The Mrs. wants a pair -- mostly for air travel. Anyone have a recommendation? These seem good: http://www.monoprice.com/Product/?p...rtby=&period=&rating=&seq=1&format=4#feedback
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Noise canceling headphones
- Thread starter jpr62902
- Start date
I own several pairs. Probably 5 or 6? Sorry, no clue what model numbers of each:
Over the ear: Bose. They are excellent. No other way to describe them.
On the ear: Bose. Semi-Compact, not small but smaller than the original Bose. Excellent.
On the ear: Sennheizer. They are Excellent. Bonus is they are tiny & light. Downside is the battery is on a wire that you clip into a pocket or on a shirt. I still love them. But I prefer the Bose most times.
On the ear: Radio Shack (also sold by many other brand names). They work, they look and feel cheap, but they are light weight, the sound canceling is not as good as many others I've tried.
In the ear: SONY meh. Not a fan of the in the ear/ear bud style stuff. They do work. The sound canceling algorithms are not as advanced as either the Bose or Sennheizer. Probably better than the Radio Shack.
I have some others, can't think of the brands. Those 5 have been used the most. Probably the 2 used most often: Bose semi-compact On the Ear and the Sennheizer On the Ear compacts. Honestly if you want to spend the money 1 time, buy the Bose. I'm generally NOT a big fan of Bose, in fact I don't like their speakers or their radios. But for sound canceling headphones, they are the best, period, bar none. You won't regret owning them and they are worth the money.
If you want tiny "on the ear" compacts instead of the larger "over the ear" then there is the Sennheizer stuff. Its also got excellent sound and excellent noise cancellation. Bose makes a semi-compact version also, not as small as the Sennheizer, but smaller than the larger Bose.
For travel something that is smaller is often better. Not necessarily tiny. But big headphones get in the way if you are resting your head, they also can get hot and can get heavy. Look for REAL LEATHER if you get 'over the ear' style because that will breath better than rubber/synthetics.
Each company uses its own, proprietary, sound canceling system. Each system is slightly different. Some are much better than others. User reviews are worthless if the user who wrote the review does not test them against other brands in actual and similar conditions over longer periods. A 60 second in store test, or while sitting on the porch for 30 minutes reading is very different than a 4 to 6 hour flight. Are they still comfortable after 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours??? Are they hot as hell and is sweat dripping off your ears??? Does the algorithm really work well, or just enough to silence the store nose when you try them?
Over the ear: Bose. They are excellent. No other way to describe them.
On the ear: Bose. Semi-Compact, not small but smaller than the original Bose. Excellent.
On the ear: Sennheizer. They are Excellent. Bonus is they are tiny & light. Downside is the battery is on a wire that you clip into a pocket or on a shirt. I still love them. But I prefer the Bose most times.
On the ear: Radio Shack (also sold by many other brand names). They work, they look and feel cheap, but they are light weight, the sound canceling is not as good as many others I've tried.
In the ear: SONY meh. Not a fan of the in the ear/ear bud style stuff. They do work. The sound canceling algorithms are not as advanced as either the Bose or Sennheizer. Probably better than the Radio Shack.
I have some others, can't think of the brands. Those 5 have been used the most. Probably the 2 used most often: Bose semi-compact On the Ear and the Sennheizer On the Ear compacts. Honestly if you want to spend the money 1 time, buy the Bose. I'm generally NOT a big fan of Bose, in fact I don't like their speakers or their radios. But for sound canceling headphones, they are the best, period, bar none. You won't regret owning them and they are worth the money.
If you want tiny "on the ear" compacts instead of the larger "over the ear" then there is the Sennheizer stuff. Its also got excellent sound and excellent noise cancellation. Bose makes a semi-compact version also, not as small as the Sennheizer, but smaller than the larger Bose.
For travel something that is smaller is often better. Not necessarily tiny. But big headphones get in the way if you are resting your head, they also can get hot and can get heavy. Look for REAL LEATHER if you get 'over the ear' style because that will breath better than rubber/synthetics.
Each company uses its own, proprietary, sound canceling system. Each system is slightly different. Some are much better than others. User reviews are worthless if the user who wrote the review does not test them against other brands in actual and similar conditions over longer periods. A 60 second in store test, or while sitting on the porch for 30 minutes reading is very different than a 4 to 6 hour flight. Are they still comfortable after 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours??? Are they hot as hell and is sweat dripping off your ears??? Does the algorithm really work well, or just enough to silence the store nose when you try them?
Thanks for this info, Bob. And I agree about the reviews. I read some of the reviews for the Monoprice headphones, and they can be ridiculous. Like, "I don't like these headphones because they smell bad" ridiculous. On the other hand, if a person has used them for a year, I'm gonna give that opinion some credence.
As for the Bose, they're a little pricey -- I doubt the better half would truly appreciate the quality, let alone understand the price.
Good info Bob.
Here is a link to a lot of Bose headphones on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...vptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_6yh6305t2n_b
model AE2I is just $25 more than the link you had posted in your original post JP.
edit to add...
Opps ...model AE2I is NOT noise canceling. Sorry JP.
