Noise canceling headphones

Hardware
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21

My vote goes for the Parrot Zik. Very good quality of sound, good noise cancelation, and they look super slick.

22

For noise isolation/noise dull the $150 BeatsX sound decent for the price and last 8 hours. I use them daily to listen to music, podcasts, and make calls and they can stay in for hours with no discomfort. They are in ear, and surpass something like the AirPods for sound and far surpass them for noise isolation, (and battery life quite frankly). Battery lasts 8 hours in real world use for me, and that quick charge of 15 minutes gives you two more hours, so if you have a portable charger they will last you a long flight.
I bought my wife the QC20 and I have used them. Those are a great wired alternative to the BeatsX and have active cancelation, but for that $250 price you’re already in the range of the QC35 which are superior at $350. Depends on your budget.

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23

I did a lot of research on this and ended up purchasing a pair of Plantronics Voyager 8200 noise-canceling headphones. I love them, they do an excellent job on noise cancelation and have a range of 90 plus feet away from my iPhone. I have no trouble playing music on long flights with the iPhone in the seat back pocket and walking the entire length of the plane without losing connection!

24

Bought refurbished QC35s in Delaware and they are the best noise canceling headphones I have ever used. Very comfortable as long as it’s not too warm. I just went to a trip from NY to CA and they worked amazing on both flights. Can’t recommend them enough!

25

When I walked into the local headset store to buy QC35, the sales representative refered me to the Sennheiser PXC 550. I don’t know if they still are selling it.

Pros:

  • Very comfortable on the ear.
  • Easy turn off and on by just phycially turning it.
  • Good NC and very good sound quality.
  • I can double tap on the touch pad to stop playback, stop NC and start an active listening mode where the mics are actually recording and playing back sound from outside.

Cons:

  • The controller is a touch pad. Very easy to hit it when using your arms. If you’re in a phone call, a single touch will terminate the call.
  • Had it into warranty repair two times for the same problem: suddently the left ear start to play “wind” or something.
  • Not very comfortable to wear when not on your ears, due to the fact it must be twisted to be turned off.

To be honest, I think I’ll go for the best Bose option the next time I will buy one.

26

And note the Action (or whatever it’s called) Button - on the QC35 II - now does Alexa. (It also does Google Assistant, though that’s older.)

I’m not sure of the value of these - as I don’t tend to be anywhere near WiFi when using the headphones.

But I would in any case be very careful to get QC35 II not plain “old” QC35. I would hazard Bose would add any new function into this action button and only on the II model.

27

No question. Bose. I love mine. Pricey but worth every penny.

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28

My only wish is that they would pair with three devices, e.g. MacBook Pro, iPad, and iPhone. I see the new model still pairs with two devices.

29

I’ve used Bowers and Wilkins for many years. They make high end Hi Fi and I’m currently using P7 noise isolating headphones but they now do noise cancelling with the PX editions. I recently flew from UK to Western Canada and back and mine were great. http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Headphones/Collection/products/overview.html I also have Bose but I think these are better…

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30

I have both the Bose QC20 and the QC35. The QC20 are wired but very small so I keep those in my bag at all times. When I travel I only use the QC20s since I’m a one bag traveler so space is at a premium. The QC20 are in ear units but they don’t jam into your ear canal. I have another set of in ear monitors that sound terrific but I can’t wear them more than a few hours before they begin to hurt. The QC20s I can wear for an entire 13-hour flight with no issues.

I have the QC35 for the office. They are extremely comfortable and sound good but my only complain is that they can get hot when I wear them for several hours. Wireless is very nice in the office since I’m apt to be walking around.

The noise cancellation is very similar between the two - so much so that I can’t tell the difference. If someone comes into my office when I have the headphones on they have to wave at me to get my attention - the noise cancellation is that good.

31

Just bought the Bose. As great as my wired Bose.
Just wish people next to me on flights would take the hint- headphones on means I probably don’t want to talk

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32

I just got the new Sony WH1000X M3. Really good headphones with strong noise canceling. Really light, 30 hours battery life.