In my experience if you want the best noice canceling system choose Bose.
If you want the best sound choose an audiophile brand.
Another fan of the Bose wired earbuds here. I borrowed these from a friend when I took a trip to Europe, and they were amazing. They were actually a little freaky at first - total hearing deprivation.
My H has the Beats Studio regular headphones and says they are awesome for noise cancelling. He uses them all the time when on travel and loves them.
These are the ones my husband wears: https://www.audiogeeks.com/headphones/sennheiser-momentum-2-over-ear-wireless-headphones
I have the older Bose noise cancelling ones and they are really good. One of the things Bose offered (which I don’t know if they still do) is later on if you want to upgrade, they used to do it for 100 bucks. My old pair died, and I was able to get my current ones for that 100 bucks, which is kind of nice if they still do it.
@musicprnt - I think they might. I watched a family with a late teen do this at a Bose store awhile ago (within @ 2 years) with a pair of headphones that appeared to have been through it all. No questions asked. Hope it is still their policy.
My ADD sister and son swear by their Bose noise cancelling headphones. I hate expensive “names”, but in this case Bose was the clear winner (FYI, we didn’t evaluate Sennheiser).
I have tried various brands - Bose hands down. They are by far the best. I have both the QC-25 (over the ear) and the QC-20 (ear buds).
Believe it or not, the ear buds are equal or better than the over-the-ear at noise cancellation. They come with multiple sizes of silicon ear buds so you can fit your ear. Mine fit with the default size attached when I bought them. They appear awkward but once you have tried them a few times they are simple to use. They charge with a standard micro-USB cord (one is included). They also work without noise cancellation if the battery is dead. A fully charged battery would last me for a full travel day so I have never had to use them without battery.
They include a microphone so they work well for Skype and phone calls.
If you travel a lot, especially on planes, you won’t leave home without them. They are so much more compact as well and the small pouch that is included easily fits in a shirt pocket or a smaller zipper compartment in a pack. I never use my QC-25 headphones anymore for travel. I bought my wife a pair of her own QC-20’s for Christmas this year. A person I travel with often picked up a pair also. I am not really a fan of Bose (due to some surround speaker issues) but the headphones can’t be beat.
I would look at:
Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7B QuietPoint Active Noise-Cancelling Closed-Back Headphones - Wired
They are from an audiophile brand and for under a $100 it’s a great value.
They had the headphones of the year (last year, non noise canceling) Audio-Technica’s SonicPro® ATH-MSR7 Wins Reviewed.com and USA TODAY 2015 Best Headphones of the Year Award
I had a hard time justifying the expense of Bose for myself. I have used others in the past so I am trying Shure SE215-K Sound Isolating Earphones. They got pretty good reviews and I am willing to give them a shot. I am not an audiophile so don’t know how sound would be if you are.
The main reason to get noise canceling headphones is not for the audiophile experience. Bose have good sound, but audiophiles usually sneer at Bose. The main reason for NC headphones is for travel. On a plane the ambient noise is drastically reduced. In airport lounges you no-longer hear the loudmouthed guy doing a sales call. You really do get some peace. There is a faint pressure feeling in your ears that can take some adjustment, but I rarely get the travel headache anymore from a long day of ambient noise. The price is high, but after going through a few pairs or others you will wish you had just paid the piper up front.
Yes, primary consideration for this purchase is the noise cancelling part with sound quality important but a secondary concern.
I’ve got some Phillips noise-cancelling earbuds (run between 20-30 bucks) from Wal-Mart that work great. I only use them for airplane travel and they are a godsend on long flights. I’m always amazed at the difference they make.
For home I have a pair of Seinhauser over ear head phones that are wonderful. Not noise cancelling but then I don’t really need that at home. But the experience is very quiet at any rate.
I rarely spend a lot of money on myself. However, now that I work in an “open office” setting and travel more for work, I needed something to preserve my sanity. I asked around a lot and the consensus answer was that Bose was the way to go. So I splurged and bought the CQ-25 headphones.
Sound quality is fine for me, but then again I’m mostly either using them to watch videos on a plane or using them purely for noise-canceling and not listening to anything at all. My co-workers know if I’ve got them on but I’m not plugged into anything it’s safe to interrupt me - I’m not on a conference call, just need respite from the office clatter.
I’m now getting them for the rest of my family, as the kids are flying much more these days and the difference on a plane using these headphones is simply amazing.
Saw Bose noise-cancelling headphones at Costco today. Didn’t note the model number but think they were under $200. H has an older (10+ years) pair, and while black stuff is flaking off the soft ear covers, they otherwise work fine.
I had an old pair of Bose headphones and bought replacement ear covers for about 5 bucks (plus shipping) off the internet. Not “Bose” brand but fit great on the earphones. Just google your headphone model and replacement ear covers. Like brand new!
I forgot to mention, my son’s Bose QC15s (previous generation over ear wired headphones) started to be intermittent. We called Bose. They were out of warranty by at least a year. However they took them back and gave us a very good discount on a replacement pair.
I just got an ad from audiogeeks advertising up to $100 of sennheiser headphones. May be worth a look.