[blackmilk]

EXPERIENCED FLYERS:

i have been reading around your forums and fink it is fantastic...

but i haven't been able to find any comments on what people think are good headphones to use on a flight while sleeping, with no music.... which i guess is prolly off topic for you audiophiles.

But while sound is important for me.... i am buying the headphones for my mother, who has to deal with tiring long-haul international flights. knowing her i don't think she would care about the best quality of music. But then again the foam earplugs have never really worked that well.

so i was wondering whether to go with noise-canceling or passive isolating headphones. i think the main importance is comfort while she is sleeping... secondly, is definitely not being able to hear the low rumbling of the plane. My mother is a fairly small woman as well.

i have read about the raves of the etymotic 6i, shure e2c and sennheiser noise-canceling, not so much sony or bose --> but apparantly they do the job as well... but i believe these reviews were also based on listening to music. are there any other fantastic ones for this purpose? how well do they cancel/block out noise when trying to get to sleep... do the in-ear canal headphones really work? or is noise canceling better in the case?

whats the best pair?

you guys know your **** so i'll be sitting here wwwaiiiting to hear your a trillion cents worth

 

[MrXpress]

I've heard the Bose QuietComfort2's are great for comfort and noise cancelling, subpar sound quality and horrific pricing notwithstanding.

 

[ken36]

Shure e5c in my opinion.

 

[psyco1]

How much are you willing to spend?

 

[Mr Iriver]

For battery based noise cancelling I think the sony ones or the Bose quiet comfort are good choices. They are overpriced for sound but their comfort is about the best for phones that block out sound. Other than that I think some shure canals which are comfy with the soft flex sleeves (at least my E3s are), or some superfis which are said to also be very comfortable. Comfortwize I still think BOSE is the way to go even though it sounds mediocre for the price.

The best choice both sound quality and comfort wize in my opinion is to get her some custom mold IEMs. There are some companies (not UE or sensaphonics) that sell some for more affordable prices.

 

[warpdriver]

If you just want to sleep, why not just earplugs? It would certainly seems to me to be overkill to buy $500 custom fitted earphones!

I use Mack Hearplugs, they do about 21 dB of sound attenuation. And are quite comfortable.

Why didn't the foam earplugs work? They are actually quite effective.

The Bose phones work the best out of the active ones, but they are quite bulky, and not as easy to sleep with. I never found any of the Sony ones to be good enough at a reducing noise

 

[Jazper]

http://store.yahoo.com/earplugstore/silnatrubear.html note headfi sponsor

 

[Mr Iriver]

These are some custom molds that are supposed to sound very good, and are also designed for airplane travel, and are supposed to be comfortable for sleeping.

http://store.yahoo.com/earplugstore/chmisearph.html

 

[DaHoboFest]

Quote:

Originally Posted by warpdriver If you just want to sleep, why not just earplugs? It would certainly seems to me to be overkill to buy $500 custom fitted earphones! I use Mack Hearplugs, they do about 21 dB of sound attenuation. And are quite comfortable. Why didn't the foam earplugs work? They are actually quite effective. The Bose phones work the best out of the active ones, but they are quite bulky, and not as easy to sleep with. I never found any of the Sony ones to be good enough at a reducing noise

yes, that's what I thought he said, he doesn't want music. Just get earplugs.

 

[brad4221]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackmilk EXPERIENCED FLYERS: i have been reading around your forums and fink it is fantastic... but i haven't been able to find any comments on what people think are good headphones to use on a flight while sleeping, with no music.... which i guess is prolly off topic for you audiophiles. But while sound is important for me.... i am buying the headphones for my mother, who has to deal with tiring long-haul international flights. knowing her i don't think she would care about the best quality of music. But then again the foam earplugs have never really worked that well. so i was wondering whether to go with noise-canceling or passive isolating headphones. i think the main importance is comfort while she is sleeping... secondly, is definitely not being able to hear the low rumbling of the plane. My mother is a fairly small woman as well. i have read about the raves of the etymotic 6i, shure e2c and sennheiser noise-canceling, not so much sony or bose --> but apparantly they do the job as well... but i believe these reviews were also based on listening to music. are there any other fantastic ones for this purpose? how well do they cancel/block out noise when trying to get to sleep... do the in-ear canal headphones really work? or is noise canceling better in the case? whats the best pair? you guys know your **** so i'll be sitting here wwwaiiiting to hear your a trillion cents worth

This is a very good question but let me ask what would be a decent pair of noise cancelling for air travel that would be under $100?

 

[episiarch]

The Bose QuietComfort 2's are very effective at reducing noise, and to most nonaudiophiles they sound really good as well. The price is high...but most frequent travelers have already heard of these, and you don't have to convince her to take that big step into IEMs.

Further down the scale, my wife uses Sennheiser PXC250's, which I think have been discontinued in favor of two newer models, but seem to still be available here and there for $150 or so. They are not nearly as effective at reducing noise as the Bose headphones, but they take enough of the edge off to significantly reduce fatigue. And they're smaller, more comfortable, and cheaper than the Bose units.

Still further down, there is a $50 Phillips model (behind-the-neck headband) with active noise reduction that a coworker bought at Best Buy, I think. I listened to it, and noise reduction was on par with the PXC250's, while music reproduction was just "okay." But still pretty good-sounding to most normal people.

 

[The Actual]

As far as earplugs go, I have the ER-20 by Etymotic. The design is very similar to their passive noise isolation canal buds.

They can be purchased for ten dollars at some audio stores and online, and provide around 20 decibels of isolation.

Good luck.

 

[brad4221]

Quote:

Originally Posted by episiarch The Bose QuietComfort 2's are very effective at reducing noise, and to most nonaudiophiles they sound really good as well. The price is high...but most frequent travelers have already heard of these, and you don't have to convince her to take that big step into IEMs. Further down the scale, my wife uses Sennheiser PXC250's, which I think have been discontinued in favor of two newer models, but seem to still be available here and there for $150 or so. They are not nearly as effective at reducing noise as the Bose headphones, but they take enough of the edge off to significantly reduce fatigue. And they're smaller, more comfortable, and cheaper than the Bose units. Still further down, there is a $50 Phillips model (behind-the-neck headband) with active noise reduction that a coworker bought at Best Buy, I think. I listened to it, and noise reduction was on par with the PXC250's, while music reproduction was just "okay." But still pretty good-sounding to most normal people.

Well, I'm no audiophile but am I hearing people say that the more expensive models ($100) will block out more jet engine noise than the $25 ones?

 

[MrXpress]

I can't imagine behind-the-neck headphones being ideal for sleeping the way airline passengers would.

 

[stevieo]

if she is not going to listen, take her to an audiologist & have custom molds made & they will send them to westone labs for musicians earplugs. they come in a flesh color & they come with one set of attenuation filters. they fit comfortably into the ear canals & block sound. get the maximum attenuation filters available & it will block the noise. i use them with diferent attenuation filters depending on the envirornment. highly recommended. they are small & fit into a pill box.