My greatest problem is background noise, either from airplanes or road traffic. So far I had not found little noise cancelling earbuds to actually cancel noise at all, let alone as much as the larger earphones. Finally I tried the Sony mdr-nc22 which actually seem to work.
Half of the benefit is the in-ear configuration. I normally hate how those feel, but this design is quite elaborate to fit nicely. So they are bearable, and block a lot of noise even without the cancelling powered up. Then you flick on the aaa batttery powerpack and it actually makes a difference (unlike an off brand model).
It’s a little hard to quantify the difference because there is a transition phase when you flick it on, but you can sure tell a difference. I was so skeptical that I decided someone had turned off an a/c machine rather than the earbuds supressing it’s noise. You can really tell walking by lots of traffic… there can be a weird hush at times making you wonder if you could get run over (some sounds still get thru clearly like wind noise or motorcycle engines).
Well, thought some might like a break from the whinefest from a product (sansa-clip) in end of life support mode, and a possible way to boost satisfaction. (yes, I did post this elsewhere too, in case you noticed it)
Noise cancelling headphones don’t use magic. They have microphones which sample the noise, then produce sound waves to cancel the noise. This means that they work best when the noise doesn’t vary. In most real world situations though, the noise is varying quite a bit and is intermittent, so the noise cancellation is not so effective. Noise cancellation technology can also impair sound quality significantly. Imo the best idea is to avoid noise cancelling headphones or earphones, and get headphones or earphones that do a good job of isolation instead.
Years ago, on a flight, I tested my Sony ear bud active noise-cancelling phones against my Shure in-ear phones with triple-flange ear buds. Interestingly, the Shures won, by a trifle. Not that the Sonys were bad–to the contrary. But it was the triple-flange seal that made the difference, keeping sounds out.
"Years ago, on a flight, I tested my Sony ear bud active noise-cancelling phones against my Shure in-ear phones with triple-flange ear buds. Interestingly, the Shures won, by a trifle. Not that the Sonys were bad–to the contrary. But it was the triple-flange seal that made the difference, keeping sounds out. "
Airplane engine noise is one of the most consistent noises you will encounter. Of course noise from crying infants, and screaming children isn’t consistant and varies greatly. If you are really desperate to keep the noise out, you could wear isolating headphones over your isolating canalphones. You don’t even need to plug in the isolating headphones, although connecting those as well might be interesting.
You don’t even need to plug in the isolating headphones, although connecting those as well might be interesting. 