Good noise cancellation headphones?

[thirdeye]

I have a set of Sony ones that I paid ~$50 for. They did a decent job for my 8 hour flight to Alaska.

 

[tm37]

Originally posted by: LegendKiller

Originally posted by: jonnyGURU

Originally posted by: LegendKiller


With my old job I'd go to Vegas from Orlando every 2mo or so.

Did we work together??!?!

Originally posted by: LegendKiller

People say canalphones are better, IMHO they aren't I tried shure, but I am a bit picky about my canals and couldn't take them.

I agree. But have you tried noise cancelling canals? People that think good canals substitute for noise cancelling just don't know any better. But noise cancelling ear canal phones.... that's good shiznit.

Yes, I did. I just don't like canal phones. I don't find them as comfortable, thats just me. They were about equal in noise reduction, the canals might have cut out a bit more uppers, but not enough to justify their uncomfortable nature (again, just my preference).

Besides, most docs would wholeheartedly agree that canal phones are bad for you.

Hmm.. You have spoken to most doctors have you?

The best canal phones were developed by http://www.etymotic.com/ and the owner of Etymotic is one of leading people in PRESERVING hearing.

Canals phone sound LOUDER than they are but any LOUD sound can be damaging. People using canal phones tend to experence the occulsion effect which cause an amplification within the earcanal, and if you blast a high level of sound into you ear I assure you that after time you will have a hearing loss and that is dependant on the levels of sound pressure level that you expose your ear to and not so much where the sound is generated (in the ear) or our of the ear. bottom line is that 100dB is 100 dB.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Might I ask why you want noise cancelling headphones specifically? Do you live in a construction zone? Near busy railroad tracks? On the flight path to a major airport?

 

[SZLiao214]

My cousin let me try out his Bose qc2 when he was in town and i was pretty disappointed in them especially for the price. I have shure a pair of shure e2c and they seemed to block out more noise then the bose and only cost me 60 bucks from buy.com. The only real difference i had heard between the two was the bose had better bass.

 

[xchangx]

If you get the Shure E3 or above, check out www.sensaphonics.com

If you want to spend the extra $100 get custom molds. I use the E3's with the custom molds, very comfortable.

 

[swtethan]

I have sony mdr-nc11 active noise cancelling headphones, they work well but they are freakin broken now! Please avoid them because they suck in build quality,but great on sound and noise cancelling. $50 wasted on 3/4 of a round trip flight! My brother has those phillips headphones, says they work well.

 

[AndrewR]

I can also vouch for the Philips noise-canceling earbuds. I have the HN060 set, and they are quite good. Even without the noise canceling turned on, they block a good bit of ambient noise. I actually don't use the noise canceling much because it does work so well, and I can't hear anything! The daughter and the wife don't appreciate that. I've used them on flights, and they are fantastic. I also used them in Baghdad, and they drowned out Army helos, USAF C-130s, C-17s and C-5s that weren't too far from me on the flightline.

 

[imported_bum]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Might I ask why you want noise cancelling headphones specifically? Do you live in a construction zone? Near busy railroad tracks? On the flight path to a major airport?

Yes, this is important to know. The best application for active cancelling headphones is on an airplane, or somewhere with a similarly loud, droning type of noise. They are less effective at most everything else such as blocking voices, tv noises, etc. For that, you are probably just as well off spending less for more [sound quality] with a passive set of 'phones.

 

[randay]

I recommend sony mdr-v700dj. Closed ear and it does a very very good job at blocking outside sounds, never used it on an airplane but you probably won't hear any of it. A little heavy, the plastic surrounding the swiveling devices crack, but the headphones still work fine and sit fine even after they crack, the leather(fake?) ear cushions may dry out and crack, though it hasnt happened to me yet. Most of all in my opinion the sound quality is superb and unmatched by any other headphone in the same price range. Had mine for about 4-5 years now.

