Your recommendations for best noise-cancelling earbuds for air travel

[Danneaux]

Hi All!

Dreaming here on a winter's night of summer travel, I realize I don't have to emerge from a jet feeling half-deafened by motor and wind roar if the adblurbs for active noise-canceling earbuds are true.

They promise 70%-80% reduction in ambient low-frequency noise (like said motor/wind roar) while allowing reasonable listening to in-flight movies while watching the screen in the seatback ahead by using a microphone to produce sound that is out-of-phase to the noise around me, making things seem quieter to my ears.

A quick survey shows a wide range of prices, from ~USD$18 for a cheap set of Philips ones to as much as USD$200+ for some that might work better (or not, according to some reviews). Panasonics seem to hit the sweet spot in the low-end at ~USD$54 or less on eBay.

The user reviews run the gamut at all price levels and actual effectiveness seems to depend primarily on how well the earbuds fit one's own ears. I see some use disposable AAA cells, while others have rechargeable batteries. Some have short cords, while others have long ones; all the active ones have a battery back midway. All seem to do something, none seem ideal.

So, asking if those of you with them have a favorite to recommend, hopefully with good effectiveness at a lowish price-point, as I can't imagine using these except for air travel, so don't want to invest a lot.

Thanks in advance for your recommendations.

Best,

Dan.

[il padrone]

Personally I found the earphones supplied by Emirates were perfectly good for me to listen to movies and music with no disturbing external noise.

[Danneaux]

...I found the earphones supplied by Emirates were perfectly good...

That's it! I must change airlines...! 

Best,

Dan.

[Danneaux]

It appears I will need noise-canceling ear buds that include a dual-plug adapter for the jacks used on some/most airplanes.

Best,

Dan

[John Saxby]

Dan,

While visiting your neighbourhood this past summer, I got a pair of custom-designed earplugs at the BMW rally in Salem.  These are for motorcycling -- the main issue being wind noise, as well and the racket caused by car tires (my airhead has a suitably refeened exhaust note, and not a lot of engine noise). The outfit I bought them from fitted me on the spot, and the plugs were ready inside the hour. (They use a flexible plastic which reaches its "ready state" within the hour.)  It's a California-based operation:  bigearinc.com  (Name lends itself to an earful of bad puns, ho ho ho, which those of us exposed to Noddy and Big Ears in our younger days will no doubt seize upon...)  Their website invites readers to find a local retailer -- I didn't check that.

Anyway, I used them on my return journey of about 7,000 kms, and they work very well.  I'd say that they block about 2/3 to 3/4 of wind and road noise, but (by design) not all.  Blessed if I can remember how much they cost me -- $50, maybe?  They're bigger than the standard cheapo items (company is called Big Ear, after all...) and come in several colours, the better not to lose them. Mine are a dreadful aqua-green, but then, I see them only when I'm looking for them, eh?

Of course, you can't use them and listen to music, etc. -- Ooops!  Just saw your most recent post, so this info may not be of any use.  I'll leave it as is, in case it's of use to other readers, or if you decide to skip the inflight music/movies etc.

Good luck!

[Danneaux]

Hi John!

Many thanks for the heads-up on this one...sounds like these are nose-isolating rather than noise-blocking, but still very useful indeed for when one wants Quiet Time Away. No batteries required!

I pondered both, but figured hearing the movie might be nice. OTOH hand, the Linux-driven entertainment system on my last Airbus flight kept rebooting, so I saw the first 52 minutes of Ironman over and over and.... It wasn't that good the first time!

Best,

Dan.

[rualexander]

...sounds like these are nose-isolating rather than noise-blocking

Nose isolating? Haha! Careful you don't cut off your nose to spite your face!

[Danneaux]

 

Best,

Dan.

[phopwood]

Dan,

It is nice to dream about the summer.  We are looking to book a holiday soon for 2015, and we have not even booked one for 2014 yet.  The trick here is that magic balance of quality and cost.

