[OceanEnthusiast]

what's the word on the pxc 300's? worth the $70 more than the pxc 250's?

i have er6's and they're just not really what i want on a plane. the er6's block out cabin conversations well, but the droning of the engines is still penetrating, and completely masks the already very lean bass of the er6's. plus they're uncomfortable. i'm looking at the senns for plane travel. i'm not interested in another IEM.

 

[OceanEnthusiast]

^^

 

[warpdriver]

I tried both in the store, with their source material and I thought the 300 was a bit bassier, but not worth the extra cost for a headphone just for travelling (because the sound quality is not up to snuff for the price)

I think you might be disappointed with the noise isolation characteristics, it still lets quite a lot of transient sounds through. Even in the noisy store, I could still hear a lot of stuff around me. A regular sealed set of cans may be more cost effective.

 

[Raymate]

Got my 300's a month ago, for everyday use in quit areas the sound quality is not as good as say the PX200, but when used for the NC they work great, they have a little more bass than the PX200 too.

On planes and trains they work very well removing the low-level roar and rumble. If you live near a busy highway you can get the traffic noise down a lot. But like I say if you listen in a quiet place you will hear a slight hiss generated by the NC circuits.

For home use I would not recommend but for travel then yes.

I found myself using them on a long plane flight with not playing any music at all just put them on my head and turned on the power to remove the droan. Worked well.

With the NC circuit off the sound quality is poor.

Are they worth the money, well if you travel a lot then yes.

Didn’t try a pair of PXC250, just liked the look of the fatty ear cups and I was sold.

Some pics of min can be found at the link below.



http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=122205

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=134363

 

[OceanEnthusiast]

thanks for the help. im mostly concerned about the drone of airplane engines. im wondering if the pcx 250 will block engine sound better than an IEM, say my er6's. hmmmmmmm. any thoughts?

I may have to dive in and just find out for myself.

 

[episiarch]

The IEM will block the noise much better than the PXC250.

My wife travels with a PXC250, and I travel with ER4's*. There is no question that the Etys isolate more. The PXC250 takes the edge off the droning sound of airplanes, trains and the like, but taking the edge off is really the extent of it. The airplane noise (and all the other noises) are still there, they just give the impression of being further away. It is certainly a useful amount of noise reduction (or my wife wouldn't stick with it -- she has plenty else to choose from), but it's nowhere near what a well-fitting IEM will provide.

[size=xx-small]*at least, until now. Next trip will probably be with E4's, which I find a little more convenient for on-the-go use than the Etys.[/size]

 

[OceanEnthusiast]

after further research, that was kind of what I had suspected. thanks, i needed to hear that.

 

[Hasselhoffia]

Seems like I'm in a similar situation as you OE. I do epic long hauls back home to New Zealand (about 27 hours), and last time after having to crank the 'phones to hear the movie I vowed to get something that could cut the ambient noise and save my hearing.

So Bose QuietComfort 2's were the obvious choice, they look soooo comfortable with their big cushy earpads, but the price was a little

They don't seem to offer the 30 days trial here in the UK that they did in Aussie. Hmmm....

I had previously looked at the Sennheisers, I think they must have been PXC 150's, but they looked so hard, plastically, and minimalist that I thought they'd be uncomfortable and underperforming.

But the PXC300's look a lot better, and I'm having a hard time deciding whether to fly with these or a pair of E4c's, particularly as I haven't delved in to the IEM arena as yet. I'm wondering what will be most comfortable to be wearing for 27 hours.

 

[episiarch]

Well, don't knock the value of 'taking the edge off' a la PXC250. It's not silence, but it's a lot better than nothing, and with the PXC's, comfort isn't an issue.

As for IEM comfort, I doubt it's possible to generalize. My wife doesn't like them. I do, and I can wear the Shure E4 with the soft flex (rubber dome) tips for hours without a break.

I think the Apple stores carry the Bose QC II's, so you might look there if you want to try before you buy. I found them very good for noise reduction, but below par for sound reproduction.

 

[jude]

For flying, I switch between using an IEM (currently a SHURE E4c or an Etymotic ER-4S) and a NR (noise reduction) headphone (currently a Sennheiser PXC250 or an AKG K28NC). I like the great silence provided by the IEMs, but sometimes find them too isolating, depending on the situation or mood. The NR headphones blunt the severity of airplane noise enough to be extremely useful, yet still allow me to talk to anyone I might be flying with. In fact, I regularly use the NR function of the headphones, even without a signal going through them, just to take advantage of the NR function (it works enough to make flying a lot less fatiguing than without NR).

So when I'm flying alone, there's a greater likelihood I'll turn to an IEM. But when I'm flying with someone, and/or if I feel more social, I'll usually turn to a NR headphone.

Sorry that I can't comment on the PXC300 specifically, as I've never heard that one. I really dig my PXC250, though.

 

[Hasselhoffia]

OE, have you made a purchase yet?

 

[OceanEnthusiast]

i ended up doing the opposite of what I said i would, and sprang for the $120 bargain deal on etyomtic er-4p, hoping they would be an improvement over the er6's. for $120 i figured I could try it. but in the end im not sure they're what i want. i might be at this again in a month or so with the senn noise cancelling.