Looking for some nice noise cancelling on ear headphones (Not in ear). What do you guys reccomend? Are the Bose really all they are cracked up to be?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
On ear headphone help
- Thread starter kovalchuk71
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I own two pairs of Bose Headphones. I have the in-ear triports and the over the ear triports. I absolutely love both of them. The triports are not really advertised as noise canceling, such as the quietcomforts. The triports do a pretty good job of canceling out most noise, but I have tried out the quietcomforts, and there is no comparison. If you are looking for excellent noise canceling headphones, I would suggest going to either an apple store or a bose store because you can try them out for yourself. You may be amazed at how much noise the quietcomforts actually block out.
I would also say nay to bose. I mean, they aren't bad, but there are options out there that give you better sound quality for the money. Bose are slightly overpriced.
Now, what kind of music do you like? What is your budget? What kind of headphones are you looking for? earbuds? canalphones? full size? isolating? There are so many possibilities in the realm of high quality sound reproduction. Head over to head-fi.org, if you dare. There are a lot of knowledgable members there who can help you decide what is what. (Bose are generally bashed by audiophiles - people who are constantly striving for top sound for price).
EDIT: Sorry just read your ppost more carefully. Now by noise cancelling, do you want ACTIVE CANCELLING? Or isolation?
Now, what kind of music do you like? What is your budget? What kind of headphones are you looking for? earbuds? canalphones? full size? isolating? There are so many possibilities in the realm of high quality sound reproduction. Head over to head-fi.org, if you dare. There are a lot of knowledgable members there who can help you decide what is what. (Bose are generally bashed by audiophiles - people who are constantly striving for top sound for price).
EDIT: Sorry just read your ppost more carefully. Now by noise cancelling, do you want ACTIVE CANCELLING? Or isolation?
About 40% Rock/Alternative, 40% Rap, 20% Dance/Techno. I have heard to stay away from BOSE as well. My price range is $150-$200.00. I dont know what the difference is between noice cancelling, active cancelling, and isolation.
For noise cancelling headphones i don't think anything can beat Sennheiser's PXC 300 Headphones (i sound like a commercial). No but seriously, i had them for a year and they were great for travelling / day-to-day use, the frequency range was amazing so they had great sound quality and even had quite good bass on them, Sennheiser are like the Apple of headphones to me now, i can't see myself ever using another brand 
If I were you, I'd go for the passive, closed cans if at all possible.
With the fear of sounding much more like a commercial than Crunz:
Even with low dollar, with the money you're willing to spend, you should be able to get your hands on some Sennheiser HD25-1s (the s is just the plural). It (now) comes with different cable lengths and a straight plug if you want it (as opposed to the old right angle-one).
They're excellent, although some think of them as bass heavy. The dividible "head strap" is neat, as it allows you to adjust them so you get them to put more pressure on your ears (on-ears rely on this to keep out the noise and the audio in). Some think they sit too firmly, but then again, those same people don't like the isolation at all (they say they'd like to hear what's going out outside the psychological "bell").
Also, the left "can" can be moved independently forward and backwards if you want to hear something but not take your headphones off.
I've had mine since 1999, I use them for work nearly every day, they have been around the world with me, including Iraq and Afghanistan, and Indonesia (no, I'm not military/navy), and I use them for pleasure often – familiarity is a funny thing (I also use ER·4s with custom molds and a pair of Grado PS-1s for pleasure – the first are in-ear monitors and the latter open alu cans). The HD25-1s is th de facto in-field monitor headphones for a reason: They are precise and isolate pretty well (some in-ears are much better at isolating, though), and they're tough as hell –*even the cable is stainless steel - and each little piece of the headphone can be bought as spare parts, which makes for longevity.
Anyway, don't buy anything before trying, but if you have to buy before trying, then at least buy from a place that will give you a 100 percent refund if you're not happy.
Good luck.
With the fear of sounding much more like a commercial than Crunz:
Even with low dollar, with the money you're willing to spend, you should be able to get your hands on some Sennheiser HD25-1s (the s is just the plural). It (now) comes with different cable lengths and a straight plug if you want it (as opposed to the old right angle-one).
They're excellent, although some think of them as bass heavy. The dividible "head strap" is neat, as it allows you to adjust them so you get them to put more pressure on your ears (on-ears rely on this to keep out the noise and the audio in). Some think they sit too firmly, but then again, those same people don't like the isolation at all (they say they'd like to hear what's going out outside the psychological "bell").
Also, the left "can" can be moved independently forward and backwards if you want to hear something but not take your headphones off.
