[ched999uk]

My partner is very noise sensitive (long story) and we have neighbours that play loudish music during the day, council are dealing but it will take time to resolve. The music can be heard through closed double glazing! 
 
So I am trying to find some headphones that will block as much noise as possible for her. The way I understand it noise cancelling is mainly for low frequency rumble type noise. So I am thinking that noise isolating headphones might be best. Unfortunately she cant get on with IEM type headphones so I think over ear ones would be best. Size not a problem as she wont be wearing them outdoors.
 
As she hopefully wont need them indefinitely so we don't want to pay too much. If there are a pair of cans that are outstanding at noise isolation we may push the budget.
 
I have a very old pair of Goldring NS1000 noise cancelling phones that she likes and are comfy but the noise cancelling bit is iffy (bad connection that I can't find!) and while they are reasonable at noise isolation they could do with being a bit more isolating.
 
So is no audiofile by any means so no1 priority is noise isolation, no2 is comfort.
 
Anyway budget £100 but could be stretched if absolutely necessary.
 
Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[samvafaei]

The Bose QC 25 and Parrot Zik 2.0 (cheaper than the new Zik 3.0) are both very good sounding and great at isolation (both high and low frequencies). The Panasonic RP-HC800 is not as good sounding or as comfortable than the other two, but is as good in noise isolation.
 
If earbuds (not IEMs) are an option, then the Bose QC20 would also be a great choice. A bit too dark sounding for my taste though.
 
I think these might be bit above your budget, but maybe you can find a good second hand somewhere?

 

[ched999uk]

Cheers for the reply. After reading lots of reviews we decided to get the bose QC35. From what I have read they would appear to offer the best noise cancellation (low and mids) of any headphones available.
 
We have been testing my old Goldring NS1000 and the missses is quite impressed. So we blew the budget to try and get even better noise cancellation. I am getting desperate so thought the Bose would be the best bet to cut down on the noise. We were going to go for the QC25 but for the extra ££ the bluetooth of the QC35 will come in handy. 
 
Thanks again, I will report back when they arrive.

 

[samvafaei]

No problem, you can't go wrong with the QC35.

 

[ched999uk]

QC35 arrived   Well collected from Currys, only ordered 17:43 yesterday and they arrived in store at 10am, with free instore or home delivery!
 
Overall impression is they are very good at noise cancelling and good sound quality.
Noise Cancelling:
In comparison to my old Goldring NS1000 the QC35 are better at low frequency reduction but are massively better at mid frequency noise reduction. The NS1000 doesn't reduce voice sound very much at all but the QC35 really reduce speech massively. So much so that when they are on and music at medium volume is on I cant hear the misses talk
Sound Quality:
Only a quick test with a cable to my phone playing Hello from Adel as flac track. NS1000 sound good with the noise cancelling on (need powerful source for no noise cancelling as 300Ohms). The QC35 are substantially better. Their bass is much better, it's not overpowering but it seems more natural. I would guess the low frequency response is better on the QC35. Mids and treble are better on the QC35 but not massively.
 
I think the noise cancelling on the QC35 is much more efficient when they have music or tv playing on them rather than no sound input. It's almost like they need some sound input to be able to work at their best at cancelling exterior noise.
 
Overall very impressed. Are they worth 4x the price of a new pair of Goldring NS1000 I'm not sure. Saying that for the problem we have (neighbours playing loud music with heir windows open) the QC35 do a great job much better than the NS1000 at blocking external music sounds.
Plus they are bluetooth and misses is very happy that she can listen to music on her phone without any cables when she is doing pilaties or using the treadmill.
 
I am no audio expert but I like nice sound. My normal headphones are Sennheiser HD558, Grado SR60, Goldring NS1000 and my old faithful Sennheiser PX200 mk1.
 
Not had chance to compare the QC35 against the my others but I might not as the qc35 are not mine and I don't want to be pining for some if they sound significantly better than my normal cans

 

[samvafaei]

Glad you like them. I think in terms of frequency response, the QC35 is better than the 558 and the SR60, but the soundstage may not be as pleasant, because of the QC35's isolation. The other down side is that they only sound their best when they are turned on, when turned off, the active EQ disengages and the frequency response suffers a bit.