Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7b-SViS QuietPoint Noise-Cancelling Headphones with In-Line Mic & Control

I consider myself a budget audiophile, and I'm always looking for the best deal on good quality sound, i.e. at home I have Polk speakers because they sound amazing and don't cost a fortune. So, when my coworker next to me showed up to work one day with a brand new pair of Bose QC15 headphones, I almost dropped my jaw. I had listened to them in the store, but I knew they were $300 and didn't seem to me to be worth the money. So I asked him to borrow them for a little bit and I was amazed at how all the noise in the office disappeared and the music appeared to sound much better. Then my company moved us to a new floor with an open floor plan where we all sit out in the open together. My desk, unfortunately, got located directly below a noisy air conditioning unit and there is no drop ceiling over my desk. Finally, the noise canceling headphones were a must. I was ready to drop $300 on the bose when I decided to do some google research and see what's out there. I stumbled upon these Audio Technica headphones. As a DJ, I knew the Audio Technica brand well, they make my wireless microphone system that I use for all my weddings. Their mic system has NEVER failed me, so I knew they make good quality stuff at reasonable prices (their mic system was $100-200 cheaper then the competitors).Anyway, I finally pulled the trigger and ordered these. They arrived the next day with my $3.50 overnight shipping upgrade on Prime, and I couldn't be happier. These headphones sound amazing. I hear new details in all my music that I never heard before. They also do a perfect job of making all my gabby co-workers disappear. It's actually kind of funny to watch their mouths move and not hear any sound coming out... And that noisy AC unit? Gone!As many other reviewers have mentioned, these headphones do have a LOT of sound leakage. If you like to crank your music up, others may hear you. I must admit though you do have to turn it up pretty loud. These definitely won't work if you're in the same QUIET room as someone who is trying to sleep or read a book. And that's where the Bose headphones win out in this category. With or without music playing, the Bose are SILENT. You can't hear any sound coming out of them. However, when you're in a noisy office or a noisy airplane, the noise will drown out most of the sound leakage. In addition, with no music playing, the Bose win hands down on cancelling out noise. So, I would say if sound leakage and noise cancellation are your primary goals, you may want to spring the extra $169 for the Bose QC15s. But, if you're an audiophile and want your music to sound amazing, you need these Audio Technicas.I compared several tracks side by side with my co workers Bose QC15 headphones and my Audio Technica ATH-ANC7B headphones, and hands down the Audio Technicas win out in every type of music - classical, disco, pop music, rock. I didn't try hip hop - because frankly my ears refuse to be polluted with that stuff. In addition, the Bose headphones are not nearly as loud as the Audio Technica so you have to turn them all the way up to get the same volume as the Audio Technica ones. As a DJ I also like to play a lot of house music, and I made a new demo tape with these headphones on. They just sound amazing in any circumstance.Accessory wise, the Bose is the obvious winner, they provide a headphone splitter, as well as an inline mic/audio control for your iphone. The case on the Bose is a bit more compact then the Audio Technica. In fact, if it's one thing I had to complain about, these suckers are big, and cause my laptop bag to bulge out a little. Comfort wise, the Audio Technicas feel better to me. When I put the Bose in and turn them on, they seem to apply too much pressure to my ear drum. That is something I'm sure you get used to. That's probably why the noise canceling works better on the Bose. I think the padding on the Bose is a little more comfortable then the Audio Technica's, but not enough to make me forget the discomfort in my ear drums from the pressure on the Bose.UPDATED to my review: The power switch shorted out after about a month of use, you have to jiggle the power switch of the noise canceling to get them to work properly in stereo. I contacted Amazon and was promptly refunded my money. I will order another pair and hope they work out better this time.For $139 these are an absolute steal and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to everyone I see. Here's a summary of my review:Sound Quality:Audio Technica - 5/5Bose - 3/5Build QualityAudio Technica - 3/5Bose - 4/5Note: I lowered this one notch because the power switch on my AT headphones started shorting out.Accessories/carring case:Audio Technica - 3/5Bose - 5/5Noise Canceling without music:Audio Technica - 3/5Bose - 5/5Noise Cancelling with music:Audio Technica - 4/5Bose - 5/5Sound Leakage:Audio Technica - 2/5Bose - 5/5Comfort:Audio Technica - 4/5Bose - 3/5Note: The padding on the Bose is better, but the ear pressure is less extreme on the AT'sOverallAudio Technica - 4/5Bose - 3/5(BTW I weighed sound quality the highest in my review, otherwise I would say it's a tie. I only have to turn these things half the volume as I do on the Bose to get the same amount of sound, and the music just sounds THAT much better)

