Noise Cancelling Headphones?
Anyone have any experience with noise cancelling headphones? These are headphones that feature the ability to actively cancel some of the ambient noise around you, which makes them very useful for things like car trips (road noise), flights (engine/cabin noise), etc. I took a flight last weekend for a wedding and, after cranking my 
SP: volume all the way up and still barely being able to hear my movie, I decided I should invest in a set of noise cancelling headphones.
The problem, of course, is what to get? Everyone raves about the Bose ones, but I’m not forking over $200+ for a pair of headphones. At the other end are much cheaper ones such as the Maxell HP-NCII set. In between are sets like the Sennheiser PXC 250. Reading reviews is great and all, but if anyone else out there has some actual hands-on experience (in particular with use during flights) then I’d love to hear about it. So, any suggestions, advice, or warnings?
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Comments
Pete! Good to hear from you.
I’m not too much of a fan of in-the-ear/bud type headphones (or “earphones”, I suppose). They just aren’t comfortable for me for any sort of extended period, and by that I mean anything more than about 30 minutes. I much prefer the more traditional type headphone design.
I’m not a huge audiophile, either, so I’m simply not going to notice if something is a bit lower quality sound than some other people might. I guess my main two desires right now are comfort and quiet/noise-cancellation.
Anyway, right now I’m leaning toward the Sennheiser PXC 250s, which can be found with shipping for around $100.
I too am looking for something similar. The only thing holding me back from the Sennheisers is the size. I travel quite a bit and with cell phone, iPod and laptop I don’t really want to carry anything big. So, for the moment, I am leaning towards the Shure E3Cs.
I’ve read a fair number of reviews and comments from users of different headphones types and several of them mentioned how the Sennheiser set folded down pretty well. The actual earpieces apparently swivel so that when they’re folded in things are flat. It also comes with a small carrying case that holds the headphones/cord as well as a couple of plug adapters and they say there’s room for a couple of spare batteries.
The “Shure” set for me really aren’t high in consideration since they’re in-ear types.
I think what I’m going to do before purchasing any is head out to some stores and see if I can actually try some various models out and see how they perform (and feel!).
I’ve been following Cheap Stingy Bastard and they’ve had a fair number of postings recently that included some noise-cancelling headphones. So, once you decide on a model I’d definitely check there to see if they’ve uncovered any good deals.
Keep in mind the noise-cancelling headphones really only work well with constant noise, so testing them in a store *may* not be adequate.
Well, there’s one way; in the store you have at your disposal a plethora of loud, white noise generators. Put the headphones on, and on the stereo next to the one you’re plugged in to, tune to a radio station that has no broadcast, and crank that static up!
I too was looking for noise cancellation on the “cheap”. I picked up a set of Aiwa’s at the local Best Buy. HP CN6...I think. They were around fifty bucks. They cut noise pretty well...then they add in a small dose of hissing, and top that all off with a nice helping of uncomfortable. They are heavy on your head and the padding in the ear cups is almost nonexistent.
I do quite a bit of long distance travel, so did lots of research for headphones. After trying (and returning) several different brands, I bit the bullet and sprung for the Bose. Best investment I ever made.
Excellent sound quality, great noise cancelling with no hiss, and the big plus is that the nicely padded ear cups go around your ear rather than on top of them. I didn’t have that squashed ear syndrome after many hours of wear. They’re even comfy if you lean up against something to sleep. I didn’t even hear the crying baby (who always seems to follow me on trips). You will still be able to hear any announcements on the plane.
They fold flat and come with a sturdy carrying case that has a pocket for batteries (it uses one AAA that lasts a good long time).
I didn’t even hear the crying baby (who always seems to follow me on trips). You will still be able to hear any announcements on the plane.
Now you’re just making things up. It silences the crying baby, but you can somehow hear the captain’s announcements, that aren’t even audible when you aren’t wearing headphones or listening to music?
"Now you’re just making things up. It silences the crying baby, but you can somehow hear the captain’s announcements, that aren’t even audible when you aren’t we"aring headphones or listening to music? ”
Weird, I know. I think it’s because the crying baby is usually a few rows away, and is in the upper vocal ranges. OK, it’s not completely silenced, but it’s just a faint sound that’s easily ignored, esp. if listening to music. The captain’s announcements come through the speaker closer to the seat so are easier to hear. The reason you usually can’t hear announcements clearly is the incessant drone of the plane noise, which the headphones cancel out.
OK, to clarify--you’re listening to music without plane noise, you hear the announcement coming, you turn off the music to hear the announcement clearly. (The noise cancelling is still on when you turn the music off.)
I don’t mean to sound like a shill for Bose. Just sharing a nice experience.
Makes sense, Babs. I can never hear the captain’s announcements. It’s not just the engine noise, but I have a habit of turning the blower on full blast and pointing it at my face, too. 
What a very interestingly topical… err, topic.
With the recent purchase of my 20G iPod, I also ordered a pair of Etymotic Research ER-6i Earphones. I got them specifically because I wanted something other than the dreadful stock earbuds that come with the pod (of course, never tried the iPod buds, but I didn’t have to… *all* typical earbuds sound no better than a couple of fleas trapped in one’s ear canals). Well, the reviews for the ER-6i buds were very encouraging. The *price* wasn’t ($150), but I figured, for that much green, they must be good. And when I got them, I was indeed impressed… but not $150 impressed.
These buds rely on sound isolation, rather than active noise cancellation. They have layered silicone inserts that effectively seal the ear canal from the outside world. And they do a bang up job of it too, muting the endless droning of my boss before even turning on the music!
But the sound quality, though vastly improved over normal ear buds (and by this I mean substantial bass response… the bane of ear buds everywhere) didn’t quite live up to all the hype and pricing. Good bass, but not great. Spectacularly clear mids and crystaline highs, no doubt, but the bottom end still missed some foundation… and they really couldn’t stomach all the power that the iPod can pump through a set of phones.
Well… I sent em back for a refund, and Apple was most accommodating. I’ve instead reverted to my $25 Sony vertical style in-the-ear headphones for portability, and my Kenwood ‘Princess Leia’ monitors for at-work. But neither has noise cancelling of any kind. I just turn it up!!
So… no suggestions on what to go for. You might actually like the ones I returned, based on your audio needs (mine are quite demanding). But for $150, you might want to continue shopping around first.
By Pete on July 2, 2005 at 07:43pm link