[GreenPanther94]

I travel very frequently, usually by plane or train. I have a pair of sennheiser HD 429's which are fine, but the sound leaks out and, it obviously doesn't have noise canceling abilities.

I've been looking at the Bose QC 15, which seem fine, I just wanted a second opinion. Thanks,

 

[SDBiotek]

If you are mostly concerned about noise cancellation, Bose is tough to beat. However, most, if not all, noise cancelling headphones don't sound as good as a decent passive headphone, in my opinion. An iem or custom iem with a good seal can be more effective at blocking out external noise. The Logitech UE 6000 sounds pretty good for a portable closed back headphone, without breaking the bank, and you can use it with or without the active noise cancellation ( I only use it passive, even on planes). Your listening experience is compromised when traveling, no matter what you use.

 

[nbourbaki]

The Bose really have the noise reduction down pat on QC 15.  I travel for work as well with some international travel as well.  For the last 10 years, I've gone strictly IEM.  On my last international trip in January on a 16 hour flight, the IEMs got very uncomfortable.  When I got home, I started searching for something I could augment my IEMs.  I tried the QC 15 on many occasions and other than price it worked as advertised.  A friend recommended the JVC HANC250 noise canceling headphones.  Bought them and they've been great.  The noise reduction isn't as complete as the Bose, but it doesn't hurt the sound as much.  Very comfortable, a little over $100.

 

[billybob_jcv]

For isolation, I think good, comfortable IEMs with the right tips beat active noise cancellation. Active noise cancellation seems to be good for constant noise, like the droning of the engines and wind noise you hear inside an airplane. However, you will still hear the annoying guy talking too loud and the crying baby. IEMs with good tips are like good earplugs - they lower the volume of everything. Westone & Shure both work well for this - not quite as much isolation as Etymotic, but a bit more comfortable.

 

[GreenPanther94]

For isolation, I think good, comfortable IEMs with the right tips beat active noise cancellation. Active noise cancellation seems to be good for constant noise, like the droning of the engines and wind noise you hear inside an airplane. However, you will still hear the annoying guy talking too loud and the crying baby. IEMs with good tips are like good earplugs - they lower the volume of everything. Westone & Shure both work well for this - not quite as much isolation as Etymotic, but a bit more comfortable.

Anything you'd recommend?

 

[SilverEars]

If you don't mind going custom, I would recommended for extreme isolation from ambient noise.  Active NC will create noise from applying polar opposite signal after it has been detected. Since the phase is not perfectly 180 aligned when cancelling because of reaction time from the detection of the noise signal.  
 
In general in ear monitors will give you significant noise isolation without the added noise.

 

[billybob_jcv]

Anything you'd recommend?

I thought I did: Westone or Shure. Choose the model in each line based on your budget.

 

[toolio]

The Bose QC 20s are excellent IEMs for noise reduction. Small and convenient. Rechargeable. Audio quality is acceptable but won't match your audiophile cans. On the other hand, the noise reduction is incredible. You'll have a smile on your face after not suffering from loud airplane noise on your next 10 hour flight...even if you use them with no music involved. And you'll be able to hear the sound from the inflight movie.
They are expensive, but pay off handsomely for frequent travellers. I never travel without them.

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

Hello I'm just asking but is it possible to use a portable headphone amplifier on a noise cancelling headphone?

 

[84854]

Can noise cancelling headphones cancel loud music from outside source??