I’d like to be able to drown out some plane/train/bus noises so I can listen to podcasts and watch stuff without turning the volume up to a billion. Don’t want to spend loads on them – the £200 bose ones I tried in the airport were nice but too expensive.

I’ve had a wee browse of Amazon and there are loads of cheaper options. Are there any OK sets in the sub £100 bracket worth looking at? Don’t need bluetooth or amazing sound quality but dont want a pair that dont cancel sound, look like they’re for teenagers or will self destruct in 3 months.

Any suggestions?

At work, we’ve been testing Jabra headphones and been impressed. Havent tried this specific model but they look good…

http://www.jabra.co.uk/sports-headphones/jabra-sport-coach-wireless

Are those jabra ones noise cancelling??

I have Bose QC35 for travel and they are excellent. They’re also spendy!

I also have these;
https://www.whathifi.com/sony/mdr-ex650ap/review

Flaws? There really aren’t any. For fit, function and sonic form the MDR-EX650s are nearly faultless for the money.

Bought mine at an airport for around £45 IIRC.

Superb sound, get the right fit from the supplied sets of earplugs and they block a lot of surrounding noise. Oh, and well within budget. Mine are also used daily as a phone headset for conference calls. Daily use for hours on end, plus other use for a couple of years, and they’re still nigh on perfect.

Highly recommended.

I bought some Noontec Noise Cancelling headphones. I’m a bit of an audiophile, and really like my sound to be decent.

The Hammo Go are really great, easily as good as the Bose ones.

They do look similar to the Beats headphones, but the construction and sound quality is miles better.

£99

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B011KTMW4G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ES5GzbSNPQ71Z

Hmmm.. I’ve got Bose QC15’s for noise cancelling. I can wear them for a 10hr flight & not feel them. (or hear the Mrs yapping) Spendy but worth it.

Thanks for the replies so far.

I should add that I’d prefer over-ear to in ear.

And I’d like noise cancelling rather than ‘blocking’ if that’s possible in budget.

I had a go with some expensive Bose ones and although they cut out some noise I could still hear loads of stuff, I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about

They’re not meant to cut out everything. Otherwise you wouldn’t hear the cabin crew offering you another glass of the Chablis!

🙂

They block out the dull droning of planes and trains. They don’t turn the world off.

I had a go with some expensive Bose ones and although they cut out some noise I could still hear loads of stuff, I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about

Maybe depends on your hearing then. With mine I can hear very little even when theyr’e just switched on. Put some mellow music on & I sleep like a sleepy thing.

All the way to Goa.

Currently listening on some Phillips SHB88750NC, I’m impressed, under £60 if you shop around, though What HiFi says the next model up is worth another tenner, but my ears probably up to telling the difference any more. Over ear, NC and Bluetooth/wired and not too “look at me” for the train.

If over-ear, then any closed-back ‘phones will work, cheap hearing protectors would do the job with a pair of Apple EarPods underneath. In-ear, or canalphones with triple-flange eartips will give exactly the same degree of noise reduction as industrial earplugs, around -26dB*. With mine in I can’t hear anything around worth a damn, and music will sound better too; deeper and better bass, for a start.
A pair of MeeAudio M6 Pro ‘phones are almost identical to Shure SE215’s, and half the price:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/MEE-Earphone-Replaceable-Universal-Microphone/dp/B015S2I6A0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1501800287&sr=8-2&keywords=mee+audio+m6+pro
I’ve got a pair of their diecast zinc bodied Pinnacle P1’s, which are around £180, and they’re outstandingly good, the M6 Pro’s are the same basic design, but cheaper, plastic construction.
Plus you won’t look like a wannabe DJ/producer.
*as specified on the packaging in most cases.

Thanks MLC – struggling to find them for less than RRP but will keep looking as they look like just what I’m after

I bought my missus some on ear AKGs from Richer Sounds for ~ £50. Can’t hear a **** thing when wearing them.

As above, AKGs from Richer Sounds. Very good value, really do work and comfortable. Used them on a recent 14 hour trip to Argentina and hardly took them off during the flight.

Maybe depends on your hearing then. With mine I can hear very little even when theyr’e just switched on. Put some mellow music on & I sleep like a sleepy thing.

