The Libratone Q-Adapt In-Ear Headphones are available in four attractive colours: Stormy Black, Cloudy White, Elegant Nude and Rose Pink. They come with a matching braided cable, four-button remote access for play, pause, volume, calls and noise cancelling adjustment, three different sizes of ear buds and built-in microphone. The Q-Adapt features adjustable noise cancellation (ANC) which allows you to precisely select how much of the world you want to be able to hear along side your audio, continue to hear traffic, public announcements and two-faced co-workers or simply drown the world out completely.

The noise cancellation worked well however like so many NC products it does damage the sound quality and the Q-Adapt are no exception. The sound becomes flatter but unlike other NC devices there is minimal hissing. There are four levels of NC CityMix level 1-4, level 1 allows you to hear 80% external noise, level 2 60%, level 3 30% and level 4 <10%. The four-button remote provides access to the CityMix and activate the play, pause, phone calls, and volume functions, I have tiny hands and I still found the controls fiddly. The Q-Adapt comes with a sweet little travel case that has a magnetic closure, unfortunately it is bit too small which means that it doesn’t quite close fully, which isn’t ideal for keeping dirt out. The biggest issue I had with these headphones however was that I found them uncomfortable, no matter which earbuds I tried to use, they just felt too large and kept popping out when I was walking, there is no way I would attempt to work out with them in as they would drive me crazy.

The sound quality is good, rich with clear layers all the way from the bass to the top note that allows you to distinguish individual instruments and vocals, it also keeps the music in your ears without leaking out and annoying the people around you. So, if you have large ears and long finger nails (there’s an attractive image) these could be ideal, but I think they need work before I would be willing to shell out the asking price. RRP £159 (Current offer £89)

3.8 out of 5

Buy now

Pros

Good sound quality

Premium construction

Noise cancellation works reasonably well

4 colours available

Cons

Large, uncomfortable earbuds

Buttons small and fiddley

Travel case didn’t close properly