Noise cancelling headphones for air travel...? (1 Viewer)

[Marty Christion]

Well, I've got some long plane trips coming up, and I think I may have to invest in some noise cancelling headphones. I've obviously heard about the Bose for $300, but I'm curious if anyone has other recommendations.

 

[Robert_Dufresne]

Marty

I heard about Bose too but not from others.

 

[PaulT]

Marty,

I've tried the Bose units and found they work as advertised (sat next to someone on a flight who had them and auditioned them for about an hour).

In the Feb/Mar 2004 Sound & Vision there is a comparison between the Bose QuietComfort 2, Shure E3c and Studiophonic Hearos Gold 20 noise cancelling units and the Bose won with best comfort and convenience. The Shure E3c sounded the best according to the review.

I fly a great deal and it would be the only Bose product I would purchase after trying them out. The price is my only sore point. FYI the Bose (299$) are traditional headphone style and the Shure (179$) and Studiophonic (149$) units are ear-buds.

http://www.shure.com
http://www.studiophonic.com
http://www.bose.com

 

[MikeTz]

Try www.headroom.headphone.com for all the information on headphones you can stand (and more).

MT

 

[MikeTz]

Sorry about that headphone link. Headroom's link is as follows: http://headroom.headphone.com/layout.php

MT

 

[Terry St]

Head-Fi.org is another good source of headphone info. Personally, I'd pick a canal-phone that blocks noise like a set of ear-plugs over noise-cancelling phones, but that's just me. Many people have a problem with sticking things up their ear canals. Canal-phones do typically offer greater isolation than noise cancelling cans though. That, plus their small size, makes them ideal for travel.

 

[MikeLi]

I have always been looking for the holy grail when flying as I do it quite often. I normally don't like Bose but their new Quiet IIs are awsome. May not be the best sounding phone like sitting at home where there is no noise as there are much better for the same amount of money but I did not have a problem plunking down $300 sind they refined them and they do work sweet. I hate flying and they sure help calm you down except when you fall asleep the and stweardess taps you and scares the crap out of you.... I'd never fly again without them until something better come along. Best $300 in gear I ever bought.

 

[Seth_L]

I have the Sennheiser PCX250 noise cancelling headphones. I haven't heard the Bose, but I swear by the Sennheisers.

 

[Ray Tsui]

Another vote for the Sennheisers, great sound, good isolation, and comfortable. The other alternative is to get passive earplugs type which block out a lot of sound as well....something like the Shure E3C or Etymotics brand which are anywhere from $100-$300 typically. The sound of those type are unsurpassed but how comfortable you find them will vary widely