[seepage87]

I have a pair of $150 Ultimate Ears earbuds, but I'm looking for something fullsized that does real noise canceling. The air conditioner in my office is loud and I fly a lot, so this is important to me, as is sound quality.

My buddy let me borrow his $300 Bose head-phones for a trip, and I really liked the noise cancellation on them, but if I'm going to spend $300 on headphones, I rather price come from quality, not being overpriced.

So I'm looking for something that does noise-canceling and is good for listening to music, with a nice full bass if possible. Ideally I don't want anything too bright, but as long as it is a sharp detailed sound, I'll be happy. I'd be willing to spend a little more than $300 in principal, but cheaper is always better, all else being equal.

Thanks in advance.

 

[alexpea]

How about custom molded iem's?

 

[seepage87]

Is that really going to do the trick? I was more thinking active noise-canceling. My ear buds do ok, but there's a significant difference between those and my buddy's bose in terms of noise reduction. I've heard bose headphones aren't as bad as their speakers, but I'd still like to be convinced away from getting them.

 

[FrederikS|TPU]

You need to get a good pair of IEMs if you are looking for isolation. With a $300 budget you could get Klispch Images, UE Triple.fi 10 Pro, Etymotic ER-4P/S or some custom IEMs like LiveWires or FreQs.

 

[alexpea]

I just bought the Images for 259 dollars on eBay.

 

[penger]

Audio Technica makes some nice active noise canceling ones. Tried my friend's pair, and they work pretty well.

 

[tpc41]

i have heard good things about the Sennheiser PXC 350

however, i think a IEM that has good isolation will sound better, with a $300 i recomend looking at custom IEMs

 

[bada bing]

Etymotic ER-4P/S have the best "bang for the buck" in noise isolation, better than any active noise cancelling set. You can get about 30 dB of isolation with ety triflange tips with proper fit. You get the same 30dB with a bit less sound quality from the ER-6's.

I use ER-4s or triple-fi's under Bose QC2's when I fly, but I wouldn't recommend spending the $$$ on the Bose. It is an outstanding set up for flying with music though.

 

[mas215]

I agree with the AudioTechnica ANC-7 that you can get for about $120 at Amazon. I've used them on many overseas flights, for me the sound is better than the more expensive Bose, the noise canceling is as good or better, and they will work (though not as well) without batteries, something the Bose will not.

 

[REB]

I am no fan of IEMs myself (my ears just can't handle them and start to hurt) and I fly frequently, so I got a Sennheiser PXC 450. In one word: fabulous! Great sound, very good NC and very good comfort. The best I have tried. Plus you can use it as a normal phone by switching off the NC; then the HD650 drivers inside go to work! It's my best buddy whenever I fly.

 

[Motty]

Can I ask an obvious question, have you tried different tips with the ultimate ears you already own? Something like the (modded) shure black olives or the comply t500 foams will give a better isolation than the silicon tips that come with the iem and may save you some cash

 

[kovalchuk71]

Ive heard that the AudioTechnica ANC-7 has bad sound leakage, is this true? How about the Sennheiser PXC 450?

 

[Deadneddz]

PXC 450 hands down. If you cant afford it go for the PXC 350.

Both are the best full size active noise cancelling cans ive ever heard in terms of sound and noise cancelling, and ive heard quite a few.

 

[REB]

Agreed. Let me correct my previous post in this thread: the drivers in the PXC450 are not HD650 drivers, but those of the HD595, according to the Senn representative on these boards. I figure he should know

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