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Noise Cancelling Headphones

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I have the Shure's... and they are AWESOME! But they don't disguise the airplane noise NEARLY as welll as something with Noise Cancelling.

And Bose is overpriced, but the Noise Cancelling earphones aren't crap. They work. And as far as the opinions of a bunch of audiophiles.... Noise Cancelling IS going to mess with the sound quality. That's a given. But ANYTHING is better than the sound of music + airplane. So I'd rather go the noise cancelling route.
 
Originally posted by: Gurck
Originally posted by: sheik124
Originally posted by: Gurck
Originally posted by: sheik124
Originally posted by: Gurck
As always, I'd also recommend staying away from Sony.
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Out of curiosity, do you mind me asking if you've ever even listened to the MDR-EX51, 71, or MDR-NC11A?
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My reasoning is that Sony never fails to overprice their products, they're usually of lower than average quality and that nobody should support unethical companies.
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Well, my MDR-EX51LP were only 25 bucks from Amazon, and for 25 dollars I have never heard anything better sounding in my life.
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What high fidelity headphones have you heard?
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I said 25 dollars, not high fidelity
 
I went to Target.. Couldn't find any Philips on Clearance, but I found the HN060's for $49.95, which was how much they were at different places on line so I just bought those. 😛

Figured I'd make the trip worth wild. 😉

 
I like my Shure earbuds. I use them at work and people generally have to shake me to get my attention..

I am using them this Wednesday on a business trip via airplane so I'll let you know how they do in that scenario.
 
Originally posted by: jonnyGURU
I have the Shure's... and they are AWESOME! But they don't disguise the airplane noise NEARLY as welll as something with Noise Cancelling.
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Are you positive you're getting a proper seal? Ears vary quite a bit between people in the area these fit, many people have trouble achieving a seal and have to go through the various tips they come with until they find a good one. Further, many claim the tips need a breakin period of a few weeks of casual to moderate usage for the seal to fit 100% properly. There are even aftermarket tips available for people with really bizarro ears who can't get a seal with any of the stock tips. Signs of an improper seal are weak bass and the ability to clearly hear outside noise, particularly high frequencies.
 
Originally posted by: Gurck
Bose is crap, check out this link for a good read on them. Noise-cancelling works in theory, but in reality cancels less noise than a good seal, which you can get with closed full size headphones, or canalphones such as Shure's entry-level e2c model, which retails for $60-$70. As an added bonus, their sound quality is excellent - actually I'm picking up a pair soon myself. To the point that you'll easily notice any flaws which the recording/encoding of your music may have. Nice thing about canalphones is their portability; they're about as big as earbuds - though that's where the similarities end.
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ooohhh.. i love the scientific evidence your buddy presents.... pay attention ladies and gentlemen..

"The truth is that generally the companies that make the best electronics, tend to make the worst speakers."


you expect people to take you seriously ???
 
Originally posted by: DeeKnow
ooohhh.. i love the scientific evidence your buddy presents.... pay attention ladies and gentlemen..

"The truth is that generally the companies that make the best electronics, tend to make the worst speakers."


you expect people to take you seriously ???
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I'd say the entire audiophile community is to be taken quite seriously on sound quality, yes. I merely linked to one example.
 
My signal processing prof talked a minute about them. IIRC they work by nulling unwanted sounds by making a sound wave of the same frequency, etc but is opposite 180° or something, and it cancels the sound out, pretty neat. I wouldn't get a cheap pair, because yeah they could easily screw up since theres a lot of signal circuitry in there that might null out wanted sounds.
 
Canal phones are the way to go.

Spend the money on quality sound + high isolation rather than active noise cancellation.

If you already have Shure's that's about as good as it's going to get.

Viper GTS
 
The Philips fit in my ear the same way as my Shure's, but DOES cancel out noise.

There's a difference between cancelling noise, drowning out noise and plugging your ears, guys. 😉

The Shure's are definitely a snug fit, but you can still hear things outside unless the music is turned up beyond a comfortable level (comfortable level being a personal preference, of course.)

