Nice advertisement 
Skullcandy, Bose under recommended headphones, seriously?
Nice advertisement 
Skullcandy, Bose under recommended headphones, seriously?
For air travel/subway, etc...the QC15s are pretty good actually. They isolate very well (if you can't use IEMs), they're super comfortable and sound pretty good right out of your source (a great thing for travelling as who wants to drag along a LOD+portable amp when you're on the go). Tyll even put it on his Wall of Fame for noise cancellers. I prefer it on a plane over my DT1350s for the much better isolation and added comfort. BTW, I'm dead serious. 
The headphone recommendation section is pretty good, thanks for taking the time and creating this, at least i have an idea on whats my next purchase.
Bose has never sponsored Head-Fi. Bose did not advertise in the guide.
Skullcandy has never sponsored Head-Fi. Skullcandy did not advertise in the guide.
Find me a consumer headphone with more effective active noise cancellation than the Bose QC15. The QC15 sounds good for an active noise canceler too, especially when it's used where it shines most--on planes, trains, buses, in data centers, etc. It's also light on the head, and super comfortable for extended wear.
Have you tried the Mix Master Mike or the Aviator? If you did, and did not like them, then we simply disagree. If you haven't...

Find me a consumer headphone with more effective active noise cancellation than the Bose QC15. The QC15 sounds good for an active noise canceler too, especially when it's used where it shines most--on planes, trains, buses, in data centers, etc. It's also light on the head, and super comfortable for extended wear.
I totally agree with you here Jude. 
Where have you been, buddy?
Skullcandy's Mix-Master, Roc Nation Aviator, and even the Hesh 2 are pretty substantial-sounding headphones considering their history. Just look at Tyll's Skullcandy articles (links in the previous sentence). You should really give them a try when you can.
Bose is an excellent headphone for their active-noise-cancelling technology. As Jude already said, try to find a headphone that does the same, or better, job at noise cancellation. Not even Tyll could fine one; article.
Thanks for putting together a comprehensive guide to available hardware for the Head-Fi'er. I'm still on the hunt for a headset for my Asus® CM-1630 with EAH6850 DirectCU® video and XONAR® Essence™ STX audio, and in the new guide I found at least one candidate for follow-up in terms of hardware specifications. Given the 10.7Ω source impedance of the STX' headphone amp, I'm after a model in the 100-250Ω impedance range; 600Ω might be taking a chance with known issues in the negative supply for the STX' headphone and operational amps.
(The XONAR® Essence™ One, a USB 2.0 DAC/amplifier, is definitely a playback-only device, but may sound better on a given headset than any of ASUSTeK's current PCI 2.2 and PCI-Express x1 offerings due to a dedicated power supply that probably has a true balanced power feed to the onboard amps.)
Very nice looking guide!
really enjoyed reading this, thanks
thanks alot this was so helpful
Enjoyable read! Thanks.
Thanks Jude - really enjoyable read.
Unfortunately may eventually lead me to looking again at the Bifrost & Valhalla (must resist!)
Had one real smile - and that was the Fiio advert in the 2nd page of summit-fi. Nice :)
Boses are the best choice if one MUST get noise-cancelling.
The Mixmasters and Aviators appear to be the 2 models that are actually pretty decent!
thanks for that buying guide. I am now tempted to spend a couple of 100$ and buy Trumpet to replace my 262
THANKS!