[Brimstone]

I fly on cross country flights at least four times per month. I primarily listen to my ipod and/or laptop during these flights. I am tired of listening to substandard earphones. I have tried some low end Sony noise canceling units in the past and several low end IEM. Right now I am considering:

Seinnheiser PXC450
Seinnheiser PXC350
Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7
Aurvana X-Fi

I believe that the Audio-Technica probably give the best "bang for the buck", but I would be interested in opinions on these units or other suggestions. I would rather not go with an IEM as I tend to find them uncomfortable over an extended period of time.

My considerations:
Audio Quality
Noise Canceling
Price
Construction durability



Thanks for your time and suggestions.

 

[uraflit]

flights eh

lots of people like:
Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5Pros
Etymotic ER6i, ER4p
other IEMs.... etc... IEMs already block out noise for you so you dont have t have noise cancelling to mess up your sound quality

for bigger cans, i'd recommend the Sennheiser HD25-1. they are probably the best sounding portable headphones i've ever heard. the only thing u might consider is their comfort, which is greatly improved if you buy the HD25-1 II, it comes with the velour earpad replacements!

and i canbt believe im saying this, but have u demo'd a pair of Bose Triports or QuietComforts? if u like the sound, they are very comfortable and good at noise cancelling on planes.

am the first to recommend a pair of BOSE here? o no!

 

[Brimstone]

I have tried the Bose. I was not that happy with the sound quality or the construction. I think that they are overpriced. I wouldn't mind paying more for quality, but i don't believe the Bose units are worth the price.

As far as the "in ear" units go, they have a tendency to become uncomfortable for extended use (for me). I have a pair of Skull Candy Ink'd that I am using now.

 

[Deadneddz]

i have both the sennheiser pxc 350 and the creatives, both sound decent, but with the creatives you will have to listen to it with the crystalizer on because it just doesnt sound good without it, but with the crystalizer on its will not be a true sound, the sennheiser is better in my opinion, sound wise. Its more true to the recording. As far as noise cancelling, i feel that the sennheisers are best, they really block out low frequency noise exceptionally, better than the creatives, i'd say go with the pxc 350 or pxc 450. i love noise cancelling headphones when im travelling, they can be so useful but definately not if your looking for audiophile quality sound.

 

[Brimstone]

Well, even though I was squarely against it, I broke down and went with an IEM. I decided on the Ety ER-4p.

This unit had a lot going for it. It is extremely portable, very good isolation, able to be used without an amp or convert to a ER-4s and use with an amp. It also has very good audio quality.

The only real downside for me was the comfort. It takes some work to get these deep in the ear with a nice seal and make them comfortable at the same time. The foam tips are more comfortable, but I have not compared them for isolation.

Overall, I believe that these will serve me well in the long run. Not sacrificing audio quality for noise reduction was a good decision.

 

[TDRKZ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brimstone /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, even though I was squarely against it, I broke down and went with an IEM. I decided on the Ety ER-4p. This unit had a lot going for it. It is extremely portable, very good isolation, able to be used without an amp or convert to a ER-4s and use with an amp. It also has very good audio quality. The only real downside for me was the comfort. It takes some work to get these deep in the ear with a nice seal and make them comfortable at the same time. The foam tips are more comfortable, but I have not compared them for isolation. Overall, I believe that these will serve me well in the long run. Not sacrificing audio quality for noise reduction was a good decision.

To fix the comfort issue, go get yourself a pack of Shure black olive (AKA Shure black foam) tips. They are tapered so they last longer than ety foamies and are extremely comfortable. You can find a pack of 10 for about $10-15. I got some for my er6i's and they worlds better than the biflanges I used previously.

 

[catscratch]

If the comfort isn't up to par, then try to get custom molds for them. This doesn't have to involve getting a fully custom-molded IEM, you can get custom-molded sleeves for the ER-4P. Though to be fair, a fully custom-molded IEM will give you better sound quality.

I know Westone makes them, and I'm guessing any other major custom-molded IEM manufacturer does as well.