Noise Cancelling Headphones

[chart94 PE]

Just wondering what people thought about a couple different ones. I know alot like Sony, but i was looking at the Bose QC35 2 and the Bose 700. Did a lot of research and really am stuck between whether or not the 700 are worth the extra 80 bucks or not (ebay is selling the factory refurb for qc at 200 and 279 for the 700) Any one have any opinions one way or the other? I am definitely not an audiophile For reference i have powerbeats right now that i love for working out, just wanted something with NC for work. I also used to have a pair of beats solo that i really liked. 

 

[csb]

I have a cheap pair of Cowins that I use on flights and at the house that are pretty effective. White noise is pretty easy to find from most streaming services. 

 

[thekzieg]

I have the sennheiser hd 4.50 bt. I don't know much about Bose, but Sennheiser has really great sound and the noise cancelling even works to block airplane noise.

 

[Tiger15]

I've never used Bose, but I know TONS of people that are Bose QC loyal. I'm sure they are great products, and would serve your non-audiophile needs. I'm not familiar with the Bose 700s, but I'd be surprised if you would need to step up from the QC's unless you are getting into audiophile territory. Can you summarize the differences?

I used to think I might be an audiophile until I met real audiophiles. 

I have a pair of (relatively) expensive V-Moda's with passive noise isolation, and lot of pairs of cheap headphones. I've never felt the need for active noise canceling.

 

[MA_PE]

I have two Bose over ear NC headphones.  1 wired and 1 Bluetooth.  Got the wired ones a few years ago and just got the Bluetooth ones from Xmas.  I looked at them but couldn’t find the model no’s. On the headphones and the boxes are gone.  Anyway I really like them.  Use them primarily when flying but lately I’ve been using them for wfh zoom meetings.  I suspect mine aren’t the 700s (but I don’t know anything about them). The noise cancelling feature makes a huge difference on a plane.  They’re quite comfortable.  I can’t say as I’ve done any comparison with other headphones but I’m quite happy with these.  
 

On a semi-related note, I worked with an older guy who was roommates with Amir Bose at MIT years ago.  He said Bose’s opinion was that audio equipment need only be as good as the response of the human ear.  Audiophiles that need oscilloscopes and reference electronics to demonstrate that their sound reproduction is identical to the source are somewhat wasting their time because if the listener cant hear any difference, who cares?

 

[Tiger15]

I must admit. I still have a negative feeling toward Bose from my high school and college car audio phase. Bose made some great stuff, although overpriced. But there stuff wasn't compatible with any other equipment. It was all proprietary BS, so you had to have a whole Bose system. Every other manufacturer followed open standards. 

Come to think of it. Bose was Apple before Apple was Apple. LOL

 

[Tiger15]

I guess I should get over it.

 

[blybrook PE]

I have a pair of Sharkk Claro headphones for traveling, purchased through Amazon a few years back. Pretty good NC capabilities, fairly light. However, you do start to feel them on your ears after a few hours.

When they break, I'll look for something better.

 

[Dleg]

We have 2 pairs of the Bose QC35 IIs. I am not a fan of Bose speakers, but the headphones are great and the noise canceling is the best, from everything that I have heard. I tried the Sony equivalent and they were very nice, but we went with the Bose. They are fantastic on the airplane and everywhere else, as well. Very comfortable for long-term use.

We tried some cheaper options before that were just weird, gave a compressed air feeling in the ear, etc. 

 

[kevo_55]

I have a pair of TaoTonics from Amazon.

It's no Bose or even Sony. But at least than half the price, they sound pretty good.

I give them a year.