Suggestions for Noise Cancelling Headphones?

[DocSwag]

I'm looking into buying some noise cancelling headphones that I would use as my headphones for my desktop as well as on plane rides and longer car rides. I don't have a set budget, so if there's any good deals on headphones I could stretch as high as $400 but I'd rather stay in the $150-$250 range. The things I need are ANC, an option to be wired (wireless would be a nice bonus, as long as it can also be used wired), and I want them to be comfortable over long period of use. A mode where I can listen in on my surroundings would also be nice, but isn't necessary. Sound quality is obviously important, but it's not the most important thing for me since I'm not that sensitive to audio quality. As long as they're pretty good, it's fine for me.

 

I've looked at a couple of options, and the top wireless headphones seem to be the Bose QC35s and Sony WH1000XM3's. However, these are definitely towards the expensive side at $350 ish. From what I've seen, the QC25's are basically just wired QC35s... is this true? If so, I'm not sure if I would want to pay an extra $150 for QC35s or WH1000XM3's if the main advantage is simply being wireless. QC25's are only $180, which is around half the price of the other two.

 

However, yesterday I also saw a deal on these Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i's for $370; they're usually $500. From the little that I've seen, it sounds like these are like the QC35s and WH1000XM3's but with better sound quality... Is this true? If so, is it worth getting over the QC25s?

https://www.amazon.com/Bang-Olufsen-Headphones-Cancellation-Transparency/dp/B078HSVK7M?tag=geapat-20

 

So those are the two main headphones I'm looking at ATM. Which should I choose, and are there other headphones out there that are even better deals? Thanks for the help

[Derkoli]

On 4/7/2019 at 4:59 PM, DocSwag said:

I'm looking into buying some noise cancelling headphones that I would use as my headphones for my desktop as well as on plane rides and longer car rides. I don't have a set budget, so if there's any good deals on headphones I could stretch as high as $400 but I'd rather stay in the $150-$250 range. The things I need are ANC, an option to be wired (wireless would be a nice bonus, as long as it can also be used wired), and I want them to be comfortable over long period of use. A mode where I can listen in on my surroundings would also be nice, but isn't necessary. Sound quality is obviously important, but it's not the most important thing for me since I'm not that sensitive to audio quality. As long as they're pretty good, it's fine for me.

 

I've looked at a couple of options, and the top wireless headphones seem to be the Bose QC35s and Sony WH1000XM3's. However, these are definitely towards the expensive side at $350 ish. From what I've seen, the QC25's are basically just wired QC35s... is this true? If so, I'm not sure if I would want to pay an extra $150 for QC35s or WH1000XM3's if the main advantage is simply being wireless. QC25's are only $180, which is around half the price of the other two.

 

However, yesterday I also saw a deal on these Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i's for $370; they're usually $500. From the little that I've seen, it sounds like these are like the QC35s and WH1000XM3's but with better sound quality... Is this true? If so, is it worth getting over the QC25s?

https://www.amazon.com/Bang-Olufsen-Headphones-Cancellation-Transparency/dp/B078HSVK7M?tag=geapat-20

 

So those are the two main headphones I'm looking at ATM. Which should I choose, and are there other headphones out there that are even better deals? Thanks for the help

Bang and Olufsen make some really good stuff. They know what theyre doing. Alot more experience then sony..

[Jun Ishiwata]

Bose still has the best noice canceling in town .. if thats the most important thing for you ... go for bose.. I tried some in the past like those sony's for instance and they're ok.. but the noice canceling isn't perfect.

 

[rice guru]

Sony wh1000xm3 both sounds better and has better noise cancelling than It's bose conterparts the sony's are my vote

 

[Spuriae]

From my experiences with all of these headphones:

 

As far as pure noise cancellation goes, 1000XM3>QC35>QC25>1000XM2>1000X

1000XM3 noise cancels slightly better than the QC35 but has a stronger "pop" (I can't use them for very long because it begins to hurt). 1000X/XM2 pops about the same as the QC35. QC25 pops more than the QC35 and less than the XM3. The XM3 is seriously impressive, but I just... can't. It hurts. I'm fairly sensitive though; I'd imagine most people would be fine with it.

The hand-cupping gesture on the 1000X was so cool because it was useful and because its seamless cancelling to ambient transition made it feel like the background was melting away. With the more pronounced pressure on the XM3's noise cancelling, this novelty is notably diminished. The XM3's (and all of the Sonys') gestures are still really useful.

 

Comfort-wise, Bose is slightly ahead of the XM3, which is well ahead of the older Sony models (stock pads were way too thin). The Bose pads fall apart relatively quickly though, given how soft they are.

 

Sound-wise...

The XM3's tuning is definitely more immediately impressive. Well-extended bass, sloping downward through the mids for some warmth, with a dip in the low-mid treble to tame sibilance followed by a mid-high spike to add "air". Treble extension is poor but that's difficult to notice if you don't listening critically (the spike masks some of this too).

The problem is that Sony relies far too heavily on its DSP to make that sound happen. It gets its even bass response by EQ'ing heavily, distorting the low-end even at what should be reasonable excursions. The response drops off drastically in the highs likely because its feedback loop loses accuracy at high frequencies. Distortion is fairly high across the board. Positional audio is abysmal since the ANC corrects against your natural ear response (not a Sony-specific problem). That's not to say that it's bad; it's actually a pretty fun listen. Still, it does start to sound artificial (and occasionally piercing!) after a while since even though the power spectrum is mostly correct, most of the nuance isn't there (and what is there often isn't part of the original recording).

I feel like the tuning on the older models (1000X/XM2) was a bit better with better-balanced (though still grainy) treble, but the bass quality and distortion is much better with the XM3.

Bose in general has a warmer tuning, admittedly more to my liking (and technically more accurate as well). It suffers the same lack of detail that the Sonys do but to a lesser extent, especially in the low-end. In the treble, they have the extension advantage over the XM3, but instead of being grainy it's... less crisp? I guess? It's hard to describe, but there's a definite loss of immediacy, almost a bit like it's been smoothed over but not strictly attenuated. Like a hi-hat that's had a piece of tape taped between the cymbals or something. I'm really stretching for comparisons here. Perhaps it's the same phenomenon as the poor soundstage, just manifesting in a different way. It's not painful, just annoying.

Complete sidenote but the QC25 has by far the best microphone of the bunch for some reason. No clue why.

 

Honestly it's really up to preference. Toss-up between the XM3 and QC35 depending on your priorities, and I definitely agree that the QC25 is a good value if you don't need the extra features and are up for managing your own rechargeable batteries. Personally the XM3's bigger pressure pop is a dealbreaker, but again, I think most people won't mind. Any of the above are better than Senn's noise cancelling options in my experience. If you can, head to a Best Buy or something and compare the Bose and Sony models there; things that are a big deal for me may not matter for you.

 

Haven't tried the H9i but if they're anything like the H9 I'd keep my distance.

 

 

[GerbilPlays]

I have the Sony hear.on 2's (WH-H900N) and they  tick all your boxes and go as low as £150 sometimes, whatever that may be in your currency. They have ambient noise, wireless, nfc, touch gestures, extra sound quality capability etc.

 

Good luck whatever you decide!

[YourNewPalAlex]

I just like a week ago got my WH1000XM2's used for 100£, they sound great, and they do magic in the NC space, like i can't hear my voice when im listening to loud music + NC, and i dont mean whispering or talking, i mean i cant hear myself god damn screaming. They sound great too! With a custom eq from your liking they sound so colourful full of emotion and personality. If you can grab a deal on the older M2's, then you wont regret it!