 

[SilthDraeth]

They will be for plane rides mainly, traffic, screaming children..

 

[LegendKiller]

Originally posted by: tm37

Originally posted by: LegendKiller

Originally posted by: jonnyGURU

Originally posted by: LegendKiller


With my old job I'd go to Vegas from Orlando every 2mo or so.

Did we work together??!?!

Originally posted by: LegendKiller

People say canalphones are better, IMHO they aren't I tried shure, but I am a bit picky about my canals and couldn't take them.

I agree. But have you tried noise cancelling canals? People that think good canals substitute for noise cancelling just don't know any better. But noise cancelling ear canal phones.... that's good shiznit.

Yes, I did. I just don't like canal phones. I don't find them as comfortable, thats just me. They were about equal in noise reduction, the canals might have cut out a bit more uppers, but not enough to justify their uncomfortable nature (again, just my preference).

Besides, most docs would wholeheartedly agree that canal phones are bad for you.

Hmm.. You have spoken to most doctors have you?

The best canal phones were developed by http://www.etymotic.com/ and the owner of Etymotic is one of leading people in PRESERVING hearing.

Canals phone sound LOUDER than they are but any LOUD sound can be damaging. People using canal phones tend to experence the occulsion effect which cause an amplification within the earcanal, and if you blast a high level of sound into you ear I assure you that after time you will have a hearing loss and that is dependant on the levels of sound pressure level that you expose your ear to and not so much where the sound is generated (in the ear) or our of the ear. bottom line is that 100dB is 100 dB.

Yes, I have actually talked to 3 ear doctors, thank you very much. Both showed me studies that highlighted that in-ear aren't as good for you.

100db from where? 100db from source is much different than 100db at destination. Furthermore, 100db can perform differently in different types of atmospheres. Closed sub boxes are different than ported.

Lastly, just putting something in your ear isn't the best for you. Most ear docs will agree with that.

 

[xchangx]

Originally posted by: LegendKiller

Originally posted by: tm37

Originally posted by: LegendKiller

Originally posted by: jonnyGURU

Originally posted by: LegendKiller


With my old job I'd go to Vegas from Orlando every 2mo or so.

Did we work together??!?!

Originally posted by: LegendKiller

People say canalphones are better, IMHO they aren't I tried shure, but I am a bit picky about my canals and couldn't take them.

I agree. But have you tried noise cancelling canals? People that think good canals substitute for noise cancelling just don't know any better. But noise cancelling ear canal phones.... that's good shiznit.

Yes, I did. I just don't like canal phones. I don't find them as comfortable, thats just me. They were about equal in noise reduction, the canals might have cut out a bit more uppers, but not enough to justify their uncomfortable nature (again, just my preference).

Besides, most docs would wholeheartedly agree that canal phones are bad for you.

Hmm.. You have spoken to most doctors have you?

The best canal phones were developed by http://www.etymotic.com/ and the owner of Etymotic is one of leading people in PRESERVING hearing.

Canals phone sound LOUDER than they are but any LOUD sound can be damaging. People using canal phones tend to experence the occulsion effect which cause an amplification within the earcanal, and if you blast a high level of sound into you ear I assure you that after time you will have a hearing loss and that is dependant on the levels of sound pressure level that you expose your ear to and not so much where the sound is generated (in the ear) or our of the ear. bottom line is that 100dB is 100 dB.

Yes, I have actually talked to 3 ear doctors, thank you very much. Both showed me studies that highlighted that in-ear aren't as good for you.

100db from where? 100db from source is much different than 100db at destination. Furthermore, 100db can perform differently in different types of atmospheres. Closed sub boxes are different than ported.

Lastly, just putting something in your ear isn't the best for you. Most ear docs will agree with that.

