bjvircks Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 Anybody got any experience with the present crop of NC earbuds? I'm looking for a decent set of buds to travel with. I really enjoy my Bose but find they are just too big and add to the clutter when I travel. The ideal NC setup would have a selectable cancel mode.... general cabin noise vs screaming baby. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnwradar Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 I'm a big fan of the Shure e3c earbuds. They gave a demo on-campus earlier this year, and when I heard the difference I bought them. They don't isolate enough when I'm riding the lawnmower or running the tablesaw, but they work great in a noisy server room or on a plane. -jon- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjvircks Posted November 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 Thanks Jon... In my experience, good ISOLATION like the Shure products take the ambient down a few dB but can only do so much... then active noise cancelation needs to be used. This allows listening at reduced volumes and better discrimination. Various mfrs offer commercial and military NC headsets for flight deck use. (I'm in the mil avionics business) I'm interested in comments regarding noise CANCELING earbuds like perceived NC effectivness, audio quality, overall quality, in-ear comfort, battery life, ease of use. (off thread) A while ago someone commented that TUNEUPS speakers did not line up with his ears. What's up with that? D-sub, was that you? Do your ears look like my avatar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skipuppy Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 I don't have any noise cancelling earbuds - I just have regular earbuds (Sony's that were like fifty bucks or something) and honestly, I can't hear a single thing when I've got them in and am listening to music quietly. I can sit in a room and do work and my boss can try talking to me (which she has) and I won't even flinch its effing AWESOME. I love them and they are comfy and I have used them on airplanes AND the tram in geneva when the musicians come on and play music... right there.. three feet away.. with accordians or fidels and stuff Noise cancelling stuff actually kind of annoys me because it just sounds like static to me (and yes, I have experienced Bose and other GOOD noise cancelling headphones). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin A. Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 The Shure E-series buds aren't your average "sound-isolating" earbuds. They come with 9 different earpieces to fit your ear and isolation desire. With the foam earpieces, you are almost 100% isolated from ambient noise, I was a passenger in a car going down the highway at 80mph with the windows and sunroof open and I was able to hear my music perfectly with the volume set to maybe like...1/6-1/4 up. They work better than any ANR headset or earbud that I've ever used, and that includes Bose, Peltor, David & Clark, LiteSpeed, ect. With the foamies fitted, I actually use them as earplugs at the shooting range, thats just how quiet they are. And an ANR set of buds wouldn't help at all with a screaming baby...ANR is designed to cancel out low frequency constant noise, not a high frequency variable intensity noise such as a screaming baby, which is why the military and many pilots (myself included) prefer ANR to PNR, the PNR blocks out EVERYTHING; regardless of whether you need to hear it or not, such as a knocking engine or a stall warning horn. ANR blocks the low frequency engine noise that actually damages your hearing, while allowing other things such as speech and a screaming baby to come through. For traveling purposes, you probally won't be needing to hear a stall warning horn or a knocking engine, so I think that you should probally go with PNR. Just my $0.02. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjvircks Posted November 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 I'm surprised anybody caught the 'screaming baby' comment... I'm used to paying attention to the noise level on things like Apaches and Blackhawks. I'm familiar with passives. SO... bottom line... I guess nobody has any experience with the active offerings from JVC, Phillips, Sony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin A. Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 I've used the Phillips ones (the ones with the ANR module on a lanyard that hangs on your neck -from the discovery store) and I hated them. They didn't live up to the promise of quieter listening, just added a static undertone to everything. I also have used the Sony product, same thing except they introduced a wind noise when air moved over the ANR input, kinda like when you blow into the mic on a phone which was VERY dissapointing to say the least. I haven't heard anything about the JVCs, but JVC has always made a good product before. Me, I'm done with the ANR hype for everything but flying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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