Best headphones for airplanes/noisy areas?

[The One]

First of all, this is my first post as a member here, so hello.

I was wondering if any of you could recommend some good noise-cancelling headphones that are somewhat inexpensive (say $50 or less). Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

[Naris]

Try going to headphone.com (Headroom) and looking at the IEMs and noise cancellers. I know that the Sennheiser HD 201s don't sound all that bad, but that's about the extent I have with noise blocking headphones (except my UM2s, which I think would be worth it for you to try but are out of your range by a huge margin).

While I haven't heard it personally, if the Shure E2cs sound at least similar to the E3cs, which I have heard and thought were decent... those might be good too. There should be the sale on earphonesolutions.com to get them 20% off (actually not sure about that because it would put them below the $99 point and I'm not sure if that voids the deal).

Oh... and I guess I should do the greeting...

Welcome to Head-fi, sorry about your wallet.

 

[dura]

I prefer IEM to active noisecancelling; the latter has resdiual artefacts which can get tiring after a while, isolation only occurs on lower freqs an you get an extra box with extra battery-life to watch.
IEMs have just as good passive isolation, and often better sound.
The E2 IMO sounds as good as the E3 (and better isolation due to the body being in the earshelf), different but not really worse but that's a matter of taste (the E4 however is a big step up).

 

[PinkFloyd]

Passengers who travelled on the Concorde airliner were supplied with Sennheiser HP25 headphones so if they're good enough for Concorde they're good enough for me

 

[sgrossklass]

If the budget is not expansible (see unofficial Head-Fi greeting

), take a look at the AKG K26P, which is pretty good for noisier environments IMHO. I don't know whether entry-level IEMs (MD33/EP630, RP-HJE50, EX71 and such) are significantly better in terms of isolation, the Shure stuff probably will be. (The Headroom graphing system is not cooperating once again.)

 

[Icehawk]

I'd suggest the Ety ER-6i, a little more money at ~$80 but supposed to be a great entry-level IEM - a post on another forum and an airline magazine is what got me interested and on this forum.

I splurged and went for some higher end IEMs myself

 

[fatko]

Last time i listened to my ER4P on flight
and it works

 

[Jasper994]

If you look on the net or have a Guitar Center nearby and have decent negotiating skills, you should be able to get the Shure E2 for around $55 +tax. That'll probably be your best bet.

 

[sionghchan]

I have always found my Sennheiser PXC-250 works wonders on planes. Since the intro of the PXC-300, the PXC-250 can be had at large discounts and you might be able to pick a pair up at the 60 to 80 dollar price range.

 

[steevc]

I just flew on a Virgin Atlantic plane and they supplied noise-cancelling headphones. They were terrible. They reduced some of the rumble, but just sounded bad. So I just used my PX200 which block enough noise to make it bearable and just sound good.

I don't fly enough to justify spending more on headphones just for that.

I've seen plenty of Bose units amongst the business travellers, but have not tried them myself.

BTW the Virgin entertainment system is excellent. Full video and audio on demand. About 30 films and a load of TV series to choose from.

 

[mishkakrisa]

Shure e4. Best I've tried for blocking ambient noise...can be a bit dangerous if you're walking around though...can't hear them cars!

Much better than any of the noise cancelling cans I've tried...and I've tried a few...Team Frequent Flyer!

BTW for best isolation try the foam tips. (comply tips are supposed to be god too.)

Hope this is in the budget!

All the best!
Mish

Edit: Didn't read your buget first...Doh! Sorry!

 

[The One]

OK, thank you for the suggestions.

 

[juzmister]

team qantas gold frequent flyer (always miss that platinum by a couple points). What ever you do, do not buy the sony noise cancelling in ear ones, they sound like crap. Literally.

 

[jagorev]

Tough question. At this pricepoint, I'd have to say perhaps the AKG K 26 P. If you add $15-$35 to your budget, your options go up significantly: the Shure e2c and the Etymotic er-6i. This is assuming that in-ear phones are acceptable to you from a comfort standpoint.

EDIT: Your best bet might be the Sony MDR-ex81, which seals well enough to block out outside noise. That's about $30, I believe. It should also be more comfortable than Etys which go much deeper in your ear.

 

[The One]

Well after all of your suggestions, I did some research on the Shure e2c's, and I may get them. They're $99 on the web, but someone posted that I might be able to get them around $60 at Guitar Center, which is nearby where I live.

EDIT: How do the Sony MDR-ex81's do in terms of isolation and comfort? They seem like a good deal. And what about Fontopias? $43.99 at BestBuy.