Wired Noise Cancelling Ear Buds?

[Robo]

OK, here is a question for the Tech savvy folks......

I'm trying to track down some noise cancelling ear buds for use on our flight to the Camino.
And will probably also use in Albergues listening to music etc.

We have some old noise cancelling 'over ear' headphones that are great for air travel.
But far too big and heavy for a Camino.

Almost all the ANC (Active Noise Cancelling) Ear Buds I can find are those rechargeable type.
Pat has a pair and is forever losing them or the charging box.
(which is added weight)

So I thought that 'wired' ear buds would be far more practical.
Harder to lose. No need to charge etc etc.
And I always find those wireless ear buds fall out of my ears for some reason.
At least wired ones, hang on the cord!

The problem it seems, is that ANC requires power.
OK if you are plugging in to an airline video screen, but no so good used on a phone. (Battery drain)

And it seems this is the reason so few are made 'wired'.

Has anyone found some good 'wired' noise cancelling ear buds?

 

[PiesIrlandeses]

Not noise-cancelling (which I've never liked anyhow), but I find the SoundMagic E11 wired earphones are perfectly fine.

 

[Sirage]

I’d be curious about the battery drain being too big of a problem these days. Modern chips are amazingly efficient. I might do a bit of research.

 

[LetItHappen]

I don’t think you’ll find ANC wired earbuds that do not require charging. I don’t think that the 3.5 mm jack can supply enough power that is required for ANC.

Years ago I had the Bose Quiet Comfort 20 earbuds. They were great but 1) Bose doesn’t manufacture them anymore and 2) they required a micro-USB charger. However, you can find them on Amazon as a refurbished item.

My recommendation would be to find a pair of passive noise canceling earbuds that block out noise the old fashioned way — with a good seal similar to earplugs.

 

[jandeschepper]

Sony WI-C100 as a marriage between 2 worlds

 

[BobY333]

Hi there - AcousticSheep SleepPhones Wireless.

My wife calls these a “lifesaver”. I’ve used them, along with traditional ear plugs, and completely blocked out noise.

They aren’t noise cancelling, per se - they play your choice of several different sounds, including white noise. They’re also very light, so are Camino-friendly.

Hope this helps!

 

[Kitsambler]

Years ago I had the Bose Quiet Comfort 20 earbuds. They were great but 1) Bose doesn’t manufacture them anymore and 2) they required a micro-USB charger. However, you can find them on Amazon as a refurbished item.

I have these, and used them on the Camino this year (for the same reason mentioned by OP re: wandering earbuds). They're great because the charge lasts 12-14 hours (long enough to cover my long flights from Europe back to Seattle). If you can find a refurbished unit, I would highly recommend.

 

[OCHAR]

You can always use silicone ear plugs. They are cheap and you can carry several pairs to always have at hand. Buy the best ones immediately if not you may buy several pairs working your way up to the top.
As another poster said above, I have the Bose quiet comfort 20 wired earbuds. They do require a charge and last a long time. I use them on the plane to watch movies and remove the drone of the engines. I also have wireLESS Bose earbuds that I find superior in every way (noise cancellation, convenience etc). The wired ones are always tangled and snag everything. Wireless freedom allows you to have a nap or wear a COVID mask with no snagging.
Buy the best on the market and take care of them as you would something of value.

 

[CanadianBarb]

As above, I have the Bose wired ones but they no longer seem to make them so I got some of the simple buds, the charge still lasts a long time but it is easier to lose them..... just need to be more mindful I guess....

 

[t2andreo]

OK, here is a question for the Tech savvy folks......

I'm trying to track down some noise cancelling ear buds for use on our flight to the Camino.
And will probably also use in Albergues listening to music etc.

We have some old noise cancelling 'over ear' headphones that are great for air travel.
But far too big and heavy for a Camino.

Almost all the ANC (Active Noise Cancelling) Ear Buds I can find are those rechargeable type.
Pat has a pair and is forever losing them or the charging box.
(which is added weight)

So I thought that 'wired' ear buds would be far more practical.
Harder to lose. No need to charge etc etc.
And I always find those wireless ear buds fall out of my ears for some reason.
At least wired ones, hang on the cord!

The problem it seems, is that ANC requires power.
OK if you are plugging in to an airline video screen, but no so good used on a phone. (Battery drain)

And it seems this is the reason so few are made 'wired'.

Has anyone found some good 'wired' noise cancelling ear buds?

Run this Google search:

"Wired ear buds with noise reduction"

I came up with dozens of choices. But, as I am in the US, my buying options will be different than yours.

In my experience, I have an older pair of Bose headphones that a very good at noise reduction. I have used Sennheiser, JVC and Etymoptic as well, with good results.

Other brands that you would likely get decent products from include: Beats, Belkin, Etymotic Logitech, JVC, Monster, Sennheiser, and Shure - there are many other name brands.

I have also found over the years that you usually get what you pay for. This said, wired in the ear earphones are vastly less expensive that battery powered ear buds.

Try searching for reviews online as well. Just add the word BEST to the front of the Google search above.

Good luck.

Tom

 

[Jodean]

My Instagram feed has been full of those ads for the earphones that look like a soft, wide headband. Cost about 49€ and actually look appealing. Thinking they would be great for those of us who can't wear earplugs to sleep and for flights instead of earphones.
Sounds like what BobY333 was writing about.

 

[Robo]

Sony WI-C100 as a marriage between 2 worlds

I think I have an old pair of those somewhere.
Are they really noise cancelling?

