Noise cancelling headphones

[ChocksAwayChaps]

Travelled with Ryanair on Saturday and was aurally assaulted by a cacophony of noise including the flight attendants' incessant upselling; a sniffer seated next to me and all topped off by a nearby ankle biter wailing nonononono for at least half the flight.
What I need is a good pair of noise cancelling headphones so I can read in peace.
Anyone got any recommendations, please?

[PAXboy]

The FAQ is your friend: http://www.pprune.org/passengers-slf-self-loading-freight/318080-forum-faq-welcome-passengers-slf-forum.html

[strake]

If you feel you really must have a pair, Sennheiser PXC450's at about £250 are pretty good.
However, it would seem your requirement is not to cut-out background noise while watching a film but to have the ability to travel in silence.
NC headphones won't do that, even the best ones. They will replace some of the noise you don't like, with another type of noise - music,speech etc. but you will still hear the general hubbub and cabin announcements.
You also can't wear them for the take-off or landing phases or indeed sleep with them on - too lumpy if you have an over ear system .

To accomplish your particular requirement, I suggest either:
1. Earplugs (£1.50) or
2. A private G4 (£3-5,000 per hour)

[ChocksAwayChaps]

Thanks PAXboy; that thread is 3.5 years old and technology moves on so I'll ask again nicely if anyone has up to date recommendations for noise cancelling headphones, reasonably priced so not Bose at $1500 :eek:
Thanks

[ChocksAwayChaps]

Thanks Strake but I don't want to travel in silence and your sarcasm is not really appreciated, but hey thanks for your post

[strake]

Sorry, not meant to be sarcastic.
I genuinely think for the issue you specified, earplugs are the best option.

[Basil]

CAC,
your sarcasm is not really appreciated
I thought strake's answer was helpful and, in any case, sarcasm is the least of the insults one suffers on Prune ;)

I also have the Sennheiser PXC450 which is fine.
It has a 'talk through' button although it may be perceived as more polite to slip an earpiece off.
There is an integral volume control.
There is a 'bypass' switch so that, if you run out of batteries (one AAA), they work as ordinary noise excluding headphones.
As strake says, they will not cancel all noise. Mine seem to cancel the low freq rumble.

With hindsight, I think I'd have been happy just with a soft ear-covering noise excluder.

p.s. If you go for any length of time between flights don't forget to remove the battery. Just had to clean one of my contacts - just noticed it before incurring more serious damage to an expensive headset.

[airwave45]

Have sennheisers, not hugely impressed.
Mainly use digital silence in ear unit now.
Rechargeable built in battery, unit lasts 24+ hours on a charge.
Supplied cable is not quite long enough so I use a 1' extension.

Have tried Sony, great sound but proccesor / battery pack too bulky
Sennheiser, battery pack on the clunky side too, sound very good but the ANR is ropey and tiring.

in ear stuff is good as it has some passive and active noise cancellation.
also less bilky to lug around.

[Jarvy]

Myself and Mrs J both have Bose quietcomfort 15's. Very good for long haul.
About $350 here in the US.
Mrs J even sleeps with hers on!
Just remember to always carry a spare AAA battery.

[PAXboy]

The thread might be old but the names of the companies supplying the equipment will be fairly consistent. particularly those with quality products. For n/c I use Phillips for silence I use a particular kind of ear plug from the USA that is more expensive.

The key problem is that each person's idea of noise is different. I have had tinnitus for as long as I can remember and that makes my needs different to others.

By the way, ChocksAwayChaps, no one was being sarcastic. Welcome to PPRuNe. :ok:

[Avionker]

Anyone got any recommendations, please?

Don't fly Ryanair.

There, that was sarcasm. :ok:

[ChocksAwayChaps]

Thanks for the suggestions.

This was what I deemed to be sarcastic ...
"A private G4 (£3-5,000 per hour)"
but I accept I'm in a minority of one.

