Earbuds for calls or for music?

Many people buy noise-cancelling earbuds for calls in the street and then find the other person hears the traffic. Active noise cancelling lowers the outside world for you, not for the person you are talking to.

For calls, the number and position of the microphones matter. The two-microphone Ava Buds Lite is no worse than the Buds ANC on calls and costs half as much. For the metro and flights, choose ANC.