Noise cancelling headphones - Anyone have any that actually work?

[SiM]

They are about 20000 years old. I got them off my older brother and he got them off my dad, and my dad got them off a gypsy who came to him in a vision.

I lol'd...

.. it's like putting my head deep up a cow's arse.

I lol'd again...

I prefer in ear ones rather than those big over ear ones... they are different products imo... but noise cancellation is a bad idea in both cases..

[SiM]

In which case - for people like my grandparents it is more than likely that it will be fine.

I would suggest his ears are as good as mine - I'm not an audiophile and will never pretend to be.

But why spend all that extra money for your grandparents? CX300 are cheaper (and better!)...

I pretend to be an audiophile
I rip to FLAC now (rockbox rulez)

[acrobat]

It's also really important to not crank the volume of stuff to cancel out external sounds, or it totally damages your hearing. It evidently isn't a problem until you're like 50 and you're completely deaf. Although I bet music will be rubbish then anyway.

[rufeo]

If you don't mind spending a bit more than usual, then the shure e3c gets my vote. I've had mine for almost 2 years now, the build quality is amazing. The sound is awesome, but is lacking a bit in bass though

[SiM]

If you don't mind spending a bit more than usual, then the shure e3c gets my vote. I've had mine for almost 2 years now, the build quality is amazing. The sound is awesome, but is lacking a bit in bass though

They have stopped the e#c line now... the new version of the e3c is called SE310 now...

[Jonathong]

The bose noise councelling Headphones are really nice. My mate has them and I used them for an iPod and also for gaming. Really nice. Apparantly my mate stood behind me talking to me about leaving for around 5 minutes... never heard a thing and when I'd finished he was gone. Wups. So yes, Bose are nice.

[SiM]

The bose noise councelling Headphones are really nice. My mate has them and I used them for an iPod and also for gaming. Really nice. Apparantly my mate stood behind me talking to me about leaving for around 5 minutes... never heard a thing and when I'd finished he was gone. Wups. So yes, Bose are nice.

What other headphones have you heard to compare them to?

[rufeo]

They have stopped the e#c line now... the new version of the e3c is called SE310 now...

I had no idea.... probably goes to show that I haven't needed to look out for some new ones for ages now! if the quality is the same as before or better than definitely worth a shot...

[SiM]

I had no idea.... probably goes to show that I haven't needed to look out for some new ones for ages now! if the quality is the same as before or better than definitely worth a shot...

If you are happy with what you have, no need to look for new ones

Shure make fantastic IEMs...

[Pob255]

If you choose to buy from ebay, you should be warned that there are a lot of fake earphones on ebay, so be careful...

Wouldn't be surprised if they came off the back of a lorry ether I'm no audiophile and these were bought to replace the deeply deeply nasty haedphones that came with my el cheapo MP3 from Scan.
If they are fakes they are good quality fakes and the best pair of in the ear headphones I've had.

Yeah. I think covering your ears up is the most important bit. I have an ancient set of headphones with huge leather padded ear bits that completely block out all sound. They are about 20000 years old. I got them off my older brother and he got them off my dad, and my dad got them off a gypsy who came to him in a vision.

But my point is that they have no high tech noise cancelling properties, other than all those multiple layers of thick padded leather.. it's like putting my head deep up a cow's arse.

I know the sort of things you mean, my dad must of got his from the same gypsy, he uses them when mowing the lawn.

[TooNice]

First and foremost, what's your budget? Headphones of any go from a few quid to four digits.
Second, have you tried IEMs before, and what do you think of them?
Third, where are you thinking of using them, and using what (what's the source)?

As chuckskull mentioned, 'active noise cancelling' headphones tend to do better on trains and planes. Some are half-decent (Bose), but all are overpriced for what you are getting (especially the Bose).

For home use, I suggest getting a good pair 'closed' headphones (note that not all circumaural headphones, ie the ones that cover the ears, are 'closed'). I can vouch for the Audio-Technica ATH-500 and the Beyerdynamic DT770.

IEMs are a viable alternative, and a lot of people may prefer it for outdoor use since it is easier to store. The previously mentioned Sennheiser CX-300 or the Creative EP-630 are cheap and cheerful without hurting your wallet in the least. I find them particularly suitable for gym use (not too worried about damaging them/losing them in the changing room etc.).

Personally though, I am not a big fan of IEMs in general. I haven't tried any of the custom made IEMs, I do have a fairly high end IEM (Westone UM2) and got to try the Shure E500 (now renamed E530 - same thing AFAIK) and found them very good. But subjectively not better than full sized cans of equivalent class. Then again, there are people who probably won't go back from IEMs hence the second question.

On the other hand, IEM's, especially higher end, are much more sensitive than full sized cans. The risk of using sub-par source with the DT770 is duller sound (lacking dynamic - in this aspect, I find the ATH-500 to be more forgiving). The risk of using sub-par source (some generic MP3 players, and, in my experience, many onboard sound card) with an IEM's is that it will pick up a lot of 'noise' which is even more distracting (IMO).

[roorooroo]

Thanks everyone for the informative replies..there's plenty of things to try from reading this thread! Will go try out a few of them if i see them in the shops.
Cheers all, Roo

[Blackmage]

I've brought a pair of CX400. These headphones sound amazing, The sound quality was improved alot over my sony pair. Richer bass sounds and better tops. you could hear lower fequency sounds better too.

[roorooroo]

Might go for those CX400 and see if they work better for cutting out noise :O)

[Ommid]

EX-90s dont work, just thought Id let you know, got some 2 days ago, very good quality compared to the ex-71 but much less cancelling

[tichtich]

Hi. I just found this thread. I too have problems with noisy neighbours, but had never considered IEMs before. Must give them a try. However, I want them mainly for watching TV, not listening to music. Would the ones mentioned so far be suitable? I would need a 3-4m extension cable. Will that be any problem?

Also, I wonder if they will be as effective for TV as for music, as TV tends to have more quiet periods when there's no sound to override the neighbour noise.