Headphones That Are Actually Worth the Money

From studio monitors to noise-cancelling flagships — a shortlist we stand behind.

There are hundreds of headphones on the market. Most are forgettable. Six are worth your money.

We spent three months rotating between the Sony WH-1000XM6, Bose QC Ultra, Sennheiser Momentum 4 and three others in daily rotation — commuting, editing, mixing, calling.

Here's what actually held up, what surprised us, and what we quietly returned.