Recommend active noise cancelling headphones to me

Tried sennheiser and Bose, but sticking to the ath 50.

More review please

Batterydrainage?

Sound cancellation abilities? Prices?

Thanks

I read somewhere that noise-cancelling headphones can cause / exacerbate tinnitus. It was my teacher in a theater sound design class who said this. As somebody with moderate tinnitus, I don’t f*ck with noise-cancelling headphones much at all anymore. Most headphones usually cause ear fatigue (increased ringing), in my case. Pls take this post with a grain of salt, but be careful.

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You should not use headphones (especially in ear) when you are suffering from tinnitus. At least this is what most medical textbooks state. I think the evidence for this is weak, especially if you think about sennheiser for example developed anti-tinnitus headphones. I think one with tinnitus should try and decide for their own situation.

@Trabant why do you need it?

Not all noise cancelling, but…

@TrabanT I have found the Sennheiser PXC 550 over-the-ear noise cancelling cans to be top notch.

I’ve used them daily for eight months, both for my commute (bluetooth connected to phone) and synth noodling (wired connection to synth / mixer).

The ANC level is adjustable and the battery life is so good that each time I charge them I can’t remember the previous time. I haven’t noticed any DSP latency when using the wired connection so if there is a delay, it is trivial.

If you need Bluetooth, the range is surprisingly good. It will take a few meters and a concrete wall to cause it to stutter. Call quality is good enough to use these interchangeably with my Apple Airpods (which are surprisingly good). Importantly, you can turn the Bluetooth circuit off with a physical switch and inserting the wired connection cable (supplied) will also do that - useful behaviour for preserving battery.

They are comfortable (worn them while walking home in 30° Celcius) and the clamping force seems fine, though this is where things become inevitably subjective. The pads seem to be more durable than my friend’s Bose equivalents - purchased around the same time.

Good luck with your search.

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I spend 30 seconds in berlin and I go crazy from the noise outside

I commute every day 2h minimum and I hate all public transport noise

Right now I wear shure 215 all the time

Thought I get more quiet if I had anc built in too

I can thoroughly recommend the Sony MDR 1000X’s (if looking for over ear). Generally considered the best all rounders.

I’m personally not a big fan of the Bose sound though the ANC works very well. Sony takes that excellent ANC performance but ramps things up in terms of sound quality (subjective but I have to agree with the reviews out there). Battery life is in the 20 hour+ range. If I had to pick a fault, I’d wish they charged quicker but then Im spoiled by my One Plus 5 mobiles rapid charge (mostly charged in about 30 minutes).

The 1000X’s have recently been superseded by a Mk2 variant - chances are you could get a Mk1 bargain if you look around.

In terms of in ear options - I’m pretty close to pulling the trigger on the WF1000X’s from Sony purely down to the experiences I’ve had with the over ear options. Battery life takes a huge knock but a more manageable option for my commute to work.

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It’s a grey area - I’ve read that it actually improves things in so far as it reduces future degradation as you can, generally, listen at far lower volumes.

I suffer from moderate tinnitus myself. I don’t think it’s worsened over the past year or so of using ANC but I do feel more comfortable with the fact I’m listening at less than 50% volume (vs 75/80% in the past).

But, as you say, worth being careful!

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Sounds good.
Can you compare to otheer anc headphones?

Thanks buddy

settled for the Bose qc 35

very happy

creamy bass

can’t hear anything bad due to Bluetooth quality

active noise canceling is great

240 Euro sealed box second hand. probably with warranty too.

pain in left ear didn’t persist after changing from sure sh 215 Bluetooth in ear

wore these daily for 3-4 hours

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Reviving this as I want some headphones (preferably over ear) to use on noisy trains. Plugged straight into iPad for making music

Ideally something close to DT770 sound but mostly it’s about the noise cancellation

I bought Sony WH-1000XM4 after testing them against the Bose and Audio Technica equivalents. The AT phones (can’t remember the model sorry) sounded a bit better but the noise cancelling wasn’t as good.

XM4 still sounds damn good though, maybe not DT770 quality/clarity but surprisingly good for mainstream headphones.

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I have older Sony WH-1000XM2 and second the recommendation by @pselodux . Comfortable, very good noise cancellation, idle noise is OK, battery life is fine, compatibility is good. Mine came with a travel case.
My daily use at home headphones are Beyerdynamic DT-1990 Pro and DT-900 Pro X.

Wait - for making music? Latency matters? You want cabled? IIRC WH-1000 can be used with cable though I have never used it that way.

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Yup +1 on the Sonys. I bought them to drown out a noisy neighbour while working and they’re great, comfy, sound good and the ANC is amazing. I’ve not tried them for production but I could probably work with them

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Yeah I also have Sony XM3. They are great, my only complaint is that pairing a different Bluetooth device is a pain (have to turn them off, then turn them on holding power) but I think the XM4 has sorted this and might be an Apple only issue.

I used them a bit for producing while my Neumann headphones were being repaired, they definitely have a pretty hyped bass which made it a bit hard but I’m sure you could adapt. I found the Toneboosters MorphIt preset for them made them sound more natural without sounding weird - the Sonarworks preset just sounded artificially kind of over filtered to me. No latency if you use the wire, otherwise standard Bluetooth latency (which is too high for any real-time playing on Apple devices at least)

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Another one that would recommend the Sonys. I also have the XM2.

When it came to noise cancellation, I liked these best.

There are others I’ve tried that sounded a bit better, but the noise cancellation was important so I stuck with these.

There’s also some cheap headphone correction from Hornet Plug-ins. I havent used it yet, but might be if interest.

They have the XM3 and XM4 models only.

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Another +1 for Sony’s wireless headphones… I’ve got the XM4’s and they’re superb, noise-cancelling performance is way beyond the Bose ones I had before, and they sound great (albeit more hifi than studio neutral, but you can EQ them (plus Sonarworks have a profile for them that you can get them flat with).

For reference, my studio headphones are all various Beyer DT’s (770s, 880s, 900 Pro X).

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what do yiz reckon about the Sony wf-c500?

no active noise cancelling but get decent reviews. they’re only 60 euro n I’m on a budget. can’t quite stretch for the wf1000

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