Noise Cancelling Headphone?

[blackraven]

My son would like a pair of noise canceling headphone for Xmas. Can anyone recommend a pair for under $130? He wants to use them with his computer for music and gaming. He has a high end Sound Blaster Fatality Xfi sound card and likes good sound. I'm not sure why he wants noise canceling phones unless its for his ipod too.

Thanks!

[gillsev]

http://www.bose.com/controller?event=DTC_LINKS_TARGET_EVENT&DTCLinkID=7913&perfsourceid=k9677&src=k9677

Price is irrelevant. He's your SON!

[poppachubby]

Tight budget for NC. Let me have a look BR, off the top of my head I'm not too sure. I hate to say it, but can you talk him out of noise cancelling, and maybe into a sealed set?

[bfalls]

If he's really into the sound, why buy noise-cancelling headphones. I think they compromise sound quality. If good sound is the goal, buy good headphones form Shure, Sony, Sennheiser, Grado, Klipsch... NC headphones sample outside noise and mix in a signal out-of-phase to cancel it. I don't think the process is all that precise and cancels more than what's needed. I'm sure there are some better than others. A good set of headphones/earbuds with good isolating properties, I fell would be better for sound quality.

[captjamo]

Amazon Market Place and Ebay have Sure SE310's from 155.00 to 170.00. Sound isolating is best. Cuts about 27db of background noise out without the need for batteries and is lighter and more mobile. Best sound pound for pound on the market today. These retail for 249.00 most places so to me spending a little bit more than 130.00 is money very well spent. 110's or even 210's that are, perhaps, more in line with your budget do not sound near as good as these.

[nightflier]

Skip the Bose, they can't compare to a good pair of in-ears. I've compared quite a few headphones and the over-priced Bose were at the bottom of my list. Even the Sennheiser PXC-300s sounded better. But as far as in-ear headphones I settled on Etymotics. Mine are the least expensive ones, the 6 series, which are now selling for $60-80 (Etymotics on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-Isolator-Earphones-White/dp/B0002ZW5W4)), but the next ones up, the 4 series, are excellent.

Shure also makes good phones, and the 300 series mentioned above are quite decent. Compared to the Etymotics they had more bass, but to my ears sounded less clear and airy. And excellent source for headphone info, including the models mentioned here, is Headroom in-ear phones (http://www.headphone.com/headphones/in-ear.php). Their reviews and ratings are pretty close to the mark.


(P.S. I'm referring to previous generation earphones I tested a year or so ago. The never phones might be different)

[gillsev]

Tell you what ... I'll save you $100. I have a KOSS Pro 480 in excellent condition. Not Noise Canceling though.

$30 shipped.

[blackraven]

I've been looking at the Sennheiser PX-300 and the Audiotechnica

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-ANC7-ATHANC7-Noise-cancelling-Headphones/dp/B000OMKR8E

He does not want earbuds, otherwise I would be looking at the Shure. I think the AT would be more sturdy for every day use over the PX-300's. I'm also considering the PXC_350's

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-PXC-350-Cancellation-Headphone/dp/B000OOZVD8/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1260314629&sr=1-9

It's a little more than I want to spend though. He has some other things he will be getting for Xmas.

[dean_martin]

I got the audio-technica pair below for the wife for portable use. Won't be able to listen to them 'til Xmas so I can't comment on the sound quality yet. The online retailer below has a good rep and happens to have these cans on sale with free shipping in certain colors. They're also available in black and white. I got the wife the white ones to match her portable dvd player at Amazon. Headroom is usually responsive and helpful. They may recommend something better for your son's application if you contact them.

http://www.headphone.com/headphones/audio-technica-ath-fc700a.php

[rmjacksn]

I picked up a pair of Sennheiser HD 280 for $99 a couple of months ago. They're fully circumaural . . . no sound gets in, no sound gets out. Granted, those hi-end sets mentioned earlier produce a more true sound. I know my Grado 80i's do. But these do what they're designed to do, give the best sound possible considering the design.

[MikeyBC]

Sennheiser PX 100's are great for under 130 bucks. They're lightweight, very comfy (you forget theyre on after a while) and have excellent bass ...they are 80 bucks up here in Canada.

[bubbagump]

The Audio Technica ATH-ANC7 is about 120 from Amazon. There is also an ATH-ANC7B but they seem to be a little less well reviewed for some reason. I have the ATH-ANC7's (for about a year now) and the Bose over the ear model (for over two years). The Bose are very good but very fragile and the material the cushioning is made from rots and flakes off. I have them wire tied together to keep the unforgivably cheap materials and fragile construction in one piece. The Audio Technica's are half the price, perform as well or better than the Bose, more comfortable, tighter fitting and have held up a lot better.