[JasonCA]

Hi Everyone,

Background:

Recently I tried a pair of my friends Sennheiser HMEC350's and I was completely in another world with them on. Also, I couldn't help but fall in love with the design: blue color, solid feel, and gel pads made it feel very comfortable to me.

The experience: The Passive attenuation on these headphones, at least to me, is phenomenal. As soon as I put them on, the world is shut out. The HMEC350's boast noise reduction of about 25-40 dB! Then, turning on Active attenuation, and further noise is eliminated.

The same day, because I was so excited, I went to a Bose store. All they sell is BOSE. I tried both their QuietComfort2 and QuietComfort3. The Bose audio quality is good but the headphones pail in comparison to the way the Sennheiser HMEC350's block out noise.

The downside: The Sennheiser HMEC350's cost $729. Ouch!

The Search:

I'm looking for headphones that are comparable to the Sennheiser HMEC350's as far as blocking out outside noise with descent sound quality. I'm more interested in the noise being blocked out then the quality of sound; however, I'd like to achieve the highest sound quality possible. Does anyone know of any other Circumaural Headphones that have attenuation of: 25-40 dB?

Thanks!
Jason

 

[nibiyabi]

Active noise attenuation degrades sound quality, but if it must be circumaural and it must attenuate a lot, it's really your only option. The Sennheiser PXC450 sounds about as good as the HD555 but costs way more due to its being closed and having active noise cancellation along with the TalkThrough feature.

 

[ichiboy]

Here's the way I look at it:

When do you plan on using these? Because the only time I need noise blocked out is when I'm out of the house in noisy environments such as a car, plane, or store. Yet, in these sorts of environments where you have to move around do you really want to wear such large headphones? Simply, it just really doesn't go together. I don't mind the my HD650's being open at all because the only time I use them is when I'm in a quiet environment anyways and I don't need to bring them around with me.

This is why everyone chooses portable IEM's over larger "noise cancelling" headphones.

 

[JasonCA]

Hi,

In 30 minutes I'm off to pick up the Sennheiser HD280's.

Looking at the Sennheiser PXC450, which was an option you gave, I don't think it would hold a leg up to the Sennheiser HD280's ability to block out noise.

The Sennheiser HD280's from what I've read is closed and reduces noise by about 32db. That's comparable to the HMEC350's which boast a noise reduction of about 25-40 dB! However, the Sennheiser HD280's are about 1/8th the price.

It seems like everyone would agree that the Sennheiser HD280's are probably the best out there for noise isolation. Although it is just reduces noise passively, it still may be what I'm looking for. At least I have something to compare them against

.

Anyway...i'm going to leave in 30 minutes and go buy a pair of the Sennheiser HD280's. Anyone else have any suggestions?

And of course, thank you nibiyabi and ichiboy for your responses!

Thanks!
Jason

 

[Leonard]