[kiwibuddy]

I am looking for a pair of noise-cancelling headphones that will best suit my traveling (12 hour flights) and in-home needs (plugged into my laptop). I am specifically looking for a pair of noise-cancelling headphones under four criteria:
 
1. Comfort
2. Sound quality (not a bass junkie, but i prefer a pair that can hit both high and low frequencies in a crisp, refined manner)
3. Portability (one that is not amped preferably)
4. Price (anything under $350 because I still need money to go out, get drunk, and get laid)
 
With those out of the way, I listen to a broad range of music. Here is a list of sample bands I listen to:
Indie:           the xx, Phantogram, Radiohead, among others.
Electronic:   Kaskade, Deadmau5, Kitsune Compliations, Tiesto, Freetempo, among others.
 
I've recently been looking at the Denon AH-NC800s and the Shure SE535's (I understand these run around 500 a pair, but I'm willing to buy them if they can last me 3+years), but that is because I'm only familiar with these two brands. That means your recommendations with pros and cons of each product you suggest would help me immensely. Again, thank you once again for your help.
 
- k 

 

[Trysaeder]

Most people here don't have a lot of experience with NC phones, so I'll paraphrase a headphone store owner who's known to be honest with his opinions.
 
Audio technica ANC 7b.

 

[nickchen]

Agreed. I have the old ANC7, and I am very content with sound, grooving factor, noise cancelling and comfort. Especially NC is lighyears stronger than passive closed solutions.
 
Don't expect highest res though, guess a HD800 resolution isn't makeable together with active NC.

 

[chrisjackson]

Only ones I've noticed mentioned here are Goldring NS1000, probably 'cos they're oddly low priced here in UK at £50 or so (Amazon.com has them for $300; holy moly). They work with noise cancellation off and someone on these forums felt they could get better sound from them by switching off noise cancellation and using external amp. 
Would that budget be in NZ or US dollars? (OK I know not huge difference). 
 
Quote:

Most people here don't have a lot of experience with NC phones

 

[swbf2cheater]

this age thing must stop, even though its funny as hell

 

[chrisjackson]

Agreed; age is irrelevant and makes HeadFi look like a lonely hearts forum. What we all need to know is whether posters are looking for straight...
or coiled 

Quote:

this age thing must stop, even though its funny as hell

 

[kiwibuddy]

Haha, I saw the 13 year old's post, and thought that this was the norm here. I should have included my gender and sexual preference for kicks (I feel like i'm in middle school again). Yes, the dinero sign is in US dollars and not kiwi dollars.

 

[kiwibuddy]

 
Quote:

Agreed. I have the old ANC7, and I am very content with sound, grooving factor, noise cancelling and comfort. Especially NC is lighyears stronger than passive closed solutions.
 
Don't expect highest res though, guess a HD800 resolution isn't makeable together with active NC.

That's interesting that you would recommend the ANC7's. I'll definitely probe into these headphones and read up on reviews. In the meantime, does NC compensate for a lot of the sound quality of normal headphone sound production per say? I'm a novice to this audio stuff, so your info would be highly appreciated.

 

[nickchen]

Before I had the ANC7, I used the AKG K271 in situations when I needed silence. That AKG is an audiophile monster in comparison (and it's one of the better passive blockers), but that didn't help, as too much outer noice still intruded into the music. The bottom line is that the ANC7 provides the double amount of musical details than the "better" big AKG, simply due to its monstrous NC.