Over the past few years, I have gone through four or five different sets of noise-cancelling headphones or earbuds.
- Initially a bought a pair of Sennheisers, precursors to these, I think. They are okay, but they have a bit too much hiss, and because they are on the ear, not over the ear, they don't block out non-noise-cancelled sounds very well. I have continued to use them off and on, and they are much better than nothing, but they quite clearly have left something to be desired.
- To reduce the bulk, I also tried a pair of Panasonic noise-cancelling earbuds, likely these or something close to them. I liked them quite a bit because of the convenience in carrying them -- small and easy to pack or shove into a pocket. But they weren't quite so reliable and stopped working after a year or so. I think a wire broke near the jack.
- I also tried a few others along the way, but none was particularly satisfying.
- A few days ago I got a pair of Bose 15 headphones. WOW!! These are fantastic! They do a terrific job of canceling noise, and the over-the-ear design cuts out lots of the noise that isn't cancelled electronically. I haven't used them a lot yet, but they are comfortable and have phenomenal sound in addition to eliminating much more noise than any of the others I have tried.
So far, I'm delighted with the Bose 15s. I'll be wearing them on a 9-hour long bus trip to the Grey Cup at the end of November, and I'll be using them as well on a two-day train trip (each way) from Saskatoon to London, Ontario, and back in a couple of months. Here's hoping I'm still as delighted with them in January.
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