[mnemonic]

quick question: What is the best pair of noise-cancelling headphones?

 

[Zanth]

Do you actually want noise cancelling? Or isolating? Best isolating phones are Etymotic 4 series and I highly recommend them. As for noise cancelling, I don't believe any are very good at all.

 

[newspaperguy]

Quote:

Originally posted by mnemonic quick question: What is the best pair of noise-cancelling headphones?

I've had good luck with my Sennheiser HDC 451. But I only use them on the plane.

 

[ProFingerSk8er]

i have the Panasonic RP-HC100 Noise Canceling Headphone , on the box it says it cancels out 70% of outside noice, but it feels more like 60%. anyway, the noice cancelling's a great feature for bus rides and airplanes. but the sound's just so-so, even my stock sony earphones from my MZ-N10 sounds better

 

[bangraman]

There's probably an important difference between cancelling and isolating. (And I preface this with the usual disclaimers)



Cancelling gets rid of low frequency components of outside sound, like engine rumble, but does not reduce the midrange (human voices).

Isolating reduces everything on the whole, particularly high and mid frequencies, but doesn't do a lot for low frequency noise reduction.


So it depends on which you want. If you are travelling on planes a lot, I would urge Cancellation. If you are looking for a more general purpose thing, the Isolation may be more suitable.

 

[pedxing]

Quote:

Originally posted by bangraman So it depends on which you want. If you are travelling on planes a lot, I would urge Cancellation. If you are looking for a more general purpose thing, the Isolation may be more suitable.

Why do you recommend cancellation over isolation for travelling purposes?

 

[bioxeed]

aren't the new senn px250 meant to have both good sound and reasonable noise cancelling?

 

[LobsterSan]

i believe jude swears by his px250 for air travel...

i think i'd also be inclined to use cancelling for travel, and isolation for other things. isolation scares me just a little too much to have so many people around me and to be missing all the announcements and stuff. i can just imagine sitting in my seat, contentedly listening to my er4's, when -- what's this? why are the oxygen masks deploying?!

 

[AIM9x]

Quote:

Originally posted by LobsterSan what's this? why are the oxygen masks deploying?!

Hmm, that brings up a good point.... Oh well, if they deploy, i'll just keep the etys running and put the masks on. If i'm going to die, it might as well sound good and be full of oxygen.

 

[shafu]

I think my sanity makes the isolation worth it. Kids screaming, people talking, etc... Only problem with the etys is trying to order a drink from the flight attendants. And eating with the etys in - you can hear every crunch!

But can you really not like the audio bliss at 30,000 feet with the Er4P and an iPod? Close your eyes, and pretend you aren't on a flight, but an enjoyable afternoon at home.

Of course no head phone can do much about that annoying kid kicking your seat behind you!

 

[sliberman]

My vote for decent sound and good enough noise cancellation
goes for the Sony MDR-NC10.

 

[john_jcb]

My vote is for isolation. I travel quite a bit and it is amazing how fatiguing the ambient noise is on the airplane especially on long flights. I am also getting pretty good at lip reading and it is so noisy I do not think the attendants mind if I talk a little louder than normal.

 

[bangraman]

The ambient noise of an aircraft is mostly the air-con hiss and the engine rumble. Something like the PXC250 offers sufficient Isolation to seal out the air-con hiss and sufficient Cancellation to counter the engine rumble. It's overall the most practical travelling headphone I've ever owned. It's easy to put on and remove, the batteries last a long time and it's really comfortable for extended use. It also comes with an airplane adaptor as standard.
You can still hear people around you and announcements (although it's quieter). Only problem is that if your portable has a weak amp, you will need an external amp to power it. Three thumbs up for the PXC250!