Hey guys, I’m in a looking for an advice on how to deal with a situation.
I play digital piano which is connected to my computer so I can use it with a DAW. The problem is that I live in an apartment located in a very noisy street and it’s driving me crazy whenever I try to practice anything. I have an open back headphone that has a very decent sound quality, but it doesn’t provide much isolation.
So I was thinking about buying a noise-cancelling headphone for that purpose, but I fear that the noise-cancelling wouldn’t work well for that kind of environment (I heard it works well for planes, which is different from traffic noise I guess?) or if I should buy a closed headphone instead.
Does anyone here have faced a similar situation before?
Good quality noise cancelling headphones will work perfectly for cancelling out traffic, however they may not be ideal for practicing music due to the way the ANC colours the sound. Plus, you’ll be paying for wireless features you don’t need for this use-case, as most wired ANC headphones (of quality) have been discontinued. The majority of wireless models can also work wired, but need to be charged and powered on.
As others have mentioned, you may well find that a closed back set with a good enough seal will do the trick. Something like Sennheiser HD 200 Pro or HD 569 is a good place to start.
What kind of noise are you dealing with and how loud is it?
Frequent sound of cars and buses passing by, it’s relatively loud given the apartment is located on the 3rd floor
A closed back headphones with a good seal should be able to block it out. If you’re really concerned you could go with an IEM, maybe something from the Etymotic XR/SE line. They’re made to block out sound for live performers, the real deal. The XR line is a bassier version of the SE line, but imo is still very neutral. If you do plan on going the Etymotic route then I’d definitely check out the insertion guide as you’ll probably do it wrong the first time.
That’s great, thanks for the advice!
I would buy a closed back headphone. Something like a dt770 is relatively cheap.
Personally, I use a pair of IEMs under closed backs if I really wanna drown the world out.
I second this - I own a pair of dt 700 pro x (dt770 refresh) I bought used for 200 bucks. These things are like gun-range ear muffs and well built.
Active NC works best with low-frequency, constant sounds like planes or machinery droning, they can’t react quickly enough for high-frequency, transient sounds.
That said, most NC headphones also seal very well against your ears and have good passive NC in the first place, so if you’re comfortable spending a bit more it may be worth it to invest in ANC headphones. If you have a shop near you you could try them out yourself.