Noise-Cancelling Headphones
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Other music related lounges
Forum Name: Tech Talk
Forum Description: Discuss musical instruments, equipment, hi-fi, speakers, vinyl, gadgets,etc.
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=28888
Printed Date: November 28 2024 at 15:41
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Noise-Cancelling Headphones
Posted By: Ghandi 2
Subject: Noise-Cancelling Headphones
Date Posted: September 21 2006 at 23:08
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I'm getting some because they have better quality and I don't want to be really bored on my drive up to Providence, RI (I should have gotten them a long time ago actually; we drive a lot.)
Anyway, which of these are the best? (Or offer another alternative, I don't care, but stay in the $30-ish pricerange please) http://www.amazon.com/Travelers-Noise-Cancellation-Headphones-2-0-FJ452/dp/B000C6SP4K/sr=1-22/qid=1158894125/ref=sr_1_22/002-3575834-1586415?ie=UTF8&s=electronics - One http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000629GES/ref=pd_cp_e_title/002-3575834-1586415?ie=UTF8 - Two http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CRGV86/ref=pd_cp_e_title/002-3575834-1586415?ie=UTF8 - Three Thanks. |
Replies:
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 01:48
What "drive" are we talking about here ... don't tell me you use headphones while driving a car? Ok, if you're not the driver then it's ok. How about these: http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-EX71SL-Fontopia-Ear-Headphones/dp/B000092YQW - http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-EX71SL-Fontopia-Ear-Headphones/dp/B000092YQW Don't let the size fool you - they sound quite good, and the noise cancelling effect is much better than that of "big" headphones. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to: 
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Posted By: oliverstoned
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 02:04
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The three models you shown are probably bad. Go for "Eymotic" brand, it features isolation (from 150 to 400 dollars): http://www.headphone.com/products/headphones/in-ear-monitor/ - http://www.headphone.com/products/headphones/in-ear-monitor/ |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 02:08
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^ he said $30 ... of course I could also have recommended Shure in-ear phones, but that's not what he asked for.
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: oliverstoned
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 02:19
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If he wants something decent, he has to invest more. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 02:52
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^ ok, then how about these: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-CX300-Canal-Headphones-Black/dp/B000E6G9RI - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-CX300-Canal-Headphones-Black/dp/B000E6G9RI I mean - if it's Sennheiser it's got to be good, if it's Sony it sucks (or isn't that what you're saying)? ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: oliverstoned
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 05:38
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Yes Sony only did crap in headphones, except one old big studio model. Sennheiser did the best electrodynamic headphones ever (the HD600), which doesn't mean that all their range is good. Don't dream, you can't have quality headphones for 20€ or 30€. 100€ is the minimum. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 05:44
Depends on how you define quality. Surely you can't deny that 50€ headphones can be much better than 10€ headphones? "Quality" does not mean "Audiophile" ... at least not for some people.  ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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oliverstoned wrote:Posted By: oliverstoned
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 05:48
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Yes, to listen to some met**l on MP3, a 5€ headphones is sufficient. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 05:50
^  I must be mentally handicapped then - I still hear a difference!
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: oliverstoned
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 05:59
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It was some "prog" metal probably
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 07:10
You may not understand or just choose to ignore it, but I'm listening to all kinds of music. Just go to http://www.progtology.com/user/MikeEnRegalia - http://www.progtology.com/user/MikeEnRegalia and open the favorite albums tab - you'll see that only about 50% is metal. And that percentage would be even less if I'd find some time to rate my entire collection ... ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: oliverstoned
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 07:21
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What a narcissistic web site! So you'd need two pairs of headphones: one for real music, one for metal. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 07:24
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BTW: I just got back from shopping - I bought these excellent headphones: http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/icm_eng.nsf/root/products_headphones_classicline_mxseriescxseries_500968 - http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/icm_eng.nsf/root/products_headphones_classicline_mxseriescxseries_500968 ... to replace my broken Sony headphones. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 07:25
If I had meant it to be narcisstic, I would have called it www.mikeenregalia.com ... or www.mikeenregalia-the-biggest-musicfreak-ever.com! ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: oliverstoned
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 07:27
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I found a review: "Les CX 300 marquent un bon début pour Sennheiser, même si le son est loin d'être aussi clair et ample que celui de nos modèles Shure et Etymotic préférés." Translation: "Good start for Sennheiser , but not as clear and vast sound than our favorite Shure and Etymotic models" |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 07:38
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^ and not as expensive. (60€)
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: oliverstoned
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 07:41
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Well, this is enough in your case. |
Posted By: Fitzcarraldo
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 11:08
