Noise Cancelling (Minimising) Headphones
 

After years of drifting in and out of sleep with standard airline headsets I tried the noise cancelling sets offered by Emirates recently. They seem to work surprisingly well. As a result I may buy a set for use when travelling with other airlines.

Any advice on which brands/models are best?

The $1500 Bose ones, you can't go past them for either pilots or passengers.

Lightweight, comfortable and worth every cent.

That is my two cents anyway.

This topic has been discussed in here a number of times and you may well find an archive thread.

Of the ones priced lower down the scale ... I bought a Sony set some six years ago and they still work OK. They were about GBP100 and are 'over ear'. They now make a smaller pair of 'in ear'. Bear in mind that if you see a photo advert of small 'in ear' it means that there will be a small box electronics that is then 'in line' between the jack plug and the ear phones. With the 'over ear' type, the elctronics are grouped around the phones, which means that they are heavier on the head.

I would advice personal inspection of the goods before purchase as they all (Sony, Panasonic, Bose) are not cheap. But they are worth it. I also use mine on trains and sometimes simply as noise-neutralisers, that is, I switch them on but do not play any music, just to dampen down surrounding noise. This works well if I am working on a project on the train and do not want music but do want to lower the background noise.

All the sets work with airline seat sockets. For those that have the double plug in the arm rest, there is an adapter included.

I use Sennheiser PXC-300. The down side to these is that the electonics are in a separate module, about the size of a fountain pen, but it has a clip on it so it can be anchored to a convenient spot. The phones fold up into a neat case and come with adapters for aircraft and home. I find they work really well on aircraft and are much better than my previous Sony pair.

Anything by Sennheiser or Bose. You really can't go wrong - both last a lifetime and usually come with pretty good warranties.

I use a Creative pair, by no means the best but I have found I can hear the sound tracks to movies much better as a consequence. They were Aus$60 on Qantas last Easter. When they pack up (a big assumption that) I will move to one of the big boys such as Bose.

I use the Sony in-ear jobbies which work fine. Sat in A1 with FR NYO-STN they reduced a howling door seal to a muted shhhhh and since I started wearing them long haul they actually help me get some kip (Not when in Y though: the seats ensure no such luck)

The only drawback is being tuned for lower frequencies they still let howling babies through loud & clear.

[Edit] Make that two drawbacks; the other is nine miles of cable thanks to the sound processor gubbins necessarily being a separate box as indicated above.

I still wear them and still like them though.

noise reduction headphones
 

I got 4 pairs from the US gadget shop "The sharper image". They were normally $67, down to half price.

Find them more than adequate. Even when there is little or no external noise they improve the sound quality of the music enormously.

:)

Got the Bose ones a couple of years ago.

Now don't travel without at all !

Most important is feature is being able to remove the cable from the headset - which makes sleeping much easier

I wish I could afford the Bose ones as undoubtedly they are the best, but I'd have to get a decent job our of the aviation industry first!

I bought Sony in-ear ones for about £45 and, while they worked fine, they hurt my ears after about 2 hours or so. After about three months, an intermittent fault developed in the cable causing one speaker to keep cutting in and out! Secretly, I was glad because it meant I could justify replacing them.

So, I now have a Philips neck-band over-ear set purchased from Dixons at LGW North Terminal tax-free for £45 and they do the job very well - the Noise REduction circuit claims tto eliminate over 80% of background noise.

I'm a convert to the Creative Labs headphones, which can be found online for around US$50. As gdiphil states they're not perfect, but they sound good, are very comfortable and IMHO, are superb value for money.

Unlike gdiphil, I won't be trading up to the Bose, as I refuse to pay that kind of money for something that doesn't have an engine in it... ;)

I don't fly as much as most posters on this forum (maybe 5/6 trips a year) so find it difficult to justify the cost of the Bose sets (tried them in the shop though, very impressed). Having just been unable to watch the movie on a flight to Egypt due to the noise, I was thinking about getting us a set each of the cheaper style. My supplier has offerred me the Maxell NC-III at a reasonable price (about USD 35). Anybody tried these or heard any comments?

TIA
UFO

Try Ebay, you might pick up a Bose mk 11 set for maybe £100. Still a lot of money but really worth it. I can't speak for the Maxell, but I used to have a JVC at that kind of price level. It did an OK job but generated a lot of white noise (hiss). It sounded great in the shop but couldn't cope with a plane.

I think you have to try several and see what fits you most comfortably. For me, the earbud style are very uncomfortable and won't stay it. The on-ear types hurt my juggy ears after a while also. So I like my Bose over-the-ear type. In my noisy little cockpit I like the Lightspeeds.

I cast another vote for the Sennheiser PXC-300s. First thing that goes in the outside pocket of my travel bag! Occasionally I use them just to damp out the noise and they work quite well at that too.

Bose every time
 

QC2 over ear jobs. Absolutely brilliant. If you call them or order online in the UK, then you get ten months interest free, or 4 payments of about 50quid - which makes it more affordable.

I had a pair of Phillips "noise cancelling" headphones, but they just boosted the bass.

Once had some Sennheiser headphones which gave the best sound ever until I got my Bose...

:)

I bought some Logitech headphones and have been very pleased with them. Comfortable, affordable (I paid 60 Euros) and with a good battery life. Good noise reduction effect (even with screaming babies) and a handy carryon case.

http://reviews.cnet.com/headphones/l...-31797806.html

IMHO if its that loud, stick in some standard earplugs from a hardware store. I do whenever I'm in a loud light aircraft...

I also highly recommend the Bose QC2.

If you know anyone going to the states, they are much cheaper there. (then again, what isn't?)

In the UK they are £225 and in the USA $299. (about £152)

Do any of these come with a mic that others can talk into?

There's nothing worse than trying to serve someone wearing headphones and having to shout 'chicken' or 'beef'. A mic would be a good idea. It would also make talking to your partner a bit easier, especially if you both have them.