[n00byn4t3r]

I first posted this over here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/529144/recommendations-thread-i-e-dont-start-a-new-thread-ask-for-advice-here-please-read-op/14250#post_8329563
But it's seems more fitting to post it here, I copy pasted my previous post but added a bit. If you think this thread is better suited for the Headphones (full-size) sub-forum then please tell me and I'll try to get it moved there or re-post if desired.
 
I'm looking for a new pair of headphones to use while traveling, I currently use my German Maestro GMP 8.35D's and while they sound great (awesome really!) they don't block out a lot of noise.
This has been a issue for a while now, but I didn't really bother searching because I didn't want to buy yet another headphone (would be the 3rd pair in 1½ years time). But my birthday is coming up so that is the main drive for searching one now.
 
I would like the follow features:
 
- Around the ear (This is very important to me, but I get in to detail a bit later on.)
- Active noise canceling
- Passive noise isolation
- Bluetooth
- And if they are wireless then they must have a optional attachable cable
- Control on the headphones
- Battery life of at least 6 hours while have noise canceling activated, would prefer also having this with Bluetooth enabled (more is greatly appreciated here)
- Decent sound quality (About Sennheiser HD 555 level)
 
I don't have a strict budget, and I wouldn't like to set one to strictly either because prices differ so much between Europe and America (I live in The Netherlands - importing is not an option). But I would like around 100-200 euro's, but I'm willing to deviate from that if it gives me much more superior experience.
Whilst I was looking for headphones the previous time (when I ended up buying the GMP 8.35D) I was very interested and intrigued by the Sennheiser MM 550.
They were my favorite headphones all the way up until now (currently I don't have any favorite headphones), and a friend of mine (Bosaapje on this forum) told me that he could get the Sennheiser PXC 360 BT for 175€ (I don't have much interest for the calling features on the MM 550).
This seems like a pretty sweet deal to me, and he bought them. I had a chance to listen to them today and they sounded great (and I give them a listen again tomorrow), but they had a few points which I disliked.
The bass dropped immensely upon activating the Noisegard feature, and I would've liked if they were a bit bigger.
Both of these points aren't big issues for me, but they are still worth pointing out.
While the active noise canceling did block out a lot of noise, I must admit that less noise is always better for me.
Another thing I noticed when I was reading the manual is that the noise canceling only goes up to 1kHz (?).
 
Even considering all of this, I still think that they are amazing. But I still want to know what my options are before buying anything this expensive.
So while I was searching I came across a few headphones that I thought could be potential rivals to this one:
 
- Bose Quiet Comfort 15, but they are 350€ and they are wired.
- Parrot Zik, these are features packed with everything I could ever want, but there is still so little known about these and I don't know if they will be worth the money and waiting in the long run.
- Klipsch M40, there are mixed reports about the noise canceling abilities of these, I can't find a shop who sells these over here and again, they are wired.
 
Then there's also IEM's, but I would like to stay away from these. I know that they give superior isolation and that they block even more noise if they have active noise canceling. But I have a pair of Sennheisers CX 400-II and they hurt my ears (and I continue to feel that for at least 30 minutes after I've taken them out, they also give me a slight headache) after just a little while (15 or so minutes). A user in the other thread recommended some ear tips made of foam but they were to expensive to try (at least 25$ in order to get them shipped over here)
This makes me want to stay away from them, especially considering the price point I'm looking at right now. And then there's also the issue of them breaking more easily, and yet again... wires.
I would prefer if they are around the ear instead of on the ear, I really enjoy the amount of comfort I get from around the ear headphones as opposed to on the ear headphones.
 
I mostly listen to the following genre's: Electronic (I don't want to label all the electronic genre's)/rock/metal/j-pop/vocaloid/pop/piano and some more which I'm probably forgetting right now.
 
I hope to have provided enough information with this.
 
