Noise cancelling earphones
Discussion
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Bought some of these cheap Philips jobs - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-SHN2600-10-Cancell... - for a long haul flight. They worked well enough that the Other Half knicked them (after scoffing at their likely use when I bought them).
So now I get to buy another pair - or better! - for myself. Any recommendations of something a step up from these? Purely for travel use, so I don't want the chunkier over-ear style of phones.
TIA...
Bought some of these cheap Philips jobs - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-SHN2600-10-Cancell... - for a long haul flight. They worked well enough that the Other Half knicked them (after scoffing at their likely use when I bought them).
So now I get to buy another pair - or better! - for myself. Any recommendations of something a step up from these? Purely for travel use, so I don't want the chunkier over-ear style of phones.
TIA...
Head over to head-fi or somewhere similar.
I have Shure 215's which are excellent and available at around £75. They have the kevlar reinforced cable near the ear piece to prevent the wire breaking at its weakest and most flexed point. They dramatically reduce background noise if correctly fitted with the appropriate sized pad. I rarely have the volume over half way which shows they do their job. They are very effective on long haul flights.
completetangent said:
Do the passive IEMs really work? I feel a bit suspicious of the claims. I do know that even the low-cost active ones I bought did a pretty good job, so that's my benchmark to improve upon.
The 'buds' block a lot of noise out all by themselves, and the noise reducing effect is somewhat marginal, but in 'planes it gets rid of that roar of the engines quite well. I used a Sony pair, bought for about $80, no idea what model or number. They are a godsend on long flights. A few months ago I tried to use standard issue airline garbage headphones, what an utter waste of space they are. I fly Manila to Houston, or the other way, every five weeks. I'd die without my headphones.
As much as everyone hates them, I can't see past Bose for noise cancelling headphones. I use Sennheiser IE80 earbuds for day to day use and they blow my Bose QC15s out of the water for sound quality, but I always choose the Bose for flying because the active noise cancellation is so much better, and I generally only watch films or sleep with them on anyway.
A cheaper alternative is the Goldring NS1000. The noise cancelling isn't as good as Bose, but it is still fine and the actual sound quality is as good whilst being about a quarter of the price.
A cheaper alternative is the Goldring NS1000. The noise cancelling isn't as good as Bose, but it is still fine and the actual sound quality is as good whilst being about a quarter of the price.
richwig83 said:
pi100 said:
you can try beats studio headphones, perfect sound!
Worst headphones every made? Quite possibly....For noise cancelling ability, nothing holds a candle to Bose QC15. Yes, the sound quality overall is slightly disappointing, although better than most mainstream products. Switch on the noise cancelling, and it's fantastic; very little outside noise gets in. At £300 they ain't cheap, but they're excellent. For under £200 AKG do a pretty nice range, but for decent noise cancellation, you won't find much in the lower end of the market (that's much good!)
Ask a sound engIneer and they'd probably say Audio Technica...
Wonderful headphones....but not cheap!
http://www.audiotechnicashop.com/index.php?route=c...
Wonderful headphones....but not cheap!
http://www.audiotechnicashop.com/index.php?route=c...
From a post on my website about headphone hype.
At the last count I have about 12 pairs of headphones, from lightweight ones, in-ear buds, semi-open types, to a professional, German made pair that are built like a tank, weigh just as much and make you look like a Cyberman when you wear them.
I have others that close the outside world off so well they also cut off any air circulation around your ears, meaning that your head is cooking after 10 minutes of wearing them.
Continue reading http://goo.gl/KXISb
At the last count I have about 12 pairs of headphones, from lightweight ones, in-ear buds, semi-open types, to a professional, German made pair that are built like a tank, weigh just as much and make you look like a Cyberman when you wear them.
I have others that close the outside world off so well they also cut off any air circulation around your ears, meaning that your head is cooking after 10 minutes of wearing them.
Continue reading http://goo.gl/KXISb
I have a pair of Shure EC2s - in-ear noise-isolating earphones and they are, IMHO, absolutely superb. Awesome sound with incredible separation. The noise isolation is amazing too - when the music stops, all I can hear is my breathing! Very highly recommended. Though I'm not sure you can still get them but check out whatever replaced them. Approx. £80 IIRC.
King Herald said:
How good is noise cancelling for random intermittent noises, such as people talking, babies crying etc? The cheapie ones I have used are great for removing the oppressive background jet roar on planes, but random noises seem to get through easily enough.
Not good. Because of the way the work (microphone detecting outside sounds and send an opposite signal to cancel them out) they tend to be best with constant sounds.For intermittent noises, you are best off getting a pair of isolating IEMs which reduce background noise just be virtue of the 'seal' they make in your ear canal to stop other noises getting through.
kingston12 said:
Not good. Because of the way the work (microphone detecting outside sounds and send an opposite signal to cancel them out) they tend to be best with constant sounds.
For intermittent noises, you are best off getting a pair of isolating IEMs which reduce background noise just be virtue of the 'seal' they make in your ear canal to stop other noises getting through.
I thought that would be the case, whether you spend £40, or £400. I have progressed from a couple of different over-ear headphones to Sony in-ear buds, and the buds are definitly more practical (and efficient) for the hours and hours I spend flying. For intermittent noises, you are best off getting a pair of isolating IEMs which reduce background noise just be virtue of the 'seal' they make in your ear canal to stop other noises getting through.
I'd love to do a decibel reading on some 'planes I have flown on, as I am sure they are way above the allowable legal noise level for long term exposure.
I've just flown LHR-LAX and back again and out of curiosity nabbed my wife's grossly expensive Bose things, and also took my Philips IEMs. I sit in a studio all day, and nothing is going to match up to that level of sound quality (and certainly never Bose) but I thought it'd be an interesting exercise. I ended up concluding that for overall noise reduction there was next to naff all in it - the seal on the £20 Philips is perfectly adequate for my ear shape, and the general sound was better than the over-ear Bose. Transients went straight through both, and the only way I could block anything more out was to wear the Bose with earplugs underneath!
These things are incredible:
http://www.atomicfloyd.com/superdarts
Expensive, yes, but as close to being sat there in the recording studio as I've yet to experience.
Combine with something like the Denon App (assuming music played from an Apple Phone) and the sound quality is genuinely quite awesome.
http://www.atomicfloyd.com/superdarts
Expensive, yes, but as close to being sat there in the recording studio as I've yet to experience.
Combine with something like the Denon App (assuming music played from an Apple Phone) and the sound quality is genuinely quite awesome.
GentlePersuasion said:
These things are incredible:
http://www.atomicfloyd.com/superdarts
Expensive, yes, but as close to being sat there in the recording studio as I've yet to experience.
Combine with something like the Denon App (assuming music played from an Apple Phone) and the sound quality is genuinely quite awesome.
Can't argue with that. They are superb, but not cheap.http://www.atomicfloyd.com/superdarts
Expensive, yes, but as close to being sat there in the recording studio as I've yet to experience.
Combine with something like the Denon App (assuming music played from an Apple Phone) and the sound quality is genuinely quite awesome.
I have never got on with the active cancelling over ear things, so picked up a pair of these this week which i LOVE. Different sized rubbers in the box and once I got the right fit I can have moderate volume and couldn't hear a word the wife was saying from 2m away, or hear any of the crap she was watching on the TV.
http://www.beoplay.com/Products/BeoplayH3#at-a-gla...
The build quality and sound are superb, but being honest the isolation was a bit too much for me and I think I will give these to the wife and stick with my older A8s. I prefer being at least a bit aware of whats going on around me, so I can hear kids calling from other room, smoke alarms etc.
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