[kupuna]

Hi all,
 
I constantly travel around countries, and noise-cancelers work much better than normal closed-back headphones in airplanes.
 
I'm currently using the Sennheiser MM550X. It sounds decent, and cancels noises fairly well. However, its earpads are just too small for my ears, and its battery only lasts for less than 10 hours.
 
I've been looking for a pair of noise-cancelers that has the following characteristics:
 
1. Wireless
2. Good ANC
3. 12 hours or more battery life with ANC on
4. Large earpads
 
As you see, sound quality is my least concern.
 
So far, I found three headphones that seem to fit my requirements: Sennheiser Momentum Wireless, Denon AH-GC20, Plantronics Backbeat Pro. The problem is, I don't know if their earpads are big enough, nor do I know if they cancel noises well.
 
Any information regarding these three headphones or other choices would be appreciated.

 

[obobskivich]

I know my Bose QC15 can beat 10 hours runtime most days (the manual says like 40-50 hours, I think realistically its probably more like 30), but they aren't wireless. I've seen Bluetooth add-ons for some Bose headphones - maybe they have one for the QC series (and if not for the 15, maybe for the new ones?)? Alternately you could probably just get a stand-alone Bluetooth adapter (you'd still have the cord from the headphone to the adapter, and the adapter's battery life then ofc would matter) - the QC don't present much of a load to the amplifier (it views them as a line level device). ANC quality on these is the best I've ever heard, and it measures very well too.

For wireless and ANC, the Parrot Zik can do that - I don't know what the battery life is like, and honestly while the ANC isn't bad, I wasn't impressed for the price vs the Bose. All of their "extra" features (like the DSP and the touch controls etc) are neat enough, but I'd call them a good second-place headphone, ANC-wise, against the Bose. But they cost *more* than the Bose. On the QC15 (I don't know about the newer model) it uses a normal AAA battery, so you can also just carry an extra battery or two if you're worried about runtime. The Parrot are rechargeable, which is cool if you have a way to charge them, but not if you don't.

Fit/comfort on both of these is very good, at least on my large-ish head.

 

[kupuna]

I know my Bose QC15 can beat 10 hours runtime most days (the manual says like 40-50 hours, I think realistically its probably more like 30), but they aren't wireless. I've seen Bluetooth add-ons for some Bose headphones - maybe they have one for the QC series (and if not for the 15, maybe for the new ones?)? Alternately you could probably just get a stand-alone Bluetooth adapter (you'd still have the cord from the headphone to the adapter, and the adapter's battery life then ofc would matter) - the QC don't present much of a load to the amplifier (it views them as a line level device). ANC quality on these is the best I've ever heard, and it measures very well too.

For wireless and ANC, the Parrot Zik can do that - I don't know what the battery life is like, and honestly while the ANC isn't bad, I wasn't impressed for the price vs the Bose. All of their "extra" features (like the DSP and the touch controls etc) are neat enough, but I'd call them a good second-place headphone, ANC-wise, against the Bose. But they cost *more* than the Bose. On the QC15 (I don't know about the newer model) it uses a normal AAA battery, so you can also just carry an extra battery or two if you're worried about runtime. The Parrot are rechargeable, which is cool if you have a way to charge them, but not if you don't.

Fit/comfort on both of these is very good, at least on my large-ish head.

I'd definitely choose Bose QC25 if it were wireless. Too bad it's not. Those Bluetooth transmitters have to be charged separately and often only last for 6~8 hours, which means they are pretty much useless to me.
 
Zik's battery only lasts for about 6 hours... Not even as good as MM550X to me.
 
I did some more research yesterday and found one on amazon called Golzer BANC-50. According to the reviews, its sound quality and ANC are both quite good, and the battery life is about 12 hours. Has anybody here tried one yet?

 

[Rockin_Zombie]

I was in a same situation as you a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, there is no perfect set. I owned M550x and Parrot Zik for a bit. None of their NC was close to the QC25. But for me the Bose sound signature was not good enough, so I ditched ANC altogether and went the IEM route. 
 
If wireless is not an absolute necessity, I'd recommend QC25. None of ANC headphones sound that good IMHO, so if you want ANC QC25 is the best in class. 
 
