Headphones/earphones with listen through feature

B

Billie_Jean

Audiophyte
Hi all,

I'm looking for a pair of noise cancelling headphones or earbuds that have a listen through or pass through feature. I want to be able to let some sounds in when someone is speaking to me while still cancelling surroundings sounds. Any rec would be appreciated. Non apple product is best.
 
A

Axis777

Audiophyte
At the risk of sounding condescending I have to wonder if you have prior experience using headphones with active noise-cancelling technology? In my experience, the ANC feature mainly cancels out the persistent noises in my surroundings (i.e. vehicle motors, mild traffic, etc.) and does not mask human speech to a significant degree. Also, the switch to disable ANC is usually readily accessible in all designs i've used thus far. That being said I DO have an odd suggestion for you to try: Foam Ear Plugs. Not joking haha. I spent 7 years as a machine operator in a dangerously noisy factory. Needless to say, ear protection was mandatory. The amazing thing is that the foam earplugs could nearly silence the heavy machinery while allowing other frequencies like human speech to pass-through quite readily. So, before dropping hundreds on a new pair of cans with fancy ANC tech maybe try some earplugs in conjunction with some cans you perhaps have at hand. If you can handle the sensation of foam earplugs I think it can be an economical alternative to pricey ANC cans. Good Luck!
 
EthicalEar

EthicalEar

Junior Audioholic
This post is old, so you probably already have your headphones. I have been looking myself at all kinds of headphones. Your requirements seem to match the Bowers & Wilkins PX7. Smart noise cancelling that still allows you to hear people speaking around you. My past noise cancelling headphones have been the Bose bot the foam wore out on those at least 10 years ago so I just don't use them. I also have Samsung Level Over noise cancelling blue tooth. Those were so good I bought 3 pair of them. Two pair remain. But my son's gaming is wearing 1 out. The other I only use when listening to TV through headphones because they are not audiophile. I also have open back (not noise cancelling) Audeze LCD -X. Great but heavy and the rest of my family does hear them from a distance. Please share what kind you ended up getting and what you think of them!
 
Old Onkyo

Old Onkyo

Audioholic General
This post is old, so you probably already have your headphones. I have been looking myself at all kinds of headphones. Your requirements seem to match the Bowers & Wilkins PX7. Smart noise cancelling that still allows you to hear people speaking around you. My past noise cancelling headphones have been the Bose bot the foam wore out on those at least 10 years ago so I just don't use them. I also have Samsung Level Over noise cancelling blue tooth. Those were so good I bought 3 pair of them. Two pair remain. But my son's gaming is wearing 1 out. The other I only use when listening to TV through headphones because they are not audiophile. I also have open back (not noise cancelling) Audeze LCD -X. Great but heavy and the rest of my family does hear them from a distance. Please share what kind you ended up getting and what you think of them!
A few years ago while in a Dallas on business, the foam was in such bad shape on my Bose headphones that I went to the Bose store to buy new Headphones. The clerk asked to see my headphones, I gave them to her and she replaced the foam free of charge...might be worth a try if you want to salvage your headphones.
 

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