Sure, I could crank up the tunes and drown out EVERYTHING, but I've got to admit I'm pretty impressed with these Philips. The frequency response is pretty damn good (very surprised that the low end reproduction is as good as it is.) I do have to use my MP3 player's EQ more often (actually having to crank up the treble more often than anything,) but I can get an end result that's almost as good as my Shure's.

And I've already fallen in love with the noise cancelling. It only cuts out what seems to be 800 Hz and below, so I can still hear people talk, sirens, explosions, etc. But I don't hear that droning noise produced by jet engines.

I gave my wife the Shures, but then she wanted to know what the Philips were about. I let her try them in the kitchen and she immediately noticed the sound of the refrigerator disappeared. Now she wants a pair. :disgust: Great! She want the regular earphone type, though. At least she doesn't have a trip until Thurday. So I have until then to find another pair at a better price. 😛
 
Originally posted by: Gurck
As always, I'd also recommend staying away from Sony.
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I wouldn't always say that. I mean Sony usually makes crappy stuff at the consumer level but the MDR-EX71 is considered alright for the $30 or so it goes for. But I agree with you on the Shure E2c and I think if he can stretch his budget the ER6-i is one to get.

As a side note high-end Sony can actually be very good like the $5000 SCD-1 SACD player or their $3000 headphones which are considered pretty good even for the price.
 
Originally posted by: duragezic
My signal processing prof talked a minute about them. IIRC they work by nulling unwanted sounds by making a sound wave of the same frequency, etc but is opposite 180° or something, and it cancels the sound out, pretty neat. I wouldn't get a cheap pair, because yeah they could easily screw up since theres a lot of signal circuitry in there that might null out wanted sounds.
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It can never be perfect since it can't predict what it needs to cancel, so there will be time delay. Maybe with a constant drone it can time shift to cancel correctly, but for sure it is fvcking with your sound quality. However if you listen to mp3s, then I guess it doesn't really matter since MP3 encoding already fvcked with your sound.
 
it works with low freq, not high. the headphones themslves have to have a good physical seal to muffle the rest. and well the mics are very close to the speakers
 
Yeah, but that's Ok. It drowns out what needs to be drowned out.

I was using them doing yard work and it was cool. I couldn't hear the Wet Dry vac, but could hear the string trimmer. I could hear the lawn mower, but only barely (just heard the >800 or so frequency.) I walked past the AC Heat Pump and heard NOTHING! That was freaky. If the fan wasn't blowing the lid up, I would've sworn it was off! And then when my wife came out to tell me that dinner was ready, I could hear her just fine.

They work very well. 😉
 
Originally posted by: jonnyGURU
Yeah, but that's Ok. It drowns out what needs to be drowned out.

I was using them doing yard work and it was cool. I couldn't hear the Wet Dry vac, but could hear the string trimmer. I could hear the lawn mower, but only barely (just heard the >800 or so frequency.) I walked past the AC Heat Pump and heard NOTHING! That was freaky. If the fan wasn't blowing the lid up, I would've sworn it was off! And then when my wife came out to tell me that dinner was ready, I could hear her just fine.

They work very well. 😉
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Agreed, I want to hear certain sounds on an airplane (e.g. the overhead announcements). But, watching dvds on my laptop without my noise-cancelling headphones meant that I had to crank the volume up to an unsafe level.

For those who really want to block out all noise, I've heard that the isolater earplug headphones (ER-6, I believe?) are excellent. Otherwise, I will vouch for the Bose headphones. They're really good at blocking out noise.

I think this is a case of where going to the store is a great idea. Try the headphones out and see how much background noise gets blocked out, how comfortable they are (very important), and how small they compress if you use them for travelling.
 
To digress from noise canceling woes, could anyone recommend the most in-ear stable plugs for athletes or such? Of course noise-canceling is a good incentive but making sure they don't fall out and are comfortable is a bit more important, so any ideas?
 
Well, after a few hours of researching, I've found for gym rats and runners the Sony MDR-A35G are the best phones on the market at the moment.
 
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