The Best Noise Cancelling (ANC) Bluetooth Headphones "discussion and comparison" Thread

[igalic]

  Very good comparison!
Nice.
I also had a bad first impression of the Denon.
I will give them more tests in these days.
 
Are you not considering the Parrot? Or do you absolutely need lot of battery (well, you could buy an extra one on the Zik) and Low Latency?
Do you need the ANC to be able to be turned on and off?
You may check the JBL Everest Elite 700 and the Definitive Technology Symphony 1.
The first being a more engaging headphone, the latter being more fine, higher quality, best soundstage of any BT headphone.
On both you can turn ANC on and off.
The Symphony are also Low Latency.
 
Otherwise the Senny M2AEBT are very very good. But ANC is always on.
 
The Zik you can change lot of things. They are cool.
But by being SBC the audio-video delay may be noticeable.

 
To be honest, I can't remember why I discounted Parrot. I think it was mainly the battery life and lack of aptx, maybe there was something else. I've read a number of reviews and decided they weren't for me. Maybe should have tried them... I find APTx and low-latency important, though probably not a disqualifying factor.
 
I don't need ANC to be switchable, it's just that I wish you could get the top sound quality in wired mode without using battery. With Plantronics, you need to turn them on (even without ANC) in order to get their best sound, and with Denons you need to turn the ANC on. That's all good until you run out of battery
 
Haven't run into the JBLs in my search, they look interesting. Have you tried them? 
 
I've only found best recommendations for Definitive Technology Symphony 1, but both them and Sennheiser are out of my budget (they're around 450eur). I was limited by what European stores had on offer and their prices. Denon costs the same in US as the other two, but I was able to snatch them much cheaper off Amazon UK (230eur vs 460eur for the Symphony 1). Would have loved to try them out though!
 
Also, a quick update on the Denons:
 
- Similar to Plantronics Backbeat Pro, when I plug in the USB charging cable they make so much noise that I can't listen to them. They also take quite a bit to charge (3h?). Disappointing.
- In bus and on plane, their ANC serves the purpose. It definitely doesn't make you think you're in a quiet room, but they kill off enough of the noise that you can actually listen to music. Before it was always just a mix of noise and music, and not very pleasant.
- I've listened to them for most of a 24h flight, all in wired mode with ANC on. The battery is still at 90%, which is great and partly mitigates my complaint about having to have ANC on even in wired mode for best sound. 
- sound leakage is really not a problem when traveling. Both in bus and airplane, I've found that the outside noise completely drowns out the sound from headphones, and in testing I couldn't hear anything (I gave them to my wife to test how much you can hear sitting next to the person). This is very comforting, I was worried I'd have to turn the volume all the way down to not disturb other people. I suppose it's only going to be a problem in a quiet room / office.
- they are super comfortable. I always have trouble with headphones after a few hours, but these are pretty light and didn't give me any problems.

 

[tayo15]

To be honest, I can't remember why I discounted Parrot. I think it was mainly the battery life and lack of aptx, maybe there was something else. I've read a number of reviews and decided they weren't for me. Maybe should have tried them... I find APTx and low-latency important, though probably not a disqualifying factor.

I don't need ANC to be switchable, it's just that I wish you could get the top sound quality in wired mode without using battery. With Plantronics, you need to turn them on (even without ANC) in order to get their best sound, and with Denons you need to turn the ANC on. That's all good until you run out of battery

Haven't run into the JBLs in my search, they look interesting. Have you tried them? 

I've only found best recommendations for Definitive Technology Symphony 1, but both them and Sennheiser are out of my budget (they're around 450eur). I was limited by what European stores had on offer and their prices. Denon costs the same in US as the other two, but I was able to snatch them much cheaper off Amazon UK (230eur vs 460eur for the Symphony 1). Would have loved to try them out though!

Also, a quick update on the Denons:

- Similar to Plantronics Backbeat Pro, when I plug in the USB charging cable they make so much noise that I can't listen to them. They also take quite a bit to charge (3h?). Disappointing.
- In bus and on plane, their ANC serves the purpose. It definitely doesn't make you think you're in a quiet room, but they kill off enough of the noise that you can actually listen to music. Before it was always just a mix of noise and music, and not very pleasant.
- I've listened to them for most of a 24h flight, all in wired mode with ANC on. The battery is still at 90%, which is great and partly mitigates my complaint about having to have ANC on even in wired mode for best sound. 
- sound leakage is really not a problem when traveling. Both in bus and airplane, I've found that the outside noise completely drowns out the sound from headphones, and in testing I couldn't hear anything (I gave them to my wife to test how much you can hear sitting next to the person). This is very comforting, I was worried I'd have to turn the volume all the way down to not disturb other people. I suppose it's only going to be a problem in a quiet room / office.
- they are super comfortable. I always have trouble with headphones after a few hours, but these are pretty light and didn't give me any problems.

I'm on the market for good noise isolating bt headphones to use in the subway and bus. With the past headphones you've used which would you recommend??

