• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Good outside audio blocking headphones solely for listening to music/gaming

1mongus

Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2022
Messages
6
Likes
3
Hello, I'm looking for some decent noise-cancelling headphones for listening to music and gaming. I value general audio quality and soundstage the most, for reference I previously used the sennheiser hd 599s and those were great (besides comfort factor) so I'm looking for something comparable to those. I only play singleplayer games so latency isn't an issue. I'm aware that noise cancelling headphones that are decent are hard to come by so if anyone can recommend anything that isn't noise cancelling but still blocks out nearly all outside audio, it'd be appreciated. My PC gets really loud so I really need something that can really block everything out. I'm currently looking at the DT 770 PRO and the DT 700 PRO X. I currently use the focusrite scarlett solo 3rd gen. Thanks.
 
OP
1

1mongus

Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2022
Messages
6
Likes
3
Forgot to mention, not looking to spend anymore than £250.
 

staticV3

Master Contributor
Joined
Aug 29, 2019
Messages
7,535
Likes
12,002
Passive noise isolation of headphones like the DT700 is completely ineffective below ~300Hz.
If you want isolation across the entire frequency range, then you need either active noise cancelling headphones or IEMs.
 

ZolaIII

Major Contributor
Joined
Jul 28, 2019
Messages
4,069
Likes
2,409
If you aren't sensitive to irritation and don't find them discomfort on long runs definitely consider deacent IEM's with memory foam ear tips.
 

Vict0r

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Nov 6, 2020
Messages
647
Likes
1,580
Location
The Netherlands
"My PC gets really loud"

Maybe you can take a look at that? I guess your fans are loud, or the GPU ramps up to crazy volumes? Adjusting the GPU fan profile or replacing the case fans for quieter ones is an easy fix.
 

Doodski

Grand Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Dec 9, 2019
Messages
20,747
Likes
20,757
Location
Canada
My PC gets really loud
Try a case with 200mm fans. I have 4 of them rotating fast enough to move air but slow enough that they are low key noise that is not whiny and shrill. 2 would do it but the case came with 3 and it had room for 1 more so I added the 4th just for the heck of it. The 140mm fans are OK but the 200mm are much quieter.
 

ZolaIII

Major Contributor
Joined
Jul 28, 2019
Messages
4,069
Likes
2,409
Try a case with 200mm fans. I have 4 of them rotating fast enough to move air but slow enough that they are low key noise that is not whiny and shrill. 2 would do it but the case came with 3 and it had room for 1 more so I added the 4th just for the heck of it. The 140mm fans are OK but the 200mm are much quieter.
If you want some pressure they need to spin considerably fast enough. Unfortunately I don't know great 200 mm ones so I am curious what you use?
Future more it's becoming considerably difficult to find deacent big tower cases and even most of those don't suport blowers bigger than 140~150 mm. Thing's get much worse when you want LED RGB one's.
 

Doodski

Grand Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Dec 9, 2019
Messages
20,747
Likes
20,757
Location
Canada
If you want some pressure they need to spin considerably fast enough. Unfortunately I don't know great 200 mm ones so I am curious what you use?
Future more it's becoming considerably difficult to find deacent big tower cases and even most of those don't suport blowers bigger than 140~150 mm. Thing's get much worse when you want LED RGB one's.
I use this tower and this fan (4).
 

JJB70

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 17, 2018
Messages
2,905
Likes
6,148
Location
Singapore
If you can live with the deep insertion fit them Etymotic IEMs are brilliant for shutting out the outside world, better than ANC headphones.
If you want headphones there are now lots of good ANC headphones, my recommendation would probably to look for a good deal on Bose QC35ii or Sony 1000XM3.
 

iMickey503

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Jul 19, 2021
Messages
405
Likes
659
Location
United States PDX
This is one area I can help with. But first lets start at Why?
When is the last time you cleaned your PC Heatsinks? This can REALLY affect your fan levels.
computer-cigarette-tar-11.jpg



It can be hard to see, But I would try pulling the system apart and give it a full clean.
cooling-radiator-over-the-cpu-covered-with-a-lot-of-dust-view-from-picture-id1084993392


This may be the issue of Fan noise. Also Bearings going out and dry over time as the sleave bearings do dry out.

Personally, I would just go with a cheap AliExpress Waterblock setup for the GPU/ CPU.
Don't bother with the PC radiator. Get the cheapest one from a car, They are often the same or less cost and you get a Heluva lot of cooling capacity. Dunk that in a large Tupperware Bin filled with cold water from the tap, and you get a nice quiet cheap watercooled setup. for less then a Hundy. The Smart and Honda Rads work great. Go with whatever is cheaper in your market.

When solving a problem, you want to get to the Root source. Band aids only make it worse. Hence, a $250 investment in your PC will save you spending 250 on headphones.

That how I would do it on the cheap.
Also, check your THermal paste. It may have dried out. If you got the skill? Liquid metal is the way to go.
 