I wouldn't get the Momentum wireless ATM, I think they are in the middle of a recall process due to connectivity issues. 

 

[obobskivich]

I was in a same situation as you a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, there is no perfect set. I owned M550x and Parrot Zik for a bit. None of their NC was close to the QC25. But for me the Bose sound signature was not good enough, so I ditched ANC altogether and went the IEM route. 

If wireless is not an absolute necessity, I'd recommend QC25. None of ANC headphones sound that good IMHO, so if you want ANC QC25 is the best in class. 

I wouldn't get the Momentum wireless ATM, I think they are in the middle of a recall process due to connectivity issues. 

+1 on considering IEMs - that's what I use when I fly. Much easier to tote around, and they provide great isolation. Otherwise I stand by my original suggestion of the Bose or Parrot; wireless headphones are not the norm and there are going to be significant tradeoffs vs going with a wired route. For sitting on an airplane I can't imagine why you'd need something wireless, but to each his/her own. The Parrot are probably the best wireless/Bluetooth/etc set that I've encountered, but they certainly do have their own trade-offs. I have no knowledge/experience of "Golzer" headphones, but I do know that most "ANC" headphones out there these days just have the feature for buzzword compliance, and the performance is usually pretty bad.

Something I thought of after posting: the Parrot charges via USB if I'm not mistaken - you could probably use one of those "power banks" to run it longer than the ~6 hour battery life for longer flights. It'd give you similar functionality to the QC15/25 (with their ability to replace batteries), wireless/BT capability, and they're pretty comfy.

 

[kupuna]

  I was in a same situation as you a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, there is no perfect set. I owned M550x and Parrot Zik for a bit. None of their NC was close to the QC25. But for me the Bose sound signature was not good enough, so I ditched ANC altogether and went the IEM route. 
 
If wireless is not an absolute necessity, I'd recommend QC25. None of ANC headphones sound that good IMHO, so if you want ANC QC25 is the best in class. 
 
I wouldn't get the Momentum wireless ATM, I think they are in the middle of a recall process due to connectivity issues. 

 

+1 on considering IEMs - that's what I use when I fly. Much easier to tote around, and they provide great isolation. Otherwise I stand by my original suggestion of the Bose or Parrot; wireless headphones are not the norm and there are going to be significant tradeoffs vs going with a wired route. For sitting on an airplane I can't imagine why you'd need something wireless, but to each his/her own. The Parrot are probably the best wireless/Bluetooth/etc set that I've encountered, but they certainly do have their own trade-offs. I have no knowledge/experience of "Golzer" headphones, but I do know that most "ANC" headphones out there these days just have the feature for buzzword compliance, and the performance is usually pretty bad.

Something I thought of after posting: the Parrot charges via USB if I'm not mistaken - you could probably use one of those "power banks" to run it longer than the ~6 hour battery life for longer flights. It'd give you similar functionality to the QC15/25 (with their ability to replace batteries), wireless/BT capability, and they're pretty comfy.

 
IEMs always hurt my ears, especially when I fly. If I wanted anything remotely related to wires at all, I'd go with QC25. It's really painful to sit on an airplane for 13 hours and every time you get up to go to the bathroom there are wires in your way.
 
As stated before, Zik's poor battery life is just not good enough. Charging=wires=pass.

 

[obobskivich]

IEMs always hurt my ears, especially when I fly. If I wanted anything remotely related to wires at all, I'd go with QC25. It's really painful to sit on an airplane for 13 hours and every time you get up to go to the bathroom there are wires in your way.

As stated before, Zik's poor battery life is just not good enough. Charging=wires=pass.

Well, good luck with whatever you find. If you get the "Golzer" headphones come back and let us know how they sound.

 

[kupuna]

I purchased a pair of Golzer BANC-50 from amazon. They cost less than 100 dollars, so I decided to give it a shot.
I immediately returned them after I saw them in real life: poor build quality, and EXTREMELY small earpads. They are listed as "Over-ear" headphones, but in reality they are even smaller than most On-ears.
 
So the hunt still goes on....

 

[kupuna]

bump......

 

[iEnginerd]

I've heard good things about the Definitive Technology Symphony 1's, but I have not tried them myself.  I have seen them on Amazon for $399.