As a frequent traveller I really value being able to enjoy listening to music on aeroplanes and trains, and also being able to listen to music in hotel rooms. Which means that I would like a pair of good noise isolating or cancelling headphones or IEMs for travelling which also perform well when the noise cancelling/isolation isn't necessary. Previously I used Sony 1000X noise cancelling headphones, their noise cancelling was excellent and very good sound (certainly good enough to listen to music and enjoy it without feeling short changed by sub par headphones) but their battery life went into free fall to the point that they died half way through a long haul flight. I use my Audio Technica ATH MSR7 headphones at the moment their isolation is fine on the train and they're superb headphones when listening to music in hotel rooms but the isolation just isn't adequate when flying. I've always been a headphone person rather than IEM person but good noise isolating IEMs can attenuate noise as well as active noise cancelling headphones (I find they work better at shutting out people talking) and there is something attractive about simple passive hardware with no batteries to worry about. I like the user replaceable batteries of the PSB M4U8 but it's a bit clunky and bulky as a travelling headphone and to be honest I didn't think the noise cancelling was very good. I have tried Etymotic ER4 XRs and the noise isolation was superb, I took a flight to Washington DC with a pair loaned to me by a colleague and they worked excellently and despite my misgivings I found after an initial adjustment that I was happy wearing them. Sound quality was excellent, and I think that if considering sound quality, noise isolation and tactile feel (they feel like a well made, high quality item) then the Etymotics are very attractively priced (I'd almost call them a bargain compared given the silly prices of many IEMs these days).
I never thought I'd ever say this (I've never been a fan of IEMs) but I'm minded to change horses and see good noise isolating IEMs as a better option for mobile music than headphones. Have any other regular travellers got any opinions on the matter of cancelling vs. isolating and headphones vs. IEMs? And if looking at IEMs, are there any others that isolate as well as, or better, than the ER4s?
I never thought I'd ever say this (I've never been a fan of IEMs) but I'm minded to change horses and see good noise isolating IEMs as a better option for mobile music than headphones. Have any other regular travellers got any opinions on the matter of cancelling vs. isolating and headphones vs. IEMs? And if looking at IEMs, are there any others that isolate as well as, or better, than the ER4s?