Noise cancelling headphones

General Chat
1

I’ve been looking for some noise cancelling headphones for ages to help shut out the outside world on my 2+ hour return journey between work and home

I’ve been reading countless reviews and watched videos and decided that perhaps the Bose 700s would be the best choice.

So I picked some up yesterday and today I tried them on at home. The initial eardrum pressure went away quickly but I’ve been having a right headache since and been feeling nauseous. Is this something that will go away or should I try to return them?

2

I had the same thing for 2-3 days after getting my Sony WH-1000XM3’s but it quickly went away. The sensation of not hearing anything made me feel a bit nauseous after about half hour of using them but it disappeared for me completely and now I use them or my AirPods Pro (NC) everyday for at least an hour.

3

Sorry, could you say that again? I didn’t catch it.

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4

I recently upgraded (from Bose QC35ii) to 700 and experienced similar discomfort for a week or so. After 2-3 flights, my ears got used to it and haven’t had any issues since.

5

Got a pair of JBL LIVE 650BTNC headphones for Xmas.

Using the noise cancelling and so far so good, no nausea at all.

6

Just looked them up. Wow! I cannot imagine ever paying nearly £300 for a set of headphones.

Must admit though, I am extremely curious as to the difference in sound from the more notable brands, to my £20 of Goodmans :thinking:

Does anyone know of any stores where you can actually test drive Bose and other higher brand headphones please?

7

I’d also recommend the Sony WH-1000XM3’s. Expensive but the sound and build quality are amazing. Wearing these with just NR on, I was able to grab 6 hours kip on a red-eye flight - the first time in 30+ years of air travel that I’ve slept for more than an hour. The NR is outstanding.

Battery life is also killer. The one downside is a single connection to a device but I can live with this. Google assistant integration is good too - I can be quite productive during the morning dog-walk!

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8

How tight do you have them over your head? Do you wear glasses under the headphones? It could be mechanical pressure on your head.

I’d try wearing them as loose as possible for a bit and without any glasses etc.

Another trick is just to cover one ear at a time, until you’re used to them.

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9

You can try them out in John Lewis

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10

Personally, I absolutely love Bose and pretty much only ever buy them if it’s perfect sound and music I’m after.

I used to have the QC20i’s (always preferred in-ear to headphones) which were incredibly powerful, I haven’t tried their wireless offering but I’ve tested their headphone equivalents and they’re amazing.

I use their SoundSport Free earphones now, not strictly noise cancelling but they block out enough of the noise for me :slightly_smiling_face:

11

LOL. Bose and high end in the same sentence.

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12

Been using a pair of Bose QC 35 II for over a year now and the only time I get discomfort is from the noise cancelling itself if the music or sound ends and I’m too focused on something (usually work) to notice.

Definitely the most comfortable headphones I’ve worn aside from the HyperX Cloud II (obviously not wireless, nor noise cancelling, nor for anything outside of gaming really, but still, those were a dream to wear).

Someone on a course recently mentioned/recommended the 700 to me, but I don’t really see the need to upgrade from what I currently have yet.

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13

Bose are a high end consumer brand. Others are prosumer and an entirely different class of product.

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14

Oh well, I ended up returning them while I could. I just don’t want to risk using them for a week then not being able to return and being stuck with expensive headphones that give me nausea. No ANC for me, just tube noise

15

The nausea goes away very quickly. I had the same issue - I think my brain was trying to compensate for something. Didn’t notice it after an hour of use and haven’t looked back!

Edit:

Oh

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16

Mileage may vary by location, but locally (Portsmouth) we have a Bose outlet where I tried my QC15 and QC35ii before buying them there and a Currys/PC World where I tried the Sony WH-1000XM3 before buying (on Amazon…)

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17

I might get the AirPods Pro instead as Apple returns policy is a lot better

18

QC35 ii are amazing and very comfortable. You can pick up a pair on amazon for around £220…return policy is also very good if you dont like them

19

I’m not comparing to audiophile quality stuff. They use cheap Chinese made drivers (admittedly they have improved massively recently) and sound quality is poor.

I wouldn’t compare them to high end consumer gear in the same price range.

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20

For years the only reason to buy Bose was the noise cancelling - their sound quality was abysmal compared to other quality brands in the same price range.

Now the Sony WH-1000XM3 have come out with better noise cancelling and way better sound quality, there is no longer any reason to support Bose. As they say, “Bose, better sound through marketing.”

1 Like