So, I am in the market to replace the rather mediocre headphones I currently have, since they’re on their last legs after only a couple years of gentle use (amusingly enough considering recent events and threads, they are a RadioShack brand).
I have a budget of $150. I want to find a pair that are noise-canceling, this time around, since I live in a rather “loud” neighborhood. The problem is, I know nothing about which brands and models are good, which ones are shit, or even whether I can find decent ones for $150 or less; if I should wait until I can spend more.
The uses they’ll see are listening to my music library and talk radio programs from my computer and from my Android phone when I am “on the go”, as well as while playing video games on the PC here.
I’d also highly prefer a pair with a headphone port on the unit itself, so I can easily replace cords my clumsy self manages to get caught on furniture, etc. They also don’t have to be actively “noise-canceling”, if they manage to do a good job of reducing outside noise without the feature (read: I do not mind having huge “cans” on my head in public).
Anyone here got any brands/models y’all can recommend?
I have tried to find such a thing and, as far as I can tell they don’t exist at that price - at least not new. I have a pair of Sony headphones that I recently bought and are supposed to have active noise cancelling. I just wasted a couple of batteries because that feature doesn’t do a thing and everyone else says the same. I still like them because their passive noise cancelling is decent and they sound good especially for the price.
Here is the list of the top-rated active noise cancelling headphones. These are also the only ones that I know of that actually work in that regard. They are all significantly more expensive than $150.
If $150 is your limit, I would buy a used pair of Bose QuietComforts. Even their older models are quite good and high quality. They will last an indefinite amount of time as long as you don’t truly abuse them.
I have Sennheiser headphones and even the cheapones at $79 perform really well on the train. They are over ear headphones and they do get a bit sweaty outside but then I pop my ear buds in.
Yep go and have a look at Sennheiser, really good value…
Headphones with active noise cancellation that actually works are expensive.
I’d suggest getting a comfortable pair of noise isolating headphones or earphones. Most closed over-ear headphones will block out a decent amount of noise, and some on-ear ones will too. If you can, go to a store that lets you try them on, and pick the ones that you find comfortable.
Noise isolating earphones (the kind with silicon earplug type attachments) work well too.
thewirecutter.com has some good detailed reviews of various types of headphones.
Get the Bose Quietcomforts. Sure, they are twice the maximum selling, but they are radically better than the competition. Bose is usually overpriced crap, but for once, they are actually worth it.
I live near an airport and can sleep at night. Just this second, I took my earphones out to get some water and immediately heard the neighbour’s lawnmower…
This is, I think, the most important thing that’s been said so far. In-ear phones with good isolation can provide substantially more noise reduction than active noise cancellation headphones. And they will often have substantially better sound quality for the price, to boot. Mileage may vary, but I also find them more comfortable for extended wearing. Skullcandy’s Titans used to be a great bang-for-buck pair, coming in under $75, but I’ve heard the newer ones aren’t as good. At the $100+ price point, there’s some excellent choices.
Active noise cancellation headphones do have some uses, though. They won’t block important noises like car horns or people shouting at you, but they’re also less effective for stuff like people talking near you or background music. Just kinda depends on the environment they’re being used in, really.
I’ll also throw in my universal headphone recommendation: Koss Porta-Pros. If you don’t have a pair, buy one. They’re, like, $35 or less online, and have amazing performance for the price. They’re very good for music, voice, or gaming (I use them for all three daily). They do NOT, however, cancel or block noise much at all. I use them 90% of the time and use isolating in-ears when I really want to block background noise.