yet another? thread on noise cancelling headphones

hi all

i'm trying out a pair of sony wh-1000xm4, my first noise cancelling headphones. my other headphones are non-noise cancelling sennheisers, of similar price. i use those to listen to music when i'm out on walks.

so, i was aware these wouldn't block out all sounds --- and find that they seem more effective at blocking out lower frequencies.  i probably would find that useful, because those frequencies really annoy me, and travel far. but, i'm not sure i'll find these headphones useful enough, frankly. 

so i'm wondering how others like their noise cancelling headphones? especially vs. standard headphones. for me --- i'm trying to decide if the noise cancelling feature is worth it. i've been walking around my house with the tv, stereo, etc on, wearing them.. they seem to make the unpleasantly loud sounds bearable,  they also quiet lamp buzz, etc. this is with noise cancelling on. but - just not sure it's worth the $ and effort.

thank you! happy holidaze.

  • i used them (these sony wh-1000etc) in a store playing obnoxious, loud (to me) stupid muzak. they mitigate that, and they let you hear the clerks... they seem sort of useful. but sort of a niche application (unless you are in that environment all the time - in which case - yeah, i guess they could be so useful).  

    but i avoid those stupid environments. so these headphones are only sort of useful. i guess i'll keep them. an expensive, tho sort of useful instrument in my arsenal against stupid noise. they do a reasonable job on bass, which is maybe my main issue with noise intrusions... so that's definitely good.

  • yeah... that's why i prefer headphones cause at least people can see you are maybe hearing disabled, at the time... but pretty dangerous. 

  • sorry to hear they were such a bad experience. i don't hate mine... i just don't see them as super useful. i think they can be useful... but only in specific circumstances. so - that to me makes them an iffy purchase. i don't experience every sound in my body and stuff like you describe.. i think i do experience that with the heavy duty total sound proof ear muff things... but not with the sony's.  i think those actually let in quite a bit of sound.

    i don't think i feel the pressure your describe either --- i just don't feel the sony's have that extra tight form fitting feeling in the heavy duty ear muffs that block everything. you must be more sensitive to that, than me.. 

    i'll have to see. i don't care for wearing head phones or ear plugs for long periods, but if i keep these, they might be an expensive extra noise mitigation thing for me... 

    best of luck with your noise isolation.... it's one of my biggest sensitivities.

  • AirPods Pro or Beats by Dre - I have used both options and can say, they both provide outstanding noise cancellation. I cannot hear any surrounding sounds at all. I would never recommend having this feature switched on when near the roads or cars, this could be dangerous.

  • I bought the previous model WH-1000XM3 and I hate them. I never wear them. They are so uncomfortable and hurt my ears and head. And I hate the feeling of pressure they give in the ears. For me wearing the noise cancelling headphones is worse than whatever noise they are covering up. I also don't like how they make every sound in my own body magnified, things like eating, swallowing, my own joints moving against a backdrop of eerie tinnitus because of how unnatural the silence they create is.

  • i'm kind of trying out the noise cancelling tech.... it would be nice having headphones that can really help limit certain noises, but not all noise--- those huge ear muffs eliminate all noise. so curious about noise cancelling as a sort of good middle of the road solution. but they cost $240, which is around 180 pounds.  maybe i just don't appreciate them - hence my post.

  • maybe something like those worn by road maintance workers when using jack hammers?

    i reckon those should be effective

  • thanks for the replies. i'm fairly underwhelmed by these headphones --- altho, surprisingly, they sound actually better than my sennheisers (hd414?) for music. but, that's not saying much --- both these headphones sound pretty measly... i mean, even beethoven would complain (and he's literally deaf).

    still wondering why folks like these things. i assume these sony's are among the best, but they just seem limited.  all i can imagine doing with them is, if i'm in a somewhat noisy environment (store, cafe, flourescent lights, ghetto blasters blaring bass) they are somewhat nice. but in other environments, no, i doubt they'd be effective with car alarms, people talking loud, etc... 

    i guess if your work or home environment fits these sony's to a tee (sort of bass and other sounds permeating the place)  they would be good, and you'd get hours of use per day with them.

    if they were $100, it'd be an okay deal. but they're over twice that... maybe they are simply a semi-noise mitigation which are definitely more effective than my old sennheisers.  but that ain't saying a lot. the sennheisers aren't designed to noise cancel at all. and they don't, unless you're playing music or asmr in them.......

    happy holidazxe

  • humm of machinery chilling milk, where they keep it before bottling, i love it

  • I love my Sony headphones the only problem is they make my ears hot in the summer and I get very uncomfortable when hot.  I like quiet but also white noise (I used to love the vacuum cleaner noise as a child).

  • yes they do no stop those sounds that a created by vibrations

    you do not want to experience a police drone 2pm sitting in those headphones watching movies,

    propelled me like a sky rocket , banged my knees into desk top that stopped me from going ex-orbital probably