In ear Noise cancelling earphones

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nlagalle

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Ok I've had a look and couldn't find a suitable answer.

I have a pair of Bose QC2's which I love dearly. They have paid for themselves many times over IMO. altohugh i am getting flaking on the material on the ear cups and head rest with the material coming off, but that is another story.

I want to get a pair of Noise cancelling earphones. I want active Noise cancelling too.

Has anyone got some recommendations? I saw a 2 pairs of Sony ones on the QF FF Store and also a Phillips. Or does someone else have a better option?

Cheers,

Nick
 
Ok I've had a look and couldn't find a suitable answer.

I have a pair of Bose QC2's which I love dearly. They have paid for themselves many times over IMO. altohugh i am getting flaking on the material on the ear cups and head rest with the material coming off, but that is another story.

I want to get a pair of Noise cancelling earphones. I want active Noise cancelling too.

Has anyone got some recommendations? I saw a 2 pairs of Sony ones on the QF FF Store and also a Phillips. Or does someone else have a better option?

Cheers,

Nick

Nick I bought some Sony NCH at Costco for $70 and they are almost as good as my Bose QC3's.

They dont get that squeal when you lean on them either. A good substitute that still cancels 85% ambient noise.

Regards

Spruce
 
Nick I bought some Sony NCH at Costco for $70 and they are almost as good as my Bose QC3's.

They dont get that squeal when you lean on them either. A good substitute that still cancels 85% ambient noise.

Regards

Spruce


+1 on the sonys just picked up a pair in Wan Chai Computer Centre last week, good value for money IMHO
 
If going got in-ear design, there is no need for noise cancelling technology. The quality in-ear devices have far greater noise isolation than any active noise cancelling technology can achieve. And sound isolation is pretty much linear of the full audible frequency range while active noise cancelling is most affective for constant low-frequency sounds such as air conditioning and engines. Active noise cancelling is far less affective than good sound isolation when it comes to dynamic sounds like crying babies and snoring seat neighbours.

And sound isolation in-ear designs are simpler (passive vs active) so less to go wrong, lighter (no active electronics and power source) and smaller to carry.

I suggest looking at the Shure and Etimotics ranges. I have the Shure SE530 and love them and find them much more effective for noise isolation than the Bose QC2 and QC3 I have used. And I am pretty pedantic when it comes to sound quality ;).
 
Ive got the Sony in ear noise cancelling headphones, while the design is good at blocking some noice the active noice cancelling is great.
I try to never fly without them. I always carry a spare triple a battery too, just in case.

Ive had them for nearly two years now and havent had a problem besides losing one of the little silicon cups off one of the headphones, those little cheap looking bits of silicon are bloody expensive
 
I have QC2 and Shure 530's.

QC2 - The great thing about this is it's noise cancelling and not noise blocking. The drone of the aircraft engines is softened by these babies but you can still hear people talking to you. I find these are like a volume switch on life that takes the additional edge off low sounds like engines and crying babies.

PROS:
Cancels the sound.
Soft, easy to wear for extended periods of time (unless you have big ears).
Easy on/off.

CONS:
Good luck trying to sleep on your side.
You look stupid wearing them walking around.


Shure530 - I had high hopes for these since they were ~$500. They do block sound out quite well, and there's no need to turn them off during takeoff/landing like some crazy FA's make you do. You can wear them as ipod plugs without looking stupid and getting up midflight is easy. Overall, these are $2 earplugs with an audio capability.

PROS:
Sleeping is easy, but not entirely normal due to the earbud being oversized.
Takes up less space, cable is great length so u don't need to take the entire 2m with you to the bathroom (first split is at ~30cm).

CONS:
Cheaper models around that do the same thing.
Takes 20 seconds to put them on properly.


OVERALL:

I now wear standard foam earplugs -- AND QC2's over the top with the volume slightly jacked up. Get the best of both worlds :)
 
I have Jabra C820s over the ear headphones, (were cheaper than QC2s),
Creative (Qantas) HN-505 on the ear headphones,
and Sony MDR-NC22 earplugs, (much cheaper than Shure 520s)
all with active noise cancellation.

Overall I prefer the Sonys, switching the noise cancellation on is
like putting your head underwater.

I'll be using them again this week flying to LHR.

The Jabras are great but you cannot sleep with them on,
the Creatives were ok but your ears get hot and uncomfortable from the constant pressure on a long flight.

For long flights I use the Sonys, sometimes with the Creatives over the top.
My partner gets the Jabras and uses foam plugs to sleep with.

I looked at the Shures recently as the Sonys are getting old.
I'll only use them flying, not commuting or recreationally.

So sound quality is not a factor in my purchasing decision.
If it was, I'd buy Shures and use them with my phone, mp3 player, on the moto, lawnmower etc.

As it's not, I'll get the latest Sony or equivalent next time.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the feedback so far. I've ordered a pair of Sony's from the FF store.

Now I am wondering how long they will take to deliver.. Anyone had some recent experience with the FF store?
 