I have used in the past, Shure 215 ear buds, these were very good came with the airline double adaptor, they work by going deep in your ear and block the outside noise.  I stopped using these as the ear buds hurt my ears after a few hours.  But I used them for 3 years and they still look in very good condition.   The whole range of shure ear buds are very good.  Light, small and easy to carry, they have their own case

http://www.shure.co.uk/products/earphones

I now have a pair of Bose noise cancelling over ear headphones.  These are brilliant, I love these they sounds great and on the train in the morning all noise is gone.  You can even remove the cable and just block out the noise.  They take a single AAA battery quite large but they come in there own case.  I do takes these to London on the train each week with my work clothes for a 2 night stay away along with my laptop etc etc on my Brompton

http://www.bose.co.uk/GB/en/home-and-personal-audio/headphones-and-headsets/acoustic-noise-cancelling-headphones/quietcomfort-15-headphones/

  I got mine from the bose seconds shop and they are basically returns or remanufactured with about 30% off retail and they come with full warranty.

All the best.
Peter

[Danneaux]

Wonderful, Peter; thanks so much for the firsthand reports.

Plainly, from a performance standpoint the over-the-ear 'phones would be best, but from a space-saving standpoint, the 'buds have the advantage.

Much thinking to do now; thanks ever so much for the recommendations and reviews.

Best,

Dan.

[bikerwaser]

Hi Dan

i had some Philips over the ear noise cancellation headphones. they were rated as being very good in comparison to the more expensive makes but i found them too bulky and sold them and replaced them with sennheiser in the ear noise blocking earphones.
i've tried a quick search but can't find the ones i have but these are similar but i didn't pay this much for mine so maybe with a longer search you could find a much better deal.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sennheiser-CX-880-NOISE-ISOLATING-Earphones-Headphones-for-MP3-Android-iphone-/201011755924?pt=AU_Electronics_Portable_Audio_Accessories&hash=item2ecd3bfb94

i use them a lot . it's amazing that just by blocking out the outer sound what difference it makes. i can also drop the volume of my mp3 player almost by half which is probably saving quite a bit of battery.

hope that helps

Waser

[Danneaux]

Thanks, Waser; I'm gaining some traction toward a selection.

I have really good hearing -- never exposed to things like rock concerts and ear plugs and ear cups worn at the few drag-racing events in childhood (my house was 8km from the track, and we could still hear the burnouts louder than normal conversation, so it was Really Loud at Ground Zero) -- and want to keep it intact. Being able to run the MP3 player or airliner in-flight movies at reduced volume is just what I'm after for keeping what I have. I'd hate to lose the ability to hear the Night Noises I so enjoy when wilderness camping.

I have some Sennheiser ear buds for general listening that are really good, so this appeals as well.

Many thanks,

Dan.

[il padrone]

i use them a lot . it's amazing that just by blocking out the outer sound what difference it makes. i can also drop the volume of my mp3 player almost by half which is probably saving quite a bit of battery.

Or, as an audiologoist told us, preventing your future hearing loss 

[jags]

no idea Dan i don't do that much flying 

[Danneaux]

Hi All!

After some careful research and your comments, I have made a selection weighing effectiveness, sound quality, and price: I purchased Audio Technica ATH-ANC23 active noise-cancelling earbuds for USD$36/USD$38.95 shipped new from eBay.

They review well, given the price-point:
http://www.digitaltrends.com/headphone-reviews/audio-technica-ath-anc23-review/
http://www.head-fi.org/t/551759/my-review-of-the-audio-technica-ath-anc23
http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/headphones/b8f997425a783390/index.html?utm_campaign=bazaarvoice&utm_medium=SearchVoice&utm_source=AskAndAnswer&utm_content=Default

I hope they will be okay; if not, the price was low enough I should be able to recover my costs, judging by eBay closing prices for used ones.

I hope these do work alright. My last flight from Portland to Amsterdam left me with flattened hearing for awhile, and I found the continuous exposure to high noise to be very fatiguing at the start of my tour. I see some of the reviews indicate these are effectively noise-isolating to a high degree even when the active cancellation is off, so they'll probably stay in place if I can stand the feeling of the plugs. Might be a possible substitute for foam plugs in other noisy environs like hostels, as well, or when trying to sleep in airports on 24-hour layovers.

Thanks again for all your helpful suggestions.

Best,

Dan.