Best inexpensive active noise-canceling over-ear headphones

I recently moved desks at work and am now close to a person who believes that because she is in an office she can be as loud as she pleases. Unfortunately, she is also several pay grades above me, so I'm just going to have to deal with it. As such, I'm looking to purchase a set of active noise-canceling, over-ear headphones. I've tried the Bose QuietComfort, and while the first half of that name is true, the second is not. What alternatives are out there, preferably with a price tag of $150 or less?

 

You do not want active noise-cancelling headphones. They do not do a good job at blocking out human voice. They are intended to block out low-level constant background noise, like airplane or train engines.

What you want are passive noise-cancelling headphones, or IEMs (in-ear monitors).

The best noise isolation you'll get is from Etymotic headphones. They sell several models, that all offer the same level of noise isolation.
Etymotic MC3 ($80) - mid-range headset (mic)
Etymotic MC5 ($60) - mid-range headphones (no mic)
Etymotic HF3 ($150) - higher-end headset (mic)
Etymoitc HF5 ($130) - higher-end headphones (no mic).

If you're an audiophile, get the HF3 / HF5. If you're not an audiophile, you'll do fine with the lower-end MC3 / MC5.

If you take a step down from Etymotic's noise isolation capabilities, you get more options. Out of these, the best bang-for-your-buck you'll find is Xiaomi Piston Hybrids ($25 on Amazon, but easily compare to $100 headphones for audio quality). They are a well-kept secret among audiophiles for being an amazing value for your money.

You would also do very well getting a pair of Xiaomi Piston Hybrids ($25 from Amazon), and a set of Comply T-100 foam eartips (about $15, from Amazon) to significantly upgrade the noise isolation of the Xiaomi Piston Hybrids.

 

I would second kent1146's advice. But, for a budget option, I would recommend the AKG Y20U with Comply eartips. I've heard that the Xiaomi Pistons have a muddy bass. I'm not sure if that's been fixed in the latest model but I've always used the AKG as cheap in-ear headphones and they're surprisingly good.

 

Yeah, it's not surprising that some people might think that. The Xiaomi Piston 1/s and 2's had a V-curve to their sound (emphasis on bass and treble), so the bass was definitely emphasizes.

Improved a bit with Xiaomi Piston 3's; But the Xiaomi Piston Hybrids almost entirely solve this problem of the V-shaped sound curve with its dual drivers (armature for mid and high frequencies, dynamic for low). And you just won't find hybrid driver design like that until you hit many multiples of its $25 price.

 

On the subject, but not a recommendation at $400

Sony's new headphones cancel noise, but not people's voices

http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/1/12734848/sony-headphones-noise-cancellation-lets-voices-through

John

 

That's rather interesting. I wonder how the noise cancellation compares to Bose.

On a similar topic, there's apps for Android/iOS that do something similar using the headphone mic (IIRC it's Around Sound and Awareness!). I've never used them but that might be a nice budget option to use with the Xiaomi or AKG.

 

I appreciate the suggestions. I wouldn't be listening to music much, and the headphones would be connected to the Mac in my office. I may go with the Etymotic MC3 because of the integrated mic so I can use my Google Voice number to join conference calls when working from home. I think the tips that come with them will be a bit better for sound isolation while delivering a tighter, more consistent bass response (if my experience using Shures with those types of tips are any indication).

 

Change of plans. The MrSpeakers Mad Dogs I have now are actually pretty decent at muffling human voices - I can barely hear my wife talking to me with them on. So I'm going to take those to work and ordered a set of Beyerdynamic DT770 Pros for home, as they seem to be a fairly popular choice among closed-ear headphones that are decent for gaming. A Newegg seller has the 250 Ohm versions up for $110 shipped, which is at least $40 cheaper than anywhere else at the moment.