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The Walkman, the iPod and the other portable music players that followed were revolutionary and enhanced our enjoyment of life no end. But then we wanted more - "it's a bit clunky", "it's not waterproof" and "what's with all these wires?".

And high on our list of problems was that darned background cacophony from planes, trains and automobiles etc. disturbing our listening pleasure. Over-ear headphones were the first to tackle the nuisance, adding all that padding and suchlike. But once in-ears became the most popular way to get the sounds from your device into your head, the kit designers really got to work. Hence this month's Group Test where we try out half a dozen new 'buds to see which delivers the best reproduction, most comfort and, crucially, which has best noise cancelling.

Also, the recent sad passing of bassist Andy Rourke reminded us we haven't added The Smiths into our pantheon of Music Legends, an oversight which you'll find rightly rectified.

Bring whatever noise you want, we've got it covered.

Enjoy!