We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-24 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want active noise cancelling, extra bass and total wireless freedom, choose SONY WHXB900N; if you need a plug-in-and-play wired Lightning set for an iPhone that never needs charging, choose 1STCHAMP Apple MFi Certified.
• SONY WHXB900N biggest strength: Active Noise Cancellation plus up to 30 hours of battery life and touch controls — a full wireless over-ear experience.
• SONY WHXB900N biggest trade-off: It's a bulky over-ear headphone at 8.96 ounces that leans on Bluetooth, so it isn't the grab-and-go pair you leave in a pocket.
• 1STCHAMP Apple MFi Certified biggest strength: A wired Lightning connection with zero charging, a built-in remote and mic, and passive noise isolation from the in-ear seal — and it comes as a two-pack.
• 1STCHAMP Apple MFi Certified biggest trade-off: It only works with Lightning devices, and its noise reduction is passive rather than active, so it won't silence a plane cabin the way ANC does.
• Who each pick is for: The Sony is for someone who wants immersive, bass-forward listening anywhere; the 1STCHAMP is for an iPhone owner who wants dependable wired calls, music and video without dongles or battery anxiety.
The WHXB900N is what I'd call a "do-everything" wireless headphone. It's an over-ear design with 40 mm dynamic drivers, and Sony clearly tuned it around extra bass — that's the whole personality of the line. If your library is hip-hop, EDM, pop or anything that lives or dies by low-end punch, this is the kind of headphone that makes those tracks feel bigger without you having to fiddle with an EQ.
What really separates it from a wired set is the noise control. This is active noise cancellation, meaning the headphone is doing work to reduce the sound around you rather than just blocking it with a physical seal. Alongside that, there's a 3.5 mm jack, so you can still go wired if the battery runs out or you're somewhere wireless isn't welcome. Battery life is rated up to 30 hours, charge time is about 4 hours, and a short 10-minute top-up is quoted as giving roughly 60 minutes of playback — handy when you've forgotten to charge the night before.
The controls are where it gets fun. There's a touch panel on the ear cup for play/pause, skipping tracks, volume and answering calls, plus voice assistant activation for Alexa, the Google Assistant or your phone's assistant. My favorite feature is Quick Attention Mode: cup your hand over the right ear cup and the volume drops while noise cancelling pauses, so you can order a coffee or hear a gate announcement without pulling the headphones off. Bluetooth range is quoted at 10 meters, and the whole package weighs 8.96 ounces with a carrying case included.
Buy it if you want one headphone for commuting, working and long listening sessions, and you value ANC and bass over portability. Skip it if you mainly want something for calls on an iPhone, you hate charging things, or you want earbuds that disappear into a pocket. It's also worth noting the Bluetooth spec here is version 4.2 — older than what current flagship headphones use — so treat it as a solid all-rounder rather than the newest wireless tech on the shelf.
The 1STCHAMP set is a completely different animal, and that's the point. These are wired, in-ear earphones that plug straight into a Lightning port — no adapter, no dongle, no pairing, no charging. For anyone who's tired of hunting for a Lightning-to-3.5 mm adapter just to use normal headphones with an iPhone, that alone is the selling point.
The design is in-ear with silicone tips, and the fit matters here. Because the tips seal inside your ear canal, you get passive noise isolation — the earphone physically blocks ambient sound rather than cancelling it electronically. In a noisy office, on a bus or in a café, that seal does a surprising amount of work, and it does it without draining a battery. The housing is ABS plastic, and the cable is described as reinforced and tangle-resistant, which is the practical detail that decides whether cheap wired earphones last a month or a year.
On the audio side, there's a built-in DAC chip and high-precision dynamic drivers, with an impedance of 140 ohm. That's a high number for earbuds and generally points to a set that needs a bit of power to drive properly — which the phone's own Lightning output is supplying here. The inline remote handles volume, play/pause, track skipping and calls, and the microphone uses noise reduction for clearer voice pickup, with Siri and Google Assistant supported. You also get multiple silicone tip sizes for a personalized fit, and it's sold as a 2-pack, so you have a spare or a second pair for a bag, car or desk.
