Best noise-canceling headphones?

The forum for non-component-related silent pc discussions.

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

Post Reply
Mettyx
Posts: 182
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 1:00 pm

Best noise-canceling headphones?

Post by Mettyx » Fri Apr 13, 2012 2:45 am

What would be the best noise-canceling, comfortable, great sound headphones with a mic?

After doing some research I have come to the conclusion that these might be the ones to have all of those 4 qualities for that acceptable price range.
Am I right?

Mettyx
Posts: 182
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 1:00 pm

Re: Best noise-canceling headphones?

Post by Mettyx » Fri Apr 13, 2012 4:15 am

Well, I hope I will get at least one response within a week.

m0002a
Posts: 2831
Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2004 2:12 am
Location: USA

Re: Best noise-canceling headphones?

Post by m0002a » Fri Apr 13, 2012 5:14 am

Mettyx wrote:What would be the best noise-canceling, comfortable, great sound headphones with a mic?

After doing some research I have come to the conclusion that these might be the ones to have all of those 4 qualities for that acceptable price range.
Am I right?
First you say you want the "best noise-canceling, comfortable, great sound headphones with a mic," then only later do you add that it should have an acceptable price range. What is an acceptable price range?

MikeC
Site Admin
Posts: 12285
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:26 pm
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Contact:

Re: Best noise-canceling headphones?

Post by MikeC » Fri Apr 13, 2012 7:07 am

Not a good query, I agree, m0002a.

To Mettyx: Your language/tone is completely uncalled for :? -- consider this a first moderator warning. You will be tossed out of here if a second warning is called for. Apologize & change your post!

What research? Your link is only a catalog listing. My impression of Plantronics is that they make headsets mostly for communication, not music, and I don't recall they ever made anything really outstanding. They might sound great for voice but compressed and constricted for music. You have to be clear on what the priorities & applications are. As it stands, your query is too unfocused for anyone to bother responding to.

Mettyx
Posts: 182
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 1:00 pm

Re: Best noise-canceling headphones?

Post by Mettyx » Fri Apr 13, 2012 9:09 am

I would have picked one of the Sennheiser models of course, but bizarrely, none of the Sennheiser headphones have a mic so they are out of the consideration.

I've found so many headphones that are really good but don't have mic, it is a real problem to find.

Mr Evil
Posts: 566
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2006 10:12 am
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: Best noise-canceling headphones?

Post by Mr Evil » Fri Apr 13, 2012 11:43 am

Mettyx wrote:...none of the Sennheiser headphones have a mic...
They do lots and lots of noise cancelling heaphones with mics.

Mettyx
Posts: 182
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 1:00 pm

Re: Best noise-canceling headphones?

Post by Mettyx » Fri Apr 13, 2012 11:57 am

Mr Evil wrote:
Mettyx wrote:...none of the Sennheiser headphones have a mic...
They do lots and lots of noise cancelling heaphones with mics.
When you have foamy ear ridges they are not closed and not very good at noise canceling, they are even called "open ear" based on this very property.

Only leathery ear ridges provide what is called "closed ear" headphones, or "circumaural".

The "noise canceling" was referring to microphone not the earphones.

Also the cheapest one is 100% more expensive.

Reachable
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 396
Joined: Wed Nov 19, 2003 9:55 am
Location: Western Mass.

Re: Best noise-canceling headphones?

Post by Reachable » Fri Apr 13, 2012 3:20 pm

A noise-cancelling headphone with a mic sounds like an oxymoron. Because the sound of your voice would be part of the external sound that the noise-cancelling circuitry cancels. You would talk louder to get the accustomed auditory feedback, and the circuitry would cancel more sound the louder you talked. You'd create a paradox that might blow all your equipment to bits, and maybe even destroy the entire universe. :lol:

Even if the mic fed back to the headset you still wouldn't hear how loud you were talking.

ces
Posts: 3395
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2010 6:06 pm
Location: US

Re: Best noise-canceling headphones?

