Which noise canceling headphones should I buy?

EarlyPorsche · 05-13-2008, 12:52 PM

I want some noise canceling headphones. I want them to make it REALLY QUIET though. Would you go bose, sony, panasonic, or so forth?

Porsche_monkey · 05-13-2008, 12:57 PM

Pilots? You should chime in here....

Dantilla · 05-13-2008, 12:59 PM

I use Bose in my airplane.

I haven't used them all, but of the ones I have tried, nothing is as comfortable for a long time as Bose.

Most are fine for a short period. You won't really know until you have them on for 2 or 3 hours.

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

I use the Bose X for flying (and did for several years flying cargo in old, poorly-insulated, noisy freighters). They're wonderful and worth every penny.

For personal use/travel I bought the QC3's. Similarly awesome. They make flying on the "cattle car" airlines tolerable (don't have to listen to noisy conversations, kids screaming, etc.)

widgeon13 · 05-13-2008, 01:14 PM

Have used Bose w/ both aircraft comm and ipod, don't believe anything rivals them for sound and comfort, not cheap but certainly seem to be well worth the investment.

island911 · 05-13-2008, 01:52 PM

QC2's

kang · 05-13-2008, 02:06 PM

Question about these... I know they plug into a music playing device, like say an ipod. But can you have them in silent mode only, where you don't need to be listening to music while you are wearing them?

gassy · 05-13-2008, 02:18 PM

yep. they're great even if you're not listening to any music

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

The only disadvantage to the QC3s that I can think of is that they will not work passively. In other words, if you succeed in somehow draining the battery, you won't be able to listen to your Walkman or IPod on them. They ONLY work with power.

The upside is that the little battery lasts at least 12 hours (probably more, I never had it on without recharging for more than about 12 hours time). That's gonna' be adequate for virtually any situation I can think of.

Don Plumley · Don Plumley's Garage

Bose. I don't fly long distances without them.

DUK · 05-13-2008, 04:45 PM

I've had several pairs and won't put anything but the Bose on now. Even have their ear buds for the i-pod, worth every penny.

jyl · jyl's Garage

Go to hardware store, buy a $20 set of -25dB hearing protectors, like you would wear when operating a jackhammer or shooting guns. Put in your iPod earbuds, put hearing protectors over them. Go to audio store and compare the result to the $300 Bose QC noise-cancelling headphones. Unless you are status-conscious, or don't care about $280, I think this is a worthwhile experiment.

The noise-cancelling headphones are fine for masking steady, mid-range sounds like the rumble of an airplane. But the more transient the sound, and the more varied the frequency, the less well they work. That's why no-one wears Bose QCs to the pistol range. In a more routine example, if you spend a 5 hour flight with a screaming, gasping, bawling baby in the seat behind yours, the Bose will do a great job with the airplane noise, but the $20 protectors will do a great job with the airplane noise and with the baby.

You can always spray paint the $20 number silver and stencil "Bose Platinum Super-Quiet Ultra-Comfort Limited Edition" on them.

I did find a website once with instructions for building noise-cancelling circuits into a set of hearing protectors - which would be the best - but whatever I bring, I'd like to be able to accidentally leave on the plane without much caring.

The only problem maybe that the hearing protectors can fit tightly. I bent the headband a bit.

cstreit · cstreit's Garage

The Bose. I have a set of Phillips and they are "okay" for the price but nothing compared to the Bose. ...and the "in the ear" or small ear muff style don't work very well. The over the ear style is the way to go. Makes flying so much easier these days.

ErVikingo · 05-13-2008, 05:45 PM

Bose work better but the Sony inear are more comfortable, work passively (to both muffle noise and reproduce sound) and are easier to carry.

ErVikingo · 05-13-2008, 05:45 PM

Bose work better but the Sony inear are more comfortable, work passively (to both muffle noise and reproduce sound) and are easier to carry.

alf · 05-13-2008, 06:46 PM

Try this...

Foam ear plugs thye give you on the plane and cheapie headphones turned up loud on the plane. I tried that once when I forgot my noise cancelling headphones on trans pacific flight and it worked quite nicely. In fact, for sleeping i'd rather just have ear plugs over NC headphones.

YTNUKLR · YTNUKLR's Garage

Buy the Shure SE310 Noise-ISOLATING earphones. They are foam earplugs that have the normal music, etc. They do not CANCEL noise, as in generate its own noise, they just isolate your ears from sound, just like earplugs.

I just got a pair for my Birthday, and music will never be the same again... I think they are about $180.

Scott

efhughes3 · efhughes3's Garage

I cannot stand in-ear headsets, they hurt my ears. My wife's Bose QC-2's didn't hold up at all, with minimal use. This is not the norm, but it happened to us nonetheless, so I found it hard to send them several hundred more of our dollars.

I bought a set of Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 about 4 or 5 months (35,000 airmiles) ago for right around $120. They are as comfortable and sound as good as the QC-2's did (when they worked) for about 1/3 the price. At that point, they can almost be considered disposable.

island911 · 05-13-2008, 09:05 PM

Yep, the in-ear headsets really suck when munching food too . . they amplify every bite to a loud crunch.

jhg41977 · jhg41977's Garage

I am also looking for NC headphones. From what I have read, the QC3s' sound like the way to go, where is the best price for these? Do they have factory refurbished units through a retailer other than Bose (I did not see a refurb section on their site)? Thanks!