So I wasn't really quite sure where to put this sorry. I was tempted to put it in the PC Forum, but this isn't anything about PCs, just Music. Not to mention that the forum is inactive, with the last post being in March.

Anyway, the point of my post is pretty much covered by the title. I would like to purchase a pair of high quality in-ear noise cancelling headphones.

Now, I don't want them to be very bassy, I'm not a huge fan of it, and listen to minimal hiphop/trance/dance music etc. That isn't to say that bass isn't fantastic, and has it's place though, so I want something in the middle around here.

I tend to listen to a lot of Postrock, best example I can give outright is this. God is an Astronaut - A Deafening Distance It's a fantastic piece, give it a try if you haven't head of them.

My music taste as a whole is quite difficult to define, I like tension in my music, melodies, crescendos. I don't know if this helps you pick me very good headphones, but I figured it's worth a shot.

As for my price range? Eh, I'm hoping to spend $100-200ish, but would go up to about 300-350 if you sold on something absolutely perfect.

If you've got any other questions, shoot, otherwise looking forward to seeing your guys suggestions.

Cheers.

 

By 'in-ear noise cancelling headphones', you mean you want IEMs, right?

The type that go in your ear canal and seal, blocking (most) outside noise.

Something like this



Active Noise Canceling Headphones are a different beast entirely.

 

For noise-cancelling go with Bose. They'll be waaaaay more expensive than Beats, Logitech, or Sony... but they'll definitely work.

And keep in mind that you're not really going to get the same effect you'd get with any noise-cancelling over-ear model. In-ear is more like noise-isolating.

 

Yes, I mean in-ear canalphones.

 

I'm really satisfied of my Bose Q20s, if it helps.

 

Have you had / used them before?

In my xp. some people don't like how they 'feel' in their ears, so if you aren't sure about them I'd recommend buying on the cheaper side.

Anyway, since you're in Australia I can't help but plug headphonic, which is a Perth based headphone store. Pricing is reasonably good considering Australia and Marcus knows his stuff.

Some of his recommended Canalphones are (note that I've not personally used any, but I generally find his writeups about a product to be very good):

Vsonic: GR07 Classic for $129

Hifiman: RE-400 for $109

Sound Magic: PL50 for $80

You can find more on this page and I also recommend using his contact form if you want to get personalized advice from him.

 

I could probably name a few brands that are supposed to be the best concerning IEMs, but I have never bought an expensive pair myself and would just be parroting someone else's opinion.

So I'll just leave this here: LINK

That's a humongous list divided into price brackets which is frequently used as the go-to link for someone looking for IEMs. Consider how much you're willing to spend, what you're looking for in your headphones and what type of music you intend to listen to. Then go through this list and narrow down your choices.

 

Hey, yeah top recomendation. I actually know the site, and was just after second opinions here. I've looked through his recs and these seem to be what I like the look of most. http://headphones.com.au/psingle?productID=556

Only problem is, they're out of stock. Also, none of the recommendations come from brands I know, which I wasn't sure about.

I have used canalphones before though, and I like them. My last pair broke a few years ago now though, and the new apple earpods were good enough quality that I couldn't justify spending a lot of money on good earphones.

 

Don't worry about brand name recognition - you'll very rarely find brands other than Sennheiser at non-specialized store.