Here is a link to a lot of Bose headphones on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...vptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_6yh6305t2n_b
model AE2I is just $25 more than the link you had posted in your original post JP.
edit to add...
Opps ...model AE2I is NOT noise canceling. Sorry JP.
Honestly in the Sub-$100 price range, take a look at the Radio Shack. They do work. We've beaten this pair into submission and they've pretty much been around the world a couple times. They were broken on a recent trip, but we certainly got our money's worth out of them.
I owned a few bose . over the ears is what I get. the replacement warranty is good.wouldn't recommend something like motocross use. I can't compare with others because I never owned any. wouldn't you have to own and use to compare?
oh,i did buy one $35 one . Don't know the brand. Waste of money. cords are a hassle.
oh,i did buy one $35 one . Don't know the brand. Waste of money. cords are a hassle.
AGREED. For LOUD noises like motorcycles and tractors and gunshots the noise canceling headphones are worthless. They are not designed to reduce dangerous noise levels down to safe levels.
Shooting muffs, ear plugs, etc are designed to reduced the unsafe noise levels down to safe levels. Noise canceling headphones are designed to intercept common annoying noises and alter them so they are muffled/partially eliminated. So the low frequency noises of a car, truck, airplane cabin are reduced and or masked over with an acceptable white noise.
Bob, do the headphones you recommended cancel out conversation with lawyers?
Like Bob, I have a shelf full of them. Mrs. Dargo likes her Harmon Kardon NC's and I prefer the Bose 15's over the slightly smaller Bose 3's. The 15's are "over the ear" where the 3's are on the ear. My daughter's expensive Dre Studio headphones are complete junk IMHO unless you only like really loud and distorted music. My objective is to greatly mute ambient sounds so I can listen at moderate to low levels and still enjoy my music. Also, like Bob, I agree that Sony flat missed the boat.
I first bought our Bose headphones for air travel, but they became mostly used (believe it or not) for use while operating our diesel powered zero turn radius Grasshopper mowers. For the years of beatings that the Bose have taken while being used 6-8 hours per week outside in the elements, I've been greatly impressed not only with their sound quality, but their durability. I doubt they were made to be used in heavy dust, in the rain, and for endless hours in direct sunlight while getting beaten by pine branches constantly. Still, we have had only one pair where the headset frame broke after about 6 years of outdoor use.
In reviews I've read, CR and others have said that the Monoprice headphones give you about 60-70% of the quality for about half of what the Bose sell for online. For in the ear, if I'm wearing my Tilley hat, or for just the flat out best sound quality, I have to say that I like my Shure SE535's the best. They are a bit spendy (but, by far not the most expensive), but mute out most all external sounds, are comfortable for several hours at a time, and deliver absolutely amazing sound. Their dynamic range is amazing for earbuds. You will swear that you have a powered subwoofer (if you turn up the bass) along with someone actually slightly tapping a small triangle next to your head, hearing the most crisp and light highs imaginable.
On airplanes, my wife generally either takes her Bose 15's or the Harmon Kardons and I almost exclusively just take my little Shure SE535's that come in a little case that is almost identical in size to the old coin purses that were popular in the 60's (remember them?). I am a self admitted audiophile and have many thousands of dollars tied up in my audio equipment. I'm waiting for someone to tell me that I need therapy for my love of the absolute best quality of music reproduction; especially when listening to classical music.
I first bought our Bose headphones for air travel, but they became mostly used (believe it or not) for use while operating our diesel powered zero turn radius Grasshopper mowers. For the years of beatings that the Bose have taken while being used 6-8 hours per week outside in the elements, I've been greatly impressed not only with their sound quality, but their durability. I doubt they were made to be used in heavy dust, in the rain, and for endless hours in direct sunlight while getting beaten by pine branches constantly. Still, we have had only one pair where the headset frame broke after about 6 years of outdoor use.
In reviews I've read, CR and others have said that the Monoprice headphones give you about 60-70% of the quality for about half of what the Bose sell for online. For in the ear, if I'm wearing my Tilley hat, or for just the flat out best sound quality, I have to say that I like my Shure SE535's the best. They are a bit spendy (but, by far not the most expensive), but mute out most all external sounds, are comfortable for several hours at a time, and deliver absolutely amazing sound. Their dynamic range is amazing for earbuds. You will swear that you have a powered subwoofer (if you turn up the bass) along with someone actually slightly tapping a small triangle next to your head, hearing the most crisp and light highs imaginable.
On airplanes, my wife generally either takes her Bose 15's or the Harmon Kardons and I almost exclusively just take my little Shure SE535's that come in a little case that is almost identical in size to the old coin purses that were popular in the 60's (remember them?). I am a self admitted audiophile and have many thousands of dollars tied up in my audio equipment. I'm waiting for someone to tell me that I need therapy for my love of the absolute best quality of music reproduction; especially when listening to classical music.
Ditto what Brent wrote.
Honestly, spend the $$$ once. You won't regret it.
Honestly, spend the $$$ once. You won't regret it.
Stihl makes a muff for excessive noise that has a radio built into them. There is also a jack for connecting to your iPod/iPhone. Between the muffling of the external noise and the music, you can probably muffle the drone of even the most expressive ambulance chaser.