Listened to a pair of Bose noise canceling phones...

yesterday in Best Buy. I think they were their top model selling for $350. I’m not a headphone guy and don’t know much about phones. But I have to say that they sounded fantastic. The noise canceling seems to give a dead black background. I really wouldn’t mind getting a set. Anything less expensive that I should check out? No need for wireless. Thanks.

 

The noise cancellation in Bose phones is excellent, and they are very comfortable. If I were choosing cans for noise cancellation the Bose would be at the top of the list. But for listening at home, there are better choices at a lower price point.

 

I would go to the local Sam's store. They used to carry Bose headphones - not sure if they still do. But you might find them cheaper there.

 

The Sony 1000X is supposed to be pretty good.

 

To what did you compare them?

Are you specifically looking for noise-cancelling headphones?

 

Can you suggest something in the $100 or so range? No need for noise canceling. I have an Essence DAC w adjustable headphone impedance. I’d like a full range, over the ear model. Thanks.

 

Didn’t really compare them to anything. They just struck me as sounding very good. No need really for noise canceling. Any $100-150 recommendations appreciated. I don’t know much about headphones, but wouldn’t mind a nice pair for night listening.

 

For noise cancellation, Bose can't be beat. However for sound quality, they can easily be beaten. If buying for sound quality alone, I'd probably g for some Senheisers.

 

I have a set of the Bose QC-25s...(mid-level)
Noise-Cancelling is very good, but they are not the most "musical" sounding headphones...
a little bit "dark and dead" sounding...but ideal when flying...

 

Any particular model?

 

In the same ballpark, I would take the Sony X1000 series over the Bose all day long!

 

I don't think that they make any bad model. The 650s are world famous. But they have lots of great models which are significantly less expensive. Go take a listen and see what you like that you can also afford.

FWIW: I love the noise cancelling on Bose Headphones. They are great for wearing in the office, and doing background listening at very low levels while cutting down on all of the background noise. But I would never chose them for listening to music while at home.

 

I have the new QC 35 for travelling and I love it (also with wireless!) but at home I prefer my Hifiman he-400i over the bose for music (also much cheaper).

 

Vinny, I have a pair of the Bose QC that you and others are commenting on. They’re my go-to cans for air travel and stuff like mowing the lawn. Their quieting factor is quite good.

For higher quality music listening, in your price range, I recently got in on the Massdrop for the Sennheiser Jubilee 58x headphones. They are fantastic, and are the 3rd Sennheisers I’ve bought since the very popular HD 414 model in the 70’s. Great depth and clarity.

The Massdrop for them isn’t always open, but I’ve noticed it comes and goes, so you can always submit your name to be notified the next time it opens up.

There are lots of reviews of them on YouTube. Here’s one that I thought was pretty fair:

 

Bose and Sony do good noise canceling headphones. If you're listening in a noisy environment like a plane or bus or train the noise canceling headphones do very well. The downside is that noise canceling headphones are like listening to a CD with noise removal (to remove tape hiss) only much more extreme. Noise removal to remove tape hiss also removes the hiss but also removes a lot of music and audiophile listening content. This is a forum where we want to be able to hear more deeply into the music, even if that means listening to some hiss. A bit of tape hiss isn't a bad thing. Using noise removal to remove that tape hiss is a bad thing. This is a forum where the majority of people would prefer to hear the tape hiss rather than listen to a mastering that used denoise or noise removal to remove the tape hiss.

Listening to Bose noise canceling headphones is like listening to everything with an extreme amount of noise removal. It kills everything in the music and sound that this forum strives for. If you're on a plane with crying babies then Bose noise canceling headphones or Sony noise canceling headphones can be a godsend. But please do not listen to Bose or Sony noise canceling headphones at home where you do not need that level of noise canceling that literally kills what sounds good in music.

When I fly I use standard over the ear closed headphones. With those headphones I still hear the drone of the engine noise and cabin noise, but I'm able to hear all of the music that I'm listening to. I know how how to listen through the cabin noise and focus on the music and the good sound. The only times I would wish for noise canceling headphones is if there is a crying baby near me in the cabin. Other than that, I'd rather have the standard closed headphones. The standard closed headphones allow me to hear more of the music and more of the sound of the recordings even with the background noise of the airplane cabin leaking in.

