[tintin47]

Go for IEMs. They cancel far more noise than ANC phones, will cost less, and sound better.

 

[fatcat28037]

I have Bose QC2's, They are very comfortable, the noise canceling is good and the sound quality, though not the best is acceptable. Assuming it's the noise canceling function that's most important to you, whether for air travel or whatever, the Bose would be a good choice. I never fly without mine, they add immeasurably to my comfort.

 

[Itamar]

I don't do anything special which requires noise canceling.
I am a seventeen years boy who does pretty much the regular things: taking the bus twice a day for school, going to friends, tennis practices and other things by car, and traveling to europe twice a year to vacations.
The thing is that I REALLY like the feeling of being isolated from outer noises while listening to music/ watching movies.
I find it very pleasant.
I don't think I am audiophile, but I do appreciate high-quality sound.
Which closed headphones which are not NC you can offer me in the price range of 300-400$ ?

 

[Gbjerke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Itamar /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't do anything special which requires noise canceling. I am a seventeen years boy who does pretty much the regular things: taking the bus twice a day for school, going to friends, tennis practices and other things by car, and traveling to europe twice a year to vacations. The thing is that I REALLY like the feeling of being isolated from outer noises while listening to music/ watching movies. I find it very pleasant. I don't think I am audiophile, but I do appreciate high-quality sound. Which closed headphones which are not NC you can offer me in the price range of 300-400$ ?

Why not IEMs?
SRH840 anyways

 

[haloxt]

Tell us what kind of sound you like, as detailed as you can get. And if it's straight out of an mp3 player I don't think you should consider $300+ headphones, but sub $300 headphones ($50 might even be sufficient).

 

[AgainstTheGrain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Itamar /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't do anything special which requires noise canceling. I am a seventeen years boy who does pretty much the regular things: taking the bus twice a day for school, going to friends, tennis practices and other things by car, and traveling to europe twice a year to vacations. The thing is that I REALLY like the feeling of being isolated from outer noises while listening to music/ watching movies. I find it very pleasant. I don't think I am audiophile, but I do appreciate high-quality sound. Which closed headphones which are not NC you can offer me in the price range of 300-400$ ?

There is absolutely no reason for you to have NC headphones. There was a kid about your age that came into my store with the same misconception and with a similar budget and I sold him a pair of AKG K272 HD and he loved them. Blocked out the noise like he wanted and the sound is great. You need good quality closed cans not crappy NC. Btw the Sony NC500 I would pick. I sell those and the PXC450. The thing about the sennheiser is that they are a beast to drive. Most people buy the PXC350 instead since it is easier to drive probably because it uses 2 AAA batteries instead of 1.
The Sony Digital have an adaptive NC function that adapts the amount of NC to your surrounding noise level which I don't believe any other NC headphone does. I would still recommend a good set of closed cans but if you must go with NC I suggest the Sony NC500. They are rechargeable and comes with a backup battery pack in case you run out of juice on the go.

 

[charliex]

You haven't answered the question as to why you are insistent on noise cancelling headphones (also known as sound quality cancelling). Why the need for extreme isolation at the expense of decent sound quality? Surely some of the recommended closed-back phones will give you all the isolation you want, yet do NOT compromise on sound quality. Please do some more research and get back to us with hopefully a better understanding of why you want NC headphones, and perhaps a request for some truly excellent sound quality closed cans.

 

[charliex]

Re-reading your recent posts, it sounds as if you are reconsidering and will hopefully invest in some top of the line closed headphones. I HIGHLY recommend the Audio Technica ESW10JPNs, or the Denon AH-D2000 (markl modded). Good luck in your search - you are sure to get some valuable and knowledgeable advice here at Head-Fi - - passionate and helpful audiophiles.

 

[089709867]

I think you'll like the QC15, they sound much better than the OC2 and the warranty support is great

 

[Drubbing]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Itamar /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't do anything special which requires noise cancelling.

Then it's not worth paying for it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Itamar /img/forum/go_quote.gif The thing is that I REALLY like the feeling of being isolated from outer noises while listening to music/ watching movies.

Closed phones are all you need. In environments where there are lot of different frequencies/intermittent noise, then NC doesn't work anyway.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Itamar /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't think I am audiophile, but I do appreciate high-quality sound. Which closed headphones which are not NC you can offer me in the price range of 300-400$ ?

With an MP3 player as your source, your budget is too high. Expensive phones are rarely "plug n play". The better they are, the more they really deserve the ancillaries - like an amp and a decent source.

 

[Itamar]

Wow, guys, thanks for the help!

First of all, the headphones I want to buy will be used mostly outside.
I am going to buy an iPod Touch soon, and that will be my sound source most of the time.
I don't think I am going to buy an amp.
Actually, you can be sure I won't buy an amp, not because I think it's not necessary, because I want to buy headphones to a portable use.
I saw there are portable amps, but I just don't like the idea, it decreases the portability and I don't even know how to use it.
As you can see, I am super newb, so I am glad you are here to help.
All of you sound really experts.
Well, I checked the Shure SRH840, AKG K272 HD, Audio Technica ESW10JPN and the Denon AH-D2000.
I am not an audiophile like you guys, I don't think I have a specific prefered sound, but I do love high quality sound.
From these 4 headphones, I liked the design of the ESW10JPN and the AH-D2000.
But I have to ask, what is the idea behind the two wires?
I mean, there is a wire attached to each cup.
Why is it like that?
I am not sure the headphones you suggested are good for outside use.
Thanks for the help.

 

[Bengt77]

I didn't care to read the whole thread, so this might already have been suggested many times, but I'd still like to suggest it (again): get IEMs. Sound isolation (passive) will almost always result in better sound quality than sound cancellation (active). IEMs might not filter out the outside noises as well as an NC headphone, but any higher end Shure, Ultimate Ears or Westone IEM will sound better than most noise cancelling headphones.

 

[haloxt]

The ESW10 are a good candidate for portable use, and they look great, but let us know if you find one for sale without a guarantee of authenticity so we can see if it's legit before you click buy (not sure if there's ESW10 counterfeits but there certainly are ESW9 counterfeits). But I'd still suggest you give us some idea of what sort of sound signature you like (you like big bass, separation, vocals, highs? all we know now is you like isolation and unamped), then people can give you advice on suitable headphones.

 

[azncookiecutter]

If you really want isolation and portability, IEMs are the way to go. Only issue may be getting used to the feeling of something in your ear.

 

[Itamar]

The Audio Technica ESW10 looks stunning, but they are pretty expensive.
The Audio Technica ESW9 also looks great, but their light wood makes them a little weird.
I still have to ask, why do they have 2 cables?
I just need to plug them to my iPod, I don't need 2 cables :S
If they are not detachable, I don't think they are good for me.
I mean, what am I suppose to do with the other cable?
One more thing- I saw people call them portable.
What does it mean? does it mean they work good without an amp?
because I want to use them on the outside.
As for my musical taste, I am not really sure.
I am not a bass enthusiast, I just love high-quality, detailed, clear sound.