Noise cancelling headphones on a budget

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Noise cancelling headphones on a budget

jbard

1377 posts

Uber Geek

#119585 6-Jun-2013 18:26

Looking for some Noise cancelling headphones for some travelling I have coming up.

I am after the in ear type and I am on a bit of a budget. Would like to spend <$100 if possible.

I can get some BlackBox C14's for $80, that is my best deal at the moment.

jesterz

97 posts

Master Geek

#831787 6-Jun-2013 18:53

Do you have a preference for passive or active noise cancelling?

I started out with a pair of BlackBox's but was really disappointed with their performance. I found that when I used them while walking I would get a clear stethoscope effect which ruined the music for me.

I then moved to the passive Sennhesier CX300's and they are fantastic; rich deep bass and fit nicely in the ear. You can pick a pair of these up for $80.

Matt

Bung

6477 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#831827 6-Jun-2013 20:25

Would active work while just walking? I had a pair of Panasonic and wasn't sure they worked until I tried them on a plane. The active cancellation worked well on the constant air/engine noise.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#831828 6-Jun-2013 20:25

I have some Panasonic RP-HC31 headphones which I picked up for about $45 at a DSE 50% off sale and really love these for flying, which IMHO really is the only time noise cancelling headphones are of any use.

They're not in the same league as the over the ear Blackbox or Bose but I prefer in ear so I can sleep better without the restriciton of the band. I haven't worn any other in ear NC headphones for comparision, but do no a few people who love the CX300's which don't offer any noise cancelling but offer a massive level of isolation.

deadlyllama

1260 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#831830 6-Jun-2013 20:35

I have some Sennheiser HD 280 pros which are nice and comfortable and cut out a fair bit of the background noise (just passively with padding). They're quite large though.

Last time I flew I used them on the way to the US, but on the way back used my Ultimate Ears UE400 earbuds, plus comfort tips (the earbuds came with a pair included but they will wear out and you'll have to buy more at ~$10-15 a pair). The comfort tips are essentially earplugs with a hole in the middle for your earbud's speaker canal. They're comfortable and block out probably more noise than the big headphones, but are cheaper and take much less space to carry around -- important when you're sardined in to economy class.