noise cancellation headphones

There was a recent shoot-out in the New York Times and the International Herald Tribune (recent, as in this week or last) among 10 or so noise canceling headsets. Audio Technica, Bose and another that I can't remember came top.

I own a pair of Shure in-ear 'phones; they sound good but are not comfortable for long periods of listening. I find the Bose on-the-ear model very comfortable, plus they sound good. I do have a problem with the retail price, however.

 

The Bose is worth it to me. I can even mow 3 acres on a noisy tractor with those and my iPod.

 

The third set was the Panasonic RP-HC500.

Paul

 

I have never owned any Bose products and doubt I ever will. I have read good reviews about those Bose Comfort II Noise Cancellation Headphones but doubt I will buy them since I no longer use my MP3 on the go that much. Besides, my AKG NC-28 Noise Cancellation Headphones work quite well and are easier to carry and AKG has a much better reputation than Bose when it comes to headphones.

I would not mind getting some vintage, American-made JBL's.

 

That's too bad. I love my Bose QC2 - I only use them when I fly, which is quite a lot - over 120,000 miles a year for the last 4 years. This is my second pair, as my first pair were stolen. I use them with an 4G 60GB iPod connected via a custom Audio Line Out dock (Jena wire) to a Headroom Total Airhead 2.

 

For all you Bose fanboys: http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html I'm tellin' ya, the big names aren't what they used to be. Ugh, I feel yucko... that trendy stuff video with the Ottos was prophetic - I got serious food poisoning from sushi yesterday, today I am still recovering and very dehydrated and sucking down gatorade. Wish I could take a sledgehammer to some sushi right now...

 

I have them and they are okay for noise canceling. I compared them to the Bose and they did pretty well, for a lot less money. In fact, it seemed like fairly equal levels of reduction. In each case they seem to be done with phasing, so there can be some pretty odd psychoacoustics with any noise canceling.

It depends what you use them for. I use them when composing on a bus or plane, so I don't really care about sound quality that much. I more care about the noise canceling.

It seemed to me like the Bose had much better sound quality. But I don't really like to listen to recordings on headphones. As I said, I use them only to reference cheap soft samples reproducing parts I've composed or arranged. They would not sound that good on any headphones, no matter what.

So it depends on your use. In any case, I have a bad time with earbuds, so I'd recommend the Panasonics over those any day!

 

I always avoid eating sushi when the weather is hot since raw fish goes bad pretty fast. I have visited SF many times since I have two sisters living in CA, but does SF really have any hot weather?

 

don't get the shure e2's. i lost mine and i'm not even bothering to look for them.....

 

Couldn't agree more on the Senn HD 280 Pros. They seal really well around your ear so they isolate extremely well. They work for me on the train and subway (though they do make you look like a total geek out in public because they're spectacularly big and bulky). They sound really great and can be had for around $80-100.

I personally don't like what active noise cancellatuion does to the sound of the music. I also can't stand the sound of Bose headphones - to me the bass is really fat and flabby sounding.

 

Look for some used Sennheiser's on ebay... I purchased a nice pair off ebay that look like new... They sound fantastic.... You should be able to pick some up for under $100.

 

i have some sennheiser hd 280's. i liked them, but they were not comfortable over extended listening periods.

i got a pair of ultrasone dj1 pro's that are KILLER..... the DJ1-Pros have a lower SPL so they are theoretically safer for your ears at high volumes. the DJ1-Pro is not a music listening headphone. if you want that, buy the HFI-700, HFI-2200 or PROLine 750. the DJ1-Pro definitely does enhance the high and low frequencies to make it easier to mix in loud enviornments. in addition to great sound quality, you can actually make out the placement of sounds in the mix, for instance if a producer panned a hihat 35% to the left. in most headphones you simply hear LEFT and RIGHT. you don't hear "sort of to the right, and up a little bit," which Ultrasones do allow you to perceive.

 

I see no one's brought up Etymotics yet. I just recently got the ER-6i to use with my Ipod on flights. Have mixed feelings so far. It still feels kind of weird having something stuck that far into my ear (and Jaime's links made me very nervous).

 

Is Sennheiser HD-280PRO still available? I don't believe the model has any active noise cancellation circuit ...

 

Not really, no. I mean, most of the year it's either foggy or drizzly - but there have been some days in the 90's this month. I actually bought the sushi in the north bay, and if you go outside of SF across any of the bridges and drive for 20 minutes - the temperature rapidly increases.

 

Sensaphonics

just got fitted for molds, gonna send 'em off to Sensaphonics and have ProPhonic 2X-S monitors made. anyone have Sensaphonics? they have been highly recommended by monitor engineers i know.

 

I received the Bose QC2's during my previous employer's holiday raffle a few years ago, and honestly, I love them (for traveling). I used to not bother listening to music on a plane, but now I do nothing but. However, I would NOT pay full retail for them. If I had to buy today, I'd be all over the A-T's. They just released an in-ear version for those that prefer that style, though I'm cans-or-bust, myself.

 

I also have these and I am very pleased with the noise canceling capability as well as the sound quality

 

I have these and I like them. They are perfect for listening to the IPod in noisy environments. You have to get used to putting them on and to the feeling of them staying in your ear-canal, though

 

I have these audio technica ANC7 also and they do sound very good.
I have not compared them, but have heard they sound better than the much more expensive sennheisers.

 

The other suggestions for in ear monitors like the shure e500 are also a good option. they do cancel the surrounding noise, but need some getting used to.

 

AFAIK the Shure and Etymotic in-ear buds are not noise-cancelling. They just seal really well and block out noise, but noise-cancelling phones actually have some weird technology to intercept outside noise and get rid of it.

 

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