Noise Cancelling Headphones

[Olde Bill]

OK PMP owners, I'd really appreciate your thoughts on noise cancelling headphones. Do they work? How well? Under what conditions- transit (bus/subway) commuting - airplanes - ignoring your spouse/kids in the car? What would you get if you had the chance to do it again.

Me, I'm considering a pair of Sennheiser PXC-250s for commuter train and airplane use.

Thanx!

[CrowdAds]

[jedipunk]

I would like something for my rider lawn mower.

[Glasstream15]

I have a cheap pair of Phillips NC phones. I'm sure the sound quality of the Senns is far better than the Phillips, but the active noise canceling works very well on an airplane.

And I do have 2 pair of Senns, both far better than the Phillips but not active NC.

[winste2]

I just bought a pair of Senn's CX300. They are in-the-ear but when I have them in, I can hear nothing else. I can hear/feel the beat of my own heart if the player is turned off. They may not be noice cancelling but they do eliminate outside noise.

[atrax]

Go to Creative's site, and wait for the ad for their new ZEN headphones to come up, they're a bit expensive at $100 US, but they're definatley worth it.

[Olde Bill]

Originally Posted by atrax

Go to Creative's site, and wait for the ad for their new ZEN headphones to come up, they're a bit expensive at $100 US, but they're definatley worth it.

Thanks. I tried but couldn't find a set of "ZEN" headphones. The best I could come up with are HN-700s and the street price on these seems to be as low as mid-$50s. Do you have these or have you seen a review for these?

Cheers,
Olde Bill

[xinzhitan14]

are you after headphones only?? or are you after earbud/earphones. because most headphones are active noise cancelling.. which get a sample of noise outside and play it in a continous loop iirc. passive noise cancelling earphones are probably the best because they block out the most sound and generally have more better sound quality than normal earphones.

[atrax]

Sony have some good ones, wrap-around ones, and noise cancelling. Im saving up for a pair at the moment aswell, though they cost about $100 AUD. Oh well, heres the link:

link

[Olde Bill]

Originally Posted by xinzhitan14

are you after headphones only??or are you after earbud/earphones

Hmm, now you've gotten me thinking. My initial thoughts were to go with on or over ear active noise cancelling headphones. I'm thinking of using them on my daily commuter train ride, the odd plane trip, and -if lucky- while running my lawnmower around. My expecations are to reduce the level of ambient noise and therefore allow me to listen to audio books/music at more reasonable levels & with greater enjoyment.

Now that I see your note, I have to think about my initial bias against ear canal phones. I think I'm going to consider ruling earbud (not ear canal) phone out as I'm not convinced these will work.

Thanks for making me step back and re-think.

[Olde Bill]

Originally Posted by atrax

Sony have some good ones, wrap-around ones, and noise cancelling. Im saving up for a pair at the moment aswell, though they cost about $100 AUD.

Thanks atrax. It seems the "Bose QuietComfort 2" is the Gold standard against which all others are measured. So, are we talking the NC50s or NC6s? And can you share what the top 3 considerations were for you?

[EnzoTen]

Originally Posted by Olde Bill

Thanks atrax. It seems the "Bose QuietComfort 2" is the Gold standard against which all others are measured. So, are we talking the NC50s or NC6s? And can you share what the top 3 considerations were for you?

Bose are crap. Referring to Bose as a "gold standard" would send any audiophile off in to a long rant. You are paying for the brand name.

You are better off with an IEM than a noise canceling headphone. Check out dfkt's IEM guide.

IEM are basically earplugs with speakers in them that will block out all exterior noises allowing the volume to be played at relatively low volume levels.

Noise canceling headphones like the bose and some of the sony's work by monitoring the exterior noise and then playing back that noise out of phase so that the exterior noise gets canceled out when it reaches your ears.

[Glasstream15]

I can't use in ear phones. Just don't work for me. I've tried numerous brands, including Ety's, and all I get is a massive headach. I also can't use those little foam ear plugs. So noise cancelling is my only option, and the Phillips that I got at Target work. No they do not sound like my HD600s. They are almost as good as my KSC35s. But they do what I need which is turn down ambient noise.

[atrax]

Out of the NC50s or the NC6s I would go for the NC50s, even if they are a fair amount more expensive,they have alot more features, better sound output, and seal around your whole ears, so they'd be your best bet.

[Olde Bill]

Originally Posted by EnzoTen

Bose are crap. Referring to Bose as a "gold standard" would send any audiophile off in to a long rant. You are paying for the brand name.

You are better off with an IEM than a noise canceling headphone. Check out dfkt's IEM guide.

OK, I got over my bias against canal phones, thanks for making me look hard and for the link. I'm supposed to be getting Creative EP-630 earphones via eBay. With pricing in GBP (UK Pounds) and the vendor in actually in Shanghai, we'll see what arrives.

As for Bose, "gold standard" could easily refer to the amount of gelt needed to acquire these as they're still weighing in at around USD $200.

Edit

The Creative's came in, they seem authentic and sound good. The train commute was much quieter so I'm looking forward to seeing how these perform on airplanes and with lawn mowing.