The best outside noise isolating headphones

[tridy]

Hi.

 

I was asked what kind of headphones exist that have the best noise isolation from the outside noise. This is for an autistic child that plays games and listens to the audiobooks. So, in this case, the outer world noise isolation is more important than the super quality of the sound. Does anyone have experience with such scenarios?

[adm0n]

It depends a bit on which frequency area you want to suppress. But the apple airpods pro 2nd gen are pretty much the best noise canceling ear buds.

 

If you want overear headphones, I can highly recommend the sony WH-1000XM4, but there are also other solid options, like the bose QC 35/45.

 

You can compare how much they attenuate the volume of each frequency here -> https://www.rtings.com/headphones/1-5/graph#29490/7981/16490

[tridy]

Ok, I just want to make sure, I am not talking about noise cancelling. I am talking (possibly) no microphone and totally isolating from the outside world sounds. When I put on the headphones, I do not want to hear anything at all. Something like the construction workers' headphones. It does not have to be a headset, it can be a headset with really good isolation. So, I want to block all frequencies.

[Blqckqut]

14 minutes ago, tridy said:

Ok, I just want to make sure, I am not talking about noise cancelling. I am talking (possibly) no microphone and totally isolating from the outside world sounds. When I put on the headphones, I do not want to hear anything at all. Something like the construction workers' headphones. It does not have to be a headset, it can be a headset with really good isolation. So, I want to block all frequencies.

aka noise cancelling

 

i have autism and for me these headphones arre the best ive ever owned:

Soundcore Life Q20 Bluetooth Headphones with Noise Reduction, 40 Hours of Battery Life, Hi-Res Audio, Deep Bass, for Travel, Travel, Work (with AUX Cable), Home Office, Online Courses : Amazon.com.be: Electronics

dont let the price make you think its bad, they ae amazing, ive had 2 since 2019 because i was realy rough with my first pair

they do an amazing job of having only noise inside the headphones, cant hear anything outside, sometimes not even cars and only the rumble of them driving! to the point where with soft music id think i was just floating in the void with my eyes closed

they also have impressive sound quality

with a bit of tuning ive found them to perform better than my bose quietcomfort 35 

 

deffinatly my prefered headphones

[tridy]

7 minutes ago, Blqckqut said:

aka noise cancelling

Aha, I thought that noise canceling was only when you talk to the microphone and the other person would not hear the noises. Good to know!

 

We will try out Soundcore Life Q20.

Thanks!

[Blqckqut]

2 minutes ago, tridy said:

Aha, I thought that noise canceling was only when you talk to the microphone and the other person would not hear the noises. Good to know!

 

We will try out Soundcore Life Q20.

Thanks!

no worries

 

pleas dont hesitate to tell me hat you think of them afterwards!

they are heavily underated and i want more people to know of their existence haha

[tridy]

Just now, Blqckqut said:

pleas dont hesitate to tell me hat you think of them afterwards!

they are heavily underated and i want more people to know of their existence haha

I will get back to this post as soon as I get any feedback.

[adm0n]

6 minutes ago, tridy said:

Aha, I thought that noise canceling was only when you talk to the microphone and the other person would not hear the noises. Good to know!

 

We will try out Soundcore Life Q20.

Thanks!

Just to make sure, there is a difference between noise canceling and noise isolation.

 

What you were initially mentioning was noise isolation, or in other words just the passive ability of a material to absorb noise. To increase the noise isolation of headphones, companies have started to actively cancel out noise from the outside (active noise canceling).

 

To do that, they pick up the noise on the outside and try to generate a noise that exactly cancels it out. But since this is an active process, it usually takes more power to do and you'll usually also hear some some added white noise, as the microphones are not perfect. But it is usually so quite, that you can't hear it if anything else is playing on your headphones. And as it sounds like white noise, you stop perceiving it pretty quickly. But I'm not sure how autism affects that process.

[Blqckqut]

4 minutes ago, adm0n said:

Just to make sure, there is a difference between noise canceling and noise isolation.

