Bose Quietcomfort 15 or AT ATH-ANC7b?

[sed8em]

Anyone have any experience with these?
Is the noise cancellation as legendary as reviewers make it out to be?
There aren't any stores with them out to listen to (unlike Beats headphones, those things are out to listen to everywhere) and try before I buy.
I'm looking for the best noise canceling headphones and all online reviews point to this set, even ranking them as able to drown out jetliner engines.

Even when they put them up against Sennheiser PXC 450s and Audio Technica ATH-ANC7B's.

Granted, build quality isn't up there with Sennheiser and the sound doesn't always get 10/10, but those two are not my criteria for choosing headphones.

The next in line headset would be the Audio Technica ATH-ANC7b's that I linked to. Amazon has them on sale right now for 50% off, which is an amazing deal from what I've been reading, but reviewers don't rate their noise cancelling as high as Bose.

 

[sed8em]

Kinda answered my own question! Luckily [H] has a review of these, [H] review of ATH-aNC7b, didn't rate them high for gaming or movies, not something I care about, and gave them a great review for noise cancellation.

I figure at $110 I can try them, and if they suck, return them within 30 days to Amazon.
Better than trying $300 Bose first and having them suck.

 

[Rossi~]

I would go for the ATH to be honest. Bose are overpriced these days (this decade) and you have to pay a lot to get the quality.

 

[sed8em]

I would go for the ATH to be honest. Bose are overpriced these days (this decade) and you have to pay a lot to get the quality.

That was my line of thinking, hopefully by saving $200 I'll still get outstanding noise cancellation (you wouldn't believe how loud people can manage to eat potato chips and apples in a library, its unbelievable) out of this pair.

I'll post my thoughts on them tomorrow (Amazon $3.99 next day!) just in case anyone else is curious about how they perform with noise cancellation.

 

[Methadras]

Personally the V-Moda Crossfade LP's are a pretty nice piece of ear candy. Can be had off ebay fairly cheap. $100 or so.

 

[Psoriac]

I own the previous generation of the QuietComforts, the around-ear ones (the 2), and I have to say they are worth the money. I've tried a lot of noise canceling headsets (Sony, JVC, Sennheiser, ATH) because I fly a lot, and the Bose are by far the best performing and most comfortable. Sure their sound quality is mediocre at best, but that's not what I use them for.

I would ask if you're sure you want on-ear headsets (the 15)? The around-ear ones (the 3) will provide better noise reduction and, in my opinion, be more comfortable for extended wear. I often wear my QC2's for 14 hours straight flying to Asia and they don't bother me even when sleeping. In contrast, on-ear headsets make my earlobes sore after just a few hours of continuous use due to the pressure they put on your ears.

 

[Psoriac]

Another thing I'd like to point out is that active noise canceling headphones are really only good against a constant noise, like jet engines. If you're trying to cancel out sudden, random noises like people talking or snacking on chips, they won't really be of much help. In this particular usage case, I'd suggest a pair of high quality in-ear sound isolation earphones like the ones Shure make. For the same money you can have much higher audio quality as well as comparable or better noise cancelation.

 

[sed8em]

Got the ATH-ANC7b's in today.
Pretty impressed so far. Disclaimer, not an audiophile by any means, usually just listen to either recorded lectures or some calm music while I study physio & pharm, mostly to drown out my wife listening to the TV in our tiny apartment or the other students in the library going to town on potato chips.

Very comfortable headphones, I have a somewhat big head (always have to buy L/XL size hats if that helps qualify "big head"), and there is no discomfort.
Sound is good as far as I can tell, no exaggerated bass. It cancels out *most* of the noise from the TV, far moreso than my Sony MDRNC7's my dad bought me for Christmas, I could hear everything with those headphones, noise cancellation was non-existent. With these I can barely hear any muffled conversations from the TV.
I'm pleased enough that I don't feel the need to even try the Bose, for $110 I'll be keeping them til they break from being used daily.