Pro Tip for Travelers: wearing IEMs under Sony WH-100XM3 is amazing

[paradoxical3]

I travel a fair amount for work (about 100 days a year on the road) and that's almost all via plane. So I am always looking for ways to optimize comfort and enjoy audio on the go. I have long struggled with achieving truly good sound on planes. I have tried many IEMs, but generally found that passive isolation only got me so far. Likewise, all of the noise cancelling phones out there sounded like crap to me - IEMs far surpass them in terms of sound quality. But the noise cancelling of the WH-100XM3 is truly amazing.

I had a eureka moment today that I feel should have dawned on me long ago - wear my favorite IEMs (Sennheiser IE800S) underneath the WH-100xm3! I use the Sonys just for noise cancellation and play music through the IE800s. Wow! The isolation is unreal, and you get the full benefit of the superior IE800s IEMs. This probably won't work as well with large IEMs, but the Sennheisers are small enough where they do not contact the sony drivers and the comfort is 100% identical to wearing them without the Sonys on top.

I am sure smarter people than me have been doing this forever, but figured I'd pass it along to those slower folks like me who may not have thought of it.

 

[beefkabob]

Now you need to get a pair of CIEM.

 

[paradoxical3]

Now you need to get a pair of CIEM.

I am just not willing to drop that much cash on something I can't audition ahead of time. I am extremely picky and I need an IEM that can give me excellent timbre and reproduce an orchestra without bothering me. That being the case, I highly doubt CIEMs can give true isolation to the point where you can't hear a single bit of plane noise. Maybe I'm wrong?

 

[beefkabob]

The CIEMs I have, silicone from sensaphonics, block about as much white noise as the Bose over the ear. I've never tried them together, though. The CIEMs definitely block more of other noises. I like them when doing loud things like hammering or drilling. I can hum along to the music. Headphones never sound all that good to me. I think sensaphonic makes custom slip-on covers for one or two IEMs.

 

[JJB70]

I find the passive isolation of Etymotic ER4 IEMs to be good enough, and they are more effective than noise cancelling scans if you are sat next to a loud chatter box.