I use my trainer in the computer room and watch the dvd’s on the computer. the wife has complained about the the sound being so dang loud. if I used headphones it would eliminate that problem. if I used the noise cancelling ones it should eliminate the sound of the trainer. I am seriously thinking of getting a set of those fancy headphones.
anybody tried them? would they work with the activity of a trainer? what about the wireless ones? to have a volume control of some sort would be nice.
I had a pair of the noise canceling headphones (Sony, the ear bud type, not the over the ear type) and they worked very well for canceling the sound of a commercial lawnmower engine / leaf blower and I used them on airplanes and they worked great. I think they work best with a constant droan of an engine so in my opinion they should work fine with a trainer. I tried the over the ear style first but they didn’t work very well. As memory serves they were ~$200.
I tried the over the ear style first but they didn’t work very well.
wow! I would have expected just the opposite results.
Thats what I thought. Its been a while, but I think the over the ear type weren’t big enough to cover my Dumbo-like ears. I just remember taking them back and the salesman saying to try the others, like he origionally suggested. They worked great for years until I got the wire caught in a tree branch and mowed over them.
for a little more than the price of noise cancelling headphones (which are wired), you could just get a 1upusa which is quiet enough that it’ll make the wife happy. (I sweat too much to put headphones on while I ride indoors.)
There are two ways to go. Noise canceling headphones which use electronics to “cancel” out outside noise or noise blocking earphones which fit into your ears with a tight enough seal to block out outside noise. They are basically ear plugs with little speakers built into them.
IHMO, noise blocking earphones are a much better buy since they can handle a wider variety of conditions and, as expensive as quality ones are, they are still cheaper than a quality noise canceling headphone. Also, the earphones are more comfortable to wear during a workout and are alot more portable since they can fit in a pocket. I have these and I really like them, both for flying and for wearing on the trainer. http://www.music1online.com/she3easaassh.html
If you do decide to get noise canceling headphones, make sure you get a top notch pair. Generally, the cheap ones will do an OK job of quieting outside noise but they sound terrible. It takes some high end electronics to block outside sound without cutting into the sound quality of the what you want to hear and you have to pay for that. (this is not an issue with the sound blocking earphones although the more expensive ones do sound better.)
I only used my noise cancelling headphones at work…but they totally rule! People come up behind me and knock on my desk and I don’t even hear them. Best headphone purchase I ever made.
Bose Noise Quiet Comfort 2
$$$$- not sure how much but I remember a lot
I dropped mine at work and they got a tiny crack. They replaced them at the store, no questions asked.
lajollaseal,
Bose Quiet Comfort 2 (over the ear cups) = $299
Bose Quiet Comfort 3 (on the ear cups) = $349
Costs more than your trainer unless its a CT.
Read it and weep or just dig deep, in the pocket that is. Hey, that’s less than a pair of Zipps!
I use them daily…to me, something I use everyday, thats top o’ the line and that has a lifetime warranty is worth the $$. My carbon bike doesn’t even come with that. 
But ya, they are spendy. But hey thats what Christmas prezzies are for.
-Trisha
get hold of Khai he did some research (sound quality being primary concern) a little while ago, he went with the passive option - Shure I think. He thought the Bose wasnt very good. Get hold of him for update
we sell cheap-o maxelle versions at my work for 60 bucks. The store is in an airport so people with the expensive Boss units are always stopping buy and doing the pepsi challenge. Most of the time, they admit that they are impressed with the quality. Point being, you may not need to spend 300.
In my experience, it is almost impossible to block out the noise of a complaining wife.
Closed earphones are terrible for me when working out (heat built up around/over the ear) and are not much better than the in ear active noise cancelling (ANC) systems.
For 1/10 of the price get the ear-plugs with/without ANC (caveat: they at least require getting used to, since the have to fit tight and the ANC ones require a clip-on for the battery and electronics–not optimal for out of saddle sprinting, etc.).
Best and most economic solution IMO.
Why am I not surprised? I tried the Bose ones for plane flights and they worked great for the constant noise of the aircraft, but didn’t work on the constant noise of the other passengers ;-(
I suggest earplugs or an iPod
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I had a pair of the “cheapo” Maxell noise cancelling headphones for a while. They did to a decent job of dealing with the type of constant background noise you find on an airliner. I can’t imagine the Bose doing a whole lot better. However, the music I was trying to listen to did not sound to good. The Bose one’s I tried did do a better job making whatever you were listening to sound good but at a pretty steep cost. If you are interested in sound quality you get what you pay for, whether you are buying passive sound blockers (eg Shures) or active noise canceling headphones (eg Bose). If you are not too worried about sound quality, a low end pair of sound blocking earphones will be cheaper than a low end set of noise canceling headphones.
BTW - Shure made its name selling to musicians and its earplugs where orginally designed for and sold to musicians to wear onstage. They take the place of the monitor speakers blasting back at the band and give the guys on stage the ability to hear themselves play without going deaf. The company actually calls them “personal monitors.” They are designed to both sound great (musicians will settle for nothing less) and (literally) to block out the sound of a heavy metal rock concert. So they will have no trouble handling your trainer 
thanks for the great advice. I am not thoroughly confused!!
over the ear—to hot
I still haven’t decided if noise cancelling is worth the $$. 200 is a bit steep though. I was thinking under 50ish.
Yup, Khai is a true gear geek!!