 

[igalic]

I'm afraid I don't have enough experience to guide you, beyond the comparison posted above. My best advice is to listen to as many different sets as you can and make your own comparison. I realize this can range from easy to extremely difficult depending on where you live  
 
I'm happy with Denons, but I can't compare them to Bose QC for NC quality so it's hard to say. 

 

[Giogio]

I'm a/b-ing zik 2 and 3.
The 3 is clearly superior out of the box. A sound at least.

The Panasonic are not BT.
This thread is for BT.
Yes I know he didn't said BT but if somebody asks here we should suppose he means BT.

BTW, did you a/b those Panasonic with the Bose QC?

 

[Ketut]

I just got a Sony MDR-ZX770BN about two weeks ago. After using it almost daily, here's my observation. Please note that I don't have that much of experience with personal audio, so this is a very amateurish observation.
 

1. My other headphone is an Alessandro MS2. To my ears, even in high quality mode (where you turn on the Sony while pressing the volume up button), the Sony sounds worse than the Alessandro. The same when I used the Sony with the supplied cable. Please don't ask for details such as sound stage, bass or treble extension, etc, as I won't be able to explain them to you, it just that I enjoy the Alessandro's sound so much more than the Sony's one, although the Sony is much more comfortable to wear.
2. When activating the noise cancellation, the Sony introduces a hiss which is quite audible in some occasions.
3. In a relatively quiet environment, such as in office, the Sony is quite effective in reducing the noise from AC, printer, blower, computer fan, etc, and the sound is enjoyable.
4. When used in a really noisy place (I work in the oilfield, and our truck is really noisy with 4 AC running at the same time, computer fan, truck engine, etc) the Sony really struggles, and the sound became really thin and difficult to enjoy so I just wear it for the noise cancellation only as it is more comfortable than the company supplied ear muff.
5. I discovered that a colleague had a Bose QC25. Compared to the Bose, in noise cancellation department, there's just no comparison. The Bose is way better in cancelling the noise it's not even fair. Unfortunately I could not really compare the sound of the Bose to my Sony as the owner was very particular and only let me try it for several minutes, but considering how the Sony struggles inside the field truck (where I mainly intend to use the headphone anyway), the Bose will sound better.
6. I have a JDS Labs C5D DAC/Amp. The weird thing is, the C5D make the Sony sounds really warm, and I hear less both treble and bass!

 
I plan to get a Bose QC25 next time I pass through Qatar airport if I can purchase it with my frequent flyer point.
 
Note: I use my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 for the source.

 

[nosound]

Bose QC25 has 4 pole pin and conventional 3 pin headset on desktop phone. GND and MIC on 4 pin connector are shorted out when the 4 pin connector is inserted into the 3 pin socket, but can hear audio on one channel. Need to either wire up a in-line connector to feed the mono audio output to both left and right (and redirect mic) or maybe someone knows if there is an off-the-shelf connector which is available to do this.

 

[slysy]

Which ANC headphones are considered best for bassheads, preferably with aptx support?
 
Looks like the following are the options:
Beoplay H8
Beats Studio Wireless
Backbeat Pro
 
Thanks in advance

 

[Rosser85]

Has anyone here tried the Phiaton BT460 headphones? I can't seem to find any decent reviews or opinions on them and they don't sell them here in australia so I can't tey them myself

 

[bdery]

First post here. I've been following this thread and doing my homework.
 
I'm looking for an ANC set of earphones, and am interested in hearing the views of the experts here.
 
Wish list : wired and bluetooth options, ANC, on-ears or over-ears, good battery life. Price ideally not much over $200 USD, ideally less.
 
While not being an expert (don't we all say that?), I do have some listening experience. My current earphones are the Sennheiser PX210 BT, which are superb (especially wired) but have two flaws : they don't play very loud, and let too much noise through in planes and such. Otherwise they suit me well. I also have Bose earbuds (gotten as a gift with a purchase), and while they are perfectly fine, I can tell right away the difference in rendering between then and the 210. They don't isolate any ambiant noise, but they serve in a pinch.
 
I've looked at, and mostly dismissed, these options:
 
Bose QC35 : too expensive
Sennheiser Momentum 2 over-ears : too expensive
Sony MDR-ZX770BN : appear expensive for what they are
Plantronics Backbeat pro : reportedly leak sound, NC only passable, SQ only average
 
I'm in Canada, where many of these are not available, but I have a relative in the US who can make the purchase for me and sent it along. I can't very well try them on, so I'm trying to be thorough. Prices are current on-line prices, some of these are much lower than list price (think Samsung).
 
Now that leaves me with the contenders. These are the ones I'd like feedback and opinions about. I understand that most people don't test all earphones, and opinions won't be available for all earphones from one person. I'd like feedback from those who did test some of the units on my list, as well as comments on brand reputation, etc. comments are taken from reviews and user reports.
 