Post by ces » Fri Apr 13, 2012 6:53 pm

Reachable wrote:A noise-cancelling headphone with a mic sounds like an oxymoron.
There are lots of blue tooth sets for cell phones that have noise cancelling.

Mettyx
Posts: 182
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 1:00 pm

Re: Best noise-canceling headphones?

Post by Mettyx » Sun Apr 15, 2012 3:23 pm

So, no one on this forum has ever had any kind of closed ear headphones and has never thought about anything like this?

I'm getting a really weird vibe from this forum ever since I joined.
I can't decide yet is it because it's a ghost town or is it because people are lazy snobs who view people who ask questions on an internet forum as unworthy peasants..

ces
Posts: 3395
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2010 6:06 pm
Location: US

Re: Best noise-canceling headphones?

Post by ces » Sun Apr 15, 2012 4:03 pm

Mettyx wrote:I'm getting a really weird vibe from this forum ever since I joined. I can't decide yet is it because it's a ghost town or is it because people are lazy snobs who view people who ask questions on an internet forum as unworthy peasants..
I think it is as simple as it is a subject that isn't attracting that much interest.

I wouldn't read too much into it. I don't know what happened with m0002a. I would just disregard him. Here is how you can do that:
viewtopic.php?p=556502#p556502

I think if you have a concrete problem that people can help you with, you will find that people around here will help... and it will be high quality thoughtful help.

Tephras
Posts: 1140
Joined: Tue Sep 07, 2004 11:03 am
Location: Europe

Re: Best noise-canceling headphones?

Post by Tephras » Mon Apr 16, 2012 12:20 am

Mettyx wrote:So, no one on this forum has ever had any kind of closed ear headphones and has never thought about anything like this?

I'm getting a really weird vibe from this forum ever since I joined.
I can't decide yet is it because it's a ghost town or is it because people are lazy snobs who view people who ask questions on an internet forum as unworthy peasants..
I think that if you restate your question in a more specific way you will get better answers, because right now it is not so clear what kind of headphones you are looking for.

m0002a
Posts: 2831
Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2004 2:12 am
Location: USA

Re: Best noise-canceling headphones?

Post by m0002a » Mon Apr 16, 2012 12:58 am

Mettyx wrote:I can't decide yet is it because it's a ghost town or is it because people are lazy snobs who view people who ask questions on an internet forum as unworthy peasants..
Seriously? Are those the only two choices?

frenchie
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 1346
Joined: Tue Jul 08, 2008 4:53 am
Location: CT

Re: Best noise-canceling headphones?

Post by frenchie » Mon Apr 16, 2012 5:14 am

I have a pair of noise cancelling Seenheiser but they are the "open" kind and don't have a microphone. They work very well though (used when traveling on airplanes or trains).
I saw a mod somewhere where someone bought a pair of open ear headphones, a nice set of closed ear noise reduction ear protectors (the king used for construction or for operating noisy machines), and modded them to insert the open ear set into the closed ear set. He/she added a coat of paint on it (pick you favorite color) and voila ! This also might be the cheapest way to do what you are asking (adding the mic shouldn't be hard).
Something like this : http://www.online-tech-tips.com/cool-we ... the-cheap/

Also, I found this : http://www.sennheiserusa.com/PC-stereo- ... set_504121
quotre : "Aggressive noise blocking design"
Mettyx wrote:I'm getting a really weird vibe from this forum ever since I joined.
I can't decide yet is it because it's a ghost town or is it because people are lazy snobs who view people who ask questions on an internet forum as unworthy peasants..
When you ask for advice, you don't insult the people you're asking advice to ;)

Gadgety
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2012 1:03 pm

Re: Best noise-canceling headphones?

Post by Gadgety » Sun Apr 28, 2013 7:42 am

I got a pair of Nokia in-ear, passive and active noise cancelling, APT-X (requires APT-X in the pc, which is included in Apple's units), with microphone for talking. It's got NFC as well. Don't know if it'll fit your usage scenario.

fjf
Posts: 192
Joined: Wed Apr 06, 2005 9:44 am
Location: Europe

Re: Best noise-canceling headphones?

