Can anyone give some good recommendations for excellent noise canceling headphones? I don't want to hear anything outside the headphones.

I would rule out the Sony headphones then. You can still hear certain sounds outside. I've heard the Bose are better, but I haven't tried them.

PeekingDuck said:

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I would rule out the Sony headphones then. You can still hear certain sounds outside. I've heard the Bose are better, but I haven't tried them.

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It's either the Bose QC II or the Sony WH-1000XM5 (XM4 will be $50-100 cheaper). Both are excellent. You'll have different people tell you the noise cancelling in each is a bit better than the others. Either can be had for between $300-450 depending on store and sales. Your more budget version at around $100 on sale is the the Sennheiser BT-450 with about 90-95% the performance of the Sony/Bose.

Any of the above will be excellent. If you really REALLY don't want to hear anything, and this depends on a huge number of factors from the sensitivity of your inner ear to conduction of sound waves, to ear shape to head shape, environment, etc. Then you could go with an earbud but you would want to stick to either the Bose, Sony or Samsung (Buds 2 Pro only) and get the memory foam tips to get the best possible fit in your ears (applies to all 3).

Edit: I've heard the Beats can be good at this too and Apple's tech is good but I've not personally had good luck with their noise cancelling. Again this varies from person to person.

I have the XM4s and they definitely do not satisfy his anything request. Though I am quite happy with the purchase and they have great battery life. Only problem I've had is dropped sync with iMac and mounted flat screens. For phones and ipads, they've been great.

aezmvp said:

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Any of the above will be excellent. If you really REALLY don't want to hear anything, and this depends on a huge number of factors from the sensitivity of your inner ear to conduction of sound waves, to ear shape to head shape, environment, etc. Then you could go with an earbud but you would want to stick to either the Bose, Sony or Samsung (Buds 2 Pro only) and get the memory foam tips to get the best possible fit in your ears (applies to all 3).

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I don't have the Samsung Buds 2 Pro, but I do have the Buds Pro with 3rd party foam tips. I am pretty disappointed in its noise cancellation. Maybe the memory foam tips might help?

Koko Chingo said:

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I have a love / hate relationship with the Sony WH-1000XM5's. You cannot beat the noise cancelling and call quality.

However.... Both of my teens have Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones.

I can literally scream at them from across the room and they do not hear me.

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haha, sounds like what I need then

Where exactly are you working?

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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Where exactly are you working?

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At home

The 2's are a definite step up. They've been comparable to the QCs I used to have on planes. That's my primary use case for noise cancelling. Dogs got the QCs... using the 450BT as a replacement and I'm pretty pleased. It's not as good but close enough that I'm not sweating the $250 I didn't spend.

aezmvp said:

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PeekingDuck said:

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I would rule out the Sony headphones then. You can still hear certain sounds outside. I've heard the Bose are better, but I haven't tried them.

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It's either the Bose QC II or the Sony WH-1000XM5 (XM4 will be $50-100 cheaper). Both are excellent. You'll have different people tell you the noise cancelling in each is a bit better than the others. Either can be had for between $300-450 depending on store and sales. Your more budget version at around $100 on sale is the the Sennheiser BT-450 with about 90-95% the performance of the Sony/Bose.

Any of the above will be excellent. If you really REALLY don't want to hear anything, and this depends on a huge number of factors from the sensitivity of your inner ear to conduction of sound waves, to ear shape to head shape, environment, etc. Then you could go with an earbud but you would want to stick to either the Bose, Sony or Samsung (Buds 2 Pro only) and get the memory foam tips to get the best possible fit in your ears (applies to all 3).

Edit: I've heard the Beats can be good at this too and Apple's tech is good but I've not personally had good luck with their noise cancelling. Again this varies from person to person.

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I purchased the XM5. It doesn't quite reach the "can't hear anything" criteria, but it's the best I've used so far, and much better than nothing. Thanks for the recommendation.

The XM4's are great, but I did have a plastic swivel break. They're not totally fragile, but make sure they go back in the case after use.

It wasn't too difficult to fix, but the part was like $20-$30 on Amazon. I'm sure some of you could probably 3D print it.

Edit: Forgot to add that I'd still recommend them. They broke when I fell asleep wearing them and rolled on top of them.

Are the Apple AirPod Maxes worth it? Just saw they are on sale and I am needing some new headphones as my old beats finally kicked the bucket.

I got some Anker soundcores off amazon last year. Very effective for like 40 bucks. Im sure the $300+ brands are better, but im satisfied.

The Sony headphones are amazing. I use them when flying and I don't hear anything that I don't want to hear.

Brock Sampson said:

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Are the Apple AirPod Maxes worth it? Just saw they are on sale and I am needing some new headphones as my old beats finally kicked the bucket.

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We bought some around this time last year but ended up returning them. They're premium quality but they were so damn heavy and I wasn't blown away by the noise canceling. If I am going to spend that much on headphones, I want them to be perfect.

I vote Sony xm's as well

Bose Quiet Comfort SE on sale at Sam's until the 28th for $179.

https://www.samsclub.com/th/bose-headphone

Koko Chingo said:

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I have a love / hate relationship with the Sony WH-1000XM5's. You cannot beat the noise cancelling and call quality.

However.... Both of my teens have Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones.

I can literally scream at them from across the room and they do not hear me.

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I have the WF-1000XM5 earbuds (had the XM4s till the batteries gave out). If you turn on noise cancelling, you won't hear a damn thing unless someone is yelling in your face.

I love the Sony's on flights. It's amazing how much more pleasant the experience is when you don't have all of the ambient noise from the plane and other passengers. They'd be perfect for flying if they somehow managed to include another 6" of legroom.