Who makes the best noise canceling headphones?
 

Once I bought Mc and SF I became a sound snob. Bose just isn't good enough anymore. :tears:

What's the best noise canceling headphones for flying in a plane?

I'm not big on electronic noise cancelling. I go with IEM's and I've been using Shure se535's for a long time.

Not a Bose fan myself, but their noise canceling headphones are among the best.
Sennheiser PCX 550, might sound a little better, but noise cancellation of Bose works better.

Given a choice between the droning hum of a jet engine and of Bose, I choose Bose. At that point I'm just trying to drown noise out, not listen critically.

Try decibullz (ear plugs, cost $25). The boze qc20 (iems) actually work very well too - i gave up lugging around the full headphones. I think they have been upgraded to the qc30. The earplugs do the trick on short flights (and are even lighter and cheaper).

I use bose on my flights too, but something happened when I got my sonus faber speakers. Cheaper speakers now quickly fatigue my ears. I used to be able to listen to bose for hours, now it's fatiguing to finish a movie with bose.
I can listen to SF speakers all day.

How does your sure noise isolation do on a plane compared to bose noise cancelation?

Curious what answers come in.

Mouse, also consider custom molded in ear options too. They naturally block decibel levels similar to having foam earplugs in, and have several options for quality of speakers that are integrated.

37db of isolation with the "olive" tips is plenty for me on most planes. And sound quality wise you'll never find a Bose that is anywhere near the se535!

I don't know who makes the best noise-cancelling headphones, but I've used a Sennheiser PX-250 for years at the gym and on airplanes. For what they are, I think they're pretty darn good, but I don't exactly expect a high-end experience from them.

I've tried a number of noise cancelling headphones and they were okay but just okay. I use Shure se535 Ltd with Silver Dragon cables from Moon-Audio. My sources are an AK120 and Onkyo DP-X1. They do a great job of keeping out the noise and sound great. I may have the Silver Dragons reterminated as 2.5mm balanced (the Silver Dragon cable is a balanced cable) to use the balanced output on the DP-X1 and get an adapter for 3.5mm for the AK and my Chord Mojo when I use it. The Shures sound good with just about anything, even my iPod Touch.

I used a Lightspeed Zulu headset for flying, its ANR is pretty good. This was a few years back so probably even better now. I had no complaints regarding the noise reduction.

Tried and true senn pxc450. To this day i cant find a better pair. However the new sony set is getting praise.

Meh

I don't like to use in-ears in an airplane, their sensitivity is too high to be used for onboard movies, especially when you get the onboard messages the volume is ear shattering.

This works much better with the Bose QC25 that I am using. (off course if you have an external source this problem does not exist)

I have had the PCX450 in the past, not in the same league as the Bose QC25 in my opinion, in both SQ and Noise cancellation.
I also have tried the PCX550, soundwise probably a little better than the Bose QC25, but the Bose QC25 is more comfortable on my head (personal thing off course)

I am flying a lot for my work, with many trips from Singapore to Amsterdam and back. (13 hour flight), the QC25 is my favorite, only negative I can say about them is that the ear cushions wear out a bit fast, but can be easily replaced. (bonus is that the QC25 works quite well with the Chord Hugo)

Noise cancellation is great for travelling, but anywhere else I would use my Audeze LCD-X, much better than any of the above.

Sounds like my bose will be around for a long time (for flights).
I need to get better stuff for around the house though.
I have an audeze iSINE20 in-ear on order for walking around the neighborhood.
I'll eventually look for a headset too.

Ignore my mention of a Lightspeed Zulu headset. I misread it as noise reduction for flying an aircraft rather than being a passenger. Apologies

The Sony MDR-1000x seems to be the best alternative to the Bose in noise cancelling.

https://www.cnet.com/products/sony-mdr-1000x/review/

It's pricey though...

I use the Bose units to noise cancel when using my lawn tractor. They are for ear protection and not music listening.

After a couple flights I'll confirm that both Shure 846 SE846 with yellow foam earplugs and Campfire Andronica with marshmallow tips both sound far better than Bose IEM with noise cancelling. I brought all 3 to test in flight on my last 2 trips.

With Bose I hear the hum of the noise cancelling, and also some noise of the plane.
With my 2 premium IEMs they both drown out sound in a passive way like earplugs, and there is no noise cancel hum at all, and they sound far better than bose on and off the plane.

Not sure about 'best', but the AKG N60NC are on-sale on the AKG website for $99.95. That's a savings of $150. https://www.akg.com/root/N60NC.html

I’ve used Bose and Sennheiser noise canceling headphones, and several models of universal and custom-fit IEMs from Shure, Klipsch, and Westone. Any good IEM with the right tips and a proper seal will reduce noise more than active cancelling headphones, typically by about 10db. You can see that in headphone and IEM specs and Innerfidelity measurements. For me, triple-flange tips are the most effective, but yellow foam tips work well too. These are, after all, basically good earplugs with drivers attached. The only downside is that some people can’t tolerate having something inserted in their ears, especially for a long period of time.

I have the Bose for active noise cancelling but after 4+ hours I find the fit to be uncomfortable (headband shape digs into to of my head). I find myself mire comfortable with just really good in ear monitors that seals out the outside noise. Currently using an older pair of Future Sonics MG5’s, sound is phenomenal (it’s a professional musician stage product and not designed for everday consumer use)...but, if its good enough for The Grateful Dead and U2, why not me :)

The initial creation of your ear mold is a bit of a PITA, but the perfect fit blocks out outside noise, is less fatiguing than active noise cancellation, super comfortable, and their audio reproduction is stellar.

Definitely the best option.

Way better noise rejection. And never runs out of batteries.

I have a pair of Ultimate Ears UE11Pro back when JH was still in the company. He’s now started JH Audio. You should definitely check out their offerings.

I now use a B&W PX which I think is the best compromise for sound quality and noise cancellation. It is Wireless so I originally got it for playing video games on VR or the big TV without getting entangled in wires. But on a recent trip was impressed how decent they sounded. I also liked that I never got strangled by wires when I was sleeping.

But for absolute noise rejection custom in ear monitors are unbeatable