I’ve already looked at rtings.com and have tried XM5 which I didn’t like because the ANC wasn’t good enough.

Planning to get Bose Quietcomfort Ultra (the earbuds, not the headphones) very soon but unsure if there’s going to be any new and quality release by any brand of high-end ANC earbuds that would be worth waiting for.

What can you recommend?

In case it matters, my preference goes like this, in order of priority:

  1. Comfort of the earbuds within the ear (ideally something that won’t damage the ear canal while sleeping on the side).

  2. The quality of the noise cancellation. I need the strongest ANC because I live in an extremely noisy environment.

  3. The sound quality as well as battery life come third.

  • huginn
    1·
    6 months ago

    I know you’re specifically looking for ANC but given the price range have you looked at something like a good quality pair of wired IEMs with a pair of tightly fitted ear tips?

    I ride the notoriously loud (94dba) NYC subway with them and it deadens most of the noise.

    I used to wear my Shure 215s to sleep no problem. I’ve had them a couple years now and love them.

    I’ve got a Qudelix 5K Bluetooth receiver that lets my plug in any wired headphones to it and it’s great. I’ll be replacing the battery here in the next year or two which is a bit fiddly but is at least doable - unlike earbuds.

    My setup was about $200-$250 total and it’s modular so replacing any part of it is cheaper.

    • SurpriZe@lemm.eeOP
      1·
      6 months ago

      I’ve considered that but I also need earbuds in general as I only have my old wired ones at the moment which I never use and have never tried anything wireless, so I’m also curious to see what I can do with those. Are these Bose ones waterproof enough to take a shower with them?

      • huginn
        1·
        6 months ago

        Shure != Bose, but also I don’t think you can shower in the Shure IEMs. Maybe with a case or something on them.

        I use Aftershokz for something like shower listening but those are the opposite of your problem - they’re bone conduction so they do not block any sound.

        Also to be clear - my earbuds are wireless in that they just clip to my belt loop with the Bluetooth receiver. So I can have them out of the way but easily available.