Noise-canceling headphones--

Anyone have knowledge of/experience with noise canceling headphones? I know there aren't many BOSE fans in high-end audio as far as home equipment goes.

What about the BOSE headphones? They're definitely not cheap!

Sony makes some noise-canceling that are about $100 less.

Is the noise-canceling just another marketing scheme? Would I be better served in these price ranges to just seek the best portables available? What's the best value in a portable headphone set?

Thanks for any input.

doug

 

I have some made by Shure that are under $100. I can't recall the model number right now, but they are actually adapted from in-ear monitors that bands use on stage. They are like earplugs essentially with a heavy-duty cable attached to them. They are a bit awkward at first, but they definitely cut the noise out. I use them every morning on the train and listen to music in near total silence. You just need to either keep the ear pads clean or change them so they seal into your ear well enough.

 

I've had a couple pair. One was Koss the other I got in one of those electronic stores in the Pittsburg Airport (can't remember the name of the store). But they're great for flying. I would say that if you're in an environment that has a constant background noise then they work pretty good. The main thing is that you can listen at reasonable levels but they don't block out all the noise so you can still hear people talk etc. I'd say the sound quality is average.

 

Are you talking about those headphones with mics in them that add a polarity reversed signal into the headphones to cancel out external noises or closed cup headphones?

I heard a pair of the signal canceling phones and they actually worked surprisingly well. Interesting concept. It's interesting they got it to work so well. I thought there'd be a problem with feedback if you either got them too loud or cupped your hand around the phones but I couldn't make it happen.

They tried this with cars too. They had mics outside and added the same sound back into the car speakers with the polarity reversed. Don't know it that worked as well.

 

I have a pair of noise cancelling Sennheisers which are very good for planes, trains and automobiles A friend has the Bose model and he is very happy with them, his major requirement was reduce fatigue whilst travelling on the underground trains - for which they do a very good job of lowering the backround noise levels.

All the best - Andrew

 

The signal canceling type.

 

They work quite well. I got better results with noisy kids and in cars than in planes. The air pressure changes in planes still tweak my ears a lot. They obviously don't help with that.

 

They oughta make "No-Noise"-canceling headphones for those of us who like are music unfussed with.

 

Guys,

Thanks for the input. A friend has the new model BOSE (battery powered, mic w/counter signal as described by yesman), and they are very well designed as far as travel use, etc.

BTW, Yesman, I just got my "Pilgrim"/Marty Stuart CD. What a great piece of music!

Thanks for the rec'd, and very nice piece of work. That's the kind of stuff that will stand up well with time and further rumination.

doug

 

Thanks so much Doug. I appreciate your kind words.

I'm trying to get a 5.1 edition in the works but am being held up by a lot of people not interested in the project.

 

The noise canceling headphones I use are made by Jensen. Although I'm not happy with the frequency response I found they do ok when I'm listening to internet radio at the computer ( such as BBC 2, which I have mentioned in another thread ). They do a good job of canceling out background noise such as a air conditioner and removes some of the presence of TV audio, or voices in the room.

One side note, when I first got them I used them quite often. When I went back to my Sony MDR 7506 headphones for more serious listening I noticed the 7506's sounded awful. The bass response had dropped and they had an "tinny" sound. My first reaction was that the 7506's were damaged. But after I thought about it, I realized that my ears had become accustomed to the noise canceling headphones. A few days later the 7506's were ok ( or I should say my ears recovered ).

I still don't know if this was due to the different frequency response of the 2 headphones or the "phase reversal" . It really amazes me how human ears can adapt.