[FlyingGoggles]

I have these little in ear ones: Hmv Dots: Value Purple Earphones (2011): technology: hmv.com (http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=289;16;-1;-1;-1&sku=8531)

I was on a Jet2 flight recently, and used them then, I thought I heard an announcement, took them out, it was an upselling one, so I popped them back in and all I could hear was my music, and a little bit of engine noise. Lovely.

[Airbus Fan]

Is Ryanair really that bad?

Back to topic now... I personally can't stand noise cancelling head phones for the following two reasons:
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.
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 :ok:).

[ChocksAwayChaps]

Thanks Flying Goggles.

I'm going to have to get ear plugs as all the reasonably priced headphones recommended seem to be associated with an alternative sound eg music via an Ipod and I'm the only person left in the world not in possession of an Ipod.

Of course, I could just wear a crash helmet...would that work?:}

[airwave45]

you could plug them into your phone ?
or iPad or computer.
Can't contemplate getting on the bus without something to listen to in order to drown out the regulation "Screaming brat"

[ChocksAwayChaps]

Thanks Airwave 45
Nope, last person in the world without an IPad here!

Just want to sit on a plane, get from A-B and read in peace.
Do not want to listen to Ryanair staff trying to flog aftershave or scratch cards or J20 or people who don't know what a hankie is for or, still less, listen to the brat screaming whose parents have no idea how to soothe/comfort/distract it.
I understand that Ryanair needs to upsell to subsidise its cheap fares business model but I don't want to listen. It's like the mute button on my TV...when the Go Compare bloke appears on screen I mute him.

[ChocksAwayChaps]

To add, last person in the world to not have a smart phone either.:p

[darkroomsource]

what's an iPad? what's a smart phone?

My phone has numbers on it... I put my finger in the little hole and rotate it round to the stop, then it turns back to where it was, clicking all the way...

Can I get one that's smarter than that? How smart does a phone have to be?
Can I get one that sits? rolls over? plays dead? Will it meet me at the door when I come home? If so, is it smart enough to feed itself?

As for not having to listen to them trying to sell me stuff on Ryanair, I've just stopped flying with them.

But I wear ear plugs, even though I own noise cancelling headsets and a few other headsets, the ear plugs are the easiest to carry and work the best.

[Jarvy]

Not so, have used my Bose headphones just as noise cancelling. Just remove the lead and turn on.

[OFSO]

We use Thompson noise-cancelling phones either with own sound (HTC or MP-3) or without, still mutes most of the dross.

But post #11 says it all. We switched to the TGV years ago on the Spain-London route. Slightly longer journey, slightly more expensive, infinitely more comfortable.

[jabird]

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.

[LondonPax]

Sometimes noise cancelling headphones actually filter out the background noise (engine rumble) but not the noise (yakking fellow pax, rug rats etc) that you want to avoid, thus making the unwanted noise even more obnoxious. I always carry some basic foam earplugs, as you can use them while you're trying to get some sleep. They're not perfect, but they can make the ubearable just about bearable. You can also use earplugs during takeoff and landing, when you can't wear headphones, though personally I don't as I prefer to be able to hear any announcements.

[SLFAussie]

After regularly travelling between Australia and the UK, I use Sennheiser CX 300-II ear-canal phones (about £45) to great effect, they work like ear plugs, but let your choice of noise through. No batteries required, and very compact. On long haul flights I use it with an Aircraft Headphone Adaptor (£3.50 at Maplin) to listen to IFE, or a cheap AAA-battery powered MP3 player that I bought specifically for flights (AU$30). On Ryanair flights I used it with my phone.

I chose them because compared to active noise cancelling headphones they're much cheaper, more compact and don't require batteries. The criticism that they might be unsafe can equally applied to earplugs, which are also going to filter out all sound.

But if all you want is quiet, you're probably better off going to Boots and getting foam earplugs - that's what I use for sleeping on long-haul flights :zzz: