I purchased a pair of QC2 for trans-atlantic travel. End up using them many other instances. Prefer over the ear rather than on the ear QC3.

Bose are certainly the most famous.

If you go Bose, look at both the QC2 and QC3, they are both available and have different pros and cons.

And Audio-Technica's NC headphones have been reviewed as about equal to the Bose, for a lot less money.

Finally, for people on a budget, Philips has NC headphones for about a third of the cost of the Bose, and nearly as good.

Beware of the Sony NCs, they have received really really poor ratings, sad to say.

And I couldn't agree more with mekelly that these things are a Godsend for long airline trips. Huge difference in vital signs when you arrive!

I did one 24 hour trip from Los Angeles to Bombay (with connections), and was able to step off the plane at 12 noon, survive a 2 hour cab ride from the airport, and immediately start cranking hardcore work from 2pm - 10pm, then four packed days of more hard work from 7am-10:30pm. Couldn't have done that without some help for my vital signs, and airplane noise is the #1 source of fatigue.

The #2 source in long distance travel is clogged nadis/meridians/etc. This can be helped substantially with Chi Gong (also transliterated as Qi Gong or Qi Kung) which is the easiest to learn and do, even from a Learning Annex type course.

Chi/qi is known as ki in Japanese, who have their own different exercises, and prana (pronounced praan) in yoga where pranayama is the primary method for opening the nadis. The breath is just a support vehicle for moving prana, it's nothing to do with oxygen.

Whatever you use, it really helps those grueling long airplane rides, and if you're looking to go beyond the turn-on simplicity of noise-canceling headphones, it doesn't matter how you get your chi/qi/ki/prana moving.

In addition to those Bjorn referenced above I would add the Solitude Active Noise Cancellation Headset which you can get for $189.95 with free shipping from protravelgear.com with the coupon code GEEK at checkout.

You also may want to consider the Etymotic Research ER6i Isolator In-Ear Earphones for $70 if you can stand having the earphones stuck in your ear.

John

Indeed, just the other day I was repairing the battery compartment for an associate's Bose [he had allowed battery leakage that had corroded the terminals] and had the opportunity to try them. Even without any audio being fed through them, when the apparatus was engaged, a virtual "cone of silence" descended upon me. This was quite a revelation, as I had previously not been particularly impressed by the performance of any other NC headset I had tried.

I prefer custom molded in ear monitors. It costs about $100 to have impressions made of your ears but it is so worth it. The comfort is incredible and it pretty much eliminates all outside noise. You can take your ear impressions and send to a number of different manufactures for a fit to their monitors. I use sure monitors but Ultimate ears seem to be gaining ground as one of the favs. Westone also makes them. Do a google on "custom in ear monitors" and you will find plenty to choose from. The important thing is the "custom" impression of YOUR ears for a comfortable leak free fit.

JAB

I just found out how to deal with "airplane ear." I used to get off a plane and it would be hard to hear because of how my eardrums reacted to the change in pressure. I used to chew gum during liftoff and landing, but I have learned that swallowing does better than even chewing. Yawning is a way of equalizing pressure as well. So yawn several times when ascending or descending. Drinking water during these times is good too. Better than gum, are hard candies which activate your salivary glands and make you swallow.

As to headphones, I would look into headphones with great isolation from sound rather than noise cancelling headphones. Noise cancellation only works for noises below 2khz, it doesn't deal with high sounds and it doesn't work well with changing noise. If you can stand what are known as "canalphones" because they sit deep in your ear, they sound fantastic and provide great isolation.

If you do want noise cancelling headphones, I would also steer you away from Bose. Great marketing, but their headphones are overpriced for the quality. In addition to Audio-Technica, AKG and Sennheiser are two companies known for great sounding headphones that also make NC headphones.

http://www.headphone.com/guide/by-application/traveling/
everybody these days is aware of the Bose "noise-canceling" headphones. We think those cans are just okay. We also sell a few noise-canceling headsets made by Germany's Sennheiser: the PXC300, PXC250 and PXC150 and the excellent audiophile-oriented PXC450. These are all nicely ergonomic, lightweight noise-canceling headphones and are somewhat better-sounding than the Bose products, but there is no big pressing reason to throw out the Bose to just pick up a mildly better-sounding noise-canceling headset. The REAL reason to throw out the Bose, or any other noise-canceling headset you might own, is to get much more thorough noise-blocking / isolation and WAY better sound quality from a portable 'sealed/closed' headphone or, especially, from a high-end ear canal headphone (ECH).

If you want to hear about specific headphone models, the headphone geeks hang out at the forums at head-fi.org

I haven't tried the noise canceling headphones, the I have used the Shure e series ear buds on many flights and I really like them. M-Audio makes the same sort of thing and they claim 26 db of noise isolation.

If your laptop volume is at 90% with normal ear buds, then you can probable have it at 40% with the Shure or M-Audio. I happen to have custom ear moulds for my e2's, but the foam that is included with them works just as well. Entry level Shure ear buds are about $100. They have some model with a push-to-listen button that activates a built-in microphone so you can hear what the flight atendant is asking you without having to remove the ear buds.

With these engine noise and screaming kids are faint background noise.

~Jay

re: airplane pressure

I find that what works for me is holding my nose closed and blowing (so that air goes out of my ears). It works for me where chewing gum and such doesn't.

re: long air flights - still OT

Please get up & take a lap around the compartment every hour or so when on longer air flights. Matter of fact, take a lap periodically when sitting in front of your favourite video editor for long periods. DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) is a blood clot that forms in the leg especially during periods of inactivity. The clots break off & travel to very unpleasant places.

See NY Times on


bob f

DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) is a blood clot that forms in the leg especially during periods of inactivity. The clots break off & travel to very unpleasant places.

AKA "Economy Class Syndrome."

Really.

:O(

I used to fly myself a lot in a single-engine Mooney. Without ear protection, the inside of a light-plane cabin is like working with jackhammers. Active noise cancellation is relatively effective, but only over a certain low-frequency band. That frequency band worked wonders for the prop blast noise inside a piston plane, but the generalized roar of a jet is a different animal.

What I find really useful is the inside-the-ear design of devices made by Shure or Etymotic. They slip inside the ear like a hearing aid and seal with either rubbery flanges or expanding foam. For me, the expanding foam is by far the more effective route.

I have a pair of Shure E2c transducers and they are amazingly effective at isolating noise, far more so than the active cancellation methods employed by Bose and others. Put me next to a screaming infant--don't care; I really can't hear it. But there are drawbacks. For one thing, you need to learn how to insert them--it's not as simple as you would think. Any time you read about someone hating the in-the-ear transducer type because "there is no bass" it means he hasn't inserted them far enough.

Another issue with these things is that you soon realize you don't keep your ear canals as clean as your mother would want. Finally, the darn things are so effective you can't hear what the flight attendant is saying. Shure sells a clever little box that goes in-line with the devices that has a push-to-hear switch on it. Left alone, the box does nothing. Push the button, and a tiny microphone on the box lets you hear whether the flight attendant is offering you rubbery chicken or limp pasta.

DVT is a real problem particularly as you get a little older. As the poster says, get up, walk around, and also drink plenty of fluids. I have a circulation issue in my leg caused by a strep infection some time back, and there are two things I always do before taking off.

1/ Wear compression socks. I use Jozo medical socks at medium pressure. They are expensive, but mainly cotton and they look like regular business socks, just a little longer.

A study I came across recently measured clotting in legs with and without socks. Clotting occurred in something just shy of half of the people tested who did not wear socks (clotting is the thing that some times will cause DVT). With the crowd that was wearing compression socks NO clotting occurred with anybody. The sample they tried was small, I think around ten people on each, but the results were pretty dramatic.

Not only do the compression socks work wonders for clotting, but some times I have to be on my feet a lot, trade shows and the like. Often eight hours a day for a week. Standing still most of the time. It is murder on your feet. With compression socks you will have a MUCH nicer day.

2/ Aspirin. Together with plenty of water aspirin is a life saver.

3/ Stay off coffeee and alcohol.

So..... RZ : what did you decide upon?
I am leaning toward the Audio-Technica ANC7, which is mentioned above.
bob f