Parrot Zik 2.0
$180
Super sound and NC
Complete and customizable app
Poor battery life
Most controls require the app
Auto-pause when earphones are removed
 
Sennheiser Momentum 2 on-ears
$260
On the expensive side
Superb sound, very good NC
NC always active?
 
Sennheiser MM 450-X
$215
Small and light (same form factor as my 210)
Very good sound and NC
 
Samsung Level on pro
$165
On-ears but appear large, almost as large as some over-ears
Very good sound and NC
Light
Good battery
App for extra controls
 
JBL everest elite 700
$130
Very good sound, good NC
On the heavy side, and large
Maybe not always comfortable?
Great battery
Auto-pause
Complete and customizable app
 
For the price, the JBL seems like a no-brainer. The Samsung is a close second. The Momentum's sound is probably the best on the list, but it's also expensive (CAD exchange rate is 1.3 currently).
 
EDIT : The JBL's deal was not real, it came back to $250. I've kept reading and a lot of people seem to like the Plantronics a lot. In the unlikely event that someone read this (is this thread dead?) I'd undate my analysis accordingly.
 
So I'm interested in anyone's opinion. Thanks!

 

[alsaire]

I've been trying to find a reasonable one and I saw this pop up on wirecutter's "things to review" list.
 
https://www.jlabaudio.com/products/flex-bluetooth-active-noise-canceling-headphones for $150
 
There's a review of it in the forums but he was given it for free so I'm not sure how reliable it actually is...
 
Does anybody have this?

 

[Bila Krt]

Hey Guys,

I did read a bit in this thread but wanted to know, as a newbie, what is most important for me to know about Sony headphones regarding this new feature "Noise Cancelling"..
 
..and if it makes sense to buy SONY headphones instead of others like Sennheiser, Bose, etc.
 
(because I really like Sony's design which comes with all products!)
 
Or if you would say I rather should buy other headphones featured Noise Cancelling - can you give me some short hard facts which are good to know?
 
ahh.. maybe you should know that I travel a lot and love to hear music (preferring Electro, Classic and Old School Hip Hop music) !

Thank you very much in advance and have a nice day!

Bila  

 

[oopeteroo]

I'm looking for a NC headphone for my dad to use for at work.
Looking at bose quietcomfy 35....is there any headphone better than it on sound and comfy for the same price or lower ?

 

[musicphotolife]

  Hey Guys,

I did read a bit in this thread but wanted to know, as a newbie, what is most important for me to know about Sony headphones regarding this new feature "Noise Cancelling"..
 
..and if it makes sense to buy SONY headphones instead of others like Sennheiser, Bose, etc.
 
(because I really like Sony's design which comes with all products!)
 
Or if you would say I rather should buy other headphones featured Noise Cancelling - can you give me some short hard facts which are good to know?
 
ahh.. maybe you should know that I travel a lot and love to hear music (preferring Electro, Classic and Old School Hip Hop music) !

Thank you very much in advance and have a nice day!

Bila  

If you prefer Sony and needed good ANC, then the MDR-1000X will do great for you. Their ANC is on par with Bose QC35 and I felt it is more natural, doesn't have that excess sound pressure. It also reduces high hiss better than QC35, while the latter does great for the lows.

 

[musicphotolife]

I'm looking for a NC headphone for my dad to use for at work.
Looking at bose quietcomfy 35....is there any headphone better than it on sound and comfy for the same price or lower ?

 

 
EDIT : The JBL's deal was not real, it came back to $250. I've kept reading and a lot of people seem to like the Plantronics a lot. In the unlikely event that someone read this (is this thread dead?) I'd undate my analysis accordingly.
 
So I'm interested in anyone's opinion. Thanks!

 
You guys might want to check out FIIL Diva with ANC that I find slightly better than Plantronics BackBeat PRO 2, selling at US$169. Supports aptX, touch controls, ANC and Ambient Modes that can be enabled, wireless and wired mode, rated 32 hours (my test shows conservatively 20 hours), premium design, foldable compact, firmware updatable, smartphone app that can manage all settings on the headphones. The "FIIl" logo lights up but you can disable it if you don't want to attract attention. The audio quality is neutral and not especially forward and exciting compared to BBP or QC35, but that's why it's neutral. BBP gives listener good impression because of its enhanced sub-bass and highs that make tracks pop in your ears.
 

 

 
Here's the thread that is discussing FIIL Diva and Diva Pro: http://www.head-fi.org/t/821192/fiil-diva-pro-appreciation-and-discussion-thread-premium-headsets-by-chinese-rock-star
 
I have already reviewed the Bose QC35, Sony MDR-1000X, Plantronics BackBeat PRO 2 in separate posts on my blog. I'll be publishing the FIIL Diva review by the end of the week. I am also trying to get hold of Sennheiser PXC550 and Beoplay H9 over the next few weeks which will add to my opinions.

 

[oopeteroo]

You guys might want to check out FIIL Diva with ANC ...

Ah I forgot to mention...it needs to be over ear as the diva seems be on ear which one do u recommend btw the bose35 Sony 1000x and black beat pro 2 ?