Is Ryanair really that bad?
I must have counted 5 long-ish announcements on a relatively short TRS-BHX sector last week, I suspect 4 of them were flogging stuff.
1. I personally don't find it safe to have something that disables me from hearing Cabin Crew announcement as you never know when a emergency could happen.
Err, in the (very) unlikely event that something goes wrong mid-flight, surely you are going to hear a bang or a jerking sensation that more than over-rides the diversion even the best headphones could provide?
2. I find it removes the best part of the flight, that being the sound of the engine throttle up for take-off, then throttle down for flight and finally throttle up again when put in reverse mode (love the sound of GE90 reversing ).
Totally agree, but you can't wear them during these periods anyway.
I used to have Bose QC3, but got caught out about to board a long flight ex LGW and realised I'd either left batter behind or it was dead with no charger.
Back then I had money to burn, so I got a pair of Senheisers (PXC250).
They are certainly not as good, but (a) they fold and (b) they use "normal" batteries + can still be used when they die. In the end, the Bose just got too worn down, although I admit they are missed.
Of course, as already pointed out, no headphone is going to kill all the background noise, so if that is your expectation, given the claims in the ads, even the Bose will disappoint.
For me, the question is - can I listen to my music to the point where I'm enjoying the music, not the screaming kid behind or the announcements. This means enough music coming through so that anything else is a mumble, not a sound my ears lock onto.
So in this respect, the Senheisers still pass the test, even if I have to crank them up a bit. That might not be good for my long term hearing, but I don't make enough flights or regular train journeys for that to be a big worry.