If you want studio-grade sound and marathon battery life for long-haul flights, choose Audio-Technica ATH-M50XBT2; if you need active noise cancellation in a featherweight frame for short trips and daily commuting, choose Sony WH-CH720N. That's the short version, and for flights specifically the split comes down to one question: do you want to block the cabin drone out, or do you want the music itself to sound like it was mixed in the room with you? Keep reading, because the specs tell a clearer story than most people expect.
• Audio-Technica ATH-M50XBT2 — biggest strength: 45 mm dynamic drivers paired with a dedicated amplifier, up to 50 hours of playback, and multipoint pairing to two devices at once.
• Audio-Technica ATH-M50XBT2 — biggest trade-off: Passive sound isolation only, no active noise cancellation, and it's a genuinely heavy over-ear at 454 g.
• Sony WH-CH720N — biggest strength: Active Noise Cancellation with Dual Noise Sensor technology and an Integrated Processor V1, all in a 192 g body that Sony calls its lightest noise-cancelling headband design.
• Sony WH-CH720N — biggest trade-off: 35 hours of battery versus 50, a narrower 20 Hz–20,000 Hz spec sheet that leans on processing rather than raw driver size, and no analog audio cable in the box.
• Choose the Audio-Technica if sound quality, battery endurance and wired fallback matter more to you than hushing the plane.
• Choose the Sony if you want the engine roar turned down, a headset you forget you're wearing, and effortless all-day comfort.
The ATH-M50XBT2 is a wireless version of a well-known studio headphone, and the spec sheet reads that way. The 45 mm dynamic drivers are large for a Bluetooth headset, and Audio-Technica pairs them with a dedicated amplifier rather than relying on the chip inside your phone. The result, on paper, is the kind of tuning that leans toward deep, accurate bass and clarity across an extended range — the 85 Hz to 15,000 Hz figure tells you the emphasis is on musical fundamentals rather than airy treble sparkle. If you listen to dense mixes, acoustic recordings or bass-heavy electronic music and you care about hearing separation between instruments, this is the more interesting of the two designs.
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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Battery is the other headline. Up to 50 hours on a full charge, plus roughly 3 hours of playback from a 10-minute quick charge, is the kind of endurance that changes how you pack. A single charge covers a transatlantic round trip with room to spare, and you're far less likely to land somewhere with a dead headset. The A-T Connect app adds low latency mode, EQ adjustment, volume balance, codec selection, a locate function and voice assistant selection — useful if you like to tune your own sound rather than accept a factory curve. Multipoint pairing to two devices at once means you can stay connected to a laptop and a phone without re-pairing every time.
Who should buy it: frequent flyers who prioritise sound quality and battery life, anyone who wants a wired 3.5 mm fallback with the included audio cable, and listeners who prefer a neutral-to-warm studio signature over a processed one. Who should skip it: anyone who needs active noise cancellation to sleep or work in a loud cabin, and anyone sensitive to weight — 454 g is substantial, and over a long flight you will feel it. The carrying pouch is a soft pouch rather than a hard case, so pack it thoughtfully.
Sony's WH-CH720N goes after a different problem entirely. At 192 g, it's built around comfort and light weight, and the headband has been restructured to open up more space around the ears. That matters more than it sounds: on a six-hour flight, grams compound. Where the Audio-Technica asks you to tolerate mass in exchange for driver size, this one asks you to accept a smaller, more processed sound in exchange for barely noticing it's there.
The core feature is Active Noise Cancellation driven by Dual Noise Sensor technology and Sony's Integrated Processor V1. This is the reason to pick it for flights. Noise cancelling headphones don't erase engine noise completely, but the low-frequency rumble of a cabin is exactly what this kind of system targets, and that changes how loud you need to set your volume — which in turn is easier on your ears over a long trip. Adjustable Ambient Sound mode offers 20 levels, so you can dial in how much of the cabin you let through, whether that's a boarding announcement or a seatmate's question. Adaptive Sound Control goes further and shifts the balance automatically based on your environment and the places you visit often.
Battery is up to 35 hours with quick charging that gives roughly an hour of playback from a 3-minute top-up, and the USB-C cable is included. Multipoint connection handles two Bluetooth devices at once, and Precise Voice Pickup Technology with beamforming microphones keeps hands-free calls clear — genuinely useful for work-from-home calls or airport check-in. Bluetooth 5.2 is the newer standard here, and DSEE upscales compressed audio files to recover some detail lost in streaming.
Who should buy it: commuters, flyers who want the drone dulled, remote workers who wear headphones for hours of calls, and anyone who values a light 192 g fit above all else. Who should skip it: listeners chasing maximum fidelity from a large driver, people who want a wired analog connection for zero-latency monitoring, and heavy users who'd rather charge once a week than once every few days.
• Best for noise cancelling on flights → Sony WH-CH720N. Active Noise Cancellation with Dual Noise Sensor technology and an Integrated Processor V1 is the whole point of this model.
• Best for battery life → Audio-Technica ATH-M50XBT2. Up to 50 hours versus 35, with a 10-minute charge good for about 3 hours.
• Best for all-day comfort → Sony WH-CH720N. 192 g against 454 g is not a small gap.
• Best for sound quality and driver size → Audio-Technica ATH-M50XBT2. 45 mm dynamic drivers and a dedicated amplifier versus a processing-led tuning.
• Best for wired listening → Audio-Technica ATH-M50XBT2. A 1.2 m 3.5 mm audio cable is in the box; the Sony has no analog jack.
• Best for hands-free calls and ambient awareness → Sony WH-CH720N. Precise Voice Pickup Technology, 20-level Ambient Sound and Adaptive Sound Control.
• Best for customisation → Audio-Technica ATH-M50XBT2. The A-T Connect app covers EQ, codec selection, latency mode and more.
• Best for quick top-ups and newer Bluetooth → Sony WH-CH720N. 3-minute charge for about an hour of playback, plus Bluetooth 5.2.
In my opinion, for flights the Sony WH-CH720N is the safer pick — noise cancelling is the feature that actually changes a plane journey, and at 192 g you'll forget you're wearing it. But I'd choose the Audio-Technica ATH-M50XBT2 if music quality is the reason you're buying headphones at all. Fifty hours of battery, big drivers and a wired fallback make it the better long-term companion for listeners who care about how things sound rather than how much gets muted. If you're torn, decide which matters more on your next trip: a quieter cabin, or a better recording.
FAQ
For sound and battery, yes — 45 mm drivers, up to 50 hours and a wired fallback. But it has no active noise cancellation, so engine drone comes through. If blocking cabin noise is your priority, the Sony wins.
The Sony WH-CH720N, on specs alone: 192 g versus 454 g, with a headband redesigned for more ear space. Weight is the biggest comfort variable in an over-ear headphone, and that gap is large.
The Audio-Technica ATH-M50XBT2, at up to 50 hours versus up to 35 for the Sony. Both charge in about 3.5 hours, and both offer quick charging — roughly 3 hours of playback from 10 minutes on the Audio-Technica, about an hour from 3 minutes on the Sony. Prices change often, so check the current price on Amazon before deciding.
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