Threads worth noting:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/604383/sennheiser-pxc-360-bt-or-sennheiser-mm-550
http://www.head-fi.org/t/572403/looking-for-closed-headphones-in-the-netherlands-budget-is-anywhere-from-80-200-euros

 

[alanyuan]

I have the Bose QC 15s and like them very much, the sound quality is sufficient and the active noise cancellation is top notch. I don't have anything else to compare to but I definitely recommend these. Even by just looking at the reviews and headphone rankings, these are #1 in their category.

 

[n00byn4t3r]

Thanks for the input, but I would like to hear from someone who has heard both of them before I go and spent double the amount of money (PXC 360 BT is 175 and the Bose QC 15 is 350).
 
Also I forgot to mention in the first post, but I listened to them a second time yesterday and while they blocked out noise they mostly blocked out noise within the first kHz (0-1kHz), are there any noise canceling headphones who go higher than that?

 

[n00byn4t3r]

Sorry for double posting, but I wanted this to be a separate post.
 
I've come to the conclusion that it's all based on personal preference.
The debate of the Bose QC15 vs the Sennheiser PXC 360 BT/MM550 seems to come down to this.
They both do equally well in noise canceling, some people say the Bose is better and some people say that the Sennheiser performs better.
People generally seem to agree that they prefer the sound of the Sennheiser, and that Bose doesn't have a good reputation for build quality.
Another thing is the feature set, the Bose have 2 cables one with button's for iDevices and one regular cable. The Sennheiser has the ability to connect using Bluetooth or a cable and they have the buttons on the side of the headphones which are usable with most devices that can connect to it through Bluetooth.
What's more is that the Bose QC 15 can't be used when the batteries die while the Sennheiser can be used passively, and if you plug in a cable then they don't even need any batteries in order to produce sound.
The Sennheiser also uses a rechargeable battery pack as opposed to the Bose which use a regular AAA battery. You can see this as a positive and as a negative. The positive side is that you don't need to buy batteries with the Sennheiser and that you can charge via USB and that the included adapter comes with 4 types of plugs so you can charge in most country's.
The negative side of this is that you always need to carry a charger around and that you can't simply put in new batteries when needed, and the Sennheiser batteries will also wear out over the years. One thing worth noting is that I've read multiple reports of Bose QC 15 dieing because of bad batteries.
Another thing that the Sennheiser has and that the Bose doesn't have is a talk trough function which can come in quite handy at times. One big positive for me is that you have the ability to turn the noise canceling feature off with the Sennheiser, while the Bose must always have it on.
 
Considering all of this, I will prefer the Sennheiser. Having the ability to disable noise canceling is a big deal for me, and I will love have wireless headphones.
 
If I'm wrong about anything in this comparison, please say so and I will correct it. I want to also help out other people who are also making the same comparison.

 

[proton007]

Noise cancelling headphones are not very popular among audiophiles, because there is a difference in quality. Personally I prefer IEMs with passive attenuation, and for you fitting issue I'll suggest to try out smaller tips.

 

[n00byn4t3r]

I was using the smallest of the double rounded tips (I don't know what they're called, but they have 2 layers). But I'll try using the smallest regular ones then, I'll try to use them for as long as possible and then report back.
 
I know there is a difference in quality but that's what I like about the Sennheiser, you can turn of the noise canceling and you get much better sound. But I don't need high quality sound while traveling anyway when I can't hear it.
What I mean by that is that I can't hear t he quality of my German Maestro when I'm on the bus, I hear that it sounds good but due to the amount of noise I wouldn't be able to tell that they are high quality.

 

[n00byn4t3r]

After using my CX400-II for a while with the smallest ear-tips provide, they still hurt my ears.
Not as much as with the other tips, but I still wanted to take them out every moment I had them in. And even if they wouldn't have hurt my ears they were still to small because there was absolutely no bass (which means that the fit wasn't good enough) and the isolation was also mediocre compared to the other tips.
 
So I've decided to go for the PXC 360 BT if I can still get them for 175€.

 

[Wadood]

I honestly do not think the comparison between Sennheiser and Bose is personal because Bose NC is order of magnitude better than Sennheiser noise guard. I really liked Sennheiser because of all other features but for me noise Canceling in subways and other places was the most important feature and I don't believe that Sennheiser comes even close,