[tight_budget]

Hi guys,

I'm don't listen to music, but am an avid listener of audiobooks and podcasts. Over the years I've used and am still using passive noise isolation earbuds - Sony EX71s, Sharp MD33, Crossroads Bijou, etc. Unfortunately they don't work that well on the airplane unless I crank up the volume, which is not good for my ears. I've also owned a Sony active noise canceling earbud before, and it worked great. But it was extermely uncomfortable for my ears.

So I'm thinking of getting another noise canceling earbud, or a passive isolating phone that works well at aircraft noise levels. Comfort is paramount, and ease of putting in and taking out of the ear. Unfortunately, it looks like a lot of the noise canceling earbuds are priced rather high because of the music quality, which I'm not interested in. I've seen the Sennheiser and Audio Technica Noise Canceling earbuds, and they are priced out of my budget.

Any other cheaper options out there that fits my criteria?

 

[dweaver]

NE-7M's are pretty nicely priced at $50US if thats not to much and they also are supposed to sound good for music. NE-7M

I also listen to a lot of Audible books and have found that phones with good noise isolation plus well rounded sound (bass to treble spectrum) work best even though the sound quality of the audible sources are generally low. The NE-7M's should fit this bill well.

 

[dweaver]

Oh BTW I also own JVC HA-FX66 which can be picked up pretty darn cheap and found they worked great for audible listening on the local C-Train and buses in Calgary so they might be a good option. They also can be picked up pretty much anywhere as compared to ordered the NE-7M's. If you pick a store with a good return policy you will also be able to take them back if they don't work out. I wear then upside down in opposite ears with the cable draped over my ear to remove all microphonic sounds from the cable. They are EXTREMELY comfortable for me, I just wanted something that sounded better for music but this isn't a concern for you so they might be perfect.

BTW they go in easy and I would simply unplug them and leave them dangling from my ears when I needed to talk to someone and then pop them back in when done.

 

[jsmithepa]

Yeah well, u want it good and u want it cheap. Tell me when u find such things!

One thing ain't gonna happend.... good passive noise isolation and no-bother putting on. Wait the custom molds will, oh wait, u want cheap. Never mind.

 

[dweaver]

jsmithepa he is saying he wants good isolation and comfort, not good sound. He should be able to find a decent set of phones that will work for him without breaking the back. They just may not be active noise isolation phone if he needs to stay $50 and under.

BTW what is your price range? If it can be higher I believe Panasonic has actual noise cancelling in ears available so they would do both passive and active isolation. They sell for around $80CAN so I am sure they can be got on the internet or in places in the States for less.

 

[tight_budget]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll certainly check out the Panasonic active noise cancelation cans.

My budget is around $70 US, I don't necessarily have to get an ANC if there are passive ones which work just as well and are comfortable. Like I said before, I don't care about sound quality, but am more concerned with isolation quality and comfort.

 

[dweaver]

check out both the JVC's and the Pana's here is a link to the Pana's at buy.com

 

[wayne.marcus67]

I too fly in airplanes a lot (Platinum Medallion on Delta) and I would not consider myself an audiophile however comfort is very important to me. I used to wear the Bose noise canceling headphones on the airplane and they work well but they are bulky and not comfortable. So now, I use what is known as an iPod Attachment from Earsound (EarSound Customs - Revolutionize Your Listening Experience™). This is not a noise canceling earbud however due to the perfect fit you do get some noise cancellation and a LOT of comfort since the attachment is made from impressions of your ears. After a couple of emails back and forth with the company I determined that they have a customized solution for any set of earbuds that you already own. An unintended benefit was that my iPod Attachments fit on my cell phone's hands free device. Look for me typically in seat 7C on 757s, 4C on 767s, MD88s and 737s wearing my iPod Attachments (they are bright yellow). Hope this helps!

 

[jsmithepa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wayne.marcus67 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Platinum Medallion on Delta

Don't get too comfy. With the way of the economy, JetBlue maybe in the near future.

 

[dweaver]

OK having just recieved my NE-7M's the isolation of these phones is very good in my opinion especially considering they have no active noise cancelling technology and they sound wonderfull. I decided to listen to an audible book to see how they do with the spoken word and they sound great for that as well. I had music playing in the background on another computer and listened to Anansi Boys at about 1/3 volume on my Ipod Touch and I could only slightly hear the music playing and the story was very clear.

 

[wayne.marcus67]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsmithepa /img/forum/go_quote.gif Don't get too comfy. With the way of the economy, JetBlue maybe in the near future.

That was funny! I will admit that I have become a travel snob over the past 9 years. I don't know what I would do if I had to fly on JetBlue.