Because I was very dissatisfied with the inability to mask noise during air travel of the Sony MDR-EX71SL Fontopia in-the-ear earphones that MikeEnRegalia recommended, I looked around a lot for noise cancelling headphones and finally plumped for Sennheiser PXC 250 after reading many good reviews (see Amazon.com, for example). Light, foldable, and good noise cancellation on aeroplanes. Got them new for around GBP 59 (including p&p) on eBay. The sound quality is excellent and I recommend them. You can switch off the noise cancellation circuitry and listen to the music completely unmodified if you want, which is good for home use. These are very comfortable yet compact headphones, and the physical shape of the padded phones helps to cut out external noise before you even turn on the noise cancellation electronics.  More expensive than Ghandi 2's budget, however. But I agree with oliverstoned, if he wants something decent, he has to invest more. I also have the Sony MDR-EX71SL Fontopia in-the-ear earphones that MikeEnRegalia recommended, but I would not recommend them. Firstly they don't work well on aeroplanes and you have to crank up the volume to hear the music (and thus risk damaging your hearing). Secondly, the lead design is poor and results in the left earphone being tugged out of one's ear. Thirdly, the length of the lead is slightly too short to reach an MP3 player clipped to one's belt, so you have to resort to using the included extension lead which then makes the overall lead too long and fiddly and adds additional weight to the lead, making the second problem I mention above even worse.  ------------- http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=326" rel="nofollow - Read reviews by Fitzcarraldo |
Posted By: Ghandi 2
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 16:55
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Well I'm currently using Panasonic headphones that came with my $40 CD player, so anything is going to be a fairly large improvement. :)
Is the Sony really that bad? I'm not sure I listen to enough music to justify spending $80 on headphones... |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 17:06
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^^ allow me to use this opportunity to point out the the Sony headphones which Fitzcaraldo was so dissatisfied a moment ago were recommended by MikeEnRegalia P.S.: I would never recommend for in-ear headphones to be used on an airplane ... for the same reasons that you would not use earbuds. Another thing is that the "left ear problem" probably resulted from him not wearing the headphones properly ... the lead has to be behind the neck, which stabilizes the lead so that the weight of the player and the lead doesn't hang on that ear. Furthermore I'm a tall guy (180cm) and never had any problems with wearing the player on a belt (or in my trouser pockets). And finally: The noise cancellation depends on how well the earbuds fit. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Fitzcarraldo
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 17:08
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Ghandi 2, I have a friend who has the Sony MDR-NC6 noise cancelling headphones (link "Two" in your original post) and likes them. He says that, although not as good as the Sennheiser PXC 250, they are fine for his purposes. As you mentioned in another thread that you have tinnitus, I would avoid in-ear earbuds like the plague. I have a slight ringing in my ears, which I assume could be the onset of tinnitus, and I don't think my use of in-ear earbuds in the past has done it any good. I find that I can use my noise-cancelling headphones with my MP3 player's volume control set much lower than with earbuds. ------------- http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=326" rel="nofollow - Read reviews by Fitzcarraldo |
Posted By: Fitzcarraldo
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 17:11
Doh. Of course I wore them properly! At the bulging junction where the main lead splits into two, there is a shorter lead for the left ear and a longer lead for the right ear. The longer lead for the right ear goes around the back of the neck. Another cause of the problem is that the left lead, after the split, is too short. ------------- http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=326" rel="nofollow - Read reviews by Fitzcarraldo |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 17:14
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That's odd ... I use this type of headphones every day, and I never had that problem.
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Fitzcarraldo
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 17:18
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Some time after I bought the Sony Fontopia earbuds a couple of years ago I read a review on Amazon complaining of the same problem, so I'm not the only person who has experienced it. ------------- http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=326" rel="nofollow - Read reviews by Fitzcarraldo |
Posted By: Fitzcarraldo
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 17:24
Just trying to make it easier for those readers of the thread arriving midway through the discussion to find the relevant post, Mike, that's all. ------------- http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=326" rel="nofollow - Read reviews by Fitzcarraldo |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 17:24
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I get the feeling that most of the problems you describe are common to all in-ear headphones ...
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Fitzcarraldo
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 17:34
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^ Hmm. Maybe you're right. But I have not read anything about this particular problem with other makes. Perhaps, with this particular model of earbuds, the precise lengths of the left lead, the size/weight of the 'bulb' at the split, the length and weight of the lead below the 'bulb' and other factors make it more likely? I have not looked at the buyers' reviews for the Fontopia earbuds for over a year now, but also remember a lot of complaints about reliability and the holes blocking up with ear wax. My pair have been reliable, but they do 'bung up' too easily. I debated getting Shure E2c or E3c earbuds, which sound fantastic apparently, but the price is higher than I was prepared to pay, and I am very satisfied with my Sennheiser conventional headphones which, for me, is a more comfortable solution and ideal for my frequent air travel. ------------- http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=326" rel="nofollow - Read reviews by Fitzcarraldo |
Posted By: Fitzcarraldo
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 18:00
