[SonicBoom11]

So I recently bought some Sony WH-1000MX4 headphones. Seriously amazing but one problem, it looks like I’m one of the unfortunate people that gets nauseous from ANC. I have a couple of months to trial them but apparently some people don’t get over this because it affects the ears a bit like motion sickness - and yes, I suffer from that too if I’m not driving.
My question is, what next? I bought these for the noisy office I work in and no, that situation won’t change. The headphones are great but at £311 (Black Friday deal) for headphones and not using ANC, that’s a lot of money. I’ve been told by Amazon there won’t be a problem returning them. But yes, what next? Can anyone recommend good over ear wireless headphones with good passive (natural from the headphone cups) noise cancellation at a lower price?
This is quite depressing folks, so any recommendations to cheer me up as I’m dreading going back into the office, I thought these headphones were my ticket....

To be honest I don’t really want to listen to music all day either so maybe I need to accept switching between headphones and earplugs or do earplugs under headphones? I’m actually being serious here! Any earplug recommendations wouldn’t go a miss either even though I don’t like the feel of earplugs. Oh dear!

 

[FastAndClean]

turn it off

 

[SonicBoom11]

Thanks, I realise I can turn it off but I’m not sure it’s worth paying £311 for these headphones and was looking for recommendations for anything cheaper with good passive noise cancellation?

 

[OhmAlone]

...recommendations for anything cheaper with good passive noise cancellation?

I live in a very, and I mean very, noisy apartment across from an auto shop on a busy NYC street, and, in my experience, nothin but active ANC will handle the job if you don’t want to listen to music. I also have the XM4s, and I can get by with them with no music playing, but the window has to be closed. Even then, though, some sounds will pierce through and irritate me - high-pitched barking dogs, harleys, etc. With music playing, it’s lights out, period.

If you wanna go passive, then you can definitely get by, but only with music playing IMO. My other pair for this purpose is a model that flies under the radar around here: the Sennheiser HD300 Pros. These things have a killer seal, aren’t too expensive, and sound phenomenal if you aren’t looking for boom and sizzle. Their ear cups are HUGE, which is one of the main reasons why I bought them. If your ears get cramped in these things, then I don’t know what to tell you, haha. Listen to any music that has a beat (no solo piano or string quartets here) and you will be in your own world pretty much. Once the music stops, though, forget it. You will hear ever damn car that goes by and I swear they almost seem LOUDER (must be a psychoacoustic thing).

I’m sure there’s other pairs like these, but I don’t own them so I ain’t vouching for ‘em. I also have Shure 1540s, and they’re more comfortable than the 300 Pros, but their seal isn’t in the same ballpark. Sound wise, it’s a wash IMO - not worth the extra money and I wouldn’t pay it again in hindsight.

If you wanna go passive with no music, then you might be able to do ear plugs under a closed back, but I never tried it personally to see how it compares. Maybe I will now though!

Obviously, there’s also in ears, which I can’t really speak on, cuz I don’t own any good ones.