noise-cancelling (nc) earphones?

it seems that most of the ones available are headphones, instead of earphones. headphones are bulky and takes up too much space in a hand / non-check-in luggage for flights. does anyone know of any good nc earphones? if not, what nc headphones would you recommend for use in flights? i am considering investing in one for long-haul flights, as i cannot enjoy in-flight movies die to the constnt droning of the aircraft.

i found this nyt article published recently. it seems that the bose ones is the best, but with a hefty price tag though:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/technology/personaltech/finding-headphones-to-shut-out-the-world-state-of-the-art.html?pagewanted=all

cheers!!

(x-posted.)

If you get the chance - try them.
Yeah, they aint cheap - for sure. But the repro. quality and reliability make them worth every penny.
If you just want cheap and top pocket cans - then there are plenty out there for £20 or so, that are OK.
I prefer top dog - and these do it for me, thank you very much.
Some of the Bose small cans are really good - too, but the repro. isn't for me.

Wow, they are pricey, almost 300 quid!!

They are indeed very small, I guess you get what you pay for.

As for using your own earphones for long-haul flights- make sure to bring along a two-prong adapter or else the audio will only work on one side only.

I invested in a decent pair of earphones only to find out that all the planes had two prong connections only!

Those sockets by the plane arms are garbage. They're mostly mono - and so incredibly flat sounding.

battybilly - I always assumed that it was the supplied headphones that the airline provided that were crap. As a result of the terrible sound and outside airplane noise, Ive always struggled to enjoy the on board movies.

I guess the noise cancellation would improve the 'experience' but as you say, the sound will still be terrible.

Where have the other posts that were here, disappeared to?

Oh - I've taken good cans on board, with the appropriate adaptor. Just awful.
Then again, the system isn't designed to produce hi-fi sound - but instead just to pass the time.

I've got a set of noise cancelling head phones from audio-technica. They still are not cheap, but i'm very happy with them. I'm also not an audio-phile though, so while these are better than some crap noise cancelling headphones, i'm sure there are better ones for a price out there also.

I generally buy my headphones from microphones manufactures. It's the same principle but in reverse. Seinheiser or Shure (as suggested above) or in the case of my cans, Audio-Technica.

To balance the comments...I use the Bose noise cancelling headphones on flights but usually for my ipod.
It does come with adapter for aeroplane use and a decent case with a strap so you can carry it easily.
The battery (AAA) lasts for ages at least 24 hours (3 x 8hr flights).

Works for me.

Good cans in an i-pod, Mp etc.... Always OK.
Into the aircraft choons socket.... Yuk.

After a bad experience a couple of years ago, I'm very unwilling to plug MY earphones into an airline socket. I plugged in (via an adaptor ) a pair of Sennheiser NR in-ears (around £100) into a seat socket on Emirates. I felt a burning sensation in one ear which took me a few seconds to work out exactly what was happening. By the time I yanked them out the bud was too hot to touch. Needless to say the earphone was fried though the other ear did still work... Upon complaining to the airline that their oulet had just trashed my phones they helpfully pointed out that I didn't HAVE to use my equipment since they did actually provide earphones for all passengers... and obviously I couldn't prove that it was the socket which was defective, but the phones had been working OK on my ipod a few minutes earlier. So I sure as hell wouldn't plug in a £300 pair of BOSE's...

maybe you were referring to the other cross-posted thread, which i will give below

Oops. Whata bigga mistayka me maka.

Yes the Bose ones are rather expensive.

Yes the bose ones are expensive, however the audio-technica headphones (i have the ATH-ANC7b, current model is ATH-ANC9), generally got good reviews and seem to be a known brand among those who know stuff about quality audio.

They come with a hard case like the bose, one advantage is they work without a battery, although much much better sound turned on. I kow bose have a good repair policy, they generally just replace them.

I hadn't really thought about taking my ATH-M50's with me traveling, and just being more dependent on small in ear headphones, but this thread has go me thinking. They have a nifty design which helps the pack smaller than most cans too

http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/resource_library/product_images/8f74e15654f9a446/large/ath_m50_2.jpg

These aren't noise cancelling, but are enclosed, rather than open

Not a good idea to bring your best tech gear when traveling. Aside from theft there are the personal follies of breaking and losing things, especially when you're on the go and getting in and out of buses taxis etc.

Beware of brand-names at bargain prices when in SE Asia, they are probably fakes. Currently Malaysia seems awash with a variety of fake Beats Dr Dre cans.

Well I have a pair of noise isolating (Not as good as cancelling but it drowns out the sound of my fan whirring away next to my head) JVC xtreme explosives....Think they cost me about £25-30 from Amazon, cheap, good bass, decent sound quality and comes with 3 different size ear pieces to suit your own ear size........Like you I had to find something a lot smaller to take travelling with me as I kept breaking my cans when they were in my bag and the like........These beauties stay with me the entire time now!

I tried listening to dubstep on noise cancelling headphones, but for some reason you can't heat anything

That sounds bad....

I've got myself a 3rd pair of Sennheiser NCH. The first ones I gave away when I upgraded to the next model (about 5 years later). Then, after the padding on the headphones gave way, I figured it was time to upgrade again (7 years down the track).

I've now got [http://en-de.sennheiser.com/pxc-450]. I can't give enough praise for these ones. They sit very comfortably over the ears, have a very clear sound (I listen to the radio at work and the NCH keep the ambient office noise to a murmur) and, the price was right.

I've used them on long distance flights (> 7 hours at a stretch) and they take away the roar of the jet turbines and I can get a good nights rest.

They are certainly not as small as the in-ear buds but they do fold up and have a very small and neat carry case.

> and, the price was right

US$350? ouch!

I'm happy to pay money for something that will last me years of use and, do the job they are designed to do.

In the past, I've purchased cheaper units (not always NCH) which have broken and end up in the bin. The first two sets of headphones are still going strong 12 years on and I have no doubt that the ones I have now will do the same.

So when you apportion the cost over the number of years that they will last, it works out to be quite cheap.

Wow, almost 400 euro? that's a bomb. guess you get what you pay for.