The NC500Ds are the world’s first digital noise-cancelling headphones. On opening the rather minimal parcel they arrive in, you’re greeted with a classy black case filled with all the extras that make the noise cancelling happen. Turn them on and press the AI NC MODE button to analyse your space - it’s a surreal experience as the space around you gets sucked away to silence.

The sound of the NC500Ds is suitably hi-fi, which is exactly what you’d expect - these are made for travelling and are hyped in the right places for long listening sessions. There isn’t a huge amount of mid presence and they could be brighter, but once you’re in your own silent world, they are certainly very pleasant.

Having to charge them up can be annoying and the large number of accessories means they’ll take up a lot of space in your bag, but as a high-end all-rounder with the bonus of noise cancellation, the NC500Ds are a nice package.

4 Stars