Earphones

[DontSayBanana]

Generally speaking, you don't use noise-cancelling headphones to practice musical instruments.

GF is going a little overboard, but is mostly correct.  You should be more concerned with the sound balancing than noise cancelling- a good pair of over-ear headphones (where the cups completely surround your ears) will cut most ambient noise just by physically blocking it.  To keep it from sounding tinny, you're going to want your drivers to be metal and somewhere between 7 and 12 mm.  I can't really give you tips on midrange because it's going to boil down to personal preference- personally, I hate the "high-end" Monster/Beats by Dre or Wicked/Soul headphones, because they're tuned so heavily toward bass-heavy hip-hop or rap that anything else sounds muddy to my ears.  Sol Republic and Audio Technica make good headphones for listening to music with a wide frequency spectrum, but especially with Audio Technica, you're going to want to be able to demo the pair you're considering before buying.  For reference, my Master Tracks (Sol Republic) have got a richer bass sound, but for sheer sound balancing when I'm monitoring my keyboard or guitar playing, my go-to pair is a set of Audio Technica ATH-SJ55 that I got for around $40.

[lustindarkness]

Noise cancelling is a scam.

This is the only thing I am arguing. Noise cancelling is not a scam, it works, real good.

Now, the fact that people that don't travel and don't need noise canceling for their needs but still spend ridiculous money on them?  That a different story, still does not make it a scam.

BTW, take two 8+ hour trips in a C130, one with and one without noise canceling headphones, its like the difference between heaven and hell.

[Grey Fox]

Ok.

Noise cancelling works well to kill C130 noise.

I have never tried noise cancelling headphones in a plane & my experience has shown that it doesn't cancel enough incoming sound that I could consider it anything but a scam, like 3D TVs.

[lustindarkness]

Ok.

Noise cancelling works well to kill C130 noise.

I have never tried noise cancelling headphones in a plane & my experience has shown that it doesn't cancel enough incoming sound that I could consider it anything but a scam, like 3D TVs.

Next time you are in a plane and someone next to you has some Bose headphones, punch them in the throat and steal their headphones, you will become a believer. They work.

[Grey Fox]

I will.

[PRC]

Not quite earphones, but it is a "sound" issue.  Don't know if it's still available, but in the past James Randi has offered $1,000,000 if an audiophile can prove some $7,250 speaker cables are better than any ordinary monster cables.

http://gizmodo.com/305549/james-randi-offers-1-million-if-audiophiles-can-prove-7250-speaker-cables-are-better

Click to view our rant about those $7,250 Pear Anjou speaker cables found its way to the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF), and Randi offered $1 million to anyone who can prove those cables are any better than ordinary (and also overpriced) Monster Cables. Pointing out the absurd review by audiophile Dave Clark, who called the cables "danceable," Randi called it "hilarious and preposterous." He added that if the cables could do what their makers claimed, "they would be paranormal."
$7,250 Speaker Cables Turn You Into a Dancin' Fool.

We see that the Pear Cable company is advertising a pair of 12-foot "Anjou" audio cables for $7,250; that's $302 a foot! And, as expected, "experts" were approached for their opinions on the performance of these wonders ... Well, we at the JREF are willing to be shown that these "no-compromise" cables perform better than, say, the equivalent Monster cables. While Pear rattles on about "capacitance," "inductance," "skin effect," "mechanical integrity" and "radio frequency interface," - all real qualities and concerns, and adored by the hi-fi nut-cases - we naively believe that a product should be judged by its actual performance, not by qualities that can only be perceived by attentive dogs or by hi-tech instrumentation. That said, we offer the JREF million-dollar prize to - for example - Dave Clark, Editor of the audio review publication Positive Feedback Online.

This is not Randi's first clash with audiophile reviewers who claim to hear differences between various pieces of exotic equipment. He promises a million dollars (which he has waiting in an account for them) if any can prove in double-blind scientific testing that their extraordinary claims are true. None have stepped up so far.

[grumbler]

Ok.

Noise cancelling works well to kill C130 noise.

I have never tried noise cancelling headphones in a plane & my experience has shown that it doesn't cancel enough incoming sound that I could consider it anything but a scam, like 3D TVs.

Wait... so it turns out that you've never tried NC headphones to cancel noise, and thus concluded that they are a scam?  Okay... 

Has anyone ever suggested to you than, when you've dug yourself into a hole that deep, you should just stop digging?  if not, consider yourself suggested.

[The Minsky Moment]

Good fit in ear phones do a good job of blocking noise on non-military planes, trains, buses, and other urban noisy-like distractions.  For a lot cheaper than $300. 

[The Minsky Moment]

I'm thinking of getting myself some of those snazzy big noise cancelling ones so I can practice my guitar and concentrate when I have to work, but I'm not sure whats what.

Take a look at these:  http://www.westoneaudio.com/index.php/products/um-series/um-pro-10.html

I've seen these go on sale from time to time - may be able to find somewhere for cheaper.

[lustindarkness]

Good fit in ear phones do a good job of blocking noise on non-military planes, trains, buses, and other urban noisy-like distractions.  For a lot cheaper than $300. 

This is true, the Samsung earbuds that came with my phone actually help quite a bit.

[Grey Fox]

Ok.

Noise cancelling works well to kill C130 noise.

I have never tried noise cancelling headphones in a plane & my experience has shown that it doesn't cancel enough incoming sound that I could consider it anything but a scam, like 3D TVs.

Wait... so it turns out that you've never tried NC headphones to cancel noise, and thus concluded that they are a scam?  Okay... 

Has anyone ever suggested to you than, when you've dug yourself into a hole that deep, you should just stop digging?  if not, consider yourself suggested.

Did you not read my post?

[grumbler]

Ok.

Noise cancelling works well to kill C130 noise.

I have never tried noise cancelling headphones in a plane & my experience has shown that it doesn't cancel enough incoming sound that I could consider it anything but a scam, like 3D TVs.

Wait... so it turns out that you've never tried NC headphones to cancel noise, and thus concluded that they are a scam?  Okay... 

Has anyone ever suggested to you than, when you've dug yourself into a hole that deep, you should just stop digging?  if not, consider yourself suggested.

Did you not read my post?

Yes.  Every foolish word.  Stop digging.

[grumbler]

Good fit in ear phones do a good job of blocking noise on non-military planes, trains, buses, and other urban noisy-like distractions.  For a lot cheaper than $300.

The in-ear jobs don't give much bass response, though. 

[crazy canuck]

Ok.

Noise cancelling works well to kill C130 noise.

I have never tried noise cancelling headphones in a plane & my experience has shown that it doesn't cancel enough incoming sound that I could consider it anything but a scam, like 3D TVs.

Plane travel is the main reason I have headphones.  It does work very well.

[Grey Fox]

Ok.

Noise cancelling works well to kill C130 noise.

I have never tried noise cancelling headphones in a plane & my experience has shown that it doesn't cancel enough incoming sound that I could consider it anything but a scam, like 3D TVs.

Wait... so it turns out that you've never tried NC headphones to cancel noise, and thus concluded that they are a scam?  Okay... 

Has anyone ever suggested to you than, when you've dug yourself into a hole that deep, you should just stop digging?  if not, consider yourself suggested.

Did you not read my post?

Yes.  Every foolish word.  Stop digging.