[NM]

Originally Posted by kaz

Hi NM.
Just a quick question, hoping you can answer.

Reporting for duty

Originally Posted by kaz

I'm drawn to the E3's as I think I will find the over ear NC headphones far to bulky for me to even try to sleep them on my head with as I tend to turn my head sideways to sleep.

That is one of the big advantages for me

Originally Posted by kaz

I'm unsure what 'sound isolating's means, however with the E3's can you listen to the in-flight movies through them but with better sound drowning out the noises going on around you and then also as have them on to 'block' sounds around you when trying to sleep.

The Shure (and Etimotic) in-ear models isolate external sounds through the process of sealing the sleeve with your ear canal. That stops outside noise from reaching your ear drum. The level of isolation depends on the seal you yet between the sleeve and your ear, and a good seal will provide in the order of 20+ dB of reduction of the external sound. This reduction is complete across the audio frequency spectrum

Active Noise Reduction headphones like the Bose QuietComfort, Sony NC range, PlaneQuiet etc have a small microphone on the outside of the headphones that pick up the external sounds and add them out-of-phase with the program sound (what is playing on the device you have connected to). Due to the time it takes to detect the sound and feed it back to the speakers out of phase and at the correct level, these devices are best suited to reducing the level of low-frequency constant sounds such as air conditioning, engines etc. They do not reduce dynamic sounds such as someone talking or a baby crying very well.

So the advantage of the NC headphones is that when the FA comes to talk to you, you can still hear them with the headphone on (assuming you are not listening to loud music). The disadvantage is that they can uncomfortable for sleeping and don't block out the more dynamic sounds.

Now these are the opposite for in-ear devices like the Shure E3. With these in your ears, you will not hear what the FA is saying and will need to remove at least one of them from your ears. If you are plugged into the aircraft IFE system you will still hear an PA announcements since they are fed through the IFE audio system. But if you have them plugged into an iPod, DVD player etc you may miss the cabin announcements.

Originally Posted by kaz

On my last trip from Singapore to sydney, I had to press the audio headsets given out by Qantas hard up against my ears to be able to hear the movie, and that became really really annoying for a 2 hour movie.

You won't have any sound level problems with the Shures. They are very sensitive (meaning they produce a high sound level with low input level), and in some cases you may find it hard to turn the volume down low enough! This has the advantage that many cheap headphone amplifiers get very noisy as they operate at high gain level, so operating the amp at lower gain will often improve the signal to noise ratio giving you clearer sound.

Originally Posted by kaz

Also, I'm looking to purchase 2 sets of E3's (one for hubby) so I really want to get the right info on what they'll do before I lay out a fair bit of money, and I think your the guy in the know for this item therefore any information you could provide would be great.

Yes, they are a significant financial investment. Note that some people find in-ear devices to be uncomfortable and it can depend on the shape of your ears. The Shure E3s come with a "Fit Kit" comprising different size and material sleeves. They also have available the disposable yellow foam type sleeves (one set included in fit-kit) that are like the compressible ear plugs. They will last for quite a few flights, but you will eventually need to replace these foam sleeves. They can be purchased in bulk packs and are sometimes available from e-Bay.