Which headphones for flying? EDIT: Got the Phillips HN060, excellent!

[aphex]

One thing i hated last time i went to europe was the big ass headphones i brought with me...

While im happy with the SQ from my apple buds, it dosent isolate outside sound all too well and im worried in the loud airplane, i'll have to turn it up pretty damn loud...

Should i go for some canal phones like E2C's? What about noise cancelling ones? Do they work?

 

[MithShrike]

E2Cs are good. As are AKG K271S. I am actually looking to get rid of my AKG K271S.

 

[aphex]

Well i tried the Sony 71's from CC and found they gave me a headache... I dunno if it was the tinny sound, or the headphones themselves....

Think any canal phone would do the same to me?

 

[sniperruff]

the apple buds blow. i suggest a decent pair of sony V6 or a cheap pair of senns HD-497. the 497 is open-air, but it isolates sound reasonably well.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: sniperruff
the apple buds blow. i suggest a decent pair of sony V6 or a cheap pair of senns HD-497. the 497 is open-air, but it isolates sound reasonably well.

I didnt think i've ever heard open air and isolate sound in the same sentence before

I had an old pair of HS202's but they were kinda big...

 

[dc]

if your cheap... koss the plug. $10-20

 

[OREOSpeedwagon]

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: sniperruff
the apple buds blow. i suggest a decent pair of sony V6 or a cheap pair of senns HD-497. the 497 is open-air, but it isolates sound reasonably well.

I didnt think i've ever heard open air and isolate sound in the same sentence before

I had an old pair of HS202's but they were kinda big...

i've got the HD497's and, while people around you can clearly hear what you're listening to, it does cancel out sound really well. I've had them on while I was on the computer and my dad was nearly yelling right behind me and I couldnt even hear him. I've never tried them on a plane but I would guess they would be fine. Plus the sound is great!

 

[aphex]

Thanks guys, any more opinions?

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: sniperruff
i suggest a decent pair of sony V6

Those are generally considered decent, but nothing special, and overpriced.

Originally posted by: OREOSpeedwagon
i've got the HD497's and, while people around you can clearly hear what you're listening to, it does cancel out sound really well. I've had them on while I was on the computer and my dad was nearly yelling right behind me and I couldnt even hear him. I've never tried them on a plane but I would guess they would be fine. Plus the sound is great!

497s are open and so don't attenuate outside noise at all. You couldn't hear your father because of the music, not due to any isolation from the cans. If it wasn't playing you'd have had no trouble hearing him.

OP, e2cs offer good attenuation, but nothing magical. My 280s block out quite a bit more. Here's a recent post about this. It's noteworthy that the OP had & enjoyed e2cs but wanted something better for plane rides, and was happy with the noise cancelling ones he ended up buying. Just don't buy the Bose ones, for chrissake

 

[KevinF]

Ah... don't get the HD497. They're open air. I own them. They only isolate in the sense that they play loud music.

I have a pair of Etymotic ER-4ps that I use at home and on the plane. They're perfect in home use. They also isolate very, very well on planes (I recommend using the foam tips over the silicone). Thing is, that the engine and background noises cancel out a lot of the lower bass frequencies that they normally never have a problem reproducing.

So, they still sound great, but the bass is really rolled off when I listen to them on a plane. I assume the Shure canalphones are the same way.

Even without the bass, they still sound and isolate better than Bose's.

 

[jonnyGURU]

I got the Philips noise cancelling buds at Target for about $40. AWESOME for planes. NOT bulky at all.

I made a similar thread a couple weeks ago and it was the same thing. Every one was suggesting decent earbuds, but they don't cancel the noise of the jets.

"If they're good quality earphones, you can turn them up and drown out the plane."

Umm.. Yeah. And drown out EVERYTHING ELSE.

I want to listen to music at a NORMAL level and be able to hear what I need to hear.

With the noise cancelling, things like someone talking to you, announcements over the overhead, etc. aren't cancelled. Just the droning noise of the jets.

I've even started wearing them while doing yard work. Can't hear the mower. Can barely hear the string trimmer. But I can hear my wife or daughter call me if they need me.

You do lose some sound quality with the noise cancelling. It screws with the dynamic range of whatever it's plugged into, but I used the EQ on my MP3 player to compensate.

 

[aphex]

Thanks for all the excellent info guys...

Gonna take a quick trip over to Target to see what they have, i know ive seen those phillips noise cancelling ones there before, in fact, i think ive even seem them at walmart...

If their not up to my liking, i may try out the Shure's from buy.com (only $60 shipped free).

Are those two my best bets for the following;

1) Listening to on an airplane
2) Sound Reproduction
3) Portability

?

 

[Rudee]

I travel all the time and I use the Sony EX-71's with my RIO Carbon when music is playing. filters out outside sound very well as they are 'in-ear' buds, but you need to find the proper size that fits your ear.

 

[jonnyGURU]

I have the Shures as my "regular" phones.

Again: Shove them as far in your ear as possible and turn up the music and all you're doing is drowning out the whole world around you. They work for that.

And if that's what you want....

Noise cancelling is a pretty cool concept. Way better than taking good phones and cranking them up all of the way.

 

[aphex]

Just wanted to report back...

Went to target and was sad to find out there was no more Phillips HN060's left under the tag $29.99 (pricecut from $49.99).

Found a rep who checked inventory, one set left in the back, so i got it.

Lemme just say this... HOLY CRAP! THIS SH!T WORKS!!!

Even w/o my ipod connected, just using the headphones w/o any source, if i stand infront of my A/C with the phones in, i can still hear the A/C.... Turn on the noise cancelling and BAM, its gone.... WOW, i turned it on and off about 10 times, amazed each time on how it just dissappeared...

Also, music sounds excellent on these things. Im sure the E2C's would be a little cleaner, but these are very crisp, have excellent bass, and most imporantly, block out all the outside noise....

THANKS GUYS! I owe ya one!

 

[klah]

HN060 are decent.