Noise Cancelling Headphones

I've been thinking about buying this kind of headphone as I see more and more people using them on airplanes. I purchased the Brookstone IDesign headphones on impulse at the airport before a cross country flight.

The sales clerk said Bose makes these for Brookstone - a claim I have not been able to independently verify.

That said I'm impressed that the price at the airport is identical to the price online! I'm also impressed they offer a 60 day return policy. Having never used noise-cancelling headphones before, I didn't know what to expect. I was quite surprised after we took off and I fired this unit up (they don't want you using them before takeoff - guess the airline is afraid the interference caused by a single AAA battery will prevent the pilot from finding the runway!) The sound of the airplane and other bass level sounds disappeared. It didn't eliminate "Chatty Kathy" sitting next to me, but it did supress a fair amount of her chatter...Read more

I was extremely upset to find that my expensive Bose noise cancelling headphones failed last week during a trip to New York from Los Angeles, and on the flight out I was forced to used the cheap earbuds that came with my ipod in their place and realized how much I missed the Bose.

I wasn't willing to spend close to $300 to replace my beloved Bose headphones bu I dreaded the long trip back without them. On an impluse I bought the Brookstone ones in the airport for $99.00 on sale yesterday for the flight back. (I understand they are being replaced with a newer model so these are being cleared out.)

They work very well; although they don't fit around the ear as well as the Bose, they are much more comfortable for sleeping. I had a bit of trouble adjusting them at first to fit my head; but that ended well and they fit just fine. I think being used to the Bose made me a bit more critical than I should have been; and throughout the journey I was amazed at how...Read more

This is the second set of noise cancelling headphones I've purchased. The first was Bose QC2, which were great but which also summarily failed in the first 8 hrs of use. Bose was kind enough to refund my money, and I cast about to get similar performance without spending that much money again.

I think this headset does the trick. Noise cancellation is comparable to what the Bose headphones will do. They come with a cord that plugs into the left ear, a headphone jack splitter (1 to 2) and a dual-pin plug adapter - all the same eqpt that comes in the Bose kit. Sound quality is very comparable - and watching a movie or listening to music on the plane is FANTASTIC without all the background noise.

Having tried both, I'd go with these absolute gems every time. The performance is almost the same, the price is excellent, and they completed their first tour of duty (9 hrs each way on an international flight) in fine fashion. A strong recommended buy to anyone...Read more