Computers & Electronics

Are these noice cancelling headphones at 1/2 price a good deal?

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  • Nov 30th, 2012 1:37 am
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Deal Addict
Dec 7, 2011
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Are these noice cancelling headphones at 1/2 price a good deal?

A local Shoppers Drugmart is clearing their "Equip Noice Cancelling Headphones" for $18.50 ("was: $36.99"). And Nov 30 is probably the last day that they accept American Express. So I'm tempted to buy.

Are they any good? Are they comfortable to wear?

(It is the Shoppers Drugmart on Spring Garden Rd in Halifax, NS. They have a couple of them in the sales bin close to the checkout, in case you want to know.)
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Dec 29, 2005
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I've never heard of "Equip Noise Cancelling Headphones" so I can't really shed light on that..

But typically the way noise cancelling works is by bombarding your ears with a certain frequency of static in order to drown out ambient frequencies. If done correctly they can work marginally well. If done incorrectly you can end up with a static frequency that itself is audible and intrusive.

That being said, for $18.50 (or even at $36.99) it is highly unlikely this is a product of quality. I'd pass....

Instead try to look for isolating headphones so you wont' have to worry about the Noise Cancelling gimmick because at the end of the day, that's exactly what it is, a gimmick.
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Jul 7, 2007
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37 dollars starting price means you are getting bottom quality product to start with.

With any product, you have to ask yourself what are you getting it for.

Are you just looking for something to throw around and you just want it cheap?? If so, give it a try, it's only 20 dollars.

if you have the cash and ready to move to something quality... I would say you are better getting something in 100 dollar range. (keep in mind that the margin for headphone is very high, so 50% off means you are getting a decent price, but you can always do better if you don't care about brands)
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Dec 9, 2005
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If you can't find much mention of a product on teh googles, it's not a good sign.

The only reference I found for it referred to $40 noise cancellation headphones, the person commented that the noise cancellation was done by merely increasing the volume. They may not be the same, but an unrecognisable brand, half price at Shoppers Drug Mart is probably something I'd avoid.
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Jul 22, 2006
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doubt shoppers drug mart even have decent IEMS
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Mar 20, 2009
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MkmBandit wrote: the way noise cancelling works is by bombarding your ears with a certain frequency of static in order to drown out ambient frequencies.
Noise canceling headphones work by using an outward-facing microphone in each earpiece to listen to the ambient noise and then inject an inverse signal 180 degrees out of phase into the headphones that should exactly cancel the ambient noise. It works best for low frequency signals like rumbling engine noise, not so good at mid and high frequencies because the wavelength is too short and the sound bounces around too much inside the headphones. It's like when you accidentally connect your stereo speakers out of phase and suddenly the sound has no bass. Some people think it sounds louder when they turn on the noise canceling because the noise canceling circuit necessarily uses an amplifier, and because the background noise level is reduced.

I have a set of cheap Philips noise-canceling earbuds and pair of expensive over-ear noise canceling headphones. The noise canceling function on the earbuds doesn't do much to reduce regular ambient noise compared to the over-ear headphones, but it does significantly cut aircraft noise from the engines and the roar of the airstream. They also fit tight in the ear, so there's some sound insulation at mid and high frequencies. They work great for reducing ear fatigue and making it possible to listen comfortably to music and movies when I'm flying. And unlike the big over-ear headphones, they slip comfortably in a pocket. They cost me $12. I'd certainly gamble on an $18 set and hope they worked as well.
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Oct 30, 2009
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JamesA1 wrote: Noise canceling headphones work by using an outward-facing microphone in each earpiece to listen to the ambient noise and then inject an inverse signal 180 degrees out of phase into the headphones that should exactly cancel the ambient noise. It works best for low frequency signals like rumbling engine noise, not so good at mid and high frequencies because the wavelength is too short and the sound bounces around too much inside the headphones. It's like when you accidentally connect your stereo speakers out of phase and suddenly the sound has no bass. Some people think it sounds louder when they turn on the noise canceling because the noise canceling circuit necessarily uses an amplifier, and because the background noise level is reduced.

I have a set of cheap Philips noise-canceling earbuds and pair of expensive over-ear noise canceling headphones. The noise canceling function on the earbuds doesn't do much to reduce regular ambient noise compared to the over-ear headphones, but it does significantly cut aircraft noise from the engines and the roar of the airstream. They also fit tight in the year, so there's some sound insulation at mid and high frequencies. They work great for reducing ear fatigue and making it possible to listen comfortably to music and movies when I'm flying. And unlike the big over-ear headphones, they slip comfortably in a pocket. They cost me $12. I'd certainly gamble on an $18 set and hope they worked as well.
So would you say that the earbuds are better for flights than the big over-ears? I'm flying next month and don't want to spend more than $50 for a pair of headphones.
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Nov 27, 2003
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Not earbuds. You want to get IEM (in ear monitors). The kind where it basically plugs the opening to your ear canal. Earbuds let in too much of your environment's surrounding sounds.
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boywonder416 wrote: So would you say that the earbuds are better for flights than the big over-ears? I'm flying next month and don't want to spend more than $50 for a pair of headphones.
No, the big over-ear noise-canceling headphones are better if size is no problem. But the earbuds are a lot more convenient, and still reasonably effective. I wouldn't fly without them now. Even if I don't listen to any entertainment, I keep them on all the time and enjoy a quiet, relaxed flight that almost lets me forget that I'm jammed into an inhumanly small torture chamber pretending to be a seat for midgets.

Just to be clear, "noise isolating" earphones just have passive sound insulation. "Noise canceling" earphones have a small electronics box with a battery and an on/off switch for the active electronics. When you turn on the switch, the background noise level on an airplane drops by about 14 db.

Calling these earbuds "in ear monitors" would be a bit pretentious, but of course the noise canceling function wouldn't work if they didn't fit snugly into your ear and seal the opening completely with a soft rubber cuff.

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