NCT Noisebuster Noise Reduction Headphone Review

We'll keep this old review on line for you to check out. But here's a link to a much newer review:

Noise Reduction Headphone and In-Ear Earphone Review

January 2003 Update: NCT has discontinued the Noisebuster! Unfortunately, the best selling affordable ANR headphone, like any product, has had it's ups and downs in sales volume and for reasons unkown to us, NCT chose to no longer market the Noisebuster? For the time being we will keep this review online while we compare some other ANR headphones.

Mid 2003 Update: Listening Station is now stocking the EarHugger EH-1420NC Noise Reduction Headphones. Most ANR headphones at this price level only have 10 dB of attenuation. But the EarHugger, like the Noisebuster, has 15 dB of attenuation! Virtually everything said about the Noisebuster is true of the EH-1420NC. Sound quality wise, it's just OK, (in a noisy environment our goal is to protect the hearing to save our ears for listening to high quality headphones in a more appropriately quiet environment). But Noise Reduction wise, the EarHugger contends with the best available! And at a price below $50.......

Mid 2004 Update: While the sound quality of the very affordable Earhugger ANR headphone is adequate for many given they're mostly used in a noisy enviroment where sound quality is not quite as important as noise reduction. But, some of you have requested we test and find a better sounding model without going overboard on price. Well, we tested some various models from Sony, Panasonic, Sennheiser, Koss, Jensen, JVC, etc. And we really liked the offering from JVC! It's cost is well under $100. Noise reduction is almost as good as the EarHugger and NCT, (12% rather than 15% attenuation, which probably wouldn't be noticed by most). But sound quality and build quality impress us. More detail there! Plus, besides the typical folding feature, the cord coils into the body making for more organized storage! Here's a link: Listening Station

***********************Original Review**************************

Have you ever tried listening to a portable CD player, (or DVD or MiniDisc or MP3), on an airplane? A few years ago I tried some great Grado headphones with my CD player and realized that the noise from the jet engines was so loud that good headphones were rendered almost useless! The volume level had to be turned up to almost the max, (which by the way is very bad for your ears)! And even at that level, the drone from the jet engine was still very evident.

NCT Large I was aware of Noise Reduction technology, but at a cost of several hundred dollars and not being a frequent flyer, I was not interested. Then I discovered NCT, (Noise Cancellation Technologies). NCT holds many patents on the technology and at the time they were marketing their Noisebuster Extreme headphones for $70. I just had to try a pair. Guess what... They work! No, noise is not eliminated, and people talking or babies crying is not reduced. But the loud constant drone of the airplane engine is reduced. With these headphones connected up to my CD player, I can listen to music at normal volume levels. Sound quality is no where near my Grado's, but in this environment great sound quality is not my goal. Just being able to hear the music at a safe level is what I am aiming for. Also, if you just want to escape the noisy airplane environment, you can put the Noisebuster's on without any music and the offending jet engine noise is reduced, (plus your neighbor won't disturb you as they think you are listening to music).

A few days ago, I was returning from a vacation and while using my Noisebuster's I decided to do some comparisons. As an inexpensive alternative to Noise Reduction headphones, some people use Ear Buds which block some outside sound due to their nature of sitting in the ear canal. I had a pair of Sony E848LP ear buds with me so I began comparing the two. The ear buds did not do nearly as well as the Noisebuster's at reducing jet engine noise. But then a thought occurred to me. Could the two be used together? I connected the ear buds to my CD player then placed them in my ear, then placed the Noisebuster's over my ears with no music playing through them... You guessed it! Not only did the tandem work, they worked quite well. The Noisebuster's were reducing the droning engine noise and the ear buds were limiting other sounds. Plus, with the earbuds placed so closely to my ears, sound quality at a lower volume was actually quite good! I didn't have my inexpensive, ($10), Sony E821LP ear buds with me, but in an airplane environment, they would probably work almost as well as the $30 848's. Yes, I know this combo is not all that comfortable, but you can always switch back and forth to keep your ears happy. Caution... If you try this dynamic duo of headphone technology, be sure to pay attention to when the pilot requests all electronic devices to be turned off... you may not hear him!

Good News! Price Reduction on Noise Reduction! NCT has lowered the price of their Noisebuster Extreme to $40! I was very pleased with them at $70, but at $40 they are well worth it if you do any frequent traveling!

Noise Cancellation vs. Noise Reduction: Just to reiterate, headphones with Active Noise Reduction (ANR) do not eliminate noise! In fact they are only designed to reduce one specific noise. The term Noise Cancellation, (used by many of the companies in their wording describing their headphones), is a bit misleading. ANR headphones reduce constant low droning background noises of which an airplane engine is one of the most common offenders. That’s all the ANR headphones were designed to do! Random noises such as people speaking, baby’s crying, bangs, clangs, etc. are not effected by the ANR!

Dec. 2000 update: I just had the opportunity to visit a Bose store where I was able to test one of their $300 versions of a noise reduction headphone. Yes, sound quality was better than the Noisebuster, and yes, individual sounds may have been blocked a little better also due to the large, full size of the headphones. But at 7 1/2 times the price, they should offer something more than the Noisebusters! Frankly though, my combination of a pair of earbuds with the NCT Noisebusters does as good a job of reducing noise! And sound quality would depend on the quality of ear buds you use! Go for the Bose if you can afford it... I'll continue using the affordable NCT's with my Sony MDR-E848LP earbuds!

Fall 2002 updates:

Bose: We still get questions from customers regarding the $300 Bose noise reduction headphones. They assume at that price, that they must be the greatest headphones on earth. NO, NO, NO! They are noise reduction headphones! Use them on an airplane! If you rarely travel, or don’t have a loud droning noise to contend with, you probably don’t need noise reduction headphones! For normal, everyday headphone listening, a $95 Grado SR80 is a much better sounding headphone... period!!! The Bose is designed for decent sound quality in a bad listening environment. The Grado is designed for great sound in most other normal listening environments. Personally, when I travel, I take a pair of Noisebusters for the plane and a pair of Grado's for the hotel room.

Other Brands and Models of ANR Headphones: We have compared various ANR headphones. Most don’t offer as good of noise reduction as the NCT’s. Many offer only 10 dB of noise reduction whereas the Noisebusters ANR is at around 15 dB. We did considered stocking the Sony NC20. It’s a nice ANR headphone. But at 4 to 5 times the price of the Noisebuster, it’s ANR is no better and it’s sound quality is only slightly better. And in a bad listening environment, slightly better sound quality is further diminished! Added Note: We are now stocking the Panasonic RP-HC50 Noise Reduction Earbuds. But only because they are affordable and super portable, (and in this day and age of stepped up airport security, many like to travel as light as possible).