 

[hairy]

A while back, because the little squishy foam ear plugs would never fit, I got some silicone plugs custom moulded. In doing so I discovered I have small ear canals, which is obviously why every ear bud ever doesn't work for me.
Later, I got some more made with speakers in, wired to a 3.5mm plug, sound is fine.
Because they both block sound and give you tunes you can use less volume perhaps not using as much battery on your source as well as having no battery themselves of course. Or just leave them unplugged for some quiet Sound quality is fine for me, and small and light.

 

[ShoshTrvls]

My Instagram feed has been full of those ads for the earphones that look like a soft, wide headband. Cost about 49€ and actually look appealing. Thinking they would be great for those of us who can't wear earplugs to sleep and for flights instead of earphones.
Sounds like what BobY333 was writing about.

I have one of those headbands and wear it on long flights. Very comfortable for sleeping while listening to music or white noise, but it does nothing to reduce exterior noise.

 

[GaryRobArms]

To solve your "fall-out" problem, an alternative would be to get ANC ear-buds that have a neck band. That is, there is light, flexible yoke that goes around the back of the base of your neck, and the earbuds are connected to that by wires.

I find the system very handy for flights, and many travel situations. If you need to take them out, you just do so and let them hang from the yoke. If they accidentally fall out of your ears, they just drop down to your chest, not into your seat. They are slightly heavier and bulkier than simple earbuds, but nothing like a headband headphone because the yoke is quite flexible. Usually the controls are on the yoke, rather than on one of the earbuds, and I prefer that.

There are many different brands of these, including Sony WI-1000XM2 at the high end. Quite a few cheaper ones too, if you want to see if you like the system before spending the big bucks.

 

[Rmarkob]

To solve your "fall-out" problem, an alternative would be to get ANC ear-buds that have a neck band. That is, there is light, flexible yoke that goes around the back of the base of your neck, and the earbuds are connected to that by wires.

I find the system very handy for flights, and many travel situations. If you need to take them out, you just do so and let them hang from the yoke. If they accidentally fall out of your ears, they just drop down to your chest, not into your seat. They are slightly heavier and bulkier than simple earbuds, but nothing like a headband headphone because the yoke is quite flexible. Usually the controls are on the yoke, rather than on one of the earbuds, and I prefer that.

There are many different brands of these, including Sony WI-1000XM2 at the high end. Quite a few cheaper ones too, if you want to see if you like the system before spending the big bucks.

That style was my go-to before Apple came out with AirPods. They weren’t ANC at that time, but I assume some are now. Another advantage was that the yoke had enough room for a fairly long-lasting battery.

 

[trecile]

I have another idea, but I'm not sure how well it will work. How about pairing a bone conduction headset with foam or wax earplugs. The bone conduction headset transmits sound through speakers placed on your temples, and the earplugs should block outside sounds coming in your ears.

 

[Robo]

To solve your "fall-out" problem, an alternative would be to get ANC ear-buds that have a neck band. That is, there is light, flexible yoke that goes around the back of the base of your neck, and the earbuds are connected to that by wires.

I find the system very handy for flights, and many travel situations. If you need to take them out, you just do so and let them hang from the yoke. If they accidentally fall out of your ears, they just drop down to your chest, not into your seat. They are slightly heavier and bulkier than simple earbuds, but nothing like a headband headphone because the yoke is quite flexible. Usually the controls are on the yoke, rather than on one of the earbuds, and I prefer that.

There are many different brands of these, including Sony WI-1000XM2 at the high end. Quite a few cheaper ones too, if you want to see if you like the system before spending the big bucks.

I think I might have some of those or an earlier model.
Though mine are not ANC.

 

[Robo]

I have another idea, but I'm not sure how well it will work. How about pairing a bone conduction headset with foam or wax earplugs. The bone conduction headset transmits sound through speakers placed on your temples, and the earplugs should block outside sounds coming in your ears.

Now we're getting technical!
But that could work.

Though I've used ANC headphones that work really well.
Hence looking for ANC earbuds (merely to save weight)

Maybe I just have to go with wireless/rechargeable.

 

[Sirage]

 

[Kitsambler]

Bose has a refurbished-unit sale at present, for the wireless ANC earbuds.

 

[Jarrad]

I have another idea, but I'm not sure how well it will work. How about pairing a bone conduction headset with foam or wax earplugs. The bone conduction headset transmits sound through speakers placed on your temples, and the earplugs should block outside sounds coming in your ears.

I've used this approach before for on-line meetings. I have some hearing loss and usually use hearing aids, but found the sound quality with the bone conduction headset is pretty good. Maybe not what you want for listening to music, but certainly fine for movies and other sound media.

I used over-the-counter ear plugs (foam and silicon) for many years, including to sleep on the Camino, but have since switched over to the custom molded ear plugs I get through my audiologist. She offers them with built-in Bluetooth speakers, but I have not tried them. That said, custom molded ear plugs will not fall out the way that earbuds tend to do. I use them for both sleep and for active field sports and have never had one fall out. The ear plugs made for sleep are made of a slightly less rigid silicon and the other have small knobs, for lack of a better word, on the exterior that make them easier to remove. I suspect the style made for sleeping would better meet your husband's needs.

 

[Sirage]

This one is an example from a reasonable brand on Aliexpress which is more affordable than the one above in post 20.

Footnote: Now that USB C is the common standard and is capable of (really high speed)-data, audio, video AND with lots of power, most computers, phones and attachments will be migrating to USB C and this will include headphones of all types becoming available in all price ranges, and probably ANC will become ubiquitous at a slight premium.

 

[Ballari]

I have used the Bose Quiet Comfort for years. In planes mostly.
Recently I seem to have misplaced them and ordered new ones. See link below.
They seem to be exactly the same as my old ones.

Bose Quiet Comfort 20

 

[JohnS1993]

Bose Quiet are good.