Noise Cancelling Headphones

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I was wondering if anyone uses/has used noise cancelling headphones. I was looking to get a pair as I prep for Step I and was wondering if someone could recommend a pair. I'm not really looking for great sound quality, as much as the good noise cancelling.

Originally Posted by xYZx

I was wondering if anyone uses/has used noise cancelling headphones. I was looking to get a pair as I prep for Step I and was wondering if someone could recommend a pair. I'm not really looking for great sound quality, as much as the good noise cancelling.

There have been a few threads about this, but none recently. I got the 300 dollar bose noise canceling headphones for step 1 prep and it was awesome. Needed the focus.

There have been a number of posts that say "bose is too expensive, you should get the GTX-P21410.b brand from xx1291lsa maker." I bet there are better deals than bose. I bet you can get a cheaper set that are better. I went with bose so i didn't have to do the research. 300 dollars next to the cost of medical school is negligble, you will continue to use the headphones for your pleasure, and, quite frankly, I did not want to waste my time (which was more valuable than my money) trying to find the better deal.

Bose is a respected name, great quality. Will you pay a little bit more than you should? Sure. Same with Sony. But you know what to expect and you won't be disappointed AND you don't have to waste time looking around.

Get electronic noise canceling rather than noise reduction (the ones that just block your ear canal) for prolonged comfort.

I paid 300 for my bose.

Originally Posted by OveractiveBrain

There have been a few threads about this, but none recently. I got the 300 dollar bose noise canceling headphones for step 1 prep and it was awesome. Needed the focus.

There have been a number of posts that say "bose is too expensive, you should get the GTX-P21410.b brand from xx1291lsa maker." I bet there are better deals than bose. I bet you can get a cheaper set that are better. I went with bose so i didn't have to do the research. 300 dollars next to the cost of medical school is negligble, you will continue to use the headphones for your pleasure, and, quite frankly, I did not want to waste my time (which was more valuable than my money) trying to find the better deal.

Bose is a respected name, great quality. Will you pay a little bit more than you should? Sure. Same with Sony. But you know what to expect and you won't be disappointed AND you don't have to waste time looking around.

Get electronic noise canceling rather than noise reduction (the ones that just block your ear canal) for prolonged comfort.

I paid 300 for my bose.

Agree. I have the QC3. They are nice (and were great when I used to fly twice a week). Good sound quality and good noice cancellation.

Drawbacks: a. Expensive b. Batteries needed c. Bulky.

There are some in ear noise cancelling headphones that esentially serve as a combo ear plug/headphone. I actually prefer these to my Bose headphones.

Third the Bose noise canceling suggestion, best $300 I've spent on a gadget in a long while...

I have both the Bose QC3 and the less expensive $115 ones. I came here to say that they don't work very well at all for noise reduction, they're OK at best. It is better than nothing, but don't fall under the illusion that you'll be in some sphere of silence.

Not worth the $300. 25 cent earplugs outperform the QC3 in noise reduction in almost all aspects, both for low frequency and high, IMO.

I had the Bose QC3 and they worked wonderfully. I liked the sound quality, the noise canceling and the comfort.

But a word of caution, the build quality is not very good and they crapped out on me just after a year. The left headphone stopped working and even after taking it apart, I couldn't fix it. This seems to be a common problem after googling it. The head band is also not very strong compared to other headphones. It sucks that the warranty was only for a year after paying so much for it, and the best thing they could do was offer me a refurbished model that wasn't much cheaper than retail. It's left a bad taste in my mouth and I'm staying away from Bose from now on.

Alternate suggestions:
Sennheiser HD-25 II: $200, very very effective passive noise isolation
V-Moda V-80 On-Ear: $200, also really good passive noise isolation

the bose headphones are great!. If you really need noise cancelling, you can put the headphones over hearos ear plugs. I studied through construction right outside my apartment.

I'm actually going to say the Bose headphones are heavily overpriced and overrated. I had always heard about them being the best noise canceling headphones. I tried them in the store, and was not impressed. Then I when I was doing some school shopping I came across someone selling a new unopened pair of the QC 15s, for $250. They really aren't very effective. Even when I wore them for a plane ride yesterday, which it's supposed to be ideal for, the noise canceling setting just turned the airplane rumbling noise into a higher pitched (but yes a little quieter) sound, but I still heard everything else going on.

Maybe I'm not happy because prior to this I had Klipsch in ear headphones I wear for the gym, but doubled as my study headphones, and I felt like those blocked out noise more effectively, without even having to play music or simplynoise to do so. And I paid $200 less for those than I did for the Bose headphones. So I'd recommend if you're really going to get good headphones as a study tool, search for one of those audiophile sites and see what they say as to what's the best one. People normally buy off of popularity; which is why you see Bose and Beats headphones everywhere these days. They aren't necessarily the best though.

Sorry for bumping an older thread, but after searching I'm curious... do the Prometric test centers that administer Step I allow you to wear noise canceling headphones while taking Step I? I use them during in-house exams and they do wonders for me, more so than the discomfort of ear plugs (they always make me feel congested), and was wondering if I can use them during Step I. Thanks!

Originally Posted by thedoctor8706

Sorry for bumping an older thread, but after searching I'm curious... do the Prometric test centers that administer Step I allow you to wear noise canceling headphones while taking Step I? I use them during in-house exams and they do wonders for me, more so than the discomfort of ear plugs (they always make me feel congested), and was wondering if I can use them during Step I. Thanks!

If I remember correctly, the test center usually provides either earplugs or a NC headset. They won't allow you to bring your own, unfortunatly.

Avoid Bose QC models. I've owned 3 successive models so far and they seem to break exactly after 1 year of use. I think they intentionally manufacture it to have something go wrong after a year so that you have to pony up the $300 for a "new and improved" upgrade once the new models come out (QC 3 or QC 4 at this time) and they stopped servicing the older QC models.

Also I don't recommend wearing earphones or noise cancelling headphones for Step 1 studying. You have to learn to get use to the noise around you or else you'll get distracted easily during the real thing.

Originally Posted by Gheorgia

Also I don't recommend wearing earphones or noise cancelling headphones for Step 1 studying. You have to learn to get use to the noise around you or else you'll get distracted easily during the real thing.

At my testing center, they had big noise-dampening headphone things. I think they just muffled outside noise rather than actively cancelling, but they seemed pretty effective all the same.

Originally Posted by Gheorgia

Avoid Bose QC models. I've owned 3 successive models so far and they seem to break exactly after 1 year of use. I think they intentionally manufacture it to have something go wrong after a year so that you have to pony up the $300 for a "new and improved" upgrade once the new models come out (QC 3 or QC 4 at this time) and they stopped servicing the older QC models.

Also I don't recommend wearing earphones or noise cancelling headphones for Step 1 studying. You have to learn to get use to the noise around you or else you'll get distracted easily during the real thing.

Bose headphones come with a lifetime warranty, I've had one pair for nearly 8 years and they've broken twice. You pay $20 shipping and handling and a couple weeks later they send you a brand new pair.

Originally Posted by Sheldor

Third the Bose noise canceling suggestion, best $300 I've spent on a gadget in a long while...

Follow up to my original post: I've now worn these on a few flights for residency interviews and they are amazing. I've found myself wearing them even when I'm not listening to music just because they make flying much more tolerable. Two thumbs very much up