 

What you were initially mentioning was noise isolation, or in other words just the passive ability of a material to absorb noise. To increase the noise isolation of headphones, companies have started to actively cancel out noise from the outside (active noise canceling).

 

To do that, they pick up the noise on the outside and try to generate a noise that exactly cancels it out. But since this is an active process, it usually takes more power to do and you'll usually also hear some some added white noise, as the microphones are not perfect. But it is usually so quite, that you can't hear it if anything else is playing on your headphones. And as it sounds like white noise, you stop perceiving it pretty quickly. But I'm not sure how autism affects that process.

with autism you bascicaly cant cancel out noises and everything sounds just as loud, ur standing next to me and a car 20 meters away passes, by, i can hear both, but the car will be way louder, same with someone standing next to me talking and a keyboard, a keyboard wont be considered loud b people zithout autism, but for us its as loud as a person talking next to us

 

think about autism as something that makes everything try to be equal in terms of noise, so you cant focus on one thing unles you really try

 

thats my white noise is actually good for people like us, it gives us a small noise to focus on

 

the less nosie around us, the more we can be focused, i found out my max is 2 noises to nt be caught off guard or feel anxious, thats why noise canceling is perfect, i can focus on music and my works, instead of typing, people talking and backgroudn noise like cars or pc fans

[adm0n]

39 minutes ago, Blqckqut said:

a keyboard wont be considered loud b people zithout autism, but for us its as loud as a person talking next to us

If I'm honest, when I'm a bit stressed/annoyed, I also can't stand other peoples noises and involuntarily focus on them. If it is the same for you but worse all the time, I'd also would want to wear ANC headphones all the time!

[NinJake]

If you're up for trying in-ears, give the Jabra 75t ANC ear buds. I use them at work and even with the ANC off, the fact that they are physically in your ear means they block a LOT of noise. The moment you turn ANC on you can't hear a thing! I've been using them for well over 2 years now with no signs of degradation.

[tridy]

17 hours ago, NinJake said:

Jabra 75t ANC

I will take a look at this mode, even though from the first try it is not easy to find it in Sweden.

We need to find it in a store somewhere so that it would be possible to touch and feel for this person before making a decision. There are no arguments about any aspects of the headphones, no way to persuade, the person should like it first.

[HAL90000]

On 6/5/2023 at 4:04 AM, adm0n said:

It depends a bit on which frequency area you want to suppress. But the apple airpods pro 2nd gen are pretty much the best noise canceling ear buds.

 

If you want overear headphones, I can highly recommend the sony WH-1000XM4, but there are also other solid options, like the bose QC 35/45.

 

You can compare how much they attenuate the volume of each frequency here -> https://www.rtings.com/headphones/1-5/graph#29490/7981/16490

WH1000XM5 is better and has been out for months...

[HAL90000]

I'm autistic. I use ANC headphones. DO NOT give an autistic child earbuds. Get either the Sony WH1000XM5 or the Sennheiser Momentum 4. Those are your two best options. I have the momentum 4 and have heard the XM5. The momentum 4 have, in my opinion, better sound quality for movies and music, while the Sonys have better noise cancelling and are more high tech with options for features like turning off noise cancelling when the wearer speaks etc. Both are similarly priced.

Keep in mind that no noise cancelling headphone is good at cancelling out high pitch sounds. It's all bass and midrange, mostly constant sounds, so lawnmowers, washing machines, dishwashers, traffic noises, the sound of the engine when in a car, airplane engines, train sounds, etc. No currently available consumer ANC headphone cancels out all external sounds.

I'm a headphone fanatic and I know for a fact you can't get better ANC than those XM5's. Momentum 4 for sound quality though. The momentum 4 also has 60Hrs battery life vs 30 on the XM5. Both of these headphones are among the most comfortable headphones I've ever tried as well, which is important for autistic people like me.

Please make sure to allow the person who will be wearing these to touch, wear, and test the headphones before you buy them. That's important for any headphone purchase and especially in this situation.

Cheers.

[tridy]

Thanks for the replies!

I have forwarded the suggestions to the person who asked me about it. I do not know what they will end up buying but I guess that the budget will not allow for Sony or Sennheiser options. But it is good to have options.