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Just had a look on the US Amazon site to see what the reviews say for the Sony Fontopia MDR-EX71SL in-ear earbuds. These are just a few: QUOTE 2. The placement of the 'cord extension' is obscenely awkward. Without the extension the cord is undoubtedly too short. With the extension, the cord is much too long. Also, the connector frequently separates causing unnecessary grief and annoyance. Lastly, the connector is surprisingly heavy; imagine having a small weight hanging from one ear, constantly. UNQUOTE QUOTE The sound is fine, but the two-piece cord renders these a poor choice for active users because the earbud cord is too short to be used alone and too long if combined with the extension. Combined, they make a heavier length of wire than the earbuds will support if the user is active. I'm 5'9" and the short cord won't reach from my hip (where the iPod is usually clipped) to my ears without the buds getting pulled out. With the extension, the length of the combined cords and the coupler makes the whole assembly heavy and earbuds pull out easily. UNQUOTE QUOTE My biggest gripe with this product is the poorly thought-out cord lengths. Without the included extension, the cord length is only 22 inches -- which is really only long enough to listen to a music player hung around your neck on a lanyard (or in a shirt pocket, if you're short enough). Connecting the extension cord adds a ridiculous 42 inches, forcing the average listener to lug around over five feet of headphone cable during typical use. The excessive cord length also makes winding the cable to store the headphones in the included clamshell case a bit tedious. Also, before the left and right headphone wires join, the wire on the right is twice as long as on the left. Sony touts this as a convenience factor that moves the wire to the left side of your body. All it really accomplishes is to make the entire weight of the five foot cable hang from your left ear only. When walking or jogging, each footstep makes the cable bounce, causing you to hear an audible "thump" in your left ear. UNQUOTE QUOTE 2. The cord is too short to use for your MP3 player on your waist or holding it by your waist, unless you use the extension cord that comes with the headphones. But if you use the extension cord, it becomes too long-- even longer than the iPod headphone cord-- which is what I hated about the iPod ones. UNQUOTE QUOTE Cons: main cord was too short to be useful to me unless I kept my music device in a shirt pocket or inside jacket pocket. With the extension cord attached, I felt the cord "weighing down" on my ears and it ended up being too uncomfortable for me to wear every day. UNQUOTE QUOTE - the main cord is REALLY short; even using the neck lanyard with the shuffle, I had to tie a knot in the lanyard to keep the headsets from popping out of the left ear. But OK with that adjustment UNQUOTE QUOTE The biggest problem with these headphones is the POS cord. I think a monkey could have designed a better cord! Not only is it incredibly long and fragile, but the way it hangs around your face is plain irritating. The left earbud has a short cord and the left has a long cord so the longer left side hangs down the front of you and then attaches next to your left ear. Then, the 6' of cord going to the player has a plug adapter in the middle of it which flops around near your abs. If Sony took 30 seconds to redesign the cord, these would be 5 star headphones for the money. UNQUOTE I couldn't be bothered to read through any more of the 705 reviews on the product, but clearly I'm not the only person who finds the Sony Fontopia earbuds problematic. ------------- http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=326" rel="nofollow - Read reviews by Fitzcarraldo |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 18:16
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Ok, my recommendations suck ass.
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Fitzcarraldo
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 18:23
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My apologies if I have been too brusque. No offense intended. ------------- http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=326" rel="nofollow - Read reviews by Fitzcarraldo |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 18:24
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Of course it was intended - why else would you mention my name twice, in italics, and continue to gather evidence to prove me wrong? I just don't know what provoked this campaign. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Fitzcarraldo
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 18:31
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Mike, I always try use italics when referring to forum pseudonyms - see my other posts in this and other threads. In fact, if you look at the earlier post in this thread I also put oliverstoned in italics. I simply "gathered evidence" to try and show that the problem I experienced, and one that ultimately made me look for an alternative, is not uncommon. I wish I had been made aware of it before splashing out on the Sony earbuds, as I would have then not bought them. It is certainly not a "campaign". Anyway, I'm sorry for any offense caused. ------------- http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=326" rel="nofollow - Read reviews by Fitzcarraldo |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 18:36
I was only "mildly" offended ... but I guess I just in a bad mood today because of some other things which are unfolding in another forum section. BTW: Let me know if the other thread that I created offends you ... it was not a particularly good idea to start it, and maybe it should be deleted. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Fitzcarraldo
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 18:56
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^No, it does not bother me. The trouble with communication via Web forums is that facial expressions, tone of voice and interjection cannot be used, so misunderstandings are easy. You had not realised I use italics for pseudonyms and so you thought I was emphasising *you* made the recommendation. *I* had not realised that you might think I was 'gunning for you', rather than trying to show that the left earbud problem was not confined to me. No campaign against MikeEnRegalia, honest! ------------- http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=326" rel="nofollow - Read reviews by Fitzcarraldo |
Posted By: Ghandi 2
Date Posted: October 01 2006 at 20:43
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Yeah, I hate earbuds anyway.
I guess I'll get the Sony (which was what I would have gotten anyway, but oh well. Now I'm confident in them, so this was still good), and then maybe when I have more money get a much better set of headphones. Thanks guys! |
Posted By: Fitzcarraldo
Date Posted: October 02 2006 at 20:15
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Ghandi 2,
You're referring to the Sony MDR-NC6 noise cancelling headphones, correct? Don't forget to let us know here how you get on with them.
------------- http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=326" rel="nofollow - Read reviews by Fitzcarraldo |
Posted By: oliverstoned
Date Posted: October 04 2006 at 05:50
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You can now add "Ultimate ears" brand to the list of brands
doing top level in-ear heaphones...along with "Etymotic" and "Shure". 
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Posted By: Philéas
Date Posted: October 04 2006 at 11:00
| Looks like shapeless gelatine blobs to me... |