Originally Posted by
oshelef
Can you compare them to passive in ear phones? Like from Etymotic or Shure?
In terms of noise suppression, they are powered/switched so you can turn them off/on. Without any signal/music, by turning them on/off you can hear the effect of the noise suppression. When one turns them on, you can definitely hear a hush and reduction in ambient noise.
In terms of sound quality, that's probably more personal/subjective. One thing to note is the noise suppression circuitry also provides some amplification (in addition to the on/off switch, there is a volume dial). With my laptop (whose sound output is a little low), it helps with movies, etc. Listening to music, I think they are fine. I tend to lose/damage earbuds so I don't buy Etymotic or Shure (my favorites over the years are the discontinued
Sony MDR-ED21LP )