headphones

[Row1and]

do you know of any other good noise canceling headphones other than bose? I think paying $300 for headphones is a little outrageous.

 

[cw42]

sennheiser pxc's

 

[RightIsWrong]

Someone that I work with just bought a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 QuietPoint Noise-Cancelling Headphones and he absolutely loves them and they were more than 1/2 the cost.

 

[soccerballtux]

Better than noise cancelling is noise reducing; using plain old ear-plug technology. Look into Shure's headphones; I have the E3c's and they're great. Probably won't buy another pair of headphones ever.

Look into the E4c's; of all the Exc models (yes even then e5's) they have the most linear and accurate frequency response.

Also consider the Etymonics; I'm finding the thick wires on my E3's to be too much for much movement. When jogging they fall out because of the weight; and when put over my ears and behind my back they don't stay in completely. Other people will swear by them; but the truth is that's a darn fat wire that just doesn't need to be that fat.

The wires on the etymonics are much thinner; people thought they could break them; however in seeing other students wearing them I don't think that would be a problem; they look much more elegant and look like they're much more comfortable. However, with the Etymonics you'll have to keep replacing the foam plug part of it; the E2/3/4/5's come with foam, but also come with silicone plugs of 3 different sizes to ensure a good fit with any ear.

Both brands are good though; for ~$150 you should be able to get a nice Etymonic; and IIRC the E4c's are like $160-200. Totally worth it considering you'll never need another pair of headphones again in your life; and if the Shures (I don't know about Et's warranty) break, all you have to do is send them $50 along with the broken headphones; they can be smashed with a hammer for all they care, and they'll send you replacements for your lifetime).

They're great too because you can take them mowing with you and they block out everything. They work better than noise cancelling because the the noise cancelling ones only filter continuous noise (think airplane noise); but the Ety's/Shure's reduce ALL noise by 20 or so decibels; which means the bumps you hit on the train in public transit will have their noise reduced; however since the bumps are not a continuous noise, the algorithm used in noise cancelling phones cannot account for it; and it passes unimpeded into your ear.

 

[uhohs]

etymotics come with tri-flanges as well as foams.

with ~150 you can get etymotic er4p's

 

[PoofyHair]

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/...e_eliminating_headset/

 

[Quasmo]

Sennheiser HD-280 Pros. They're closed circumaural, which means no sound gets in or out and they cover your entire ear.

 

[Row1and]

Originally posted by: soccerballtux
Better than noise cancelling is noise reducing; using plain old ear-plug technology. Look into Shure's headphones; I have the E3c's and they're great. Probably won't buy another pair of headphones ever.

Look into the E4c's; of all the Exc models (yes even then e5's) they have the most linear and accurate frequency response.

Also consider the Etymonics; I'm finding the thick wires on my E3's to be too much for much movement. When jogging they fall out because of the weight; and when put over my ears and behind my back they don't stay in completely. Other people will swear by them; but the truth is that's a darn fat wire that just doesn't need to be that fat.

The wires on the etymonics are much thinner; people thought they could break them; however in seeing other students wearing them I don't think that would be a problem; they look much more elegant and look like they're much more comfortable. However, with the Etymonics you'll have to keep replacing the foam plug part of it; the E2/3/4/5's come with foam, but also come with silicone plugs of 3 different sizes to ensure a good fit with any ear.

Both brands are good though; for ~$150 you should be able to get a nice Etymonic; and IIRC the E4c's are like $160-200. Totally worth it considering you'll never need another pair of headphones again in your life; and if the Shures (I don't know about Et's warranty) break, all you have to do is send them $50 along with the broken headphones; they can be smashed with a hammer for all they care, and they'll send you replacements for your lifetime).

They're great too because you can take them mowing with you and they block out everything. They work better than noise cancelling because the the noise cancelling ones only filter continuous noise (think airplane noise); but the Ety's/Shure's reduce ALL noise by 20 or so decibels; which means the bumps you hit on the train in public transit will have their noise reduced; however since the bumps are not a continuous noise, the algorithm used in noise cancelling phones cannot account for it; and it passes unimpeded into your ear.

wow, you went all out on your reply and I appreciate it. These ones are earbuds tho', and I prefer over the ear. Also I have never heard of noise reducing. now it sounds like it doesn't cancel the noise, it reduces it... so does that mean i still hear it, but not as loud??? Nonetheless, it's something i would definitely want to look into.
The reason i really want noise cancelling headphones is for flying.. small planes on Northwest airlines suck!

 

[CKent]

There's a distinction between active and passive noise cancelling that you should be aware of.

