Does anybody have any experience good or bad with these? They may well be the way forward for my commuting. I do have a fear of looking a bit of a dick though (a bit more of a dick perhaps) so have a preference for the more subtle designs.
And can anyone remember the ones that Burt Kocain fellow raved about? Were they noise cancelling?
Thanks.
I’ve never tried them myself but the rest of the Philips Fidelio range gets high praise (I’ve heard the open-backed X1). The NC1 is £250 list price so about £200 in the real world.
http://www.philips.co.uk/c-p/NC1_00/noise-cancelling-headphones
Hang about, they’re not Bluetooth. The M2BT are but they’re not noise-cancelling. http://www.philips.co.uk/c-p/M2BTBK_00/fidelio-fidelio-wireless-bluetooth-headphones/overview
Burt raved about Jabra headphones. I had a quick look and although they do Bluetooth, I couldn’t see any noise cancelling models on the tax dodgers site.
Jabra Revo. Not noise cancelling as far as I know. Just wired and wireless.
They’ve just recently appeared in the shops in Sydney (I spent a while looking for them when Burt mentioned them).
would blue tooth AND noise cancelling be a heavy drain on batteries
I got a Sony Bluetooth headset for xmas (MDR AS800BT), they’re just the in-ear grommet style for ‘passive noise suppression’, and I have to say…THEY ARE CRAP. *On no account go anywhere near them*. AU$200 for rubbish sound quality for music AND podcasts, and no volume or bass. And the battery lasts less than a day. I’d never have bought them if I’d heard them up front, but the hygiene issue hadn’t prevented me trying them.
When I can be bothered to go to JB HiFi again I’ll be going back to sub-$50 SkullCandy Smokin’ Buds (grommet/passive noise cancelling) which for me have been the best sound, cabling, resilience, connections and so on, and that’s having gone through Sennheiser and a few others in the $50-$100 range. My son has snaffled my old pair so I think new ones are in order.
Battery life seems an issue – 10 hours best if you’re lucky. I listened to a pair yesterday – Parrot Zik – and they seemed very good but very expensive.
Do you really need both Bluetooth and noise cancelling? I use a 20-year-old pair of Beyerdynamic DT831 for live work. They’re closed-backed but comfortable, high-impedance (unsuitable for portables), and provide enough isolation from the outside world that I can hear instrument details when my PA system is thundering away.
Over-the-ear cans are more comfortable than on-ear types and provide better isolation, so you might find you don’t need noise cancelling after all.
If you’re using them for commuting, do you really need Bluetooth? Is a cable really verboten? Those rechargeable batteries don’t last forever.
I bet my Beyers are still going long after anything with active electronics and a rechargeable battery.
If you’re going to need batteries, invest in some decent rechargeables. Panasonic Infinium are good (rebadged Sanyo Eneloop NiMH). Panasonic bought Sanyo for the battery technology and shut everything else down. They behave pretty much like disposables. I have used them in radio mics for years with no problems.
Wired cans: I have a pair of AKG K450s. They fold and have a hard case. Good for travelling. The wire is a bit flimsy but a colleague has a pair and despite being notoriously clumsy, they are still going strong.
I use two headhones depending on where I am. Neither are wireless because I really don’t need another thing to charge every day.
For noise reduction, I went passive. I use Shure SE315s which are memory foam earplugs with cracking drivers. For normal listening I have a pair of Sennheiser Momentums which are fantastic for the price. I have the on-ear pair so I can wear them when I’m out and about, but if you like over-ear, the momentums are wonderful at that price point.
Thanks for the advice. After much research I have gone for some Plantronics Backbeat Pro headphones. Price was good (£145) and the reviews are very good. Features all look good and battery life is around 24 hours (with bluetooth and noise cancelling on). They look a bit unassuming as well (which I like).
I like the idea of cordless – I commute and especially in the winter with coats and scarves etc., the cable can be a bit of a pain. Noise cancelling mainly for the train and flights – I do 2 or 3 transatlantic flights a year and several others. They also will allow me to make/take calls which is handy.
I already have some earbuds and they are great but the cable can be a bit of a pain and I seem to get through £30 quid of comply tips every year which is annoying.
I’ll let you know how I get on.
I was wondering whether the airlines would be OK with Bluetooth devices, since they ask for everything to be in flight mode. Apparently with BA it’s OK apart from take-off/landing/taxiing:
http://www.britishairways.com/cms/global/pdfs/handheld-devices-used-onboard_Dec14.pdf
Most will allow bluetooth now. Those that don’t, the headphones come with a cable that can be used (also good if you want to use them for the film and plug into the airline headphone socket). The cable also works if the batteries have run out.