Finding a good set of noise cancelling headphones can be tough. Quite often, you do get what you pay for and I’ve gone though a lot of these over the past 15 years. I found that I’m always upgrading every two or three years. I tried plenty, ranging from ear buds, in-the-ear, over the ear and the like. That list includes Princess Leia style mufflers! But to find that what’s suitable is never ever perfect. There’s even days I feel like a Cyberman because of what I put over my head.
To nail that right pair of speakers to strap on to the sides of my ears or anyone else’s really depends on the shape of each individual’s ears and in how that person perceives sound more so than the latest fashion trends. Yes, I admit it, I still love my TRON inspired KOSS Porta-Pro. The foam needs replacing but for the rest, it has yet to die on me even though my much beloved V-Moda for my iPod Mini (still the best engineered sounding player in my opinion) from 2004 have long since disappeared.
The top ten lists on the Internet I browse through these days credits Bose’s QuietComfort series as the best. There’s no denying that, but not everyone wants to shell out $300+ for an awesome set of headwear. When travel fever hits, I want to relax to the soothing sounds of Mozart and Quiet Riot while on the train, plane or automobile without hurting my convention budget. But when there’s that low-frequency rumble from the vehicle’s engine, is there any other brand that I can attach to my ears to other than Bose?
Sennheiser makes an excellent PXC 250-II that I adore. The highs are crisp and I can hear the high hat being hit with a drum brush. Def Leppard’s song, “Hysteria” (when encoded as an Apple Lossless file than MP3) is a beauty to listen to with these receivers, and that’s why I believe this particular model is still in high demand.
They retail for $250 on average but on Amazon, they sell as low as 128.00. On the right set of ears, I believe their Noiseguard technology can do the job of filtering out about 75% of the rumble from a bus and street noise. But these over the ear style speakers sit quite small against my ears and I need something larger to get proper noise filtering. That’s important to consider when shopping around for a perfect set of headphones.
KOSS’ QZ Pro is an attractive looking set of mufflers, but when I tried it, there was terrible hiss that I surmise is used to help filter out environmental noise. As much as I’d like to spend the money to try more noise filtering ear muffs, I suspect the stores will not be happy with me constantly returning every product that I do not find perfect. I returned the QZ Pro the next day when I found it could not even pass a basic test: street noise from cars passing by (even though it did a great job of masking the toilet being flushed).
I thought about Sony’s MDRNC13 ear-buds, MDR-ZX110NC Over the ear devices and MDR-ZX550BN Bluetooth version next, but when looking at the price, I suspect they function no better than the QZ Pro. Saving readers the hassle, I’ve found reports for the ZX series are all over the map — there’s no census.
When trying the models available at the stores, I did find that the MDR10RNC are nice, but when trying their noise cancelling function, I was able to hear the store music over what was being piped through the headphones. When my ears are sensitive enough to hear conversations at a concert from people next to me, that kind of distraction can get grating.
The Bose QuietComforts were nearby and when comparing the demo track to what’s examples of jet engine noise from other speakers, I more than realize this line of products is considered the best of the best. But with no specials going on and the salesman not bending at offering the last sale price (some stores might consider doing that just to earn a sale), I had no interest in giving up my hotel budget just for eight hours of travel bliss. I’d rather suffer.
The life of the financially starving media artist is not easy. The advice I offer is more like common sense. When shopping for any type of noise cancelling headphone, I simply pay attention to the size of the speaker in relation to the shape of my ear before committing any amount of dollars into the purchase. That’s when shopping at a local store is preferable over the blind testing when buying online. You don’t know what to expect unless the pictures show a sense of scale.
The better enclosed the headphone is to one’s ear, the better it can block out ambient noise. That’s why I love the Over-the-Ear style of headphone. What’s sampled inside the chamber compared to the outside environment can help cancel the ‘noise’ that’s produced.
In-Ear type devices are nice but there are not many true noise cancelling headphones in this particular category. I’m the type that finds that this style slides out of my ear canal after a few hours of wear. The silicone is not quite fitting snugly.
As nice as they are for blocking some outside hums, they hardly ever work perfectly for low-level frequencies. That’s because when they are drawn out on an electronic monitoring device, they look like rolling hills. High frequencies can be like the regularly splashing waves from the ocean hitting the beach when the wind is gusting. Unless the seal from the headphones to the skin is perfect, low frequencies are more easier to slip through. High or medium range frequencies, however, are not that easy. To have a headphone with the right size microphone to record the environment is important.
To apply these physics to the right kind of headphone is both an engineering and acoustic design challenge. Style is somewhat important because room is needed to create comfort for the music listener versus the technology that knows exactly what to look for and filter out. That’s why paying attention to packaging specifications is important. The more listening devices that are on the headphone the better, and having a switch to distinguish between natural environmental and engine noise can help buyers decide from buying one type of headphone over another.
On-ear headphones are weird. That and the Over-the-ear design are a common feature for active noise cancelling devices. Strangely, I find the square-shaped design in Harman Kardon’s latest line of headphones, like the NC, BT or CL-RECTIFIED, more beneficial because they are comfortable to put around any ear. Monster’s Inspiration series is the perfect example of perfect functionality. But sadly, ever since Dr. Dre decided to make headphones a clique accessory, to find the right items that are more functional than fashionable is tough. I dislike this direction but hopefully the next set of phones I’ve ordered will be to my liking:
Hopefully Audio Technica ATH-ANC29’s will be what I desire for a headphone instead of the ANC-9 (a heavier and expensive version with selectable noise filtering modes).
To be continued