I think it depends on the situation. I do a lot of stage work/performance, having in-ear is a heck of a lot better than using wedges. Not only does it save your ears, but it's cheaper.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

OP, ignore anyone recommending Bose, Phillips, or Sony headphones and earbuds. The bottom line is, they don't compare when you put them up against awesome IEMs like Shures, Etymotics, or UEs. Simply put, they suck, and they aren't worth it if you pay $10 or $100 for them.

Since you've never really used IEMs before, go for Shure's E2C model. They're ridiculously durable, and they sound great. If you're fine with the sound, keep them, and be happy . If you're the kind of person that always wants something better, give them away or sell them a year or two down the line and either get more expensive Shures, or jump ship and get Etys or UEs. I wouldn't get any Ety model as a first pair because they're a lot more fragile than the E2Cs, the UEs are quite durable though, so check those out too.

EDIT: If you want headphones, and not in ear monitors, it's Grado, Sennheiser, or BUST. There are a couple of other decent headphone brands, but you won't find Bose or Sony anywhere on the list.

 

[swtethan]

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124
OP, ignore anyone recommending Bose, Phillips, or Sony headphones and earbuds. The bottom line is, they don't compare when you put them up against awesome IEMs like Shures, Etymotics, or UEs. Simply put, they suck, and they aren't worth it if you pay $10 or $100 for them.

Since you've never really used IEMs before, go for Shure's E2C model. They're ridiculously durable, and they sound great. If you're fine with the sound, keep them, and be happy . If you're the kind of person that always wants something better, give them away or sell them a year or two down the line and either get more expensive Shures, or jump ship and get Etys or UEs. I wouldn't get any Ety model as a first pair because they're a lot more fragile than the E2Cs, the UEs are quite durable though, so check those out too.

EDIT: If you want headphones, and not in ear monitors, it's Grado, Sennheiser, or BUST. There are a couple of other decent headphone brands, but you won't find Bose or Sony anywhere on the list.

Sony is in ear, and has good sound that wont break the bank.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Originally posted by: swtethan

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124
OP, ignore anyone recommending Bose, Phillips, or Sony headphones and earbuds. The bottom line is, they don't compare when you put them up against awesome IEMs like Shures, Etymotics, or UEs. Simply put, they suck, and they aren't worth it if you pay $10 or $100 for them.

Since you've never really used IEMs before, go for Shure's E2C model. They're ridiculously durable, and they sound great. If you're fine with the sound, keep them, and be happy . If you're the kind of person that always wants something better, give them away or sell them a year or two down the line and either get more expensive Shures, or jump ship and get Etys or UEs. I wouldn't get any Ety model as a first pair because they're a lot more fragile than the E2Cs, the UEs are quite durable though, so check those out too.

EDIT: If you want headphones, and not in ear monitors, it's Grado, Sennheiser, or BUST. There are a couple of other decent headphone brands, but you won't find Bose or Sony anywhere on the list.

Sony is in ear, and has good sound that wont break the bank.

If you're referring to their Fontopia in-ears, yeah, they sound OK. Sony's most expensive pair is $49.99, and my Shure E2Cs were $64.99. Guess which pair was worth the money and which wasn't? The Sonys were very muddy and had very bad separation on the high end, the Shures blew them out of the water in sound quality, and $15 sure didn't bother my wallet as much as the Sonys bothered my ears

 

[randay]

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124

Originally posted by: swtethan

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124
OP, ignore anyone recommending Bose, Phillips, or Sony headphones and earbuds. The bottom line is, they don't compare when you put them up against awesome IEMs like Shures, Etymotics, or UEs. Simply put, they suck, and they aren't worth it if you pay $10 or $100 for them.

Since you've never really used IEMs before, go for Shure's E2C model. They're ridiculously durable, and they sound great. If you're fine with the sound, keep them, and be happy . If you're the kind of person that always wants something better, give them away or sell them a year or two down the line and either get more expensive Shures, or jump ship and get Etys or UEs. I wouldn't get any Ety model as a first pair because they're a lot more fragile than the E2Cs, the UEs are quite durable though, so check those out too.

