[fatcat28037]

Quote:

Originally Posted by charliex /img/forum/go_quote.gif You can't be serious - surely you jest?!

Nope, and neither could the guy who owned the ESW10's

 

[beausejour]

What about the new Sennheiser PXC 310?

 

[komi]

Is hard to tell what model is the best, cuz you cant test them all! You can find 2 or 3 models in store to compare, but you can go and read reviews and some blind tests ...

UK Elektror magazine have tested 10 models [ tested by By Harry Baggen (Elektor Netherlands Editorial) ] and there is results in October issue of magazine:

The Sound of Silence - A performance test of 10 noise cancelling headphones



... After listening to a number of these special NC headphones
we can certainly conclude that most of them are effective,
albeit at a cost. Nearly all of the headphones tested here
cost £175 (€200) or more, due to the extra electronics.
However, if you travel a lot by public transport or by air
and want to enjoy your favourite music with the minimum
of disturbance, it would be worthwhile to acquire some
NC headphones.
When using these headphones the sound quality is just
as important as the level of noise suppression. What’s the
point in having an effective noise cancelling system if the
sound quality is abysmal? The comfort level plays a role
too. We’ve also made an assessment on this, but it is something
that is best judged by yourself before you buy a pair
of headphones.
The on-ear types appeared to give the best results in this
test, partially because their construction provides them with
better acoustic isolation. Usually they also sound better
than their in-ear compatriots, but it should be pointed out
that three of the four in-ear types tested here are signifi -
cantly cheaper than the others.
And the winner is... The best headphones appear to
be the Sony MDR-NC500D. This is the only one that offers
both an excellent sound quality and a very effective NC
system. As far as the noise suppression is concerned, the
Sennheiser PXC 450 was similar, but we weren’t quite as
impressed by its tonal qualities.
In the category ‘Best price/quality ratio’ the Philips
SHN7500 comes out ahead. It offers reasonable sound
quality and quite effective noise suppression, as long as
you don’t mind wearing earbuds in your ears. At a cost
of £85 (€100) Philips has placed a good product in the
market.
All of the headphones covered should be available, or
can be ordered, from audio/video stores as well as online
retailers ...

I hope this help a bit !

 

[charliex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatcat28037 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nope, and neither could the guy who owned the ESW10's

Well, what can I say - that's 2 votes against and literally hundreds in agreement that the ESW10s FAR outpace the ESW9's.

 

[papalion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AgainstTheGrain /img/forum/go_quote.gif There was a kid about your age that came into my store...

Where is your store?
I've been looking for a new set of closed cans but cannot find a place locally that has any selection of 'phones to listen to or knows the first thing about headphones. I live in Rockland County, N.Y, only a coupla miles from jerzy.

 

[swaffleman]

I know I'll get pounced on, but I honestly think that Bose has the market cornered as far as Noise canceling goes. Seriously, I've yet to hear a headphone that cancels as well as they do.

 

[papalion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Itamar /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Audio Technica ESW10 looks stunning, but they are pretty expensive. One more thing- I saw people call them portable. What does it mean?

I believe by portable they mean that these headphones are supra-aural, meaning they sit on your ears, and do not around your ears like circumaural headphones. I personally (and this is only my opinion) believe that circucumaural headphones are much more comforatble. I do not like the way headphones that sit directly on my ears feel.
Also, if you're looking for isolation without active noise cancellation, circumaural headphones offer much better isolation.
If you particularly like the way small supra-aural headphones feel, then Bose sells the QC-3 for $350, but i DO NOT personally recommend them. The use the old NC system as the discontinued QC-2, they would be overpriced even at $250, and the are God-awful-sounding (again, only my opinion).

 

[timmo11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tintin47 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Go for IEMs. They cancel far more noise than ANC phones, will cost less, and sound better.

Sadly, a small minority of us can't. Not everyone has the same shaped ear canals. I have tried all sorts of ear-tips, but none of them give me a seal for long. A friend of mine is an ENT surgeon, he looked in my ears and said "Man, your ears have a REALLY weird shape". So its not just my opinion.

So much as I like the sound quality of my UE5's I too would like some noise cancelling headphones. THe main use is to ride aeroplanes or underground trains - ie I just want to cut out that rumble.

So - given IEM's as NOT an option, and given I already have a set of closed phones which don't cut the rumble - what's on the plate, what compromises are involved b/w SQ and noise cancelling effectiveness ?

Thanks

Tim

 

[adrian13]

I tried the Sennheiser PXC 310 BT with the cable and without NC. The sound quality was great, clarity, separation were amazing. Felt like the band was right in front of me. That alone was enough to make me lust for it. If the PXC 450 is anything to go by, the NC qualities of the PXC 310s should be as good if not better. So that's my recommendation, the PXC 310 with or without the BT function. However, the PXC 310 BT is quite hard to find right now and quite expensive. Haven been able to find a set online recently. If anyone is able to help, I would really appreciate it.

 

[Big Daddy Cool]

Look people, he is fixated on noise cancellation, period. It is useless to recommend any closed headphones, IEM's etc. So stay on topic and recommend noise canceling headphone.

Itmar, you also have to understand that lot of people in this forum wants best SQ, and as such, many have migrated from NC and bought closed headphones instead, including me. Now, my experience, best noise cancellation with good bass are Denon AH-NC732 Active Noise Cancelling Headphones. You wil not be disspointed.

 

[HyperNight]

I'm selling a pair of brand new Sennheiser PXC-310 Noise Canceling Headphones. The cheapest price i found on google products is newegg @ $299. I'd sell for $240 with free shipping and can accept paypal. e-mail me at HyperNight@gmail.com if you have any questions or are interested. 

 

[s0126471]

The better value for money than the three stated are:
 
Goldring NS 1000 (good value at GBP 50)
Audio Technica ATH-ANC7b
 
Out of the three you say, I have both PXC 450 and QC15.  I cant tell the difference in noise cancelling between the two, so its personal preference you want to go with.  Depending on why you want to use noise canceling for will determine your choice - for example the PXC450 is much bigger than the QC15, so it might be more problematic to take them with you during travel.
 

 

[SoSpecial]

Quote:

just get IEMs.
noise canceling doesn't really block out all that much noise- IEMs block out more. And they don't have that weird frequency playing in the background.

So, if money is no object, the current FOTM is the JH13.

Not in my experience, IEM's do a good job but not  good enough.

 

[wind016]

Hypernight resurrected a year old thread...  Having said that and read some of this thread, I feel sorry for the guy that asked for a noise cancelling headphone and was constantly recommended into getting an ESW10JPN.  Ridiculously stupid recommendations considering the ESW10JPN does not block out noise and even brings out certain frequencies due to its wood enclosure.
 
Shows how baised some ppl are on this forum. Elitism trumps common sense

 

[HyperNight]

Dropping the price of my new Sennheiser PXC-310 NC headphones to $220 shipped anywhere in the U.S.