Passive noise cancelling is simply creating a seal between the ear and the outside world. The Etymotics and Sennheiser 280s recommended above are passive. This is also known as sealed headphones. (ps - I have 280s, and the headband WILL crack. They're notorious for this. While they do sound good, I wouldn't recommend them because of that).

Active noise cancelling is where a chip analyzes incoming noise from the outside world and instructs the drivers to play the opposite of that frequency, thus cancelling it out. I'm going to buy a pair of these myself, since I have to turn my Shure e2cs up WAY too much to drown out my snowblower, lawnmower, etc. Active noise cancelling eliminates that need.

Here's the ones I'm looking at

 

[Row1and]

Originally posted by: CKent
There's a distinction between active and passive noise cancelling that you should be aware of.

Passive noise cancelling is simply creating a seal between the ear and the outside world. The Etymotics and Sennheiser 280s recommended above are passive. This is also known as sealed headphones. (ps - I have 280s, and the headband WILL crack. They're notorious for this. While they do sound good, I wouldn't recommend them because of that).

Active noise cancelling is where a chip analyzes incoming noise from the outside world and instructs the drivers to play the opposite of that frequency, thus cancelling it out. I'm going to buy a pair of these myself, since I have to turn my Shure e2cs up WAY too much to drown out my snowblower, lawnmower, etc. Active noise cancelling eliminates that need.

Here's the ones I'm looking at

customers seems to like this one better if you don't care to look at. They are a sony brand

 

[CKent]

Originally posted by: Row1and

Originally posted by: CKent
There's a distinction between active and passive noise cancelling that you should be aware of.

Passive noise cancelling is simply creating a seal between the ear and the outside world. The Etymotics and Sennheiser 280s recommended above are passive. This is also known as sealed headphones. (ps - I have 280s, and the headband WILL crack. They're notorious for this. While they do sound good, I wouldn't recommend them because of that).

Active noise cancelling is where a chip analyzes incoming noise from the outside world and instructs the drivers to play the opposite of that frequency, thus cancelling it out. I'm going to buy a pair of these myself, since I have to turn my Shure e2cs up WAY too much to drown out my snowblower, lawnmower, etc. Active noise cancelling eliminates that need.

Here's the ones I'm looking at

customers seems to like this one better if you don't care to look at. They are a sony brand

I wouldn't buy a Sony product if doing so would save a child's life.

 

[George P Burdell]

Like soccerballtux, I prefer noise-isolation over noise-canceling. I favor Ultimate Ears over Shure.

 

[sciencewhiz]

Originally posted by: soccerballtux
They're great too because you can take them mowing with you and they block out everything. They work better than noise cancelling because the the noise cancelling ones only filter continuous noise (think airplane noise); but the Ety's/Shure's reduce ALL noise by 20 or so decibels; which means the bumps you hit on the train in public transit will have their noise reduced; however since the bumps are not a continuous noise, the algorithm used in noise cancelling phones cannot account for it; and it passes unimpeded into your ear.

It's not true that noise canceling headphones only work on continuous noise. My cheap noise canceling headphones work almost as well on the sound of a dropped book as airplane noise.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Row1and, I would recommend the "noise isolating" "earbuds" as well. They are extremely effective.

Traditional earbuds suck and don't really isolate from outside noise all that well. The ones that people are recommending actually go deep inside the ear canal just like ear plugs. When you have them in, even without playing anything through them, they already act as pretty good ear plugs. When you actually play music through them, you'll be hard pressed to hear anything BUT your music. This has its pluses and minuses. They are AWESOME for the airplane. A good seal can mean complete audio isolation. Unfortunately, they may sometimes seal a bit too well - it's hard to hear anything - people trying to get your attention for instance. Also, when you have them in and you're eating, you hear yourself chewing. I don't like to use mine while I'm eating and watching a DVD because the sound of my chewing is mixed in with the DVD sound. Also depending on your ear you may need to try a few before getting the right fit.

I have a pair of Ultimate Ears. I chose these because the Ultimate Ears have earbuds that can actually detach from the wires, so if the wire gets broken, as was the case with my last 3 headphones, I can simply replace the wire and not the entire $150 set. Vice versa with breaking one earbud. You can replace just that one earbud.

 

[potato28]

Marshmellows with the Shure olives or the E2C yellow foamies. Also Kramer modded for better SQ. Head-Fi ftw!

 

[uhohs]

using my altec lansing im716's now. <3 but with noise isolating/blocking headphones i always have people sneaking up on me while i'm watching videos. embarrassment/awkwardness ensues.