EDIT: If you want headphones, and not in ear monitors, it's Grado, Sennheiser, or BUST. There are a couple of other decent headphone brands, but you won't find Bose or Sony anywhere on the list.

Sony is in ear, and has good sound that wont break the bank.

If you're referring to their Fontopia in-ears, yeah, they sound OK. Sony's most expensive pair is $49.99, and my Shure E2Cs were $64.99. Guess which pair was worth the money and which wasn't? The Sonys were very muddy and had very bad separation on the high end, the Shures blew them out of the water in sound quality, and $15 sure didn't bother my wallet as much as the Sonys bothered my ears

we get it, you are a shure fanboy. still, thats no reason to tell the op, must less anyone, to totally ignore what other people have to say based on your own opinions. not that the op will, but still, its kind of silly.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Originally posted by: randay

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124

Originally posted by: swtethan

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124
OP, ignore anyone recommending Bose, Phillips, or Sony headphones and earbuds. The bottom line is, they don't compare when you put them up against awesome IEMs like Shures, Etymotics, or UEs. Simply put, they suck, and they aren't worth it if you pay $10 or $100 for them.

Since you've never really used IEMs before, go for Shure's E2C model. They're ridiculously durable, and they sound great. If you're fine with the sound, keep them, and be happy . If you're the kind of person that always wants something better, give them away or sell them a year or two down the line and either get more expensive Shures, or jump ship and get Etys or UEs. I wouldn't get any Ety model as a first pair because they're a lot more fragile than the E2Cs, the UEs are quite durable though, so check those out too.

EDIT: If you want headphones, and not in ear monitors, it's Grado, Sennheiser, or BUST. There are a couple of other decent headphone brands, but you won't find Bose or Sony anywhere on the list.

Sony is in ear, and has good sound that wont break the bank.

If you're referring to their Fontopia in-ears, yeah, they sound OK. Sony's most expensive pair is $49.99, and my Shure E2Cs were $64.99. Guess which pair was worth the money and which wasn't? The Sonys were very muddy and had very bad separation on the high end, the Shures blew them out of the water in sound quality, and $15 sure didn't bother my wallet as much as the Sonys bothered my ears

we get it, you are a shure fanboy. still, thats no reason to tell the op, must less anyone, to totally ignore what other people have to say based on your own opinions. not that the op will, but still, its kind of silly.

I'm not a Shure fanboy, I'm a crap hater. If you'd even read my post you'd see I recommended MUCH more than Shures. Last time I checked Shure didn't manufacture Ety, UE, Grado, Sennheiser's products. The only thing Sony is good for is a pair of $10 throwaway buds. You get what you pay for with sound equipment, the sole exception being Bose, where you get about 1/10th of what you payed for.

 

[randay]

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124

Originally posted by: randay

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124

Originally posted by: swtethan

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124
OP, ignore anyone recommending Bose, Phillips, or Sony headphones and earbuds. The bottom line is, they don't compare when you put them up against awesome IEMs like Shures, Etymotics, or UEs. Simply put, they suck, and they aren't worth it if you pay $10 or $100 for them.

Since you've never really used IEMs before, go for Shure's E2C model. They're ridiculously durable, and they sound great. If you're fine with the sound, keep them, and be happy . If you're the kind of person that always wants something better, give them away or sell them a year or two down the line and either get more expensive Shures, or jump ship and get Etys or UEs. I wouldn't get any Ety model as a first pair because they're a lot more fragile than the E2Cs, the UEs are quite durable though, so check those out too.

EDIT: If you want headphones, and not in ear monitors, it's Grado, Sennheiser, or BUST. There are a couple of other decent headphone brands, but you won't find Bose or Sony anywhere on the list.

Sony is in ear, and has good sound that wont break the bank.

