Comments on: Noise Cancelling Headphones

By: Derek K. Miller

Derek K. Miller — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 22:26:18 +0000

Personally I prefer headphones that isolate sound, rather than trying to cancel it. I did a big review of high-quality headphones and earphones over at the podcast a few weeks ago, and in-ear monitors (IEMs) like the Shure E2C or better E3C, or Etymotic 6i Isolators, or big closed-back headphones like my favourite Sennheiser HD280 Pros generally produce better sound, because they’re not using circuitry, just good old fasioned noise blockage.

One caveat with the IEMs: on airplanes you might have to take them out and put them back in as you gain altitude, or the pressure differences between your ears and the outside air might prevent them from working — that’s how good the seal is.

By: Robin Capper

Robin Capper — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 11:22:49 +0000

I cant wear buds, well not for a 12 hour flight but the QC2’s are fine for that time. The only bud type phones I like are Sony’s vertical buds with a headband that sit in your ear.

By: Michael Markman

Michael Markman — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 22:28:27 +0000

But niether of the two Boze noise-cancelling models actually go IN your ear. QC2 cups your ear and QC3 lies flat against your ear. So you can have your headphones and listen to your Mom, too. Not the same as the ear buds, which do require a teensy bit of penetration.

By: Robin Capper

Robin Capper — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 13:18:48 +0000

Living in NZ means 3 to 12 hours flying to get anywhere…
My Bose QC2’s make long flights much more tolerable, they are not cheap and they are worth it!

The URL on this comment links to my QC2 blog post

By: pt

pt — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 01:06:23 +0000

dont be a sucka – make your own
http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/08/open_source_mp3_player_jackham.html

By: Phil Plait, aka The Bad Astronomer

Phil Plait, aka The Bad Astronomer — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 23:33:13 +0000

I have the QC2, and I love them. They’re critical to music listening and TV watching on airplanes, and the sound quality is so good I use them all the time at work. I’m not sure how much better the QC3s will be since they don’t cover the ear completely, but the QC2s do an excellent job of blocking out all the irritating buzz of the office.