I've had mine since 1999, I use them for work nearly every day, they have been around the world with me, including Iraq and Afghanistan, and Indonesia (no, I'm not military/navy), and I use them for pleasure often – familiarity is a funny thing (I also use ER·4s with custom molds and a pair of Grado PS-1s for pleasure – the first are in-ear monitors and the latter open alu cans). The HD25-1s is th de facto in-field monitor headphones for a reason: They are precise and isolate pretty well (some in-ears are much better at isolating, though), and they're tough as hell –*even the cable is stainless steel - and each little piece of the headphone can be bought as spare parts, which makes for longevity.
Anyway, don't buy anything before trying, but if you have to buy before trying, then at least buy from a place that will give you a 100 percent refund if you're not happy.
Good luck.
OK... lets clear some things up a bit...
First of all.... headphones are not in-ear or on-ear.. they are cirum/supra/semi-circum aural! Secondly, only 'in-ear' earphones can provide top notch sound 'isolation'. No earphone till date that I've heard about has dynamic noise cancellation! This translates that only headphones can dynamically 'cancel' noise!
As for recommendations... the Bose are good! Find them near $70-80 and you'll do justice to their value for money! They have moderate sound isolation!
For sound 'isolating' earphones, try Sennheiser PXC 300! For sound canceling headphones, try Bose QC2/3
As for recommendations... the Bose are good! Find them near $70-80 and you'll do justice to their value for money! They have moderate sound isolation!
For sound 'isolating' earphones, try Sennheiser PXC 300! For sound canceling headphones, try Bose QC2/3
^^
Sennheiser HD-25II are a good suggestion. I would also look into Denon AhD1000, or Ultrasone HFI series (these are monitors used in studio recordings).
Nothing like college knowledge
Yes, there are in-ears and on-ears. The "circum/supra/semi-circum aural" is merely a size-thing of the on-ears.
It depends on so many things, especially fit.
Bose …
Now that you're into using "proper" terms, try "closed headphones".For sound 'isolating' earphones, try Sennheiser PXC 300! For sound canceling headphones, try Bose QC2/3
Haha good one Tosser. Indeed.
Yes there are on ears and in ears..you say potato I say poTAto. Just a matter of description, and no one is bound by that vocabulary, Apple Ink.
Sorry, but I beg to differ. (NOT that I would reccomend these.)
Yes there are on ears and in ears..you say potato I say poTAto. Just a matter of description, and no one is bound by that vocabulary, Apple Ink.
=Secondly, only 'in-ear' earphones can provide top notch sound 'isolation'. No earphone till date that I've heard about has dynamic noise cancellation! This translates that only headphones can dynamically 'cancel' noise!
Sorry, but I beg to differ. (NOT that I would reccomend these.)
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
OK... lets clear some things up a bit...
First of all.... headphones are not in-ear or on-ear.. they are cirum/supra/semi-circum aural! Secondly, only 'in-ear' earphones can provide top notch sound 'isolation'. No earphone till date that I've heard about has dynamic noise cancellation! This translates that only headphones can dynamically 'cancel' noise!
As for recommendations... the Bose are good! Find them near $70-80 and you'll do justice to their value for money! They have moderate sound isolation!
For sound 'isolating' earphones, try Sennheiser PXC 300! For sound canceling headphones, try Bose QC2/3
Just to clear things up a bit further Sennheiser PCX 300 headphones aren't just isolating earphones they are noise cancelling as they have a seperate unit with a batteries that switch on a noise cancelling device, basically it records the background sound and plays the same frequency back in the headphones to cancel out the sound.... which is what sound cancelling is if you know what you're talking about.
p.s. They are pretty much top of the range noise cancelling headphones too, after you've tried these it'd be hard to find any other pair that even comes close
My recommendation would be to go with in-ear or over-ear headphones (just bought a pair of Audio-Technica noise canceling ATH-ANC3).
But I guess it depends how you'll be using them. I wear mine on airplanes. And after about an hour or so, on-ear headphones become very uncomfortable.
But I guess it depends how you'll be using them. I wear mine on airplanes. And after about an hour or so, on-ear headphones become very uncomfortable.
As taken out of an advertisment. The reality is, though, that the AH-D2000s is dearer than, say, the HD25-1s yet the D2000s aren't considered precise enough to be considered monitor headphones. Secondly, one should be wary of stating "THE best", if for nothing else, then because this also depends on shape of ones head. I'm serious here. As an example my shaved head and the shape and size of said head makes it a direct nuisance to wear such big cans, resulting in bad sound (it's difficult for me to get them to act like _closed_ headphones). Anyway, statements like yours make me think of head-fi'ers who thinks they can hear a difference between a 10 dollar cable and a 10.000 dollar cable from one of the snake oil vendors.
Besides, with a retail price of 350 dollars, they're just a tad above the budget between $150-200.