I’ve got some Christmas $$$ to burn and I’m thinking of grabbing a good quality pair of active noise canceling headphones for my trainer road trainer rides - I use a fluid trainer and have a couple of fans pointed at me … it can get a little noisy! Which means the overall volume of my phones gets louder and louder which is increasingly impractical and unhealthy. I’ve been using Powerbeats with Comply tips but it’s time to take things to the next level so I can actually cancel out noise and keep the volume both lower and high quality.
I’ve read a bunch of reviews that are making me lean toward either the Bose QuietComfort 35 II or the Sony WH-1000xm3 - in reviews alone it looks very much like the Sonys have the upper hand. But given that I’m specifically hoping to wear them while doing indoor rides (plus also working and catching public transport / occasional flights) I thought this forum would be a great place to seek opinions. Especially because most reviews don’t consider heat / sweat that goes with indoor rides!
The Bose are really great onThe noise cancellation but get sweaty and can be hot.
Not sure there’s a compromise solution that gives both good noise cancellation and a light and airy feel, but if there is I’m sure someone in here had it figured so following with interest!
I’ve recently bought the Song WH-1000 XM3. They are awesome sound / NC but my ears get fairly hot just wearing them in the office - I’m also not sure how they’d cope with sweaty trainer rides.
I have heard some companies have started doing nice cancelling ear buds, maybe worth a look.
The idea of noise cancelling headphones on the trainer strikes me as a bit odd. My goal is to have the loudest, most deafening music imaginable in my buds. Really, who wants to hear their heart literally explode and legs being torn apart whilst on the trainer? Not me!
Loud. Very f’ing loud is my goal. Years ago, I won these : Bose H6 and while they work nicely, I’m ultimately a bud man and simply prefer cheapo LG bluetooth buds.
Jbl everest 700, i use high end sony in my work(air ambulance) better quality nc and sound but overkill imo for trainer use. The jbl’s block hammer h2 very well and have survived gallons of sweat and falls to the floor so durability is good used the same pair for over 2 years,
Are you opposed to earbud style? I would get way too hot and sweaty with over ear headphones.
I got the Apple AirPods Pro about a month ago and like them so far. The noise canceling really helps to reduce trainer, drivetrain and fan noise. Also, they are my first full wireless headphones and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back to wired. Sound quality isn’t that great, just ok. Overall I really like them for trainer rides.
Very happy with my AirPods Pro. They’ve even replaced my over ear Bose on long flights. I ALWAYS have a Lasko fan on full blast while riding the trainer, and these drown out that sound. They also get MUCH louder than regular AirPods.
I’m happy with my jay bird vista, use them for running and occasionally on the trainer. Not active, only passive noise canceling, but they fit well enough to keep out all the noise around you.
I did one trainer ride with my nice over ear headphones, because the batteries in my old Airpods had failed I wanted to wait for the pros. Nope. Not a good idea, my head got all sweaty and seeing what my sweat did to my shifter’s internals, I don’t think it’d be good for my headphones either.
I used my wife’s Airpod Pro on the trainer and while they do block out the fan noise, they don’t block out the noise of the drivetrain that comes from the trainer, they actually do a worse job than other in-ear headphones I have. They also don’t really sound that good, we ended up returning them.
I have the Sony XM3 but they do not handle sweating very good, for the trainer, I just got a Jaybird Tarah Pro and they are awesome, very insulating from the trainer noise, wireless and sweatproof
The Sony WH-1000XM3’s are awesome noise cancelling headphones and I’ve used my set extensively while travelling, but I would never considering wearing them on the trainer. They would get far to hot and sweaty. There are a lot of better options for the trainer.
A hidden gem of an earbud are the Creative Outlier Gold’s. They have really great audio quality, arguably better than the Jabra 65T’s, but also have ridiculous battery life of 14 hours on a charge. I had some issues with them pausing playback when synced to my Google Pixel 3 XL but this issue went away when I upgraded to a Pixel 4 XL. They are my go to earbuds for long rides because of the incredible battery life. They are also a tremendous value at $89. Creative Outlier Gold True Wireless Sweatproof In-ear Headphones with 39-Hour Battery Life and Software Super X-Fi® - Creative Labs (United States)
Jaybird vista. You will destroy Bose QC if you get them with sweat (I did). The vista are isolating not cancelling but I fly with them now with zero notice or desire to lug my big Bose around any longer
I use Jabra Elite65T buds and they work great. I switched out the silicone tips they come with for some foam ones for a bit more passive NC and for more security in my ear. Very happy with them. Nice thing is a double tap of the right earbud allows “ambient sound” in so you can hear what’s going on around you if needed (like the sig other comes in to ask you something).