Hello OzBargain, I would welcome some suggestion on good headphones for travelling on those long haul flights. For context, I often travel budget airlines to Asia or Europe. I go overseas about three times a year, and I usually only travel with a carry on. I don't really care about music quality, but I'd like to block out some noise if possible and ideally they should be pretty light (as I need to fit everything else in a carry on backpack).
Headphone for Flights Not Music
yycan on 06/10/2016 - 09:58
Comments
+1
Get the QC35s. They are slightly newer and are slightly better.
Buy them before you go overseas and you should be able to get 10% GST back. Also keep an eye on eBay sales.
Myer also often have them on special
Yep, Bose QC are the bomb! They may well cost you the better part of $400, but once you turn them on and the world goes silent you'll be kicking yourself you didn't buy them earlier.
When I used it for my international flight to and from, the difference with it on and off shocked me considering the massive difference in noise level… I wish I bought the earphones instead… can't exactly go to sleep with the QC25s on.
Same, I find sleeping with my QC20s much nicer. The NC is fantastic. Im not audiphile, so the sound reproduction is more than adequate for me.
Bose QC 35's. They might be pricey, however definitely worth it and will easily get the job done. Watch out for those eBay promotions because you may get them on sale and save $30-40 :) Good luck
I've got the QC35's and have used them recently on a trip to Singapore. The NC is sweet, worked very well to block out most, if not all ambient noises though you can still hear infant tantrums but ever so slightly. With these puppies on it didnt bother me, my only con is that you cant turn your head with the QC35's being overear but meh, just adjust the head support and all was sweet again. The battery lasts about 20hrs on a full charge and the sound quality through BT is very decent though if you do decide to use the 3.5mm jack and cable (i.e to watch films on the planes entertainment unit) then the NC feature is disabled which is kinda a bummer too. oh another neat feature is that it will parallel connect with two devices so if youre watching a movie on the ipad and a call comes through on the phone, you can pick up and answer without switching devices.
hope this helps.
you can use the 3.5 jack and cable with NC. The headphones just have to be turn on…….
intresting. It was on as i switched from using it wirelessly on the ipad to the 3.5mm jack with the inflight entertainment unit. ill have to check and reconfirm
QC45 for wireless, QC25/35 for over ear, QC20 for in ear. All going up in price accordingly. Just search them on here to see what a good special is.
Never heard of the QC45, QC35 is the wireless model of QC25 AFAIK.
Perhaps the person was referring to the unreleased Bose QC30 (in ear, wireless), the wireless replacement for the QC20
Over the ear seems to be too big for my style of travel. Yet, I'm hesitant to pay so much for in ear lest I lose it, since it's so small!
4 years ago, COTD had a special on the Pioneer SE-NC31C earbuds for $40. I use them on every trip and couldn't be happier. They get a bit uncomfortable after hours of use (eg 2 movies in a row) but I have that with all earbuds. One of my best ever ozbargain purchases! I don't think Pioneer still makes these but I'm sure there are people around here who bought them and stuck them in a drawer somewhere, unused!
Anyone used the audio technica ath-anc9? From what I understood, they are slightly worse than the Bose QC ones in terms of active noise canceling (90% vs 95% of the noise cancelled) but the audio technica perform better in terms of audio quality. They cost $220, much cheaper than the Bose and when I went to a DJ audio store in Richmond, I asked them why they don't have Bose headphones, the answer was "we sell for professionals"…Dunno what to think of this
The Bose QC series block the most noise by far.
I have the Panasonic HC200's and the Bose QC20's.
http://www.panasonic.com/au/consumer/home-entertainment/head…
The Panasonics block out about 10 percent of noise (no joke) while the QC20s block out 80 to 90 percent of noise.
BOSE QC35s. Incredible. Will not fly long haul again without them. They fold down into a compact case, and don't weigh very much (309 grams). The built in battery lasted over 30 hours of constant use. Game changer.
Looks like despite the size and the price, the general consensus is still Bose. Unfortunately I'm just a bit unwilling to pay $400+ for peace and quiet on the plane (I can sleep through noise and light and everything in between except cold).
