A penny for your thoughts about noise canceling IEMs...

[Young Spade]

I would stay away from noise cancelling in IEMs or regular headphones. For IEMs you don't need them to be honest; the actual tips will muffle out most if not all sound in regular environments.

After turned on you're definitely not going to be hearing anything else going on.

 

[paulypaul]

Some IEMs isolate better than others depending on the fit & the Tips.
Ive heard the Etys er6 with the bi flange is one of the best.
Of the 3 I have.
Klipsch X5 - Great Isolation (deep insertion, but they are very comfortable and easy to fit)
RE0 - Good isolation
Rain - Fair isolation
Both the X5 & the RE0 come with single and Bi Flange tips.
The Klipsch were on special at amazon for $149 a few days ago.

 

[lc483]

Just yesterday I purchased the Klipsch IMAGE S4i for my iPhone 3GS. They are $100 and have the 3 button Apple controls.

You might want to check them out.

 

[Didak]

Hi You All!

Thanks for your thoughts!


You have me convinced that noise isolation isn't the way to go.
Ill try to go for something noise isolating and iphone 3gs compatible - like the Klipsch IMAGE S4i. (any better suggestions around 100-150$?)

Do anyone now if they are compatible with shure foam olive tips?
or any other well acknowledged isolating comfort product.

Thank you for your expertize!

 

[DavidMorton]

I'm assuming you mean that people have convinced you that noise cancellation isn't the way to go, and noise isolation is?

For noise cancellation, I personally like the QC15. The sound quality isn't what I would consider abysmal, but it's not amazing either. It does, however, block alot of engine noise. Unfortunately, however, you'll still hear the crying baby.

For noise isolation, the S4 or S4i is a great choice, and should also be "fun" enough for you with it's inherent bassiness.

Be sure to burn in the S4 extensively however. It makes a huge difference.

 

[Didak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMorton /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm assuming you mean that people have convinced you that noise cancellation isn't the way to go, and noise isolation is?

Yes, thats what I meant...

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMorton /img/forum/go_quote.gif For noise cancellation, I personally like the QC15. The sound quality isn't what I would consider abysmal, but it's not amazing either. It does, however, block alot of engine noise. Unfortunately, however, you'll still hear the crying baby. For noise isolation, the S4 or S4i is a great choice, and should also be "fun" enough for you with it's inherent bassiness. Be sure to burn in the S4 extensively however. It makes a huge difference.

I,m after IEMs, if not, the qs15 would be a great alternative. (They´re headphones - right?)

Thank for the tip about burning the iems in, and how exactly do you do this?

Put my mp3 player on random for 48 hours?

 

[DavidMorton]

I burned in my S4s by plugging them into my MP3 player, then turning the volume up until it hurt, then taking the headphones out of my ears, turning the music up just a few more notches, then stuffing them in the couch to muffle the noise. It took about a week of doing this every night, and then they sounded great.

 

[paulypaul]

I try to find a song with good kick and bass, turn them up until i feel the driver diaphragm is moving (loud but not damaging) and then take them off and put that song on repeat. IMO with dynamic drivers, it is good to give the drivers diaphragm a good workout, hence solid kick and bass.

 

[grokit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethan961 /img/forum/go_quote.gif All IEMs naturally isolate you from outside noise. Noise cancelling is that artifical electronically generated stuff that Bose generally uses. I wouldn't touch it with a 10ft pole.

I would agree about "active" noise-canceling systems in general, but wanted to share a recent experience that a friend of mine had. He has a new neighbor with an insecure dog that would yap constantly while tied up out front in their shared yard. My friend is home during the day and the dog's barking drove him crazier than usual when he wasn't actively listening to something through his Sennheiser HD450s. So he would put his Bose actives on, and could cancel the frequency of the dog's bark without even listening to anything through the headphones, so no tether needed that way. Just trying to say that there are uses for being able to actively cancel a particular frequency, that's my 2¢

 

[Bassbindevil]

I suspect you get what you pay for with noise canceling 'phones. The best ones will have little DSPs doing the work; cheap ones will just have an op-amp. This may be a (the?) rare case where Bose is worth the money.

I picked up some Philips nc earbuds at a discount store for $13, checked the reviews when I got home, and returned them the next day. Reliability was poor, they were very noisy, and all you got was about 10 dB reduction at 300 Hz. Not what I want when using a disc sander or chain saw.

 

[murfy]

I haven't found anything to be as good as etys but I don't know if you'll like the sound signature.