ANR Headphone Recommendations

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-12-05 04:03pm

In case I haven't made it clear to nearly everyone I know now, I'm surrounded by fucking eejits who play music loud enough to make Concorde sound pitiful. They also seemingly run around and wrestle in a flat with walls likely made of paper maché despite the place being 300 years old.

Anyway, I was looking at the concept of active noise reduction (ANR) headphones or tabletop sets to help cancel out the shit that goes on around my little bubbleworld (I got this idea from a Batman Of The Future episode with Shriek ironically).

I saw some Sennheiser sets from anything around £40 to £400, my budget is less than 100 quid even if this is my Xmas gift.

So anyone know any brands to go for? I saw some Sony headphones for £37.99 and a tabletop like thing used in meetings to cancel noise (I suspect headphones would be better).

Zoink · Post by **Zoink** » 2003-12-05 04:16pm

My ex-boss bought two sets of the Bose headphones (one for his wife). I had read about them a lot, and I was the one who suggested them. He says they work great.

I wanted a pair as well; until I found out they were like $500 CDN! That's too much for me to spend on headphones. Darn millionaires!

edit: grammar

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2003-12-05 05:17pm

You can always go on a killing rampage.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-12-05 05:39pm

Montcalm wrote:You can always go on a killing rampage.

More of a last resort, I can't find a suitably dense object to pummel them with which doesn't involve using their heads.

CorSec · Post by **CorSec** » 2003-12-05 07:31pm

I only have experience with the Bose headphones, but I can assure you they work great. Too bad about your budget of 100, though.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-12-05 08:09pm

CorSec wrote:I only have experience with the Bose headphones, but I can assure you they work great. Too bad about your budget of 100, though.

I could go higher, but I can't mentally justify that expenditure on headphones unless I lived next to Heathrow airport.

CorSec · Post by **CorSec** » 2003-12-05 08:27pm

Enjoy special pricing on this discontinued product while supplies last. Purchase by January 10, 2004 and receive free ground shipping in the continental U.S.

Only 100 more than you budgeted - and probably worth that.

If you're not sure about the other models of headphones, try epinions.com to see what others are saying.

If NR is still too expensive, I have a pair of AKG K240s that are almost like having speakers on your head. I'd recommend buying them through Sweetwater Sound. That said, you probably wouldn't be disappointed with the sound from the Sennheisers. Just remember not to use the volume knob to drown out the noise of your neighbors. That's bad for your ears.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-12-05 09:05pm

Being partially deaf in one ear, I know loud noises are bad.

Cheers, I'll look into them provided I'm still bothered about getting some this time next week, heh.

The Kernel · Post by **The Kernel** » 2003-12-05 09:06pm

I have three pairs of Sennheiser open-air headphones and they rock beyond belief. I've heard the noise cancelling ones are good as well and very fairly priced.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-12-06 03:22am

ANR doesn't always filter out those kinds of sounds - IIRC, they're usually geared to filteirng out jet engine noise and such, not loud music and such.

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2003-12-06 05:05pm

phongn wrote:ANR doesn't always filter out those kinds of sounds - IIRC, they're usually geared to filteirng out jet engine noise and such, not loud music and such.

That is correct, they work best for filtering out constant sounds such as the hum & roar of computer fans, the compressor on the fridge or other such sounds. They don't work too well with transient sounds such as human voices or music.

Option one would be a set of closed headphones, these are ones that block out outside sounds. If you're trying them out in a store you'll know which ones are closed since they'll make everything sound quieter and muffled when you put them on. I haven't tried any closed headphones on so I can't comment on sound quality, but the Sennheiser PX200 and HD-280 seem highly regarded by various sources. See this thread for some other suggestions and do a search of the Head-fi site to get further opinions on various headphones.

The other option would be get a pair of earbuds and one of those hearing protection earmuffs that jackhammer operators and construction crews use. Put the earbuds on and then put the hearing protection earmuffs over them, chances are you won't hear anything short of a gunshot in your room.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-12-06 05:22pm

I'm deciding about this now, there is traffic outside and workmen you can hear if the window is open, but, well, I may pass this up since the active sensor needs to process the sound in the first place and isn't instantly quick.

CorSec · Post by **CorSec** » 2003-12-06 05:29pm

aerius wrote:
phongn wrote:ANR doesn't always filter out those kinds of sounds - IIRC, they're usually geared to filteirng out jet engine noise and such, not loud music and such.
That is correct, they work best for filtering out constant sounds such as the hum & roar of computer fans, the compressor on the fridge or other such sounds. They don't work too well with transient sounds such as human voices or music.

The Bose headphones work quite well even for transient noise. I can't speak to any others. It doesn't completely eliminate the noises, but it significantly reduces them well into tolerable levels.

I'm deciding about this now, there is traffic outside and workmen you can hear if the window is open...

I swear I don't have stock in Bose, honest. But the headphones I linked to above will dramatically cut the noise levels while you're wearing them.

but, well, I may pass this up since the active sensor needs to process the sound in the first place and isn't instantly quick.

The response time is in the milliseconds.

Saurencaerthai · Post by **Saurencaerthai** » 2003-12-06 07:22pm

Pick up a pair of HD 280 headphones from Sennheisser. They only cost me around $80, and I tried those against a pair of Bose sound isolation phones. The Sennheissers owned those. I get a good deal of sound isolation from 'em.