Buy it if you're on an iPhone with a Lightning port, you make a lot of calls, and you want wired reliability with nothing to charge. Skip it if you're on USB-C, you need real active noise cancelling for flights, or you want over-ear comfort for multi-hour listening. Compatibility covers iPhone 14/13/12/11 series, SE, XS, XR, X, 8, 7, 6 and 5 families — check your port before ordering, because Lightning is the hard requirement here.
• Best for noise cancelling → SONY WHXB900N. It uses active noise cancellation; the 1STCHAMP relies on passive in-ear isolation.
• Best for battery life → SONY WHXB900N. Up to 30 hours per charge, versus the 1STCHAMP which needs no battery at all because it's wired.
• Best for iPhone calls without adapters → 1STCHAMP Apple MFi Certified. Native Lightning connector, inline mic and remote, no dongle.
• Best for bass-heavy listening → SONY WHXB900N. Extra-bass tuning with 40 mm drivers and a 20 Hz–40 kHz range.
• Best for travel and packing light → 1STCHAMP Apple MFi Certified. Tiny in-ears with a tangle-resistant cable versus a 8.96-ounce over-ear with a case.
• Best for long work sessions → SONY WHXB900N. Over-ear comfort, touch controls and Quick Attention Mode for quick conversations.
• Best for sharing or backup → 1STCHAMP Apple MFi Certified. It ships as a 2-pack, so two people (or two bags) are covered.
• Best if you refuse to charge headphones → 1STCHAMP Apple MFi Certified. Plug in and it works, every time.
In my opinion, the SONY WHXB900N is the better buy for most people reading this, because it does more: active noise cancelling, up to 30 hours of playback, touch controls and that extra-bass sound give you a genuinely versatile headphone for commuting, working and everything between. I'd only steer you to the 1STCHAMP Apple MFi Certified if your priority is a wired, no-charging, no-adapter solution for an iPhone — especially if you make a lot of calls. If you're torn purely on budget, check the current price on Amazon for both before deciding, since the value math changes depending on what each is going for when you read this.
what is the best wired noise cancelling headphones
Strictly speaking, the 1STCHAMP Apple MFi Certified is the wired option here, and its noise reduction is passive — the in-ear silicone seal blocks ambient sound rather than cancelling it electronically. The SONY WHXB900N offers true active noise cancellation but is primarily a Bluetooth headphone, though it does include a 3.5 mm jack for wired listening. So if "wired" is non-negotiable, the 1STCHAMP fits; if "noise cancelling" matters more, the Sony does.
how to noise cancelling wired headphones
With the SONY WHXB900N you get active noise cancellation as a built-in feature, and it also has a 3.5 mm jack, so you can listen wired while still benefiting from the headphone's design. With the 1STCHAMP, the approach is simpler: push the silicone tips in for a proper seal, and the passive isolation does the work. A good fit is the whole trick with in-ears — if the seal is loose, the noise blocking disappears.
is there wired noise cancelling headphones
Yes, in the sense that both products here can be used in a wired setup. The SONY WHXB900N includes a 3.5 mm connection alongside its Bluetooth and active noise cancelling. The 1STCHAMP Apple MFi Certified is wired-only through a Lightning connector and uses passive noise isolation. What you won't find in the 1STCHAMP is electronic ANC — that's a Sony feature in this comparison.
are these headphones compatible with my phone
The 1STCHAMP Apple MFi Certified requires a Lightning port and lists support for iPhone 14/13/12/11 series, SE, XS, XR, X, 8, 7, 6 and 5 families. The SONY WHXB900N connects over Bluetooth and also has a 3.5 mm jack, so it works with a much wider range of phones, including Android. If you're on USB-C only, the 1STCHAMP is not the right pick.
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