We had a death in the family so I need to travel out to Utah. I was wondering about the noise cancelling headphones for the trip. A friend got a pair, the sony kind, they seem to emit a white noise, that you can hear. I see some for 30 dollars, are these as effective as say the 300 dollar bose headphones? thanks.
Noise Cancelling Headphones?
- Thread starter mack
- Start date
Nice! This post is very well composed.mack said:
Sorry, but I can't help you with the headphone question.
-S.S.-
<biased opinion>
Do it right the first time. Get some Etymotic ER-4P headphones (or 4S if you plan to use a headphone amp). Rather than using electronics to cancel noise, they are essentially earplugs with very high quality components. They're even made in the USA. Depending on which tips you use, they're rated up to 38db.
Compared to the electronic kind that you're considering, these will be lighter, simpler, less flashy, and won't need batteries.
</biased opinion>
I really don't know if you've got that kind of cash lying around. They're around $200 on eBay. If I had not dropped the dough for the Etymotics, I would have gotten some Sony earbuds that have deeper insertion. Generically, they're called canalphones. They sit deeper in your ear and have several sizes of soft tips to cancel noise the old-fashioned way.
This is what I'm talking about.
Do it right the first time. Get some Etymotic ER-4P headphones (or 4S if you plan to use a headphone amp). Rather than using electronics to cancel noise, they are essentially earplugs with very high quality components. They're even made in the USA. Depending on which tips you use, they're rated up to 38db.
Compared to the electronic kind that you're considering, these will be lighter, simpler, less flashy, and won't need batteries.
</biased opinion>
I really don't know if you've got that kind of cash lying around. They're around $200 on eBay. If I had not dropped the dough for the Etymotics, I would have gotten some Sony earbuds that have deeper insertion. Generically, they're called canalphones. They sit deeper in your ear and have several sizes of soft tips to cancel noise the old-fashioned way.
This is what I'm talking about.
Earplugs dont work for me, they always fall out and make my ear all sore for some reason.
This site seemed to be very helpfull actually.
www.cnet.com
cool site.
This site seemed to be very helpfull actually.
www.cnet.com
cool site.
Fair enough. I usually have trouble with cheap earbuds, but the flanged soft rubber tips of the Etymotics work for me. They also come with the squishy memory foam tips that regular earplugs are made from.
CNET is ok, but as you mentioned, a lot of headphone selection comes down to personal preference. I can't remember any of the sites, but there are actually a good number of HiFi forums out there. I'm sure you could find a few to search for noise cancellation info.
CNET is ok, but as you mentioned, a lot of headphone selection comes down to personal preference. I can't remember any of the sites, but there are actually a good number of HiFi forums out there. I'm sure you could find a few to search for noise cancellation info.
etys are very nice on all accounts, but pretty spendy too.
i had some sonys (NCS5?) which worked well and felt pretty good, but they were stolen at work. the replacement sonys i got don't sound nearly as good, and they are not comfortable at all either. they are the NCS20 model.
however, the way they work (destructive interference) does work well. it makes a noticeable difference on a plane or subway.
i had some sonys (NCS5?) which worked well and felt pretty good, but they were stolen at work. the replacement sonys i got don't sound nearly as good, and they are not comfortable at all either. they are the NCS20 model.
however, the way they work (destructive interference) does work well. it makes a noticeable difference on a plane or subway.
I have a pair of sennehiser NC headphones that have made it through about a dozen intercontinental flights in one piece.
Cost me about $150 and they're well worth it. Not as nice as the bose that you get in business class, but when you're in coach (or on a train) they rock.
Cost me about $150 and they're well worth it. Not as nice as the bose that you get in business class, but when you're in coach (or on a train) they rock.
2nd that on the etys... I have a pair of e4p's and they're really quite incredible for isolating noise - I use the foam ends. The er6's are the cheaper option from etymotic.rvlacich said:
Another one you may want to look at are the Shure e3c's - similar concept as the Etys (e2's are the cheaper Shure option here).
My wife is an acoustic engineer and she prefers what she considers "the more elegant solution" of noise-isolation vs. noise-cancelling methods.