This Review is updated from a previous Review.I have owned these headphones for several months now I use them on a nearly daily basis for Music, Movies, and Gaming. I travel on Long Haul International flights quite often and have found these head phones to be great for all applications that they are used for. I am very glad to have purchased these head phones. If I forgot them I would definitely miss them. When I travel I usually travel in Premium Economy and Business class. In these classes of service the Airline that I travel with offers much nicer headphones to use with the in flight entertainment. The airline advertises Noise reducing in Premium Economy and Noise Cancelling in Business Class. There is No comparison I have found that the offerings of the Airline are nothing more than standard over the ear headphones the airline headphones however are much better than what the Airline offers in economy.These headphones are excellent. Highly Recommended and for the price can not be beat. I am curious about the Audio Technica ATH-ANC 9 and the performance over these. There are some improved features that may make them worth the price.I purchased a set of Beats Audio noise cancelling headphones previously to these and found them to be terrible. I wanted a set of good Noise cancelling headphones. Several of my coworkers have the Bose Quiet Comfort 3 and 15 headphones. I wanted to save some money and see what else was out there. I happened upon reviews of these headphones and though Id try them. They were after all less than half the price.Where the beats Audio leaked and the music I was listening to could be heard clearly across the room while being worn the Audio Technica leaked very little comparatively. My co workers can hear the music I am listening to but only at High levels of volume and with no noise in the office. On an airplane this is not the case I have found that very little noise can be heard outside the cups at all. The Beats Audio noise canceling headphones needed to be turned up to higher volume to bring out the full range of the music while the Audio Techinca headphones did not. This is a sign of quality, I do not want to go deaf listening to my music or movies, likewise I do not feel it appropriate to bother my coworkers, other passengers, and people withing a close proximity of me with the audio portion of my chosen form of entertainment.Quality of sound is great and comparable to any high end headphones that I have ever used. I have used the Bose Quiet Comfort headphones momentarily but not at length having had that experience I can see why these headphones are compared to the Bose so often. While these are not Bose and are not quite at that level, they have the advantage of being much more affordable. For my tastes these headphones are right in the wheelhouse.You will not regret purchasing these headphones. If you want to try noise cancelling headphones Id try these.Remember these headphones do not cancel out all noise. They cancel out a specific range of noise. Mostly the background dirty noise such as air conditioners / heaters, fans, humming, jet engines and other such ambient noise. These do a much better job of it than the Beats Audio headphones do. With no music being played you can still hear conversations, television, radio and the like going on around you. Basically it filters out the bad stuff leaving you with only the good stuff to hear. When watching a movie or listening to music the audible world around you goes away leaving you with nothing but your music or movie.The sound out of these is great. You won't be disappointed. While I am sure there are headphones out there that produce much better and pure sound for this price I don't think you'll be able to find anything better.If your battery goes dead mid flight and you don't have a spare Not to worry. You can still use your headphones. A feature that many noise cancelling headphones do not have including the Bose and the Beats Audio. The sound you will get is not nearly as good, the background noise is not filtered, and the sound is not amplified. Suffice it to say the peace of mind is nice knowing that you won't be stuck without the ability to use your headphones should you run out of batteries. These headphones do a better than average job of isolating much ambient noise without the noise canceling feature turned on.I wear glasses, the ear cups fit nicely and comfortably around my larger than average ears and don't make my glasses uncomfortable as many other headphones do requiring me to adjust my glasses while wearing the headphones after a while.In short these Headphones are well worth the price. I highly recommend them. I will post an update to this review after using them quite a bit more and have more to add.