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Post by james on Jun 13, 2019 19:08:13 GMT 12
Find cans to be a totally unsatisfactory way to experience music. However a 13 hour flight in cattle class looms and the potential to explore some way of reducing the fatigue by turning down the drone of the flight has appeal. Perhaps a pair of noise cancelling cans are the answer. What recommendations do people have? All input appreciated. Typically my music reproduction preferences are to avoid harsh highs and bloated bass wit a fairly clean sound.
Trust your ears.
43 posts
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Post by colinf on Jun 13, 2019 22:17:36 GMT 12
I find that using headphones for a long flight, even noise cancelling ones, can be fatiguing as they press on your ears and restrict head movement if you want to snooze with you head turned a little. They are good to be able to make movies etc more intelligible though. I just use some cheap Panasonic noise cancelling headphones, but not for all of the flight. The noise cancelling feature is good. I don’t think it’s worth spending lots on a high end noise canceller as you only use them on a flight, and they’ll be in storage the rest of the time. Unless you’re bored traveling and use them plugged into your phone while away, where sound quality might be more of a priority. During very long flights (London to Perth is 17 hours) I tend to stand up out of the way of foot traffic and read for 2 hours or so at a time. That way when you come to put your headphones back on later in the seat they are comfortable again.
AMR-iFi R&D
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Post by Owen Y on Jun 14, 2019 9:48:36 GMT 12
Hi james - I happen to have recently done 4 x 10-12+ hour long haul sectors from Auckland-LAX-London, I can say that the SONY WH-1000XM3 NC headphones (that I borrowed from my son) do the job very well. Excellently even. Sound is pretty good, arguably good enough to use as regular audiophile phones (the sound is overall warm-toned but can be tailored using SONY app. Plenty of bass,fairly naturally-toned, no harshness but they are not an especially 'punchy' or 'tight' sounding 'phone. Comfort is very good for me (ear pressure & cup material/softness) & battery life excellent, 24+ hours no problem. in addition to occasional movies in-flight, I play music during take-offs & NC generally on all-flight. (Be sure to get plug-in cable 'phones, as this allows you to move about the cabin with NC 'phones on) The Sonys kill all the LF roar & most of the upper freqs, leaving just low level residual background 'shhhh'. The right ear cup touch-mute works pretty well, for when you need to hear/talk externally. If you use the SONY app on your smartphone, you can access further features such as frequency tailoring to suit personal taste, earpad touch control, & Bluetooth connection to phone/device (I did not use Bluetooth). They fold nicely into a compact case. Not cheap however, NZ$390-460. If you're not planning to use the NC 'phones as regular listening 'phones, then you can spend less to just do the NC job, I'm sure. One aspect to consider, is a low-profile, low-bulk design that does not get in the way when you sleep - if you like to have NC when you sleep (as I do, with NC on, no music). The SONYs are pretty good. In this regard consider also In-ear type 'phones, as they solve this problem. eg. I have a set of Audio Technica ATH-ANC3 in-ear NC 'phones (which I bought from former member @maxgate years ago). These have seen quite a few long haul miles, but Noise Cancelling would only be ~50% or so effective - good enough, but this technology can be bettered now I suspect. I bought some inexpensive Panasonic NC in-ear phones at an airport a year or two ago, but they were no improvement on the ATs. Not sure about your requirements in detail, but hope this helps for starters.
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Post by Owen Y on Jun 14, 2019 9:59:51 GMT 12
PS. My daughter uses BOSE QC25 'phones for uni study. Bose are of course heavily marketed & a popular NC headphone. I have only tried these briefly at home (sounded OK, more lively than the SONYs as I recall, but I liked the Sonys more), but no in-flight use. These are $100 cheaper however than the Sonys. The BOSE QC35 are their best NC model - plenty of decent reviews I'm sure.
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Post by colinf on Jun 14, 2019 19:27:57 GMT 12
In-ear NC ‘phones, good idea! Research needed for a good one. I’m popping back down under in a few weeks so a smaller, more effective NC would be nice.
AMR-iFi R&D
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