Edcase

Having previously borrowed other people's headphones for long haul, I've decided I need to get my own.

Actually that's a lie, the person I usually borrow them from needs them at the same time as me

He has one of the original sets of Bose which are discontinued now. Are these the only real ones to get?

Has anybody tried any of the newer in-ear earphone style noise cancelling phones?

I'm guessing that these will become very uncomfortable for extended usage as you would expect on a long haul flight? I also imagine their noise cancelling ability is going to be significantly diminished versus a bigger unit like the Bose.

Are the bose units REALLY worth £299? Is it worth putting up with the noise on the way to LA and then buying them when I get there, given the current exchange rate?!

ta
Ed

Vampire

IMO no. But IIRC I got mine from Apple for £269 rather than £299. I was pushed into buying some to use at work as I had an annoyingly loud cockney w@nker in the next cube to me. I was quite disappointed to find they don't filter out 100% of background noise!

They are quite good though, great at filtering out continous background noise like in a car or on a plane. They also do attenuate a lot of more random noise, people chatting etc, and the sound quality is pretty good.

Obviously they don't compare to a proper hi-fi headphone like Grado etc, but they are quite good at what they do. I thought they were a bit over priced but now I have some I wouldn't part with them.

GOLDMAN 555

I travel long haul about three times a month and I currently have Bose Qc3 headphones. If you want the headphones for listening to music these are pretty good and you can get them cheap on eBay there does seem to be a whole bunch of other ones about that are worth checking out.

If you are buying the headphones for just noise cancelling DON’T it makes me die laughing when I see loads of people on planes you wearing Bose headphones and not listening to music??????? WHY it is the worst case of Emperor's new Clothes syndrome that has broken out for years

These people spend hundreds of pounds on headphones when they could just get a set of earplugs for 50p and these do a far better job than Bose headphones plus they don't squeal when the headphones touch to seat.

GOLDMAN 555

I just forgot if you're travelling to the USA don't bother buying them here by them over there. With the exchange rate like it is you can probably get them for £140

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

ever thought of getting some dj headphones? sounds daft i know, but makes like sennheiser are bloody good, and really comfortable, with lots of padding on the ears and headband. dont have to me massive, but they block out a lot of noise, i should know when monitoring from one channel to the next on my decks.

worth a pop, and can pick some really good ones up for less than £100. top of the line are about £150.

skoobidude

I find my ears get hot after a while wearing big headphones..

Edcase

Having used noise cancelling headphones before I'm surprised at the emperor's new clothes syndrome comment? To me they make an absolutely clear difference, the first time I ever used them I did the old on/off/on/off trick a few times and the difference was night and day, totally killed that horrible static 'hiss' you get from the engines, especially if you are in cattle class and so behind the engines.

I have the inner-ear style headphones that block rather than noise cancel any background sounds, I think I will use them on the way out and then as above save myself a fortune and buy them out there!

Sonic'

I have industry standard (once upon a time) Beyer DT's

However I would never take them on a plane as I would look even more ridiculous wearing them, but they are very good at cancelling out noise

MJW

I always use Sennheiser headphones : excellent quality, and they won't break the bank - unless you want to, that is
Check out the PXC 450s if you want noise cancelling.

Trout

iTrader: (1)

I have used 'in ear' Sony noise cancelling headphones. Around £100.

I have used them for a lot of long haul flights and they are excellent. Once you get in the zone it is wierd how you can see you are on a plane, but cannot hear you are on a plane. Quite disconcerting at first.

hux309

Shure or better ultimate ears, just don't buy the eb models, the super fi 5's are what i use and they're great, i hear sod all bar the music.

Their site has a guide where you can swap the wires around to make them more comfortable.

eBay.co.uk - ultimate ears, ultimate ears pro, MP3 Player Accessories, Home Audio Hi Fi items at low prices

Ultimate Ears

fbladerrv900

I use these too, i use them daily, i ride a bike with a v loud zorst, they are awsome at cancelling every thjing out , also very light weight.

jods

sennheiser

Can't go wrong

T4molie

I bought a set of the Sony in-ear cancellors for long haul flights at the beginning of this year and while initially I thought they were good, after a while they started to become uncomfortable (for me).

I will agree they are pretty good but I found that I didn't like the way you have to use the rubber gromit (?) to seal the ear channel for best results - I'm now considering buying a set of either the Bose QC 2's or 3's. Yes they are a little more than I'd like to spend but then I tend to be a little protective of my ears due to having had a perforated ear drum when I was younger.

One pair of Sony in-ear cancellors going cheap - 1 careful owner, only been used about 5 times

Andy

skoobidude

Will they be waxed and polished before selling?

Nigel H

Can't comment on the quality, but when I was on holiday in LA this summer they could be had for £150 to £200 depending on which model you choose.

There were plenty on Bose shops to go at as well

davyboy

Anyone know what the Creative labs 700s are like?

£25 from amazon and seem to get good reviews....on noise cancelling at least.

I'm no audio expert so maybe ear plugs are the best option, but to listen to music and the aircraft films at a much lower volume has to be a bonus.

jods

Sennheiser are pretty good. I have a pair of PCX 300's which I use on flights to the USA and they really do make a big difference to the background engine/wind noise, shame they haven't built headsets that can predict the wifes moans and send a sweet antiwave to cancel it out !!

ChefDude

I've just got the Sony MDR-NC22 - 5-1500Khz, 75% noise cancelling

Made my office noise totally disappear :|

Edcase

Done 3 transatlantic trips since this thread...I simply wouldn't travel without them now. As for goldman 555's comment....you obviously either didn't switch them on or the batteries were dead!!!

Dr.No

What did you get??? QC3???

I bought mine in a US Bose store in Jan, and got a $50 voucher that effectively gave you a free 2nd battery.... so paid $349 plus tax for QC3 and two batteries.

I've even downloaded the mp3 of aircraft cabin noise that they use in-store to demonstrate them - just so I could show the Mrs how good they are!

A worthwhile investment considering the number of longhaul flights I do in a year... and it's quite a novely to have the in-flight system volume on films or music on even the first 'notch' and still be able to hear it clearly! In the past I've had standard headphones on MAX and still not been able to hear the damn film properly!

DN

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I have just got back from the states and the noise did drive me mad, I think I will be going a couple of times a year, I was intrigued by these but are they significantly better at damping the noise down than the rubber ear plugs they give you for free, I just see another thing to lump around and buy batteries for ?

Also, I was on a 767, are other transatlantic planes quieter, is there any place on a given plane that is quieter, generally I only do short flights and it never seems so noisy, even the "Fokkers" from Man to London City or is it just that you dont have long enough for it to drive you mental ?

Edcase

Jacko....seriously, the difference is night and day. It's like shutting a double glazed window on a noisy road. You don't realise just how noisy it is until you try them!

In terms of the quietest place, I find over the wing is good. Anywhere further back and you are getting the full roar of the engine's.