Noise Cancelling Earbuds

[racer12306]

In the past, I've never had an interest in earbuds because apparently my ear opening is freakishly small and I was never able to get a comfortable pair. I've bought two pair of earbuds this year, a GoGrove with microphone to use at work listening to music on my phone and answer calls and another cheap pair (SkullCandy from Target) to start using on airplanes. Both of these came with 4 size options to put on the drivers and with both, I put the smallest one on and both pairs of headphones are really comfortable.

Now, I'm looking at the good stuff. Seems there are not many noise cancelling earbuds that are any good. I found a review from last year where the Bose QC20 were considered the best, at least that matches the huge price tag. They also said they Sony MDRNC13 were surprisingly good and a much better price option for those not wanting to spend $300 on a set of buds. The Bose clearly beats the Sony's, but they are almost 4x the price. Both of these come with adjustable tips.

I'm assuming in the past year that there have been some new additions to the market. Anyone have personal experience with noise cancelling earbuds? They would need to sound decent, actually cancel some noise and fit my ears.

 

[bepperb]

What noises are you trying to cancel? Like on an airplane, or in an office setting? Electronic noise cancelling only works on constant predictable noises. Otherwise something like Sure buds would be something to look at instead.

 

[racer12306]

It's mainly airplane noise.

 

[Kuato]

I'm a pilot, and though I haven't used ear buds, the noise canceling headsets from Bose work very very well, and their customer service is top notch. I know one guy with a 1 1/2 year old Bose headset, a part broke and they repaired it for free.

 

[racer12306]

The Bose sure do look nice, but that price tag. Doubt I could convince someone to hand that over as a Christmas give lol

 

[grumpyoldman]

I don't have these or know anything about them, but I just read about a pair yesterday:

http://gizmodo.com/9-of-our-favorite-gadget-travel-companions-1667887330

Audio Technica

"Much smaller and portable than any full on headset. Noise canceling is decent, sound is great and at less than $70 they're a bargain."

 

[racer12306]

The problem is this stuff is so subjective. Two people with two different opinions on the exact same thing.

Maybe I just need a pair of good noise isolating earbuds to ensure good sound quality and not having to spend $300 to ensure it.

 

[JHZR2]

Im not aware that earbuds CANCEL noise. I may be wrong... I thought it was more a matter of sealing it out...

I started with a pair of Shure headphones. They were great on planes, trains, etc. Wanted some with phone capability, got some klipsch from Costco that were half the price. Still quite good. Wanted some over-ear headphones for comfort on long trips, bought some sony ones that do have cancellation. They work quite great too...

 

[racer12306]

The Bose QC20i is a noise cancelling earbud, to the tune of $300.

There are a couple other brands. The big inconvenience to them is they have this widget that holds a battery and does the actual cancellation near the plug.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Well, any sort of active noise cancellation will require a battery. If the phones are tiny, then the only place to put that battery is somewhere along the cable route, but away from your ear so that the weight of the battery doesn't pull the earbud out of your ear.

 

[racer12306]

I certainly understand that. It makes you think, do I really need noise cancellation or is isolation suitable. I'm leaning towards isolation so I don't have the widget hanging on the cord and for cost. Some people are concerned with hearing things going on around them when they have their buds in, I'm concerned with making sure I am not hearing things going on around me, that's the point of me putting them in.