Is there any noise canceling headphones without "white noise"?

Submitted by Bizzzoz t3_xufbz0 in headphones

I received a pair of Bose Quiet Comfort 45 a few days ago, but I had to return them because the "white noise" or whatever the static noise in the background is called made me really dizzy and nauseous. Is there any noise canceling headphones that does not have that weird noise or where the noise is unnoticeable?

I am grateful for any advice.

Update: It seems like the majority of noise canceling headphones have some level of "white noise". Therefore I will probably end up buying AirPods Pro gen. 2/gen. 1 or just normal bluetooth headphones.

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Aggravating-Piece821 t1_iqv6vpm wrote

The Sony XM5 has very little "white noise", they can be whisper quiet when ANC is on. They are the ones I own that have the least static noise.

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CivilHedgehog2 t1_iqvcky8 wrote

It's not the white noise that's making you dizzy, it's the pressure sensation with ANC on.

Currently the best thing on the market for minimising or removing that pressure sensation is the new AirPods Pro gen. 2, tho the gen 1's still do a pretty good job.
IF you're getting dizzy then you are probably extra sensitive to this sensation, so I would definitely recommend the Gen. 2 Pros. Compared to the over ear stuff they are also, relatively, cheap.

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Bizzzoz OP t1_iqvgj1f wrote

Replying to CivilHedgehog2 (#20,733)

I will definitely consider getting the AirPods Pro gen 2, the only thing I am thinking about is whether or not they will stay in my ears lol, the normal Apple earpods are the only in ear that stay in my ears. So do the AirPods Pro 2 not have any "white noise"? I am fine with some "white noise" as long as it disappears when ANC is turned off because I did hear the "white noise" on the Bose QC 45 even in aware mode.

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fishgutt t1_iqvlyqn wrote

I can't hear the white noise on the sony xm5.

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desert-rat1 t1_iqvo8ck wrote

Senheiser pxc550's have a switch to reduce or turn off anc. With anc fully on, I don't experience the issues using the 550's like I did with the bose qc25's. That's why I moved away from the qc series.

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CivilHedgehog2 t1_iqw2c7u wrote

Replying to Bizzzoz (#20,861)

There is a white noise level when ANC is on, however it's low, and imperceptible if there is any significant background noise or you have music playing. The white noise is not perceptible in transparency mode, and is completely gone in off mode. Obviously the fit is never certain, you can always return them if they don't fit. For me they're the best fitting earbuds I've ever tried. They stay in my ears perfectly even when smiling or flaring my facial features. Never had that with any other earphone.

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WatchAndEatPopcorn t1_iqw5j8w wrote

You could do IEMs which block out noise physically without that ANC effect you’re describing.

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MayaTL t1_iqw5r45 wrote

They all do to a varying degree. The QC45 however is noisier than some of Bose's earlier efforts (and that was a huge point of disappointment for me) - which coincidentally helps in masking Bose's varying noise floor (the 700 is quieter but every time you play something with content below 1kHz or so it rhythmically varies with the content and gets louder).

Also, more than the amount of noise, it's also the nature of it that matters IMO.

So far, the ones I've appreciated most in that regard are :

- the Airpods (not necessarily the quietest in all modes, but a very qualitatively pleasant pink/brownish uniform noise that's quite constant, except when adjusting the Airpods in / over the ear (for the ones with the H1 chip, it's early days but I believe that it's been reduced with the APP2). The Airpods Max and AirPods Pro 2 in particular are very, very good, even when transparency mode is enabled (a rarity).

- the Sony H910N (as quiet or perhaps even quieter than the XM3/4 but without any buzzing / electronics whines)

Are you certain however, that you got dizzy because of that phenomenon ?

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