If the quality of audio matters to you, passive noise cancellation will always be better than active cancellation. Most any set of circumaural cans that are sealed back, will provide enough cancellation to be used on an airplane. In this market I would recommend the Denon AH-D series (I use the 2000's as my main cans). But anything that is from a good manufacturer (AKG, Sennheiser, Beyer Dynamic, Denon) with a low impedence (32 ohms or less) will make you much happier than paying for the Monster or Bose marketing.That's not to say that people don't like the exaggerated sound of the Beats cans. You can't argue with success, and they certainly are successful.There are also canal phones. These will get you the most isolation of all. Obviously they won't match the sound quality of a set of around-the-ears, but the technology has come a long way, and canal phones have certain advantages that you can't get anywhere else ... exterme portability ... the ability to be driven by even really weak amps. In that space you have Shure, Entymotic Research and a number of others. For either type of can, HeadFi is your friend.
Yes, but it’s difficult. Ignoring external noise sources for the moment, the main problem is the prevalence of sound-reflecting surfaces bouncing unwanted sound all over the room. Then you have to look at resonant structures that capture and reinforce unwanted sound. Mitigating those by covering hard flat walls with sound-damping fabrics, applying carpeting, and securing loose furniture (tables, shelves etc.) gets rid of a surprising amount of noise. The room itself can act as a low-frequency cavity resonator too depending on how it’s shaped, but carpeting and fabric wall coverings will help damp that down.External noise rejection requires good in-wall and ceiling insulation, damped (rubber-gasketed) double-glazed windows, and compliant gaskets on hollow-core insulation-filled doors. Securing pipes that rattle is necessary in some cases.If you want complete cancellation you have to look into active measures (microphones, inverting unity-gain amplifier, and speakers) as other respondents said, and that can get very expensive very quickly- plus, the zones of cancellation may not cover the whole room equally.How much do you want to spend?
Hi Harshit,Well there are plenty of awesome Active Noise Cancelling Headphones, but given that you've specified that your looking for something for a student, I am assuming that budget would be of primary concern here.Before that, Active Noise Cancelling Headphones work really well in a noisy environment with repetitive and recurring sound patterns, like while travelling on an airplane. Noise Cancelling Headphones are really made to appeal to the frequent flyers around the world. However, they are not the best suited products to block noisy hostel environments, or to cut out a crying baby / shouting girlfriend while your trying to study. For this, Noise Isolating / Noise Blocking or Passive Noise Cancelling Headphones work much better.So, now having understood this, Here are my best suggestions for a student looking for peace and quiet in a noisy environment.1) Active Noise Cancelling Headphones - Ideal for a student on a tight budget frequently travelling on Planes / Trains - Sony - MDR-ZX110NC. Its available on our website, Headphone Zone for Rs. 2990. There are a few more options in our Noise Cancelling Headphones - Headphone Zone section but most are not on student budgets. 2) For just Isolating outside sound, while listening to music, I have found that the easiest and most cost effective solution is using Comply Foam along with your In-Ear Earphones. (Comply Foam Premium Earphone Tips - Headphone Zone) . These are specialised Memory foam earphone tips that can be used with any In-Ear Earphones and their T and Tx Series are built specifically with Noise Isolation in Mind. They do a fabulous job of blocking outside sound.In my opinion, if just getting some peace and quiet while listening to music in a Student Hostel is the objective. The Active Noise Cancelling Headphones are not the right option. A Noise Isolation ComplyFoam Eartip along with a great pair of In-Ear Earphones should do a much better job.I hope this helps, Harshit.Warm regards,Raghav SomaniFounder & CEOHeadphone Zone
Can noise canceling headphones stop people sitting next to you from hearing?
Currently with the headphones I use, you can hear the sound coming out of them even if you are standing 15 feet away. I was thinking of buying noise canceling headphones to solve this so I can listen to my music without bothering people sitting near me. Noise canceling headphones advertise themselves as being able to block noise from the outside. I don't really care about this, but I want to make sure that they also contain the music so only the person wearing the headphones can hear it. Also I'd prefer not buying expensive headphones if that is possible
Do noise cancelling headphones reduce volume?
I got a pair of noise cancelling headphones today, but had to take them back because the music wasn't loud enough. Even with my mp3 on it's highest volume level, I didn't think I'd be satisfied if I ever need my music louder. So is noise cancelling equipment supposed to hinder volume because it blocks outside noise, or was it just that brand? I didn't have trouble getting music loud enough with my cheap earbuds, they were just cheap is all. And, if anyone has good over the ear headphone suggestions, I'm all ears!!
Earplugs or those over ear sound ear muffs that builders wear are more effective. Noise cancelling headphones just detect lower frequencies like that from public transport and they produce an equal but opposite signal pi radians out of phase so the artificial signal cancels out the low frequencies from the surroundings. Earplugs or earmuffs just block out most of the sound from the surroundings and they don't work with only particular frequencies. Their effectiveness depends upon what they are made from.
Noise-canceling earphones/earbuds?
There are a lot of choices for headphones / earbuds. Important things for you to consider are how comfortable you want them to be for long listening sessions, whether you will use them while exercising and how much you are willing to spend. The following two possible options will both block out quite a lot of external environment sound. The earphones fit snugly in your ear and keep out most of the noise. For a fairly inexpensive earbud option that fits within your budget, I would recommend Skullcandy Full Metal Jacket earbuds. They have good sound quality and come with both silicon and foam eartips to help you find the most comfortable fit. They will work with an iPhone or iTouch, too. Another good option is the ZAGG Audio Zbuds, especially if you are going to use the earbuds with an iPhone or an iTouch. They also have good sound quality and a built-in mic to use with voice calls. More details and a review of each of these models can be found in the links below.
Overall, noise cancelling headphones are safe for hearing. The good part is if you are using over-ear or on-ear headphones you don’t need to turn the volume up since they already have good enough sound quality and can provide you with the necessary volume that is not hurting your ears.But if you’re using in-ear noise cancelling headphones or earbuds that fit directly into your ear canal then noise cancellation won’t be enough to preserve your hearing. Another minus is that we usually tend to crank up the volume on those. Other than that, you have nothing to fear. Just choose over-ear noise cancelling headphones with good headband padding - they may be bulky but at least your head won’t hurt too soon and you’ll be able to have long listening sessions. On-ears may pressure your head, and in-ears to me are not a very good noise cancelling headphone option.I have written a blog post on noise cancelling headphones and earbud difference, if you’re interested you can check it out.