Thanks for the feedback so far. I've ordered a pair of Sony's from the FF store.

Now I am wondering how long they will take to deliver.. Anyone had some recent experience with the FF store?

I ordered Golf World vouchers a few months back, took ~7 days to arrive.
 
I have been experimenting with all sorts of headphones for a while now. I use mine walking to the station, on the train for an hour each day, at night watching TV after everyone is in bed and finally on flights.

I have tried both wired and wireless and am loving wireless at the moment. The best noise isolating I have found were Ultimate Ears - but their cables fall apart easily. I havent been impressed with Shure (still much background noise).

In the wired world I tried a set of Jabra which were great for sound blocking but died within in a month. Next are my senheisser which are too bulky and not enough noise blocking.

I have a pair of jaybird freedom on order which I hope will be the final solution.

Interestingly on the A380 bluetooth headphones were allowed but not the 738...
 
Also use the Ultimate Ears
(actually the 220vi which I can also use with my mobile - very useful for noisy areas.

Actually found the cable quite good - It is thick enough that it curls, but doesn't bend or knot.

--

The Klipsch brand also has good reviews.
 
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I have the Shure SE530 and love them

amen to that, NM.

There are several comparison reviews around, like this one
Best noise-cancelling headphones - CNET Reviews

I had a pair of Sennheiser PXC300s, thought they were pretty good. Lost them in a seat back:mad:. Read one of the comparison reviews in which the Shure trumped the active noise cancellation models.

Couldn't buy them at the local apple store so got SE420s instead - instantly noted much better noise isolation and much better audio quality. Lost them in a seat back:evil:.

Finally bought some SE530s and immediately recognised a big leg up over the 420s - much richer bass response.

Mrs Pineapple recently acquired some SE310s on my recommendation (couldn't find either of the above at SIN) and they're pretty good too.

Cheers skip
 
I have Jabra C820s over the ear headphones, (were cheaper than QC2s),
Creative (Qantas) HN-505 on the ear headphones,
and Sony MDR-NC22 earplugs, (much cheaper than Shure 520s)
all with active noise cancellation.

Overall I prefer the Sonys, switching the noise cancellation on is
like putting your head underwater.

I'll be using them again this week flying to LHR.

The Jabras are great but you cannot sleep with them on,
the Creatives were ok but your ears get hot and uncomfortable from the constant pressure on a long flight.

For long flights I use the Sonys, sometimes with the Creatives over the top.
My partner gets the Jabras and uses foam plugs to sleep with.

I looked at the Shures recently as the Sonys are getting old.
I'll only use them flying, not commuting or recreationally.

So sound quality is not a factor in my purchasing decision.
If it was, I'd buy Shures and use them with my phone, mp3 player, on the moto, lawnmower etc.

As it's not, I'll get the latest Sony or equivalent next time.
I am now the proud owner of the Sony NCR 33's bought from the mp3 store. Tried them out today at home, sound quite good to me and I'll trial them and a borrowed pair of QC 3's on my upcoming SYD-LHR. The Shure's were tempting but I've decided I really need a new pair of sunnies and the budget won't stretch to both ;)
 
After trying both inside-ear, on-ear and around-air NCH's, my preference is the around-air types. Hence I have just bought myself the Bose QC15's and they are pretty pretty impressive :p That CNET article just earnt some brownie points with the GF who thought my USD$299 spend on them was excessive.
 
I've got the audiotechnica in ear ones for about $300. I do love them for the train/bus and short flights, but I find them uncomfortable after about 4hours. I'm also annoyed because the outer plastic bits keep falling off and I'm petrified about losing them because I can't find a way to buy replacement ones!
 
I don't own any headphones, but on my recent trip, the Bose QC-3s (they are listed as on-ear, though I thought they were around-ear, I must have been wrong) supplied by AA were excellent, and miles above whatever QF, CX and JL supplied (I don't know what they were, but they simply were nowhere near as good IMHO). And I watched all 3 Lord Of The Rings movies end-on-end from LHR-LAX with no discomfort.

Very tempted to get a set!
 
Bose have released a new rrange of in-ear headphones/earphones mainly for the phone market:

http://www.channelnews.com.au/Portable_Devices/iPod_Accessories/F5U5R8B4

Bose is set to challenge Sennheiser in the premium in-ear stereo headphone market with the launch of three new headphones specifically designed for use with a Smartphone. The new Bose offerings will come with a brand new proprietary StayHear tip options which Bose claims allows the headphones to fit in the ear better.

Bose is set to challenge Sennheiser in the premium in-ear stereo headphone market with the launch of, three new headphones specifically designed for use with a Smartphone. The new Bose offerings will come with a brand new proprietary StayHear tip options which Bose claims allows the headphones to fit in the ear better.


The new MIE2i features in-line remote to control the volume and track up/down functions of an attached iPhone, iPod, iPad and MacBook Pro.
 
US$130 vs A$200... for the MEI2 at the bose online stores in the US and here... That is quite a premium...
 
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