Noise Cancelling Headphones - What should they Block Out?

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fleetingmind
fleetingmind Posts: 480 Forumite
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in Techie Stuff
Just bought my very first pair of noise cancelling headphones (Sony XM3) and used them at home yesterday and on my commute to work today.

How much noise should they be blocking out or have i got unrealistic expectations of what they should be doing.

So sitting in my lounge I could still hear the TV just about while in quiet points of my music.
On the bus I can still hear the metal poles rattling and then when on train I could still hear the announcer saying what station was next.

They obviously do block out a lot of noise but am I being unrealistic to expect hem to block out ALL outside noise or just certain types of sounds?

Thanks.
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  • ballyblack
    ballyblack Posts: 5,065 Forumite
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    Yes........that is my experience and I have Bose
  • fleetingmind
    fleetingmind Posts: 480 Forumite
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    ballyblack wrote: »
    Yes........that is my experience and I have Bose

    Sorry - your Bose block out everything or still let in some stuff like what I mentioned above? Thanks.
  • unforeseen
    unforeseen Posts: 7,280 Forumite
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    Have a look at https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/audio-music/noise-canceling-headphone3.htm

    The best you can hope for if they are passive headphones is a reduction. Active can cancel a lot more but one of the main things that affect the efficiency is how well they seal around the ear to prevent noise coming in 'under' the edge of the headphone.
  • bengalknights
    bengalknights Posts: 5,021 Forumite
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    Its to do with the fitting if they wrap all the way round the ear then realistically they should be able to block out 95% off all sounds.
  • ballyblack
    ballyblack Posts: 5,065 Forumite
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    edited 18 March 2019 at 10:45AM
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    Sorry - your Bose block out everything or still let in some stuff like what I mentioned above? Thanks.

    same as your experience. But I have found the more I use them unless I concentrate the outside noise is minimal, but its still there!

    I bought them for use on an aircraft where they work well in silencing the drone of the aircraft


    .
  • unforeseen
    unforeseen Posts: 7,280 Forumite
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    bengalknights wrote: »
    Its to do with the fitting if they wrap all the way round the ear then realistically they should be able to block out 95% off all sounds.

    Yes but they have to deal against the head to be effective.
  • Voyager2002
    Voyager2002 Posts: 15,284 Forumite
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    The 'noise cancelling' function only works with constant sound like the drone of an aeroplane engine, not with anything that changes like the voice of an announcer or conversation near you (whether in real life or on TV).
  • JamoLew
    JamoLew Posts: 1,800 Forumite
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    Those headphones have different settings, full cancellation and adjustable ambient cancelling.
    Make sure you are on full cancellation. The phone app lets you easily change the ambient level - it might just need adjusting.
  • Gloomendoom
    Gloomendoom Posts: 16,550 Forumite
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    I have found mine most effective against constant noise but they do also significantly dull other sounds without removing them completely.
  • esuhl
    esuhl Posts: 9,409 Forumite
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    I found noise-isolating earphones did a better job at reducing background sounds than noise-cancelling ones.
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