All the way to Goa.

Just ordered some Bose QC as they really do make long flights easier to endure. I used to use Shure SE215 in-ear but after borrowing the other halfs bose on a flight I had to get my own pair.
Ordinary in-ear are not as comfortable on a long journey.
Just having a quick listen in a shop isn’t going to tell you that.
You can pick up the Bose for £220 (wired)

I have a pair of Goldring NS1000s. They seemed to be the go-to budget noise-cancelling headphones when I bought them a couple of years ago, with a reputation for punching above their weight. I’m happy with mine and know others who are too.

Available for about £60 now: https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Electronics-Photo/Goldring-NS1000-Expedition-Cancelling-Headphones/B00FBE197I

I had a go with some expensive Bose ones and although they cut out some noise I could still hear loads of stuff, I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about

I’ve got the QC35s and, while you still hear some noise, they cancel enough that you can tune the rest out yourself. I work in an office with some very noisy project managers who yap a lot on the phone and used to get very distracted by their conversations when I was using non-noise cancelling headphones. Since I got the Bose I don’t notice them unless I’m trying to, would thoroughly recommend them.

They’re also great for flights/trains – you don’t really notice how much background drone there is until you turn the noise cancelling off!

They are spendy, but I could justify it as I use them pretty much every day and haven’t regretted it for a second. The wired QCs might be a good option if you can get them close to your budget.

I bought some qc 35 s in the John Lewis clearance for 205 after Xmas. There were a couple of pairs in the rack reduced. Unwanted Xmas pressies I reckon. They are good and really comfy even for long hot periods. Sound quality is great. The price shot up after Xmas last yr and they’re really expensive now unfortunately. I use mine in the office to drown out the din and you can hear If you need to.

Don’t know if you’re still looking but they showed up on hukd as reduced.

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/5529445

Thread resurrection…. (some of the links above are dead now)

Can anyone recommend some good value noise cancelling headphones (not in-ear) for <£100?

Monday bump

I got some Sony MDR-ZX770BN headphones for Christmas, which are noise cancelling & pretty good.

A girl at work has got the £300 Sony noise cancelling ones & seemed a bit put out when she tried these ones.

They vary in price quite a bit, but can often be had for around £90.

Lindy do some that get decent reviews….I think the NC-60 is the wired version which uses a couple of AA batteries for the noise cancelling & the BNX-60 is the wireless version. I almost went for these over the Sony’s but preferred the look of the Sony & I think the battery life is better on the Sony ones too.

>They’re not meant to cut out everything. Otherwise you wouldn’t hear the cabin crew offering you another glass of the Chablis!

If you will travel in Club class. In First they’re not supposed to disturb you until you catch their eye which is easy as there is always someone on eye catching duty.

I’ve got the cheaper Sony mdr-zx550bn (only paid £38 after tracking on Camel Camel Camel nearly 2 years ago). The noise cancelling does a reasonable job of reducing (but not totally removing)  aircon/train drone –  less so for plane drone, but it’s a definite improvement over non-NC. The battery lasts ages (but there’s no indication when they’re running flat) and they’re pretty comfortable.  Sound quality is a massive improvement over the cheap Phillips Bluetooth headphones they’ve replaced, but I suspect I’d be disappointed if I tried some of the Bose etc. mentioned above. I’ll keep a keen eye on this thread, when mine die I’ll probably spend a bit more.

EDIT: Those Sony mdr-zx770bn are £90 on PRIME at the moment 🤔

Ive used some phillips nc headphones that I bought in the airport for my first trip to canada way back in 2012, i only paid about £35 for them, and tbh they were actually ok, i would probably still be using them if the cat hadn’t eaten the cable.

i replaced them with bose qc15, paid£200 for them. Better, certainly, but maybe not 5 times better eh.

Cheers, I’ll pop into the shops at the weekend and see what I can get

Lindy NC 40 were about £40 from Amazon.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/LINDY-Active-Noise-Cancelling-Headphones-Black/dp/B001COBIUY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523904280&sr=8-1&keywords=lindy+nc40

Check out Audio-Technica headphones