Most comfortable unit I tried Blocks some high register noise passively

Mediocre sound A bit bulky

The fact that noise-canceling headphone reviews were all over the place made figuring out what to buy kind of difficult. I decided to buy the Sennheiser HDC451s ($80), the Sony MDR-NC20s ($120), and the Aiwa HP-CN5 ($50), and the Etymotic ER-6 ($130), try them all, and then return the three I liked least. Bose makes what are probably the industry standard but they weren’t any better reviewed than the others and at $299, I wasn’t interested. Here’s what I found: Comfort: Kind of subjective, but in my opinion they rank as follows: Etymotic, Sony, Aiwa, Sennheiser. The Etymotics are basically earphones built into earplugs, so there’s no bulk to worry about when moving around or trying to sleep on a plane. How comfortable they are kind of depends on how you feel about having things shoved in your ears. Of the conventional ‘phones, the Sony’s closed-ear design is more comfortable over long periods. The open-air design of the other two tends to squeeze your ears after a while. The Sennheiser loses because of an inexplicably uncomfortable pad in the top. Noise Canceling: Etymotic, Sony, Sennheiser, Aiwa. The Etymotics have no noise-canceling circuitry and rely purely on blocking the ear canal to reduce noise. This cuts more noise than the others and does it across the entire spectrum—making it the only one that will silence the kid screaming in the seat behind you. In the conventional ‘phones, the Sony again benefits from the closed-ear design, passively blocking some high register noise that the others miss. The Sennheisers actually have the most elegant electronics, silencing low hums with less hiss than the other two. Remember that active noise canceling only works in the very low registers—like the rumble of an airplane. Sound: Etymotic, Sennheiser, Sony, Aiwa. The Etymotics live up to their reputation of being one the best sounding ‘phones on the market at any price, though they can amplify body noises such as chewing. The Sennheisers sound really muddy with the canceling turned off, but with it on they give fairly crisp sound a bit lacking in bass. The other two remain kind of muddy sounding with somewhat sloppy bass which might make watching movies on a plane a little more difficult. Overall, the Sony and Aiwa don’t sound any better than the cheap ‘phones that came with my MD player. Convenience: Etymotic, Aiwa, Sony, Sennheiser. The Etymotics fit in your shirt pocket but are definitely harder to get in and out than the others and don’t include an airline adapter. The Aiwas fold up quite flat, have the batteries in the headset and have a carrying case. The Sonys fold up (but are still bulky), include a carrying case, and have the battery in the headset. The Sennheisers don’t fold, have no carrying case, and have the batteries in the cord. All three conventional units come with airline adapters. So in conclusion, the Etymotics are pretty much light years ahead of the others, but only if you are okay with having them jammed in your ears (didn’t bother me, but my wife had no interest.) The conventional units all have their pluses and minuses, so you’ll have to decide what features are important to you.

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See above

Long battery life. Still on the first one after all those hours in the air. Folds into a compact size with a nice bag. Comes with adaptor for various jacks. Battery / amp built into earpiece.

Only blocks low-frequency sounds. Screaming babies, chatting passengers, and PA announcements are actually amplified, which is irritating. After a couple of hours my ears begin to hurt. Then again, regular in-ear units have the same problem with me. With the unit switched off, the sound is less audible than a normal 'passive' headphone. Carry a spare AAA battery!

I bought this before a round the world trip. I have travelled 30,000 miles (15 flights) in the last two months and, while an expensive pair of headphones, it is well worth the investment. I could hear the airline movies perfectly. (I never believed the sound could be so good from those seat jacks!) I listened to quiet music on my walkman. The loud engines, while still audible, become tolerably soft, and almost unnoticeable with music playing. One time I got a window seat near the back of the plane and was hemmed in by my seatmate. With the noise and position I became claustrophobic. I slipped on the headphones and immediately relaxed. That alone was worth me getting these headphone. It cost me 199 Singapore dollars which is roughly US$110.

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I tried the Bose product in their showroom. It is bulkier but definitely blocked a lot more noise. On full power (the Sony only has one setting) I could hardly hear my friend talk beside me. If you

Do reduce noise, robust, reasonable sound quality

Hot to wear, can become painful, sound level to low with portable CD player and some disks Are slightly hissy when noise cancellation in use.

The phones were the only noise cancelling ones available when I tried. They do reduce aircraft noise and make it possible to listen to the dialogue on movies without having to raise the volume to ear shattering levels The noise cancelling doesn''t cope well with wind noise in a moving road vehicle, lots of hissing and breathing. They are not very comfortable to wear after about 30mins, making me very hot and sweaty around the ears, usually planes are quite warm. I found that with my portable sony CD player(500mV) that the sound level was not high enough when listening through the mdrnc20s, not really good enough, as that is what you''d expect to be using them with. I am quite happy with the overall sound quality, provided the signal source can provide plenty of output. Listening fatigue is only due to the comfort not the sound. They are next to useless(sound quality), unless the noise cancelling is switched on. Would pay more for audiophile quality, I only use headphones while travelling/ holidays and don''t need two pair

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Nil

Reduction of lower freq noise - Great overall sound - fold up for travel

Plastic frame made me feel ripped off for the $200 price, although they seem like they'll hold up - Don't think the price needs to be this high

I travel alot and being a private pilot that knows what ANR technology can do, I decided to find out if lower airline engine noise would lower my stress levels on longer flights and make my CD listening more enjoyable.

I found that the new headsets DO lower the commercial airline engine noise substantially. (maybe 70%) I took my new Sony NC20's on a vacation the The Cayman Islands two weeks ago and found that using them during the entire flight made me feel less stressed out, even when not listening to music or watching the movie. The flight to Miami from San Francisco was 5 1/2 hours or so. Never gonna leave them out of my travel kit from now on.

I even found that wearing them at the airport cut down the racket of the boarding area.

When playing a CD or watching the in-flight movie, I found that I could hear much better.

My ears are big and I DID find that the cups didn't cover them entirely. Other headsets haven't done well either. Not Sony's fault. They DO make the NC10's that are ear plug versions. Might be better for BIG ear folks.

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Telex Aviation ANR headset

Veyr good noise cancellation. Better than the Bose noise cancelling headphones, in my opinion.

Price. Sound quality is sub-par for this price range.

I got these headphones in Tokyo, Japan in 1998 not long after they first came out there. At the time, I was really impressed by their sci-fi look and noise cancellation abilities. The only drawback was the sound quality which I find poorer than many of Sony's sub-$50 headphones. The sound quality is not good without noise-cancellation active, and improves a bit when the circuitry is turned on (at least, the bass improves).

I'm disappointed that Sony hasn't brought out a new or improved version of these 'phones yet. Even so, I think this pair of 'phones is better than the other noise-cancellation models available, with the exception of the Bose pair which has good noise-cancellation AND great sounds quality (though at a much higher price).

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Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones. Sony's smaller noise cancelling headphones. The NCT Noise Buster Extreme headphones.

Great on an airline and in other noisy situations.

They Don't sound good on a high-quality systems.

On an airplane they do a great job of lowering the noise floor and increasing intelligibility. They are good
enough for airplanes (considering the lo-fi sound systems
on airplanes) and other noisy situations but are not good for anything else.

For the price, these headphones should have better
sound quality in hi-fi situations.

Sony needs to update this old design--and they could
stand to have a little more noise attenuation over
the midrange band.