Thanks everyone for your input!
Just go to ebay and buy some foam or silicon earplugs. Enjoy your economy class flight on a tight budget.
That's exactly what I do now.
I use both earplugs and the Bose. Earplugs are great at blocking mids and highs, the Bose QC15/35 are great at cancelling lows. When I want to sleep I put on the earplugs and put the headphones on - it literally sounds as quiet as my bedroom at home.
I'm surprised by all the Bose recommendations. OP is a budget traveler and said he just wants to block out some noise (not caring about quality so much) and something small enough to carry in a backpack. Recommending Bose is the same as suggesting someone who's after a small, cheap smartphone to get an iPhone 7 Plus.
not necessarily, somethings are worth it, especially the peace and quite you get when travelling using a Bose is unparalleled and I value that even though I'm a budget traveller as well.
'Block out some noise if possible' - seriously, those $40 Pioneer ones I suggested do exactly that and more. If also have some hideous Office Works Mutant active headphones that were even cheaper and they're great to watch movies on the plane as well (but like the Bose ones, they're not compact hence I didn't recommend them). I think everyone is missing the point here where OP said he doesn't care too much about music quality.
Well considering he wants something to block out noise whilst still being about to listen to music, the best value for money (IMO) is an active noise cancelling headphone/earphone… otherwise I'd suggest ear plugs lol.
I've sampled a few noise cancelling devices some earphones and some headphones, the BOSE is by far the best if you want comfort on a long flight, as such I recommended them. I've tried the noise cancelling earphones from Phillips and they don't do very well with the droning of my PC, which should be relatively quieter than the droning of a plane… Done similar tests with the Sennheiser PXC450 and the UR6000 and they don't work as well either.
I bought some random in-ear ear buds from DHGate about 3 years ago for US$1. they are awesome. I use them for watching movies or listening to music on the plane. when I take them out of my ears I am usually surprised by how noisy the plane actually is and how much of that noise (a sh!t load) has been blocked out. and how clear the sound from the headphones is actually really good. and as they are in-ear buds then they roll up into a tiny compact bundle.
otherwise if you just want noise blockage then as scrimshaw suggests
Someone must have suggestions beyond buy Bose, or buy some ear plugs LOL. Ultimately, the problem for the OP is that noise cancelling doesn't equal budget.
The issue is that Bose QC series are just so much better than anything else at noise cancelling. If you want budget you are going to have to compromise, it's simple. I'm not saying all the others are terrible, some are really good and you'll probably be happy with others too, but until you've tried a set of QC's you don't know what you are missing.
I've owned a few noise cancelling head phones. I thought they were pretty good until i tried a pair of QC15's a mate at work had. I bought a pair of QC25's as a result and haven't looked back. I use them at work everyday.
The QC series is far better than anything else I've tried and has decent sound quality (with noise cancelling on that is). If you want something cheaper you have to compromise, that's the crux of it.
I bought some from The Australian Frequent Flyer forum shop for my son, think they are called Noise Hush i7 and I think they are pretty good for the $100 cost. I have QC15 and QC35 and never done a comparison but never really felt the need to as they Noise Hush sounded good.
Go to The Reject Shop and get the $12 gaming headphones. I use them for everything, even mowing the lawn. They are fine. Plus side is you won't get upset with yourself if they get damaged.
I have some Sony NC earphones which were only around $60-70 - they are not as good as my QC20s, but they did an admirable job for the price. Came with 3 different sized earbuds, carry pouch, and run off a single AAA battery, so you can carry a spare in the pouch (I used Eneloops, it's the OZB way). A good budget option IMHO. I gave them to my wife, as she doesn't really notice the difference with NC (I know, i don't understand how).
Go for the BOSE QC series… best in class noise cancelling according to most reviews. I've personally used the QC25 for a flight and it was brilliant.
QC20 for earphones or the QC25/35 for headphones, the QC35 is newer so it might be hard to find a bargain.