If you're referring to their Fontopia in-ears, yeah, they sound OK. Sony's most expensive pair is $49.99, and my Shure E2Cs were $64.99. Guess which pair was worth the money and which wasn't? The Sonys were very muddy and had very bad separation on the high end, the Shures blew them out of the water in sound quality, and $15 sure didn't bother my wallet as much as the Sonys bothered my ears

we get it, you are a shure fanboy. still, thats no reason to tell the op, must less anyone, to totally ignore what other people have to say based on your own opinions. not that the op will, but still, its kind of silly.

I'm not a Shure fanboy, I'm a crap hater. If you'd even read my post you'd see I recommended MUCH more than Shures. Last time I checked Shure didn't manufacture Ety, UE, Grado, Sennheiser's products. The only thing Sony is good for is a pair of $10 throwaway buds. You get what you pay for with sound equipment, the sole exception being Bose, where you get about 1/10th of what you payed for.

cant be arsed to take the time to make an actual reply to this. the sony headphones i recommended are excellent non-inear headphones. they are far from crap.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Originally posted by: randay

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124

Originally posted by: randay

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124

Originally posted by: swtethan

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124
OP, ignore anyone recommending Bose, Phillips, or Sony headphones and earbuds. The bottom line is, they don't compare when you put them up against awesome IEMs like Shures, Etymotics, or UEs. Simply put, they suck, and they aren't worth it if you pay $10 or $100 for them.

Since you've never really used IEMs before, go for Shure's E2C model. They're ridiculously durable, and they sound great. If you're fine with the sound, keep them, and be happy . If you're the kind of person that always wants something better, give them away or sell them a year or two down the line and either get more expensive Shures, or jump ship and get Etys or UEs. I wouldn't get any Ety model as a first pair because they're a lot more fragile than the E2Cs, the UEs are quite durable though, so check those out too.

EDIT: If you want headphones, and not in ear monitors, it's Grado, Sennheiser, or BUST. There are a couple of other decent headphone brands, but you won't find Bose or Sony anywhere on the list.

Sony is in ear, and has good sound that wont break the bank.

If you're referring to their Fontopia in-ears, yeah, they sound OK. Sony's most expensive pair is $49.99, and my Shure E2Cs were $64.99. Guess which pair was worth the money and which wasn't? The Sonys were very muddy and had very bad separation on the high end, the Shures blew them out of the water in sound quality, and $15 sure didn't bother my wallet as much as the Sonys bothered my ears

we get it, you are a shure fanboy. still, thats no reason to tell the op, must less anyone, to totally ignore what other people have to say based on your own opinions. not that the op will, but still, its kind of silly.

I'm not a Shure fanboy, I'm a crap hater. If you'd even read my post you'd see I recommended MUCH more than Shures. Last time I checked Shure didn't manufacture Ety, UE, Grado, Sennheiser's products. The only thing Sony is good for is a pair of $10 throwaway buds. You get what you pay for with sound equipment, the sole exception being Bose, where you get about 1/10th of what you payed for.

cant be arsed to take the time to make an actual reply to this. the sony headphones i recommended are excellent non-inear headphones. they are far from crap.

I thought you were referring to Sony Fontopias (MDR-EX51LP, EX71SL, EX81LP)? Those are in-ears.

 

[swtethan]

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124

Originally posted by: randay

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124

Originally posted by: randay

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124

Originally posted by: swtethan

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124
OP, ignore anyone recommending Bose, Phillips, or Sony headphones and earbuds. The bottom line is, they don't compare when you put them up against awesome IEMs like Shures, Etymotics, or UEs. Simply put, they suck, and they aren't worth it if you pay $10 or $100 for them.

Since you've never really used IEMs before, go for Shure's E2C model. They're ridiculously durable, and they sound great. If you're fine with the sound, keep them, and be happy . If you're the kind of person that always wants something better, give them away or sell them a year or two down the line and either get more expensive Shures, or jump ship and get Etys or UEs. I wouldn't get any Ety model as a first pair because they're a lot more fragile than the E2Cs, the UEs are quite durable though, so check those out too.

