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  • [Recommendation] Best Noise-Cancelling Headphones

Good morning, there is a problem with concentration I always face which is background noise from people talking at home or any other movement in my environment just makes me lose concentration on something while working. I usually put on some earphones and listen to some calm music such as music for programming or other similar music. The problem is that doesn't inhibit all sounds completely which makes it extremely annoying for me.

I have never bought any quality headphones before and not sure if there exists noise inhibiting headphones so need your recommendations. The price is not a problem but would be interested in the least pricey and most effective option.

Starting to have some funny ideas for sound inhibiting solutions so you can be sarcastic in your replies, that is okay. :P

Thanks.
Hello Ayman, how are you mate hope you're doing good.
there is a problem with concentration I always face which is background noise from people talking at home or any other movement in my environment just makes me lose concentration on something while working. I usually put on some earphones and listen to some calm music such as music for programming or other similar music. The problem is that doesn't inhibit all sounds completely which makes it extremely annoying for me.
Concerning the Headset Recommendation it's the one and only ASUS ROG VULCAN ANC "Active Noise Canceling Headphone".

Specs: Driver: 40mm
Impedance: 32 Ohm
Frequency range: 10~20 KHz
ANC (active noise cancellation) performance: Maximum >15dB
Effective Bandwidth >600 Hz
PNC (passive noise cancellation) performance: Maximum >30dB
Battery life: Up to 40 hours (with one AAA battery)
Dimension: 206mm x 196mm x 80mm (LxWxH)
Weight: 325g

Check the Guru3D Review:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/asus-vulcan-anc-headset-review/1
There are lots of headphones in the market which have noise cancellation.
You have lots of options and brands like : Skull-Candy (Very affordable and awesome brand) , or Beatsby Monster (More expensive and professional brand)
Most headphones support noise cancellation and good audio.
I would recommend you to get a Skull Candy headphone since it starts from 60$ up to 500$ (The Beats start with 250$ up to 600$)
You can go to Virgin at ABC Ashrafieh , they have a Beats stand where you can try headphones from the cheapest to the most expensive one. They also have a medium selection of Skull Candy and other products.
I can't recommend you a particular headphone because I don't know how much each of them cost.
Personally I use the Bose quiet comfort 15. They are awesome for low pitched noises, not so good with high pitched but they do help.
make sure you check in-ear headphones before making your final decision
geek wrotemake sure you check in-ear headphones before making your final decision
1- Expensive Solution: Beats by Dr.Dre : http://beatsbydre.com/ - (Around 300$) - Ultimate Sound Experience.

2- Less expensive: Beats earphones ~ 90$ - Efficient enough, Perfect Quality, Portable (without looking like a freak).

3- Cheapest yet most effective: Find a friend who bought any HTC device powered with beats audio, and convince him to give you the earphones (offer 30$)...
I have never bought any quality headphones before and not sure if there exists noise inhibiting headphones so need your recommendations. The price is not a problem but would be interested in the least pricey and most effective option.
From all the options I've seen, I've only been 100% convinced by high-end Bose headphones (QuietComfort 3).
As far as I'm concerned, it was the most satisfying solution, noise cancellation is simply mind blowing. And to answer your question: yes, it works. In a house party with 50 people crammed in a 40m2 apartment and music to full volume, I wouldn't hear a single noise except for the person talking directly to me. On a plane sitting in the back, next to the extremely noisy reactors, I wouldn't hear a thing except for the flight attendant speaking to me. It does need a battery to work, but from what I've seen the battery will last for months, despite everyday heavy use.

The downside is pretty obvious, they're ridiculously expensive. I mean ridiculously expensive (400euros here in France, that's approx, 520$).

Also, a little pet peeve of mine: The Beats are good but ridiculously over-priced. Simply because they stamped the name of some rapper on them does not justify the extra hundreds of dollars.
Personally I use the Bose quiet comfort 15. They are awesome for low pitched noises, not so good with high pitched but they do help.
I can relate, and I agree... somewhat.
Low-pitch noises are filtered better than the higher-pitched ones. But this has more to do with selecting which sounds are noise and which should be unfiltered. The higher-pitch noise (on the QC3 anw), and by noise I mean undesired sounds, are usually well handled.
@AvoK95,Georges,MohammadK97: Skullkandy and Beats are fashion headphones. They are nowhere near perfect quality. Not even acceptable, for the prices they carry. Quality / price is low. Skullkandy is all about bass.
rahmu wroteAlso, a little pet peeve of mine: The Beats are good but ridiculously over-priced. Simply because they stamped the name of some rapper on them does not justify the extra hundreds of dollars.
Well said. Thank you.

@rahmu: Bose headphones are earphones ARE good, but the price / audio quality is not as high as other brands, such as Sennheiser, Grado, Koss, Audio Technica, etc... and as you said, they are expensive.

@AymanFarhat: Geek gave some good advice. IEMs (In-Ear Monitors) are going to block sound the best, without any technology fiddling with sound or whatnot. But you have to try them out because you may not like them stuck into your ear.

And for headphones: Sadly, our market is full of sub-par headphones. The premium ones here (high end Sennheisers) cost an arm and a leg, when I saw them in the duty-free. What you can do, however, if you're willing to order from abroad, is take a look at the Sennheiser line. They have a very good selection over many budgets. From the $30 200s series to the $1500 high-end HD800.

http://www.sennheiserusa.com/noise-cancelling-headphones

However, you may notice that the more high-end you go (with all headphones), the less noise-cancelling options there are. This somewhat proves that noise-cancelling would interfere with sound quality.
beats are in no way professional headphones... overpriced != professional , they break easily too (made out of plastic)...


bose headphones are excellent but they are also overpriced (however in this case professional), if money is not any option go with rahmu's advice

for cheaper alternatives go with sennheisers quality is excellent and some headphones are relatively cheap
2 years later
So I have a couple of long flights coming up and I'd like to invest in some noise-canceling headphones(in-ear is ok). Does anyone have any recommendation? I've only tried the Bose QuietComfort but I rather not pay $300 for a headphone. Any possibility of finding a Sennheiser noise-canceling headphone for $200 or less in Lebanon?