NA - Audio Headphones

Caramon13

Caramon13

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May 18, 2015
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Sarasota, FL
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Romeo
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My crappy iPhone earbuds are finally giving up the ghost. And I have a headset at home that I used for gaming (has a swing mic) that I wanna replace.

I've done some research on Amazon and other places and I can't quite settle on a replacement.

I'd like to stay with earbuds for work and maybe over the ear headphones for at home. Is there a reason to get over the ear vs on the ear vs IN the ear? Sigh...

I've looked at Sennheiser, Bose, Audio-Technica, QY8 and a whole bunch of other brands. I think we all know the "best of 2016" reviews are semi-biased so I'm looking for some opinions of people who use these. What's frustrating to me is a lot of these come with only adapters for apple OR android for the "over the ear" brand I'd get for home. I'd be plugging mine into a PC and MAYBE an iPad at night if I wanna watch some netflix.

Again, this is NOT for aviation headsets, just for regular at work, or home use.
 
I have had a pair of Bose QC15 for years and really like them for the uses you have listed. If you don't mind a wired device.

They perform very well when a passenger in both car and commercial aircraft. Run of a single AAA battery and get lots of hours off of that one battery.

Wireless, I had one of the LG 750 Bluetooth headset that performed well and I was happy with it until the cat chewed through one of the earbud wires.
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I'll be following the thread for others' suggestions on wireless in-ear solutions. I want to replace the LG's with something that does a good job but doesn't set me back a full AMU.
 
Thanks Mike! Yeah I don't mind wired for the home-use ones. The buds (work-use) it would be nice to have Bluetooth so I can move around a bit more. I'll check those out.
 
I've had Bose QC over the ear headsets for years. Since Bose released in-ear ANR buds I only use the over the ears on my treadmill. The in-ear are easier to carry, more comfy, and they have a microphone as standard so you can do two-way communicating with them.
 
I used to use Etymotic ER6 earbuds for motorcycle riding and bicycling, and replaced them with HF5's. Way overpriced, and I found that the volume button pod causes real problems when sweat gets in the contacts. I'm just using standard Sony earbuds these days. Cheap, good sound quality. Doesn't quite seal out the noise like the Etymotics, but I view these things like sunglasses now. Get the cheap stuff, these things break and they are functional enough.
 
I have a couple of pairs of these: http://www.gizmag.com/hearing-components-noise-reducing-comply-nr-10-earphones/8995/ It's my understanding that they are the ears-only portion of the $500+ Clarity Aloft system, which I also own. I got them through Clarity.

My most common use is on international commercial flights. Both the sound quality and the noise blocking are spectacular. My wife has to poke me to listen to airplane PA announcements because otherwise I would not hear them.

The company, Hearing Components, IIRC made both the transducers and the foam tips. Now they are apparently marketing the tips to OEMs and direct to consumers with no indication on their web site (http://www.complyfoam.com/) that the headsets are still available. If you're interested, I'd suggest you contact them and ask which (if any) of their OEMs are using the original transducers.
 
Stewart mentioned use while on the treadmill.

ANR is a must for me when on a treadmill. With other earbuds, I can still hear the motor and the belt movement. But with the ANR, that noise is cancelled and I enjoy my music or video more.
 
@Stewartb, @Sac Arrow, @airdale: Thanks very much for the information, I've never even heard Etymotics or the Comply brand.

Chances are I'll get separate buds for working out/running. Here in FL we have nasty humidity and add in sweat, etc and my guess is that doesn't mix well with some brands of buds. I use an elliptical at home so over the ear should be fine in that situation (I hope).

I had the Bose QC headphones and what bothered me about them was the leatherette they used for the pads tends to flake over time. I put on a pair of QC headphones I got as a gift 5 or so years ago and had black flecks of pad all over my ears after using them. Really turned me off to anything non-leather or "coated".

I'm also a little skeptical of the buds you have to "insert" into your ears and replacing those pads seems expensive over time, how long do they last?
 
For those of us with a wired headphone, can anyone recommend a bluetooth unit that would allow me to "unplug" from my phone or tablet and still use my QC15's?
 
Caramon13 said:
I had the Bose QC headphones and what bothered me about them was the leatherette they used for the pads tends to flake over time. I put on a pair of QC headphones I got as a gift 5 or so years ago and had black flecks of pad all over my ears after using them. Really turned me off to anything non-leather or "coated".
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The pair of QC15's I had came with brown colored pads. Whatever the material is, it must be better than the black stuff since I've never experienced the flaking you describe (and I've had with some aviation headsets with the black material).
 
@AggieMike88: Funny you should mention that, I had this in my cart at amazon when I was checking things out last week. Haven't bought them..but maybe it's a start? Link here
 
Bose in-ears use silicone buds and have the wings that help hold them in place. Mine remain good as new after way too many commercial flights and a few years. My old QCs needed new ear seals. Bose replaced them for free when I contacted them. No problem since. I think Bose has a sweaty ear "sport" earbud but I prefer over ear for working out. No good reason other than its what I'm used to. I travel a lot and wouldn't trust bluetooth battery use as much as wired. My in-ear ANR buds and iPad mini can do a 15-16 hour itinerary with videos and music without charging.
 
Caramon13 said:
@AggieMike88: Funny you should mention that, I had this in my cart at amazon when I was checking things out last week. Haven't bought them..but maybe it's a start? Link here
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Not quite. This is a transmitter for that would permit something like an older iPod to transmit to a BT headphone.

I would like to find a BT receiver that I can plug the head phones into, then have my iPhone/iPad transmit to.
 
Caramon13 said:
... I'm also a little skeptical of the buds you have to "insert" into your ears and replacing those pads seems expensive over time, how long do they last?
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Mechanically, the tips probably last years. I replace mine occasionally when they look very dirty though I'm sure I could wash and dry them. My most common reason for replacement with the Clarity Alofts are that the tips get knocked off due to mishandling the headset and go to hide under the seat or somewhere in the hangar. Overall I would say that replacement is not a big deal.

Re "insert" it varies from individual to individual. Some, like my wife, will say "I can't stand to have anything in my ear." That is why I have two of the Hearing Components sets; one was to be hers. In my case I don't notice them at all -- far, far less than the heavy headclamp type headsets. So you have to try for yourself.

Someone mentioned noise reduction at low frequencies. CA used to have some test results on their site but I don't see them now. The bottom line was that the passive NR Comply tips had better attenuation than ANR (I think they tested Bose) across most of the spectrum of interest for speech. The ANR set won by several db, however, at the lowest frequencies -- mostly below normal speech frequencies. My personal experiences with the CAs and the Hearing Components units is that there is plenty of low-frequency attenuation and that the higher frequency attenuation is almost too good --- I can't hear the stall horn or the AP disconnect warning/beeping in some airplanes.
 
I like my Focal Spirit Ones. The Spirit Professionals are supposed to be good
 
AggieMike88 said:
Found the same brand, but different item that is right for the QC15's. And that is the type of device. But egads the price is really steep. Even for a new to the market item, that's too much for me to pull the trigger.

But thanks for the lead. Good to know someone out there in free enterprise world is attempting to meet my needs.
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could try this http://www.mypilotstore.com/MyPilot...OPDqiwF3jSvEeGTKlsCF_PWxt99FoCH7eUBoCCILw_wcB or this: http://www.outdoortechnology.com/Shop/Adapt/
 
Bose earbuds are waaaaay too expensive for me, $299 is just crazy. Same with the over the ear brands. I like them, but I think I'm gonna give another brand a shot. I've heard the saying: "No Highs, No Lows, must be Bose".

I'm going to give the Audio Technica Buds a try and if they turn out to be decent, may pick up the over the ear version. Honestly it was hard to find ANR under $100, but it looks like these are on sale for below $50: Audio-Technica ATH-ANC23 QuietPoint Active Noise-Cancelling In-Ear Headphones.

Keep the discussion going though! I appreciate all the input and I'll let everyone know how these turn out.
 
I used the Bose QC30's until they finally broke one too many times. I have a larger pair of sennheiser passives that I use now that I don't live in an office with noisy computer fans.
 
I'm currently using the Samsung Gear Circle with great success.
 
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