As an audiophile I regard noise canceling headphones to be evil. An evil to be used only in extreme or special circumstances.

 

According to the manufacturers, the active noise canceling kills the noise outside the cans, to some degree, not the music that comes from them. The music itself should not be affected by the active noise canceling system.

 

Noise cancelling definitely affects the music. However, an airplane isn't really an environment where audiophilia is my top concern. Being able to hear the music over the airplane engines is more of a priority.

My philosophy is wear the proper headphones for the activity. Noise cancelling for air travel. Closed back for hotel rooms when I travel by auto. Sports earphones for the gym. Open back at home. Throw in wireless if you want the convenience.

The Bowers and Wikens PX are a great travel set. Acceptable noise cancelling and sound good enough for a few nights in a hotel with it turned off. Especially if your phone supports Aptx HD.

 

I half agree with you. I definitely agree that noise cancelling headphones are by definition sonically inferior to otherwise equivalent non-noise cancelling headphones. However one thing that I can tell you is that while some models of NC headphones do indeed suck all the ambience out of recordings, exactly as you describe, others aren't nearly so bad in this regard. In fact some sound quite pleasant, even if they are not audiophile quality.

Personally I'd much rather save my precious hearing by playing NC headphones when I am in noisy environments rather than having to crank the volume way up on conventional headphones to overcome the noise. I agree that it is not audiophile listening. But the more that you have to crank the volume to overcome the noise in a room, the more damage that you are going to be doing to your hearing, and the quicker that you are going to start going deaf from noise exposure.

 

I have two pairs of Bose QC25's for noisy environments. My wife and I each have a pair for travel. I will not get on an airplane without them. They were a godsend when I had to stay in the hospital for four nights. I literally slept with them on, and only took them off when one of the medical staff had to speak to me. I also use them to watch TV late at night, plugged into my Roku remote. With an iPod, cell phone, watching a movie on a plane, or for TV, the Bose are fine.
For listening to music at home, I use my Sennheiser HD600 through a Parasound DAC/headphone amp. I also use a cool Mac app called Goodhertz Can Opener, which provides enhancements.
I would not get the Bose headphones if your sole intended use is for audiophile-quality music reproduction. You can do better at that price point. But, for noise cancelling, they definitely fill a need.

 

"dark and dead" is not a good image whilst flying... just sayin'...

 

What DAC/headphone amp?

 

A little over a year ago, I tried out the Bose, the Sony X1000 and the Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 2.0. The Bose had the best noise cancelling (almost too good), but ended up with the Sennheiser because of the way they sounded to me, and have not regretted the decision. They have been great. My son bought the Sony X1000.

 

A friend of mine that is a pilot has commented on Pilot's and flight crew's wearing noise canceling headsets.

There are so many things things that can begin to go wrong on a plane, that begin as abnormal sounds that are not necessarily that loud to begin with. They usually start to get a lot louder as bad things progress.

These warning noises are completely covered up by noise canceling head sets.

By the time the noises and vibrations get loud enough to hear and be felt, the failure's have progressed significantly along.

Sometimes that extra few seconds are enough to recognize the problem and take immediate corrective actions.

BTW, Grado makes some nice sounding inexpensive headphones. They make an SR60E for $79, on Amazon, that are compact light and portable.



A step up are the SR80e's for $99 on Amazon. Grado also makes audiophile cartridges for turntables and they have experience in good sound.



I agree with @Ham Sandwich, Any regular pair of closed back headphones will generally cut off the background noise while you listen to music above its level. Better to go that way, unless your needs are for a sound dead environment.

 

I can see your point for not wearing NC headphones as a pilot. But as a passenger, there is nothing that you could do, even if you were aware of such noises.

And yes, I agree that Grados would be on my short-list of audiophile headphones that I would consider as well. But I really like NC headphones for the office. I can listen at very low volumes, and I can hear when people say my name from across the room, unlike everybody else who is using conventional headphones and who has to remove them to be able to communicate.

 

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