Noise cancelling ear buds/head phones

N

Natoma

Veteran
I've started working again last week and I wanted to purchase ear buds or headphones for myself. However since I ride the NY Subway, there's a lot of noise. I don't want to damage my hearing by having to blast the music into my ears to hear it above the din of the subway cars and the air conditioning, particularly in light of the articles I've read recently regarding noise damage in people my age (blame ipods in particular).

If anyone has any information, or sites I can read, I'd appreciate it very much. Cost isn't really an issue as I really want to get a high quality pair. Thanks in advance.

p.s.: Now that I think about it, I think an ear canal headset would be nice rather than ear buds. They haven't been particularly comfortable in my experience. But then I've had the cheap ones thus far, like the ones that come standard with the ipod. So maybe someone has a quality suggestion.
 
There was a thread a while back where DigitalWanderer was looking for headphones to use while mowing the lawn.

I suggested the 30-ish dollar Sony isolating ear phones (At Amazon) because that's what I use. He got them and was happy.

They seem to do a reasonable job of isolating the outside world, plus, they're not outrageously expensive.
 
RussSchultz said:
There was a thread a while back where DigitalWanderer was looking for headphones to use while mowing the lawn.

I suggested the 30-ish dollar Sony isolating ear phones (At Amazon) because that's what I use. He got them and was happy.

They seem to do a reasonable job of isolating the outside world, plus, they're not outrageously expensive.
Click to expand...

Sweet. Thanks Russ.

I've been reading some of the amazon reviews and people are seeming to recommend the Shure's for "careful" listening. I have a lot of classical and baroque music in my ipod, as well as contemporary instrumentals. Do you know the range and quality of audio duplication for the sony headsets when dealing with that kind of music?
 
PC-Engine said:
Shure E3Cs or E4Cs if you can afford them. They go for around $110 and $200 respectively.
Click to expand...

How are they with respect to presenting instrumental music without distortion or loss?

I encode my CDs at 320k CBR mp3, so quality reproduction is a factor. My tastes range from instrumentals (which require a fine reproduction) to modern pop/R&B (which requires a rather nice bassy response)

<-- knows almost nothing about headphones. :LOL:
 
Natoma said:
PC-Engine said:
Shure E3Cs or E4Cs if you can afford them. They go for around $110 and $200 respectively.
Click to expand...

How are they with respect to presenting instrumental music without distortion or loss?

I encode my CDs at 320k CBR mp3, so quality reproduction is a factor. My tastes range from instrumentals (which require a fine reproduction) to modern pop/R&B (which requires a rather nice bassy response)

<-- knows almost nothing about headphones. :LOL:
Click to expand...

Word on the street is the E3Cs are a little weak in the bass department for bass heavy music, but overall they're very sensitive phones and pretty accurate too.

The E4Cs are basically the same as the E3Cs except it has more bass output.
 
PC-Engine said:
Word on the street is the E3Cs are a little weak in the bass department for bass heavy music, but overall they're very sensitive phones and pretty accurate too.

The E4Cs are basically the same as the E3Cs except it has more bass output.
Click to expand...

What kind of streets do you walk on, to have people debating the bass response and accuracy of the E3Cs over other types of headphones?! :devilish:
 
london-boy said:
PC-Engine said:
Word on the street is the E3Cs are a little weak in the bass department for bass heavy music, but overall they're very sensitive phones and pretty accurate too.

The E4Cs are basically the same as the E3Cs except it has more bass output.
Click to expand...

What kind of streets do you walk on, to have people debating the bass response and accuracy of the E3Cs over other types of headphones?! :devilish:
Click to expand...

Fascination Street. 8)
 
This basically comes down to how much you're willing to spend, as always. I went through the same process recently for headphones to use at work and I ended up buying the Shure E5cs, which by anyone's reckoning cost silly money (though no-where near the Ultimate Ears UE-10s...).

I've now broken them in and they are remarkably good. They effectively have a sub built-in, and so the bass and mid-range is fantastic - for virtually any kind of music.

That said - most people balk at spending $500 on a pair of headphones - and most people don't need to; the E2cs will do just fine. I spent the dough because I knew I was going to wear them a great deal when I wanted to shut-out office noise and do some work, and that I wanted to try the Rolls Royce solution for once.
 
Natoma said:
Do you know the range and quality of audio duplication for the sony headsets when dealing with that kind of music?
Click to expand...
Compared to my lawn mower, they are marvelous.
 
A couple of things make a comparison difficult:

(a) they're completely different types of headphones. Some people don't like the in-ear varieties, they find them uncomfortable and have air compression issues. Alternatively, other people don't like wearing enormous headphones (like the Bose) in public. If you're not bothered about looks then the Bose will probably be more comfortable, but if you are then the Shures are very discreet and generally look good.

(b) the Bose will require a large carry case. The Shures can fit in your pocket. This can be important for some people.

(c) the Bose offer sound cancelling technology whereas the Shures are sound isolating. This means that the Bose require batteries.

(d) the Bose are almost half-price.

In terms of sound quality - I've no idea. I have no problem with large headphones - at home I have a pair of Sennheiser HD-590s that I use with my Yamaha keyboard and PC, but at work I prefer a more discreet option. So I never looked at the Bose set. Only way to tell will be to try them side by side.

The one thing that I would say is that beware where you use these things. Moving around a busy environment can become more dangerous without sound - and you won't hear much from either set.

The other mid-way option is the Sennheiser PXC-250s, about which I have heard great things.
 
PC-Engine said:
Shure E3Cs or E4Cs if you can afford them. They go for around $110 and $200 respectively.
Click to expand...
Any Shure canalphones are awesome. I have my E2Cs in at the moment. Cost $60 at buy.com. They're a little heavy in the bass department, but I can turn it up *loud* and it still sounds very good (zero distortion). I use them for jazz, a decently wide variety of rock music, some orchestral stuff (would be a lot more if I could find the brother's copy of the Ring cycle), and a bit of rap. Shockingly enough, rap doesn't sound absolutely stupid with them in like it does with 99% of headphones.

I also have not seen a Bose product that is worth more than half the MSRP.
 
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