Doodski

Grand Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Dec 9, 2019
Messages
20,747
Likes
20,757
Location
Canada
@Doodski quite good case but I am not impressed with TT fans.
I have my fingers crossed hoping that they last and that I don't have to take them out, disassemble them, lubricate and reassemble and reinstall. Too much work. I have no experience with Thermatake fans and this is my first venture with them. I'll let you know in several years....lol :D They've been spinning all day everyday for about 4 years now and they are not stiffening up yet. I did notice that the 200mm fans don't get dirty/dusty as fast as the smaller fans. Maybe it is the increased linear velocity of the outer fan blade and dust does not adhere there?
 

threni

Major Contributor
Joined
Oct 18, 2019
Messages
1,277
Likes
1,519
Location
/dev/null
This is one area I can help with. But first lets start at Why?
When is the last time you cleaned your PC Heatsinks? This can REALLY affect your fan levels.
computer-cigarette-tar-11.jpg



It can be hard to see, But I would try pulling the system apart and give it a full clean.
cooling-radiator-over-the-cpu-covered-with-a-lot-of-dust-view-from-picture-id1084993392


This may be the issue of Fan noise. Also Bearings going out and dry over time as the sleave bearings do dry out.

Personally, I would just go with a cheap AliExpress Waterblock setup for the GPU/ CPU.
Don't bother with the PC radiator. Get the cheapest one from a car, They are often the same or less cost and you get a Heluva lot of cooling capacity. Dunk that in a large Tupperware Bin filled with cold water from the tap, and you get a nice quiet cheap watercooled setup. for less then a Hundy. The Smart and Honda Rads work great. Go with whatever is cheaper in your market.

When solving a problem, you want to get to the Root source. Band aids only make it worse. Hence, a $250 investment in your PC will save you spending 250 on headphones.

That how I would do it on the cheap.
Also, check your THermal paste. It may have dried out. If you got the skill? Liquid metal is the way to go.
I've got a manual balloon pump. Every month or two I pop the side of my pc off and get blasting. If your machine is really dusty it's probably been "thermally gimping" the CPU and it'll be both quieter and faster now.
 

Doodski

Grand Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Dec 9, 2019
Messages
20,747
Likes
20,757
Location
Canada
This is one area I can help with. But first lets start at Why?
When is the last time you cleaned your PC Heatsinks? This can REALLY affect your fan levels.
I'm presently running a 280mm radiator with 2-140mm fans and the dust does not build up much. I can get ~2.5 to 3 years before needing to blow out the small amount of dust that builds up. Trust me I don't dust the place much...lol. I hate dusting because it triggers my asthma so I leave it be as much as possible and don't disturb it. So it's not that I'm a clean freak and the PC doesn't clog up with dust because it's clean here.

A chat friend in Sweeden had a fire in the desktop PC one day while he was gabbing with me. Too many dust bunnies apparently.

Personally, I would just go with a cheap AliExpress Waterblock setup for the GPU/ CPU.
Don't bother with the PC radiator. Get the cheapest one from a car, They are often the same or less cost and you get a Heluva lot of cooling capacity. Dunk that in a large Tupperware Bin filled with cold water from the tap, and you get a nice quiet cheap watercooled setup. for less then a Hundy. The Smart and Honda Rads work great. Go with whatever is cheaper in your market.
I looked at a DIY water cooling arrangement and the price was prohibitive. Cheaper and easier to buy a AIO system for $150.00 with a 5 year warranty. Yes, it died after 3 years and I got a newer better RGB 280mm system but lesson learned. Next time I'll go back to a big air cooler.

Also, check your THermal paste. It may have dried out. If you got the skill? Liquid metal is the way to go.
I use Arctic Cooling MX4. It is rated good for 8 years, does not cost much and is not conductive.
 

MKreroo

Active Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2020
Messages
143
Likes
67
alternatively if it gets loud because of thermal, undervolting could help too
 

ZolaIII

Major Contributor
Joined
Jul 28, 2019
Messages
4,069
Likes
2,409
I have my fingers crossed hoping that they last and that I don't have to take them out, disassemble them, lubricate and reassemble and reinstall. Too much work. I have no experience with Thermatake fans and this is my first venture with them. I'll let you know in several years....lol :D They've been spinning all day everyday for about 4 years now and they are not stiffening up yet. I did notice that the 200mm fans don't get dirty/dusty as fast as the smaller fans. Maybe it is the increased linear velocity of the outer fan blade and dust does not adhere there?
It's that they are bigger (with not so much blade's so bigger gaps between them) so less dirt sticks up. I tried bunch of rings and whosent happy much regarding how they sound. I tried and there OEM (AMD) one's (some where impressive with lightning and high performance but those sounded like a jet engine on high RMP [4K capable and sounding like that over 2800]). All do they are not rated much (30~50K h) never actually had issues regarding their durability.
Still I don't have to explain how good duble baring one's can last 10+ years.
I am seriously considering throwing whole thing out of the room (gaming PC and into the corridor stairway space) using USB extension cable and will probably continue using my old Pentium J laptop (as a WiFi DLNA server) in fanless mode for a long time when it gets to music listening.
 
Last edited:

ZolaIII

Major Contributor
Joined
Jul 28, 2019
Messages
4,069
Likes
2,409
What are you operating as a gaming PC?
Not much an Ryzen 3600 and GTX1070 in big old larger midi tower with two 140 mm front (Artic F140 CO) and two 120 mm TT's back (one back case and one directly put back on MB on bord V/VRAM CMOS rail's). It's not hard to get it under control both sonically and regarding temperatures on this weather but when it's get hot you can't keep both. It doesn't bother me neither for music listening or gaming - multimedia. It bothers me when I really want peace and quiet (to rest) and don't want to shut it down (for example because I whose working on something) so not a big thing. However idea of throwing it out and completely forgetting about it (not hearing, seeing or increasing heat in room) sounds very tempting to me (wake over LAN one or two USB's and HDMI cable's...).
 
Top Bottom