[Marc Foster]

In article , Chris Malcolm
wrote:

sd wrote:
In article ,
"Dan" wrote:


I definitely would lean toward noise-cancelling headphones. The
alternative is just turning up the volume, and that ain't good (on a
regular basis). Sennheiser offers some noise-cancelling headphones;
if you like the sound, these should be at least close:
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/category.asp?transid=cat8.

It's not the only alternative. You can get pretty good noise
cancellation by simply stuffing a foam plug in your ear. So an
earphone of the plug-your-ear type ought to able to shut out external
noise well while supplying good audio quality. The question is, how do
they compare in noise cancelleation, audio quality, and price with
active noise cancelling headphones?

I have a set from Shure (E3C I think). They come with a variety of
different pieces to fit into your ear canal. Once I found the ones that
fit my ears I am very pleased with them. I find them at least as
comfortable long term (2-3 hours at a time) as the Bose noise
cancelling headphones I was using previously. The sound is also quite
good and the insulation from external noise is comparable to the Bose
based on highly informal comparisons - I wore one type on one plane
trip and the other on a different plane trip. (The downside is that
with only moderate volume I have trouble hearing the phone ring at
work- especially if I'm concentrating on something.) Shure makes both a
more expensive version and a less expensive version than the one I
have. Based on online reviews I selected the middle. Another company
(Etymotic?) also makes this type of product but I have no experience
with those.

Hope this helps,
Marc Foster