Cleer Alpha Noise-Canceling Headphones

Cleer Audio's new Alpha headphones, the company's flagship wireless noise-canceling model, is jam-packed with extras to augment its very good overall sound quality. Available in Midnight Blue and Stone finishes, the $199 Alpha offers many advanced and customizable features that make it well worth the price. And with everything from app-controlled ambient audio level adjustment to smart noise-cancellation and Dirac Virtuo processing, the Alpha is primed to take on any travel adventure.

- By Leslie Shapiro

The over-ear Alpha's build quality is solid and rugged. It's also quite comfortable, with the 40mm full-range drivers surrounded by removable soft earcups with cooling foam. I'm not sure why I'd ever need to remove the earcups, but in this age of hyper cleanliness it's nice to know I can rinse them off if necessary. The band is also padded (not removable) and the headphone lays flat or can be folded up to fit in its included semi-rigid carrying case. The battery lasts up to 35 hours with a quick-charge feature that provides 4 hours of playback from a 10-minute charge.

The Alpha features Bluetooth 5.1 with Qualcomm aptX Adaptive for a wireless connection. It also has a 3.5mm analog audio input and comes with a cable for plugging in a wired source. Qualcomm's cVc two-microphone design is onboard, which I found to work exceptionally well outdoors to enhance call quality.