EDIT: If you want headphones, and not in ear monitors, it's Grado, Sennheiser, or BUST. There are a couple of other decent headphone brands, but you won't find Bose or Sony anywhere on the list.

Sony is in ear, and has good sound that wont break the bank.

If you're referring to their Fontopia in-ears, yeah, they sound OK. Sony's most expensive pair is $49.99, and my Shure E2Cs were $64.99. Guess which pair was worth the money and which wasn't? The Sonys were very muddy and had very bad separation on the high end, the Shures blew them out of the water in sound quality, and $15 sure didn't bother my wallet as much as the Sonys bothered my ears

we get it, you are a shure fanboy. still, thats no reason to tell the op, must less anyone, to totally ignore what other people have to say based on your own opinions. not that the op will, but still, its kind of silly.

I'm not a Shure fanboy, I'm a crap hater. If you'd even read my post you'd see I recommended MUCH more than Shures. Last time I checked Shure didn't manufacture Ety, UE, Grado, Sennheiser's products. The only thing Sony is good for is a pair of $10 throwaway buds. You get what you pay for with sound equipment, the sole exception being Bose, where you get about 1/10th of what you payed for.

cant be arsed to take the time to make an actual reply to this. the sony headphones i recommended are excellent non-inear headphones. they are far from crap.

I thought you were referring to Sony Fontopias (MDR-EX51LP, EX71SL, EX81LP)? Those are in-ears.

Sony MDR-NC11 > Shure (in terms of noise cancelling)

shure doesnt have active noise cancelling, Sony does, they work great on planes (when they work). I dont recommend them because mine broke and they are known to be fragile, keep your reciept for warranty. The op is looking for something to play DS sounds, how high end do they have to be.

 

[DarkKnight69]

Originally posted by: SilthDraeth
After reading about the horrible debacle that is Bose, does anyone have experience with a good set of headphones?

I am not an audiophile, and the best headphones I have ever owned, is a headset I use for my computer. It is branded Radio Shack, its plane gray plastic. Has pillows that fit on your ear, and not over them. I use it for Ventrilo, and gaming, and it seems to produce really good sound. Way better than the Creative, and Logitech headphones I have used.

I have recently been thinking about getting a good pair of active noise cancellation headphones, for just enjoying the quiet, as well as using while I play my Nintendo DS.

Any personal recommendations?

WHat ia wrong with bose?

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Originally posted by: swtethan
Sony MDR-NC11 > Shure (in terms of noise cancelling)

shure doesnt have active noise cancelling, Sony does, they work great on planes (when they work). I dont recommend them because mine broke and they are known to be fragile, keep your reciept for warranty. The op is looking for something to play DS sounds, how high end do they have to be.

Oops! Missed that bit. My bad

OP, if all you want to do is cancel noise, not listen to music, just grab those $30 Phillips noise canceling buds.
By the way, the MDR-NC11s might have active noise canceling, but if the Shures are sealed in your ears properly, they win hands down because they're just better as far as sound quality is concerned.

 

[hiredgoons]

Etymotic ER6is are something like $80 on Amazon, they sound great, and if you get them sealed properly you can't hear anything except your music. They actually let you listen to music at a lower volume, since you don't have to turn it up to drown out ambient noise the way you do with open cans.

 

[DivideBYZero]

I have just bought some Sennhieser MX300's and I can't hear anything outside with them on(and some music playing).

EDIT: Plus they sound fantastic.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Originally posted by: hiredgoons
Etymotic ER6is are something like $80 on Amazon, they sound great, and if you get them sealed properly you can't hear anything except your music. They actually let you listen to music at a lower volume, since you don't have to turn it up to drown out ambient noise the way you do with open cans.

:thumbsup: Awesome recommendation. A friend of mine had problems with the cord on his pair though, so make sure you baby them if you buy them.