ANC headphone suggestions please?

[senbei]

I've currently narrowed the selection down to Bose QuietComfort 35 II, B&O H9i, and Sony WH-1000XM3. Not quite an audiophile (mainly listen to podcasts and whatever's on the radio, active noise cancellation is important to me though) so I've found that online forums comparing the 3 have always been a bit too technical for me. Tested them all out in person and haven't noticed a significant difference in that 15-30 minute span I had them on.

Has anyone had any personal experience with either of those?

TIA!

The B&O aren't very good. Sound great, noisecancelling poor.

I've got a pair of the old v1 QC35, they're excellent all round but the Sonys are very slightly better - audio and the 'cup the ear to pause' trick.

I'm told the QC35 v2 is better than the Sony now, that odd 'pressure' you get from the noisecancelling is reduced, but I haven't tried them as if I do I'll be tempted to spend a vast wadge of money on them.

No substitute for old-school bricks retail.

You need to go somewhere like John Lewis and try them on.

Buzzfeed did a review of them recently www.buzzfeed.com/reviews/best-noise-cancelling-headphones/ and they rated the Bose as the best expensive ones, but I'm tempted by the Anker which is the best in the cheap category. I would need to test them in person though as I have weird ears and most headphones cause pain within 10 mins or so.

SpoonBlender I've heard the same about QC's noise-cancelling being top-notch. Something about the sound felt lacklustre though the last time I tried them - might give them a shot again next week. My dream would definitely be B&O's sound, QC's ANC, and I guess Sony to me stands in the middle which really doesn't help with my indecision.

MockerstheFeManist I tried that but the problem is that I'll usually only get to sit there for max 30 minutes or so. Had the Bower & Wilkins P5 and they were great for about 2 hours +/- after which I'd get this headache. Never had that happen with any of my prior headphones so was definitely quite strange.

BlackAmericanoNoSugar Thanks for the link - haven't seen that particular review yet!