How We Research
We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want serious active noise cancellation for commuting, flying and focused listening, choose Sony Noise Cancelling Headphones; if you need something soft you can actually lie down in — side-sleeper friendly, washable, and built for sleep and workouts — choose Perytong Sleep Headphones Headband.
These two barely compete for the same job. One is a full-size over-ear headphone engineered around noise cancellation and hi-res audio. The other is a fabric headband with ultra-thin speakers sewn in, designed so you can roll onto your side without a hard shell digging into your ear. Knowing which problem you're actually solving makes the decision easy.
• Sony's biggest strength: Active Noise Cancellation plus Smart Listening that adapts ambient sound to what you're doing, wrapped in an over-ear design with touch controls and up to 30 hours of wireless noise-cancelling playback.
• Sony's biggest trade-off: It's a 9.7-ounce over-ear headphone. You wear it over your ears, so it's not something you'd comfortably sleep on your side in.
• Perytong's biggest strength: Ultra-thin speakers and a control panel that sits on your forehead instead of pressing into your ear — genuinely comfortable for side sleepers, with 12+ hours of playtime and a washable headband.
• Perytong's biggest trade-off: It's a sleep and light-sport band, not a hi-res listening tool. You get Bluetooth audio and a built-in mic, not the adaptive noise cancellation or 40mm driver tuning of the Sony.
• Best for travel and commuting → Sony Noise Cancelling Headphones.
• Best for sleeping, side-sleeping, meditation and casual workouts → Perytong Sleep Headphones Headband.
The WH1000XM2 is a premium over-ear Bluetooth headphone, and the whole design revolves around shutting the world out. Sony's digital noise cancellation is the headline feature, and the "Smart Listening" layer goes further: the headphones detect your activity and automatically adjust how much ambient sound you hear. Sitting on a plane, walking through a city, parked at a desk — the ambient mix shifts with you rather than staying fixed.
The controls are the second thing that stands out. There's no jack here; it's Bluetooth and NFC, with a 10-meter wireless range. Track skipping, volume and calls are handled by swiping the right ear cup — touch and voice control, not buttons. Double-tap for hands-free calling. And the Quick Attention Mode is the feature I'd point a frequent flyer to first: cover the whole right cup with your hand and the music drops instantly so you can talk to a flight attendant or order a coffee without pulling anything off.
Audio-wise, it pairs a 40mm dynamic driver with a frequency range up to 40,000 Hz and Sony's DSEE HX processing, aimed at hi-res playback. Battery is rated at 30 hours of cordless noise-cancelling use, with a 10-minute quick charge adding roughly 70 minutes of playtime; a full charge takes about 4 hours.
Buy it if you commute, fly often, work in a noisy space, or want one headphone for music, calls and voice-assistant access with real noise cancellation. Skip it if your main use case is falling asleep — an over-ear cup and 9.7 ounces of headphone aren't built for a pillow.
The Perytong band solves a very specific, very real problem: you want to fall asleep to audio without a hard speaker jammed into your ear. The speakers here are ultra-thin and sit flush against your ears, and the control panel rests on your forehead rather than under your head. That's the entire point — you can turn onto your side, sink into the pillow, and nothing digs in.
The audio side is straightforward and honest: Bluetooth 5.4 for fast pairing, crisp sound that stays private to you, and a built-in mic so you can take a call without swapping devices. The band is made of spandex, listed as on-ear with an adjustable, foldable, lightweight build. You get 12+ hours of continuous playback per charge — enough for a full night, a long flight, or a stretch of white noise — and it recharges over USB-C.
Versatility is the quiet strength. It's not just a sleep product. The same band works for jogging, yoga, meditation (pull it down over your eyes), travel, and blocking out engine noise or a crying baby on a plane. And when it gets grimy, you remove the control module and wash the fabric headband. It's sold in a Wisteria colorway, backed by a 2-year warranty.
Buy it if you're a side sleeper, deal with insomnia, share a bed with someone on a different schedule, fly a lot, or want audio during light workouts without buds falling out. Skip it if you need genuine active noise cancellation, hi-res audio or premium call quality — this is a comfort-first band, not a flagship headphone.
• Best for active noise cancellation → Sony Noise Cancelling Headphones. Adaptive ambient control is the core of the product.
• Best for side sleeping → Perytong Sleep Headphones Headband. Ultra-thin speakers, no hard plastic against your ear.
• Best battery life → Sony, at up to 30 hours of cordless noise-cancelling playback versus 12+ hours on the Perytong.
• Best for flights → Both work, but differently. Sony cancels the engine roar; Perytong lets you lie back and keep the audio going.
• Best for workouts and yoga → Perytong. A lightweight, foldable fabric band stays put far better than a 9.7-ounce over-ear headphone.
• Best for music quality → Sony. A 40mm dynamic driver and up to 40 kHz frequency range are built for listening, not just background audio.
• Best for calls and voice assistants → Sony. Touch and voice control, double-tap calling and quick assistant access.
• Easiest to keep clean → Perytong. Remove the control module and wash the headband.
• Best for sharing a bed without disturbing a partner → Perytong. Private, low-profile audio you can sleep in.
If I had to pick one, I'd pick based on the job, not the brand. For commuting, travel and focused listening, I'd buy the Sony Noise Cancelling Headphones — the noise cancellation, touch controls, Quick Attention Mode and 30-hour battery make it the more capable all-rounder, and it's the one I'd reach for daily. But if sleep is the actual goal, I'd buy the Perytong Sleep Headphones Headband without hesitation. No over-ear headphone replaces a soft band you can roll onto your side in. In my opinion, the right move is to match the product to the problem — and if you do both, they're complementary, not competing.
Not really. It's a 9.7-ounce over-ear headphone with a rounded-tip enclosure, so lying on your side means pressing a cup into the pillow. It shines for commuting, flying and focused listening instead.
They list noise cancellation among their features, but the design centers on comfort and privacy — thin speakers close to your ear so only you hear the audio. It won't rival Sony's dedicated active noise cancellation for blocking engine or traffic noise.
Sony is rated at up to 30 hours of cordless noise-cancelling playback with a 10-minute quick charge adding about 70 minutes. Perytong gives 12+ hours of continuous playback per charge over USB-C.
That depends entirely on your use case, not the spec sheet. If you want one headphone for travel, work and calls, Sony does more. If you want to fall asleep to audio comfortably, Perytong solves a problem Sony doesn't. Check the current price on Amazon for each and weigh it against the job you need done.
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