I've been happy with my ER-6s for years for $79.

I've had the QC2's for over 2 years now and love them. I ran out of the little cards Bose provided to give out to other passengers on my third flight.

I used to dislike in-ear headphones but became a convert with the Etymotic ER6i. Great noise isolation and sound quality.

I upgraded from the Shure e3 to the e4 (after I left the e3 on a flight. I got off of a flight late at night and got on the same hardware at the same gate early the next morning and they were gone and the Lost and Found for UAL didn't have them...my fault, oh well) I really enjoyted the e3's but love the e4's I tink it is worth the extra $ for the e4

I've had the QC2s for about 2 years and had no complaints but I also don't like the bulkiness. It keeps me from losing them but they aren't convenient for carrying around. I was actually considering buying the QC3s.

I sat next to a guy who had the E4cs and he loved them and I had read other discussions about them. I decided to just get the E5cs for $355 + shipping. I don't know what happened but when I received them, I listened to them for about 10 minutes and loved it but when I went to use them again, the right headphone was blown.

A replacement is on the way but I really wanted to take them with me on my last transpac flight.

I don't know the difference between the E4c and E5c but I loved the E5c. Should get my new ones next week--I hope this was a fluke and not a common occurance.

I would like to buy some active noise cancelling non ear plug headphones but my better half is unhappy at the price of the Bose range.

I am not after the worlds best headphone but would like something that is value for money and is flexible in attaching to my laptop or airline sockets .

Is there some compromise available out there?

Just used my new E4's SFO - DFW - ZRH yesterday/today. They are great!

The triple flange ear piece alone is worth the upgrade from the E3's. Although the compressible foam on the E3's never gave me any trouble, the triple flanges were totally comfortable for that 15+ hours of use.

Both the sound and the sound isolation seem better to me.

I also bought the PTH. I liked how it works, but the extra wires in my lap were a bit of a pain. Oh, 30 no question return direct from Shure on that bit, so I'll see how it goes on my return.

Since you're interested in non ear plug, then consider the Sennheiser pxc250 or the more expensive pxc300. I tried the pxc250 on a recent Aus-USA trip and they were great. Excellent noise reduction on the internal UA flights. Both models fold down into a small package. The less expensive pxc150 I don't think is collapsable.
They don't remove all the noise, but do a great job at minimising, and it makes watching movies and listening to music on my mp3 player so much poor enjoyable (without the risk of damaging my hearing even more).

Compared with Bose, no idea, but Bose in Aus are really expensive

Based on the on-going discussion, I have just purchased the E4 via e-bay. About $160. I've got the Bose QC2 and do like them but they are bulky and make the ears quite warm after a while and it's very difficult to sleep with them on. Going to test the two on a mr next week -- 9k miles with one and 9k with the other. Thanks for all the input.

Who did you buy them from on Ebay? That's a great price!

Although I am sure most are authentic Shure products, there are a lot of fake everything on ebay. Even the shure website has warnings about purchasing from unauthorized distributors.

After buying $200 Oakley sunglasses for $90 and finding out they were fake, I figure it is better to pay the $100 or so more and have a warranty and deal with a reputable store.

I am looking for earbuds with the least sound leakage- are they pretty much the same at this level or is one superior to the others?

Which ones are you referring to? If you're comparing the Shure E3s and E4s, yes there's really not that much difference. Most of the difference is for trained audiophile ears. The E4s get the triple-flange sleeve for best noise isolation. Here's a comparison chart: http://shure.com/PersonalAudio/Compa...char_earphones

As for the Bose, they use an active noise cancelling algorithm so it requires a battery. And it's far bulkier than the Shures. Also it's an on-the-ear type of headphone, which means there will definitely be some noise leaking in no matter what.

Hope that helps.

I was thinking about Shure, Westonve, or Ultimate Ears- by sound leakage I didn't mean isolating outside noises I meant what phones are best if I am listening with a high volume and don't want the sound to leak out to fellow passengers. For instance standard Ipod phones leak tons of noise if I have max volume the person next to me can even tell what song I'm listening to so I want earphones where that won't happen. I'm open to any brand really.

I read the reviews including those on www.earphonesolutions.com where they say Westonve UM2 and Shure e500 tied for first place, but none of them bring up this this type of leakage. Grateful for any tips.

I can't speak for the other brands, but I have the Bose QC1, Bang & Olufsen A8s, and Shure E3 headphones.

They don't make the Bose QC1s anymore, so that's irrelevant. The B&O aren't designed for sound isolation and there's a lot of noise leakage, but the sound quality is fantastic for its size. Lastly, when using my 5G iPod, the Shures sound great, even at very low levels. Which may be ideal for you since you'll probably blow your ears out before othe people can hear what song you're playing. Hope that helps.