Post by fjf » Fri Jul 05, 2013 4:32 am

The best and cheapest noise-cancelling headphones are the closed ones. They dont cancel external sound, but the closed back isolates from it. If you want a couple suggestions:

http://www.amazon.com/Superlux-HD-662-C ... perlux+662

http://www.amazon.com/Superlux-HD661-Cl ... perlux+662

Cyäegha
Posts: 32
Joined: Sun Dec 12, 2010 5:17 pm
Location: Grenoble, France

Re: Best noise-canceling headphones?

Post by Cyäegha » Sat Sep 07, 2013 3:36 pm

Mettyx wrote:So, no one on this forum has ever had any kind of closed ear headphones and has never thought about anything like this?
I do have some very good closed headphones. But they aren't noise-cancelling (only passively isolated), and, as I only use them for listening to music, I don't need a mic (they do have one, but I haven't tested it). So why, exactly, do you think I could contribute something to your request just because I've "ever had any kind of closed ear headphones" ?
Mettyx wrote:I'm getting a really weird vibe from this forum ever since I joined.
I can't decide yet is it because it's a ghost town or is it because people are lazy snobs who view people who ask questions on an internet forum as unworthy peasants..
Seriously, there's no need to be rude just because no one here happens to have the answer you're looking for. SPCR, as the name implies, is primarily about computer hardware, not about headphones. Maybe there are some headphones connoisseurs here, and then again, maybe not. Why, exactly, do you expect to necessarily get a lot of answers to your headphones-related questions here?

Edit: Also, don't expect to get meaningful advice about headphones (or anything, really) without giving enough information. People cannot guess what's in your head if you don't tell them. What's your typical usage scenario like? What sort of sound do you like? How much money are you willing to spend? Etc.

NeilBlanchard
Moderator
Posts: 7681
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2002 7:11 pm
Location: Maynard, MA, Eaarth
Contact:

Re: Best noise-canceling headphones?

Post by NeilBlanchard » Sun Sep 08, 2013 11:05 pm

I just bought a Logitech USB headset that has good sound quality, "leatherette" pads and a very decent noise canceling microphone.

http://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/s ... 90?crid=36

It is confusing terminology: noise canceling often refers to the headphones (like Bose) that cancel out constant background noise so you can't hear it, and thereby let you hear the headphones themselves better.

tjlee87
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2013 12:24 pm

Re: Best noise-canceling headphones?

Post by tjlee87 » Fri Sep 27, 2013 9:21 am

Noise cancelling is a good concept but in reality, it doesn't work. Most of these headphones are equipped an inaccurate microphone to pickup the ambient noise which does more harm than good. I recommend getting a closed back monitoring headphone if you need a really good isolation. Beyerdynamic DT 770 M is a good choice, it's commonly used for tracking vocals and loud instruments (like drums).

Reachable
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 396
Joined: Wed Nov 19, 2003 9:55 am
Location: Western Mass.

Re: Best noise-canceling headphones?

Post by Reachable » Fri Sep 27, 2013 3:33 pm

tjlee87 wrote:Noise cancelling is a good concept but in reality, it doesn't work. Most of these headphones are equipped an inaccurate microphone to pickup the ambient noise which does more harm than good. I recommend getting a closed back monitoring headphone if you need a really good isolation. Beyerdynamic DT 770 M is a good choice, it's commonly used for tracking vocals and loud instruments (like drums).
I have a set of Bose QC15 noise-cancelling headphones and they work wonderfully. They take out the low end far better than any barrier or isolation method. On higher frequencies they aren't as good, but they're still an improvement and certainly don't do more harm than good.

Again, neither the Beyerdynamic nor the Bose would be what the OP was looking for. He was looking for headphones with a noise-cancelling microphone.

lordmetroid
Posts: 28
Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2009 1:27 am
Location: Borlänge, Sweden

Re: Best noise-canceling headphones?

Post by lordmetroid » Mon Feb 24, 2014 12:25 am

Bose also makes aviation headsets with noise canceling and they incorporate a microphone.
Amazon search

Post Reply