[eclein]

Koss still makes the Porta Pro which is a little $25 headset like on ear thing....thats all I've seen. The new just came out Sennheisers that do NC are great according to Jude the head-fi guy at head-fi dot com. He was on a TV show talking about the new Senns and the NC ones were some he was excited about as I remember. They just came out like a couple weeks back so keep your eyes open.

 I've started to see this years new crop of cans start coming to market.....fun, fun, money, money, then broke, broke....LOL.....my pattern but the music sounds great.......I saw some AT M50's??? not sure of # (the model thats recommended all the time) but the were like $169 and a special aniiv. edition...sweet!!!!!

[bregez]

I am a big fan of NC headphones on commercial aircraft.  I take long haul flights in excess of 14 hours for my job and these phones make the flight so much more pleasant.  I have both a pair of the Bose and Sony MDR-NC60.  They both work really well for cancelling out low frequency noise.   You don’t realize how fatiguing and annoying this noise is until you put these things on.  Regarding the sound quality, both phones are colored and definitely not audiophile quality, but presentable especially if you are using a source with an EQ to adjust. 

[charmerci]

When I travel, I use the Senn PCX-250's. (Not the pcx250 II) They are not fantastic but the noise suppression does make a big difference. I can't use IEM for long periods.

[guest1632]

Ray, just out of curiosity, did you ever decide on a preamp? You were about the most thorough person I've ever seen on the forum lol. I actually found my own ideal preamp by reading a lot of the responses to the threads you started, but was just curious if you ever found the right match for your needs?

I've heard the same thing about the Bose NC headphones...seems that many people love that quality about them, even if theyre not really "audiophile" cans.

Hi Ajzepp,

Well, unfortunately, no. Money's been real tight. Can't seem to get past this paying the bills syndrome. Also, due to my hearing is changing, this changes the whole ballgame. Speakers and such don't have the appeal they used to have. So now, ... reading up on the cans and amps to go with them. I've been thinking of either a Nightshade or AVA preamp. one possible option for me is the Opticouopler. It's cheap, results are good.

So I'm glad someone got some good use out of my questionings. So what did you end up getting for your self?

Ray Bronk

[ajzepp]

Ray: I went with the SAS Audio Labs 10a about two years ago. It was a fantastic preamp. I recently sold it since I"m sort of abandoning my 2-channel system while I'm in an apartment and making the move to headphones. But when I get a house again, I plan to purchase another 10a for sure.

[guest1632]

Ray: I went with the SAS Audio Labs 10a about two years ago. It was a fantastic preamp. I recently sold it since I"m sort of abandoning my 2-channel system while I'm in an apartment and making the move to headphones. But when I get a house again, I plan to purchase another 10a for sure.

[dB Cooper]

I don't think noise cancelling phones are as effective as Etymotic Research ER4S, which have 35 - 40dB of ambient noise rejection and sound good at the same time.
http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er4.html
I use them and can play music quietly, because of this rejection figure. The problem with noise cancelling phones is they tend not to sound good! Ooops! As well, their effective ambient noise rejection is inferior to something like the Etymotics. I do think that reasonable compromise can be found in sealed-back headphones, though, and these can be more convenient and comfortable than having something deep in your ear canal - this wears thin after 3 hours or so.

I can attest to the isolation of the etymotics- waaaay better than the Ultimate ears ones I just bought and am going to return. One solution to possible comfort issues is to go to an audiologist and get fitted for custom ear inserts. it costs a c-note but is probably worth it. I use the foam plugs and they work pretty well for me.

If the OP is still following this, I am unclear as to whether by 'over ear' you mean 'on-ear' or 'around-ear' styles, which are two different kettles of fish.

My average toleration of sealed headphones averages three minutes before I start feeling the urge to take them off. Have disliked the form factor in general since an ill-considered purchase of Koss Pro4AA's many years back. I did  do better with a recent borrowed pair of Beyer DT770s though. The velour style earpads probably helped.

[guest1632]

I can attest to the isolation of the etymotics- waaaay better than the Ultimate ears ones I just bought and am going to return. One solution to possible comfort issues is to go to an audiologist and get fitted for custom ear inserts. it costs a c-note but is probably worth it. I use the foam plugs and they work pretty well for me.

If the OP is still following this, I am unclear as to whether by 'over ear' you mean 'on-ear' or 'around-ear' styles, which are two different kettles of fish.

My average toleration of sealed headphones averages three minutes before I start feeling the urge to take them off. Have disliked the form factor in general since an ill-considered purchase of Koss Pro4AA's many years back. I did  do better with a recent borrowed pair of Beyer DT770s though. The velour style earpads probably helped.

Hi, As far as the Po4AA, I think they have been redesigned. I don't know how they are now. koss had discontinued them for awhile. But since there was a hugh and cry over them, they brought them back. There are other phones in there line that are because of the way they fit are noise rejecting.

As far as noise cancelling phones go, the Bose ones really do noise cancelling, and are pretty light weight. Don't know how they actually sound.

Ray

[dB Cooper]

Apparently the active noise canceling designs (Bose etc) do pretty well with steady state midrange noise but not so well with transient sounds. However, if the battery the active-canceling headphones depend on gives out mid flight (forgot to charge or replace it or whatever), the Etymotics will do a better job isolating. And they aren't mixing an external sound source in to do it. I'll take passive.

The Pro4AA doesn't look too different. Still has those clammy gel filled earpads. Still weighs a ton. One of those one-man's-trash things I suppose.

[dB Cooper]

Hi Ajzepp,

Well, unfortunately, no. Money's been real tight. Can't seem to get past this paying the bills syndrome. Also, due to my hearing is changing, this changes the whole ballgame. Speakers and such don't have the appeal they used to have. So now, ... reading up on the cans and amps to go with them. I've been thinking of either a Nightshade or AVA preamp. one possible option for me is the Opticouopler. It's cheap, results are good.

So I'm glad someone got some good use out of my questionings. So what did you end up getting for your self?

Ray Bronk

I feel ya, Ray, both on the $ and on the speakers and cans. I am listening to cans a lot, even to 256K internet radio stations, something I would have sneered at not too many years ago.

[neobop]

New AKG K 550 looks juicy.

http://www.headphone.com/headphones/akg-k-550.php#tabs