Best price on Bose noise cancelling headphones? Other alternatives? (1 Viewer)

[Jay Mitchosky]

Header self explanatory. I really want a pair of these for travel as I find them extremely effective. But I also find it tough to part with US$299 usually requested for the Bose product. Can anyone suggest lower prices online, or similar products from other manufacturers?
Thanks.
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--Jay
"No one can hear when you're screaming in digital."
My Home Theatre Pictures...
"You're no messiah. You're, you're a movie of the week. You're a ... t-shirt, at best."

 

[Brandon_T]

You may want to check out the Sony line of noise cancelling Headphones. If I recall correctly, when I worked for them they has 3 lines. The earbud style, the walkman style, and then the larger home stereo style. I did have a chance to demo them, and the walkman style seemed fairly effective. I think you can pick up a set for about $80usd.
Brandon

 

[Charles J P]

Panasonic also has a pair in the $80 area
http://www.42photo.com/productdetail.asp?level=118&catid=79&productid=3722
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[LarryH]

I bought a pair of Sony NR headphones for about $75 (can't remember the model number) several years ago, but I was quite disappointed with their effectiveness. I was working in an office that had some quite annoying hum from the A/C system, but they did not make any noticeable reduction in perceived noise. Also, they introduced quite a bit of hiss into the signal from the FM radio I was using.
Obviously, this is not definitive information, but I do recommend that you not spend a lot of money on one without either trying first or having a good return understanding.

 

[Jay Mitchosky]

Thanks for the quick feedback. Has anybody tried the Panasonic headphones? I have demoed the ones from Bose and was totally impressed with their delivered promise, at least in the environments tested. Sounded fine as well.
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--Jay
"No one can hear when you're screaming in digital."
My Home Theatre Pictures...
"You're no messiah. You're, you're a movie of the week. You're a ... t-shirt, at best."

 

[Page]

I was doing some plane traveling and thought I'd get a pair of noise cancelling headphones to go along with my portable DVD player. Tried Panasonic, Sony, Aiwa, and a couple of others. I was not impressed with the sound quality...and they were not very comfortable. On the Internet, I started reading other people's thoughts on the idea and hit upon a couple of people suggesting the Sony MDR-V6 pair of headphones. I was able to find a pair and they work great.
They are NOT noise cancelling, but they fit over the ear and block out outside noise while giving the full spectrum of sound. Plus, they are VERY comfortable and fold up into a neat little "ball". The problem is Sony doesn't make they anymore. They have a later version, but I've been told the sound quality is a little less than the older version. Plus, the new model folds up, but not as neatly as the MDR-V6. I think I paid around a hundred to two hundred bucks for them. (This is a couple of years back.) The sound quality is very good...so much so that I can use them at home with my home stereo.
Just another idea. I've been where you are, and you might want to give this idea a try.

 

[Kimmo Jaskari]

Sony EX70LP earplug style phones is one more option. They block out a great deal of the surrounding noise and work very well indeed on planes and ships etc to keep the noise down. They also cost only about $50. I'm extremely pleased with mine and use them just about every day.
http://www.audioreview.com/reviews/Headphone/product_70533.shtml
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/Kimmo
[Edited last by Kimmo Jaskari on September 04, 2001 at 02:08 AM]

 

[Thomas_Berg]

i dont know if this is what you're looking for (b/c they're not noise cancelling), but i own a pair of Sennheiser HD-580s and LOVE THEM! forget Sony or Bose, the Sennheisers will top them across the board. these are HANDS DOWN the best (and most comfortable) headphones i have ever worn.
check them out before you buy. i got mine for $180 (including shipping!) from a place in Germany that sells them cheap and includes the 2 year warranty (it's called Meier-Audio). email me if you want their email address.
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-Thomas
Click here to visit my webpage.

 

[Jay Mitchosky]

I'm interested only in noise cancelling models for air travel.
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--Jay
"No one can hear when you're screaming in digital."
My Home Theatre Pictures...
"You're no messiah. You're, you're a movie of the week. You're a ... t-shirt, at best."

 

[Greg Schwabacher]

I hate to say it Jay, but if you want the Bose headphones (which, from what I've read, seem to be the most effective consumer-level noise-canceling headphones), it looks like you'll have to pony up the $300. Coincidentally, I just did the same thing, which was hard for two reasons: first, it's against my religion to buy anything Bose, and second, $300 is a big chunk of change for headphones. However, the Boses work as advertised. You might want to try visiting a Bose outlet store to see if you can find a pair at a discount that have been refurbished or returned. Of course, Ebay is another possibility.
Good luck!
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[Jay Mitchosky]

it's against my religion to buy anything Bose...

You might want to try visiting a Bose outlet store to see if you can find a pair at a discount that have been refurbished or returned.

Tried two stores this weekend and both sell for list price of $299. They do work, though.
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--Jay
"No one can hear when you're screaming in digital."
My Home Theatre Pictures...
"You're no messiah. You're, you're a movie of the week. You're a ... t-shirt, at best."

 

[Bob McElfresh]

What stores carried the headphones?
My wife is heading for Asia in a few weeks and I'd like to suprise her with a set of these, but I cannot find a local B&M.

