[LordJezo]

I know we have noise isolation ones but do noise canceling ones exist?

Person who asked me is looking for something small and portable to wear on an 18 hour trip to Taiwan that is coming up for him, he does not want to use large full headphones and instead wants to use something he can carry around with him easily. Use will be basic music listening and a portable DVD player.

I showed up him Super.Fi 3's and he likes the form of them but wants something that will keep out as much noise as possible in the same form factor. Price would hopefully be around $100 give or take (most likely give) $50.

What options does he have that I can give him?

 

[TSi]

i dont really get it, so basically he doesnt want sound isolation, but he wants something that will keep noise out as much as possible?!

 

[eruditass]

noise isolation is better than noise cancelation unless you also want to hear people talking but not the engine roar.

 

[LordJezo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoomzDayz /img/forum/go_quote.gif noise isolation is better than noise cancelation unless you also want to hear people talking but not the engine roar.

Perhaps its all a misunderstand then. For him hearing about the Bose (yes I know) active noise canceling headphones sounded like the perfect thing for him on a plane, I think he is under the impression that active noise cancellation trumps everything else.

What should I go back and tell him?

Also, then that leads me to say.. which noise isolations earphones isolate the most for what he is wanting?

 

[Cry Havoc]

Tell him that active noise cancellation will only block constant noises, while good passive noise isolation will leave the rest of the world completely silent, especially with music playing.

 

[Dr. Mephisto]

I know this is my first post, but I do have a bit of experience here...(I travel alot....just got off a plane about 10 hours ago)

Go back and tell him that if he likes IEMs go for that. ANC is decent for blocking out a percentage of the engine roar, but as someone said on the forums here, it's not going to block out the crying baby seated behind you. A good set of IEMs reduce pretty much everything to a tolerable level. For that matter, even a less expensive (ok, "cheap") set like the Marshmallows do wonders - bringing the typically drowning engine sound to a soft whisper and you don't have to have the music blasting....

blah blah blah, add in the fact that you can wear the IEMs as ear filters without having to have the source battery on...blah blah blah, but I'd say as a frequent (1-3 trips a month) traveler, do your damnedest to convince your buddy of IEMs.

Amazing what a good set of IEMs and good sound iso do for your mental well being on a plane ride

-w-

 

[ClieOS]

Tell him ANC not only cut out very little noise (compare to IEM), they also tend to have mediocre SQ.

The IEM that fits your bill is Etymotic ER6i on tri-flanges, rated at -34~36dB.

 

[FrederikS|TPU]

ANC headphones sound horrible compared to their price. If you can get comfortable isolation with a couple of earphones then you are much much better off by just buying a in-ear solution. The noise attenuation of a ANC headphone is about -10 dB whereas most earphones offer about -26 dB or more without sacrificing sound quality.

 

[pomme de terre]

I have seen canalphones (Philips, I believe) that also have active noise cancelling at Best Buy. But as the others say, your friend should go for some IEMs. Find ones with foam sleeves and that sit deep in the ear canal.