Headset - Noise Canceling

[Sleepy_Steve]

OK, i am in some serious need here.

i NEED a headset of good quality... with all the time i spend on Teamspeak / Ventrillo / Google Talk, it's just time for me to step up past the $15 range.

i NEED some noise canceling... the guys in the next room to mine have 2x1000 wats of base + 200-300 wats of surround sound set up, and frankly i am tired of hearing Halo2 voices playing Xbox Live when im trying to listen to my own music or listen to someone im playing with. (mostly EQ)

I need some recomendations as to where i can find myself a good / high quality headset. Surround sound would be nice too, but noise canceling is the big thing for me. Budget, there is none, hang the cost. :D

[Echo_]

you dont want noise cancelubg tiy want isolating headphones and id suggest a mic to go with it which will be better quality than a headset.

my reccomendations are a500 with a mic

much more comfortable than the 280pro and a nicer colored sound

[whitebloodcell]

If you don't mind Canal Phones I'd get the Etymotic ER-4P. They are just so brilliant its hard to describe, literally, you're in your own world listening with them. Dunno how much they are atm, but I'd say around $250 atleast. But worth every penny.

[Sleepy_Steve]

Hmm, i forgot to mention im a total newb with sound... so 'a500' is a bit confusing without a manufacturer. - but i am looking into them.

As for those er-4p's looks like US$173-218 is the average... but i have rahter oddly shaped ear cannals and have never had much luck with things that sit IN my ears rather than ATOP them.

more replies welcome :D

[Schalldampfer]

Or you could ask your neighbor to quiet down?

[brickout]

I second the etymotics. I have the er-6's which run ~$75. They don't sound as good as the ones already suggested (hence the price difference), but still sound phenomenal. I owned $300 Bose headphones before them and prefer the etymotics.

As far as your funny-shaped ear canals, etymotic gives two different tips for the er-6's to make sure they fit right. You can also get custom ones made, but it's pricey.

[whitebloodcell]

Can you put normal foam earplugs into your ears alright? one of the two types of ends for the etymotics are just that. And as was mentioned before, you can get custom moulds. Honestly the etymotics are worth every bit of hassle.

[Sleepy_Steve]

Sort of an un related question, but AMPS... not practical with a laptop?

Just wondering realy... as any headphones / headset i get will be used on both my laptop all the time and on my tower when at lans and such.

[brickout]

Er-6's don't need aplification beyond what is provided with normal headphone jacks. External amp would help, of course, but isn't necessary.

[Sleepy_Steve]

Ahh, but is an AMP not practical with a laptop?

[C38368]

Hmm, i forgot to mention im a total newb with sound... so 'a500' is a bit confusing without a manufacturer. - but i am looking into them.

As for those er-4p's looks like US$173-218 is the average... but i have rahter oddly shaped ear cannals and have never had much luck with things that sit IN my ears rather than ATOP them.

more replies welcome :D
I believe Echo_ was referring to the Audio Technica ATH-A500 (http://www.audiocubes.com/category/Headphones,+Earphones_Audiophile,+Hifi/product/Audio-Technica_ATH-A500_Art_Headphones.html) paired with a real mic. Personally, I'd go with either AT's ATH-A900 (http://www.audiocubes.com/category/Headphones,+Earphones_Audiophile,+Hifi/product/Audio-Technica_ATH-A900_Art_Headphones.html) or Beyerdynamic's DT770-80 (http://www.toddthevinyljunkie.com/products/product.php?id=230) (that decription states that it's the 250 ohm version, but as of last February Todd said that he had the 80 ohm version in stock. I'd drop him a line if you're interested and ask. The 80 ohm DT770 is easier to drive and is supposed to have a more even frequency response).

I recommend those two cans because they're both closed (best isolation you're likely to get without moving to IEMs or that noise-cancelling crap Bose sells), have huge soundstages (the A900 is generally regarded as the best headphone in this regard, period) and very good spatial imaging (the DT770 takes this one in most people's books).
IEMs are great for isolation, but have a very narrow soundstage and lack good 3D imaging (which makes them less than desirable for shooters).

Between the two, the A900 may be the better choice if you're trying to stay on the cheap (if you're still sane enough to call a $200 set of cans cheap), as the Beyers really do benefit hugely from an amp. The ATs do fine without one, but don't sound much better if you add one later. But since you say money is no object...
While I'm on the subject of amps... yes, a good portable amp is very practical with a laptop. Portable amps start at around $50 (decent DIY CMoy (http://tangentsoft.net/audio/cmoy-tutorial/)) and run up to $350 or so (RSA Emmeline SR-71 (http://www.raysamuelsaudio.com/index2.html) or Headamp AE-1 (http://www.headamp.com/portable_amps/ae1/index.htm)). They may be practical, but if you're only playing games I'd question the usefulness of buying an amp. Now if you're also listening to music on it...

EDIT~ One more thing: those velour earpads of Beyer's... heaven on ears, they are.

[Hey_Its_Cole]

Here are some A500s for Sale on head-fi for $50 (I am in no way related). A500s (http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=146342)

As I have stated before, I have owned both the a900s and the 770/80s and preferd the a900s by a large margin. The 770s sound good but reallly need a amp. The A900s don't and are a much more balanced phone. I also found the soundstage to be deaper than the 770s. If you are on a budget, I would just get the A500s as they are 80-90% as good as the A900s.

[papercutout]

i'm using sennheiser HD210's, which i love to bit, but if you want true noise-cancelling,. no budget involved, i'd have to say bose's, i tried a pair on and said, wow, thats amazing, i cant hear anything!
they counter the background noise, and lay back into your ears the opposite, so you cant hear it, and then play your music on top of that!
the sennheisers (not at the level i've got anyway) dont cancel noise, they just give padding to blanket background noise a bit. maybe the top end ones do.

[Hey_Its_Cole]

i'm using sennheiser HD210's, which i love to bit, but if you want true noise-cancelling,. no budget involved, i'd have to say bose's, i tried a pair on and said, wow, thats amazing, i cant hear anything!
they counter the background noise, and lay back into your ears the opposite, so you cant hear it, and then play your music on top of that!
the sennheisers (not at the level i've got anyway) dont cancel noise, they just give padding to blanket background noise a bit. maybe the top end ones do.

The boses have horible sound quality though and are cheaply made.