 

[jason celaya]

I travel quite a bit myself and i was looking for some headphones as well. I'not too interested in NR as I am in just good theater type sound from my laptop. I was looking at the sony mdr600 as well as a new panasonic (vss 710?). Any other suggestions would be great. I dont really want to spend more than 50 bucks (been looking for used ones on ebay)-anything will be better than the crappy airport earplug shit ive been using. Thanks,J-

 

[Alvin Lau]

I just bought a pair of Sennheiser noise-cancelling headphones from Audio Advisor for $150. Probably not as good as the Bose pair in effectiveness because they don't cover the ears but rather sit on top of them, but they're definitely more comfortable than the pair of Sony noise-cancelling headphones I have as well.

 

[Jay Mitchosky]

What stores carried the headphones?

I'm still waiting for that question to be answered in this thread.

Looking specifically for on-line where I might find a deal. You can also buy them directly at www.bose.com for US$299. Don't bother trying to hunt down an outlet store as they don't seem to change the price.
I'm not sure if Bose is even available from on-line vendors given the lack of response here.

I just bought a pair of Sennheiser noise-cancelling headphones from Audio Advisor for $150. Probably not as good as the Bose pair in effectiveness because they don't cover the ears but rather sit on top of them...

I noticed those at the AA website (actually backordered right now). But I'd rather spend the extra bucks for the cups. It's like a vacuum when you put them on. The downside of Bose's design is that they're not very portable, which may very well be a deal-breaker for many people. They don't fold down at all. They should have at least constructed them so that the collapse in the middle of the headband.
The NR works really well on these. How much that has to do with the ear cups I'm not sure, but as a team they work as advertised for eliminating/significantly reducing constant noise. Like the thrum of an engine or a crowd.
I'd like to find a good deal QUICKLY as I want to have them for my trip to LA for the HTF Meet. I should have picked up a pair at the outlet last weekend - they have a 30 day guarantee there as well. But I'm SURE I can do better than $300 for them.
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--Jay
"No one can hear when you're screaming in digital."
My Home Theatre Pictures...
"You're no messiah. You're, you're a movie of the week. You're a ... t-shirt, at best."

 

[AndrewJ]

Jay, the most effective noise cancelling headsets on the market are made by NCT (Noise Cancellation Technologies)and called NoiseBuster. They are available from The Sharper Image for $39-95. I have used them extensively for air travel for over 3 years and they are very effective. Not only do they reduce the background noise substantially, but they also increase intelligibility of the film sound track enormously, due in part to the reduced noise level but also because the sound quality is way better than the cheap headphones that the airlines supply.
The NoiseBusters are on The Sharper Image website, or you may have a store near you. If not there is one in Beverly hills, so you could at least pick up a pair for your return trip!!!
p.s. I may be biased, since my brother designed them ! but they honestly cannot be beat for close to 1/10th the price of the Bose

 

[Andrej Dolenc]

I'll second Kimmo's suggestion for the Sony EX70LP headphones. These are closed-type earbuds, not noise cancelling. They do work extremely well though. I've used mine on an airplane (sitting in the back right next to the engine) and was able to hear the music I was listening to loud and clear. Well worth the $50 I spent on them. Local shop (Graffitti audio / video) had them & let me try them out before buying them.
Andrej
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[AndrewJ]

Jay, the most effective noise cancelling headsets on the market are made by NCT (Noise Cancellation Technologies)and called NoiseBuster. They are available from The Sharper Image for $39-95. I have used them extensively for air travel for over 3 years and they are very effective. Not only do they reduce the background noise substantially, but they also increase intelligibility of the film sound track enormously, due in part to the reduced noise level but also because the sound quality is way better than the cheap headphones that the airlines supply.
The NoiseBusters are on The Sharper Image website, or you may have a store near you. If not there is one in Beverly hills, so you could at least pick up a pair for your return trip!!!
p.s. I may be biased, since my brother designed them ! but they honestly cannot be beat for close to 1/10th the price of the Bose

 

[Andrej Dolenc]

I'll second Kimmo's suggestion for the Sony EX70LP headphones. These are closed-type earbuds, not noise cancelling. They do work extremely well though. I've used mine on an airplane (sitting in the back right next to the engine) and was able to hear the music I was listening to loud and clear. Well worth the $50 I spent on them. Local shop (Graffitti audio / video) had them & let me try them out before buying them.
Andrej
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[AndrewJ]

Jay, the most effective noise cancelling headsets on the market are made by NCT (Noise Cancellation Technologies)and called NoiseBuster. They are available from The Sharper Image for $39-95. I have used them extensively for air travel for over 3 years and they are very effective. Not only do they reduce the background noise substantially, but they also increase intelligibility of the film sound track enormously, due in part to the reduced noise level but also because the sound quality is way better than the cheap headphones that the airlines supply.
The NoiseBusters are on The Sharper Image website, or you may have a store near you. If not there is one in Beverly hills, so you could at least pick up a pair for your return trip!!!
p.s. I may be biased, since my brother designed them ! but they honestly cannot be beat for close to 1/10th the price of the Bose