Philips SBC HN110 (headphones)

Summary: A number of my friends bought the Bose QuietComfort 2's last year and spoke very highly of them. Because I'm a cheapskate, I bought a pair of Radio Shack cheapies. They worked adequately enough to deaden the sound on plane flights to a level that would allow me to hear movies on my portable dvd player without straining too much. This was a vast improvement over the standard headphones and I thought I was all set.

After breaking my Radio Shack set, I tried a pair of the Bose and was blown away by just how much better they were. But, once again, I'm a cheapskate so I went to Best Buy to try out others. All of the models they had were MUCH better than the Radio Shacks but were a few steps below the Bose except the Philips.

I bought the Philips and took them on my next trip. They were comfortable enough for an 8 hour flight and did a fantastic job canceling the plane noise. For the first time since I've owned it, I actually had to turn the volume down on my portable DVD player!

A friend of mine who owns a set of the Bose sat next to me on the plane and we tried out both sets. Yes, I will be the first to admit that the Bose are better. The Philips produce a slight hiss when the noise canceling is enabled where the Bose do not. I would also say the Bose canceled out just slightly more noise. I found that I didn't like the fit of the Bose as much as the Philips but that might just be that I'm used fit of the Philips. Overall we both agreed that the Philips were great and the Bose were not substantially better enough to warrant the extra $200.

If you are a true audiophile and demand the most pure sound possible, spend your money on the Bose. If you are a business traveler who wants a comfortable set of noise canceling headphones that won't take up your entire briefcase, at a great price, you can't go wrong with the Philips.