Headphones for blissful silence?

[MistaMuShu]

hey all,

This might sound somewhat weird to some of you, but I want some headphones that'll give me silence without killing my wallet. I figure I'd rather spend <$150 on some nice cans instead of trying to silence my PC and ohter noises while I study. It's just an added bonus to have music...

I've done a lot of reading, and though noise cancelling sounds very appealing, it's also really expensive etymotic is out of the question because of price, and also there's an issue of comfort there too. It doesn't sound very comfy for long periods of time. On the web, Sony MDR-NC20 seems to be really popular and almost affordable for me, but Sony MDR-V6 is about half the price. Are there any other <150 preferably <100 headphones that'll shut out *all* or most noise?

 

[Tyson]

Etymotics ER-6 or ER-6i are both in your price range. Great isolation, good sound....

 

[Puddleglum]

From what I've heard, the Sony V6's are good cans for the money. Other cans that are just outside you're price range are the AKG 271 studio's, the beyerdynamic DT250-80's, and the shure E2c's if you want earbuds. Granted, You're choice will have a lot to do with what type of music you listen to. Try going to headphone.com and browsing, they don't have the V6's, but you can read about those on audioreview.com or amazon.com.

 

[Kirosia]

The er-4 is pretty good for isolation and SQ (can be found used for around that much). The regular er-6 was too harsh for me, and there wasn't much isolation.

 

[Talonz]

If noise isolation is important to you, you need to ask yourself if it's low frequency noise or high/mid noise that's causing the problem. To get rid of low continuous sounds, go with noise cancelling headphones (still not silent). Otherwise, look into the ety 6/6i which is much better for sound.

 

[episiarch]

It took me a while to get used to Ety's, but now I find them very comfortable. Certainly I can wear them a lot longer than I can any closed headphone with enough clamping force to silence the world around me. If you're willing to go through the time it will take you to adjust to them, then I'd say they're the best way to get the silence you want. You can get ER-6i's for < $150.

If closed headphones are what you want, though, then the HD280's isolate more than any other closed phones I've tried (which include V6, HD25-SP, PX200/PXC250 and K271). However I find them too squeezy and too warm to wear for hours on end as I do the Etys.

 

[Luke]

Then there's always the earplug option. Ety's are only twelve bucks.

http://etymotic.com/ephp/er20.asp

 

[Bill Ward]

You might like to look in a different direction. I bought a set of headphone style hearing protectors at Sears lawnmower/garden tool section that have proved very effective at shutting out the world. Only complaint is that I now hear my heartbeat, but I suppose I should take comfort in that.

Anyway, you might see what places like Home Depot or Lowes have to offer as well.

BW

 

[commando]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luke Then there's always the earplug option. Ety's are only twelve bucks. http://etymotic.com/ephp/er20.asp

They're made to make things a bit quieter, not silent. I have tinnitus and I use them at the movies.

For silence I use these.

 

[Kirosia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by commando They're made to make things a bit quieter, not silent. I have tinnitus and I use them at the movies. For silence I use these.

I have those. Good isolation. Very cheap and effective.

 

[intlplby]

on a similar note i was wondering if there are any types of sounds or noise which aid with studying or relaxing


kind of like the way white noise is marketed..... but i don't know if that is just marketing or a load of hooey

 

[pedxing]

The ER-6 is good for isolation. They work like ear plugs and block noise.

Isolation headphones are good if you want to get rid of continous droning noises like fans and engines. They are ideal if you need to talk to people frequently or hear the phone ring because they only block out the continuous noises such as the PC.

 

[episiarch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by intlplby on a similar note i was wondering if there are any types of sounds or noise which aid with studying or relaxing

Tastes vary quite a lot in this area, but my personal preference is for Native American or Asian-style flute music, such as R. Carlos Nakai or Richard Warner. (Your mileage may of course vary.)