Noise Canceling Headsets
 

Which airlines offer noise canceling headsets aboard their flights? I was looking into buying a pair from Bose, but they are $ 300 (USD). A little to rich for my blood! That is certainly a large perk when traveling; the cabins closer to the galley are always loud with dishes banging and clanging all over the place!

The Sony MDR-NC5 can be found for $50 and is very good.

There was a special on the Bose site where you could buy the discontinued version for $200. I bought them, but now I don't see the special on the site anymore. You might look around to see if you can find it.

I used them for the first time IAD-SJC this week. Wow, what a difference. They were worth the $200 to me, but $300 was too rich for me as well. Good luck.

i just got a pair of the Aiwa's for 23 on ebay.
they seem to work good I will let you know more after my flight this week. but for 18 + shiping I cant go wrong.

peace
billyb

Check out Ebay.

A few years ago I bought a pair of Brookstone NC headsets, and they did a decent job.

A few months ago, I upgraded to the Bose QC2, and it's quite a difference.

If you travel 100K+ on a plane, the $300 turns out to be a great investment.

I know this sounds funny, but it's strange. My noise cancelling headset blocked out 90% of the noise last night...except for the cute girl behind me who wouldn't shut up for the 1:40 trip from ORD>OKC.

Very useful for West Wing episodes while on flight. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

You might wanna read some reviews about noise canceling headphones before investing in a set.
Here is a good thread about noise canceling headphones.

And here are some reasons not to buy to buy a set http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Although the Bose are slightly more comfortable and play back music better, my $50 Targus headphones are actually superior when it comes to noise cancellation (determinted by side by side comparison). They offer 16db max cancellation, which is 6db above the posted specs of the other NC headphones I looked at (Sony, etc) - and Bose doesn't even publish theirs, which I would understand if their headphone tolerances are as poor as their speaker specs.

Are the Bose nice headsets? Sure. Are they the best headsets for noise cancellation? No. Are they worth an additional $250? You'd have to be a fool....

I use the Sony earbud ones cause they do a solid job of cancelling most of the noise and it's easy to pop one out when the FA asks me a question or I am in the airport (watching a DVD) and I hear a gate announcement.

While I love my wife's Bose, we only have one set of them. I currently have a pair of sony's (not sure of the model and too lazy to look), but liked the noise buster extremes better, they were more comfortable.

Sony's are usually available in their outlet stores if one is near by, usually a damaged box means some incredible savings.

I'm on my second set of Sony MDR-NC5 that hsilbiger also recommended (my first set was ripped off in Milan http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif).

You can find them for about $50-$60 on eCost.com or on eBay as others have said.

I think that they are almost just as good as the much more expensive Bose, so the minute difference in quality does not justify the price difference.

The NC headphones block out all the low level rumble that make you TIRED on any flight, short or long. Several years ago when I first tried NC headphones on UA C-class to Europe, I went out and bought my first pair of Sony MDR-NC5 immediately, and I have considered them to be one of the best investments that I have ever made (just to allow me to arrive at my destination a bit less tired).

Back to your original question, I know that UA, BA, LH, SQ, all offer NC headsets, but on C or F only (ouch), so you'll need to buy your own NC headphones if you are stuck in Y.

It is definitely worth mentioning that if you want to sleep, the "bud" style headphones may offer a significant advantage as they don't get in the way. I have noticed this problem with my over-the-ear set.

I have a pair of Sony MDR-NC20's and love them. Not quite as comfortable as the Bose, but the noise calcelation is comparable, the size better (they fold up much smaller), and the price much cheaper (I picked them up last year in Tokyo at Bic Camera for $67).

Ok, so reading this thread made me think that I should consider buying a new set which is small enough to not bother me while I sleep. Seeing the general praise for the sony NC11's, I went over to CompUSA and bought a set. I put in a battery, fitted them snugly in my ear, turned up the stereo with plenty of bass for background noise, then fliped the power switch on the NC-11's to hear... virtually no difference whatsoever. It appears to generate some white noise, but I am skeptical that these headphones even work. Maybe I got a set of duds because these don't even reduce noise as much as my foam earplugs let alone my Targus NC headphones. In fact the noise reduction is pretty much the same whether the power is on or off - indicating that the ear-plug nature of the design is the only thing blocking any noise.

I think I'm going to take these back to CompUSA this afternoon and see if I can get my money back without paying their ludicrous "restocking fee". Caveat emptor.

elCheapoDeluxe, in the test you performed, you would be able to hear the music, not because the headsets are not working, but that the test is not correct.

Noise-cancelling headphones work by removing not ALL sounds but only those sounds that have a continuous constant frequency, like the hum of your computer, the noise of jet engines at cruise, road noise in a car, etc. The easiest test to try is to sit close to your PC and note the constant humming of the fan, put on the headset but don't turn it on, and note the noise reduction from the seal, then turn it on and note the additional reduction. If you are in a very very quiet environment, you'll actually hear a hiss from some headphones if you have undamaged hearing, but it is far below anything that can cause permanant hearing loss. Hope that helps.

I have to admit that I have both the Bose 2 and Sony NC-11. I usually travel with the Bose and really appreciate the improvements made to the old version (including the better carrying case). My Sony works very well under a stocking hat shoveling snow or trying to catch a few winks. If I REALLY want to keep the noise out, I use my Radio Shack NASCAR headphones. They are by far the best at keeping out noise!

I don't believe any set of noise canceling headphones would work under those test conditions, except the ones that block all outside noise what so ever. If you want them to block out the crying baby, the people talking next to you, or that type of noise, you will be disappointed by any of them. Engine noise, air hum, then they will work.

Is there such a thing as a headset that cancels out voices, crying babies, etc.? Generally the noise from the plane engine doesn't bother me--it's the annoying woman from the next row who talks way too loudly or the fussy toddler three rows back. I usually don't watch movies or listen to music. Is there anything that just cuts out the distractions so you can work quietly (or would that just be a pair of $2 ear plugs)?

Sure, combine your earplugs with the effective use of this and you'll have a perfectly quiet airplane! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif



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"There are those who travel, and those who travel well."

The Etymotic ER4 earphones block out outside noise to 25db. They don't get in the way when you sleep and have excellent sound reproduction. To my ear they far surpass any head phones out there, for comfort, sound reproduction and noise cancellation. You can get them on EBay for $220.

[This message has been edited by nor4 (edited Feb 07, 2004).]

I borrowed a co-worker's Bose headphones the other day and was amazed at the noise cancelling ability but thought that the bass sounded suprisingly muddy.

The AIWA units are available at Sony factory stores (Sony owns AIWA) but I'm told they're not comfortable at all.

Too bad the airlines can't provide an on-board noise cancelling system that works via the inflight entertainment system.

IMHO the AIWA set is terrible. I tried it for a few days and took it back to the store.

I am currently using QC2 and it is certainly the best one out of the 4 models which I tried.

The bose headsets are too bulky and they make your ears hot and sweaty. Not worth the bucks.

As this topic (though interesting) is not a UA topic at all, I suggest we move it to omni.

Zach
Moderator

[This message has been edited by zrs70 (edited Feb 08, 2004).]