noise cancelling headphones

Hi -

Any opinions about noise cancelling headphones? They'd be purely for use with a portable MD, to block out train/tube background noise. Are noise cancelling phones any use, or would I be better off with closed backs? Budget would be up to £100 - folding up small is a big plus.
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R.

[coulcher]

My Dad bought me a pair of the Bose ones in Hong Kong. I would never touch Bose hifi but am really impressed with the headphones on planes, trains etc. I often sleep with them on planes without music. The noise cancelling works very well even without music. Plane films become far more watchable as you can hear the dialogue. They come with a double adapter for those two-pronged airplane sockets.

I'm not sure if these are available here though and I think they were quite pricey - near US$300.

Sound wise: they are good but I have little doubt that £100 pair of non sound cancelling headphones would be better. But when used in loud environments these sound cancelling more than makes up for that.

Probably good for your ears as well because you don't have to turn up the music as loud to compete with the outside noise.

looks like you can get them from http://www.bose.co.uk but they're £245, which sounds a bit strong.
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R.

[Nick Morrow]

Try the Sennheiser noise cancelling model which is only £90 and is pretty good. Be careful wearing noise cancelling headphones when you are out and about as it can be dangerous.

One more thing to the guy who said he'd never touch a Bose hi-fi - they are a lot better than a lot of other systems out there so don't be a snob!!

[coulcher]

Sorry I am a bit of a snob.

Of course Bose are better than a lot of systems but pound for pound compared to separates their reproduction is poor. I don't think I'm alone in that opinion. If you aren't too concerned about having the best sound and don't want a large hifi with big speakers then fair enough after all hifi's can be a bit unsightly and there are plenty of members of the fairer sex who don't share our love of big black boxes.

[MarkE19]

I have a pair of the Sennheiser noiseguard headphones and have just got back from hols.
On the plane I watched the movie with noiseguard on and the volume was quite low. I then switched it off and had to turn the volume up by quite a bit and still had trouble getting all the dialogue.
INHO they are GREAT
I got them gor £80 from ASK on Tottenham Court Road (London), priced at £90 everywhere else

They are not dangerous to use when out as they only cut constant noise such as plane engines etc. as they use electronics to produce an exact reverse of a sound wave that then cancels both out, therefore talking etc can be heard (as long as music is not too loud).

Pioneer (I think) also do small in-ear headphones and can be found in the Index catalogue at around £50, but I have not tried these.

Thanks. Looks like Sennheiser might be the way forward.
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R.

[sparkz]

I bought a pair of Aiwa CN-5's when I was in Hong Kong a couple of years ago. Only US$60 and very good value. What I like about them is that they fold up neatly into a little bag. They come with all the necessary adaptors.

You get a slight white noise type of hiss when you turn them on but it's not too bad. Just turning them on with no input is useful. I use them mainly when travelling on planes which is brilliant. When I last used them not only did it drown out them cabin noise but I could hardly hear my wife or our screaming toddler