Jay Mitchosky
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Sep 6, 1998
- Messages
- 3,729
Hey All
I'm looking for noise cancelling headphone alternatives. Earlier this year I bought an iRiver HP-120 MP3 player and a pair of Etymotic ER-6 isolator headphones. The Etymotic product is based on the philosophy of isolating noise rather than cancelling it. The little buds stick way into your ear and effectively seal out most of the external noise in, say, and aircraft. They're really fantastic but my ear shape and depth don't seem to agree with their design. Sometimes I can get the perfect seal and they operate exactly as advertised. The sound is really quite unbelievable complete with crisp imaging right in the middle of your head. However, they tend to be finicky in their location and break the seal (which has a dramatic effect on sound quality, also as advertised). They can also become uncomfortable over extended periods. If my ears agreed with them they would be an ideal travel solution with great sound in an extremely small package at a reasonable price.
That said I'm looking at other options. The Bose (gack) QuietComfort 2 headphones are intriguing. I've listened to the previous generation before and thought they were excellent. The price tag, however, is insane. What other similarly styled noise cancelling headphones compete from a performance level? I have found that the cup style is much more effective than those that simply rest on the ear so please limit suggestions to those models.
Many thanks in advance.
I'm looking for noise cancelling headphone alternatives. Earlier this year I bought an iRiver HP-120 MP3 player and a pair of Etymotic ER-6 isolator headphones. The Etymotic product is based on the philosophy of isolating noise rather than cancelling it. The little buds stick way into your ear and effectively seal out most of the external noise in, say, and aircraft. They're really fantastic but my ear shape and depth don't seem to agree with their design. Sometimes I can get the perfect seal and they operate exactly as advertised. The sound is really quite unbelievable complete with crisp imaging right in the middle of your head. However, they tend to be finicky in their location and break the seal (which has a dramatic effect on sound quality, also as advertised). They can also become uncomfortable over extended periods. If my ears agreed with them they would be an ideal travel solution with great sound in an extremely small package at a reasonable price.
That said I'm looking at other options. The Bose (gack) QuietComfort 2 headphones are intriguing. I've listened to the previous generation before and thought they were excellent. The price tag, however, is insane. What other similarly styled noise cancelling headphones compete from a performance level? I have found that the cup style is much more effective than those that simply rest on the ear so please limit suggestions to those models.
Many thanks in advance.