Audiophiles and Travelers, Noise Cancelling, Bose QC35 Vs Sony MDR 1000x

[InfinitusEquitas]

I haven't had any issues previously, but if signal does become a problem I'll just use a wire. 21.5 hours... I fully intend to be in a medically induced coma for most of that time.

 

[Benm]

21.5 hours flight?

I reckon this cannot be a single flight as no commerical airplanes can fly routes that long, but it still is a very long haul combined.

Considering that i've been away about that far from home but not on connecting flights. This was all the way from holland to papua though, and i suppose i could have made it well into australia with fewer flying hours (i.e. faster planes operate routes between indonesia and australia compared to domestic flights).

They really should offer aneasthesia for those long hauls though, that's one service i'd be willing to pay extra for

 

[Seoul_lasers]

21.5 hours flight?

I reckon this cannot be a single flight as no commerical airplanes can fly routes that long, but it still is a very long haul combined.

Considering that i've been away about that far from home but not on connecting flights. This was all the way from holland to papua though, and i suppose i could have made it well into australia with fewer flying hours (i.e. faster planes operate routes between indonesia and australia compared to domestic flights).

They really should offer aneasthesia for those long hauls though, that's one service i'd be willing to pay extra for

That would be with a connecting flight. I have flown 19hrs before. You have to stop and refuel after ~15hours or so.

Vancouver to Seoul = ~11/10:45hrs (layover 1.5hours at Incheon) + 5hours to HK (layover for 1.50-2hours) then another ~4hrs or so to Thailand (Suvarnabhumi Intl. Airport) = approximately 18-19:45hours total flight time.

:thinking:

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

The flight total time to KFK to Manilla is 21.5 hours, with a refueling stop in Vancouver. After that it's a 4h40m layover in Manilla, and another I think 4 hours to Bangkok, Suvarnabhumi.

I had a very funny conversation with the booking company about this, (justfly) because the agents there had no idea about the layover, and I know for a fact the longest commercial flights currently are a maximum of 18 hours or so.

Another thing that no one could tell me, including the phillipene airline agents, is whether passengers will be allowed to deplane during the refueling stop. Personally I would not mind that at all, to stretch my legs.

Departure: JFK NEW YORK JFK, NY
11:55PM
TERMINAL 1
Arrival: YVR VANCOUVER BC, CANADA
3:10AM +1 day
MAIN TERMINAL
Please verify flight times prior to departure
Class: Economy
Meal: Dinner
Aircraft: BOEING 777 JET

Duration: 6hour(s) and 15minute(s)
Distance (in Miles): 2449

Departure: YVR VANCOUVER BC, CANADA
4:55AM
MAIN TERMINAL
Arrival: MNL MANILA, PHILIPPINES
10:15AM +1 day
TERMINAL 2
Please verify flight times prior to departure
Class: Economy
Meal: Breakfast
Aircraft: BOEING 777 JET

Duration: 13hour(s) and 20minute(s)
Distance (in Miles): 6566

Departure: MNL MANILA, PHILIPPINES
2:55PM
TERMINAL 2
Arrival: BKK BANGKOK SUVARNABH, THAILAND
5:45PM
Please verify flight times prior to departure
Class: Economy
Meal: Hot Meal
Aircraft: AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A321 JET

Duration: 3hour(s) and 50minute(s)
Distance (in Miles): 1361

So the plane will be down in Vancouver for well over an hour. Really hope to be able to deplane and stretch my legs a bit.

 

[Benm]

The problem is booking agents rarely have a good idea of how far planes can actually fly, the 19 hour maximum mark being realistic on something like a fully tanked A380. However, they also do not see this in their system.

Landings just to take on fuel and such are 'technical stops' which are not 'layovers' as far as the booking system is concerned. So it's feasible a flight shows as a 22 hour flight in their system, despite their being a refueling stop after 16 hours, taking an hour, and then flying another 5 on the same flight number.

If you can get off the plane during refueling depends wildly, and the only reliable source are people that took the same flight briefly before you do.

For example: Egyptair has a flight to/from cairo to kuala lumpur, that makes a stop in bangkok. This stop is listed as technical one (so they can sell it as a direct flight i suppose). In this case you can deplane in bangkok briefly for a smoke or and/or walk, and additional passengers are also boarding the plane here on the way to cairo (they cannot operate pax between bangkok and kuala lumpur afaik).

On other routes you cannot deplane during refueling, like the ones going from amsterdam to mexico making a fuel stop in cuba.

I'm not sure if you can deplane in vancouver on your flight. You could try to find flight from vancouver to manila with the same flight number. If those are available chances are high you can get out for a bit, especially as it is a stop of over 1.5 hours. One problem is that this stop is in the middle of the night and the airport might be mostly closed at that time, which can limit the possibility to get into the airport as you'll have to go through security again when getting back on.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

On the plane now.. I'll let you know if they let us off in Vancouver for a bit.

Decided to just take both headsets, since i have until end of January to return, and general keep my electronics immaculate.

 

[Benm]

Hehe, what better environment to test stuff!

Have a nice further flight, hope you'll get to stretch your legs in vancouver airport, though it's probably not going to be very exciting at night

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Unfortunately didn't get to actually get out in Vancouver, about a 3rd of the people seplaned, and new ones went onboard, along with a new flight crew.

Have come to the definitive conclusion that the Sony are better. They feel slightly less comfortable and light, but do definitely work better to adress the engine noise. Mine was an exit row seat, directly on the wing.

Another guy sitting in the same row was using the qc35s too... tried the sony, likes them more too, says they sound better.

 

[Benm]

Sad to hear they kept you on the plane in vancouver, really bad service for such a long stop (i've had many plane changes i had to do way faster than that in large hubs). Guess you got the exta legroom of an exit row seat though, always nice

Considering the price tag for these headphones i wonder if they would be worth it to me though. I've got some long distance flights coming up, but 400 euros (incl vat here) is pretty steep.

I'd like to give them a try, but realize they might not be -the- solution. Something is keeping me from sleeping on airplanes, but i'm not totally sure it is the (engine) noise, as i tend to sleep okay on things like loud busses and ships.

I'll be on some long haul flights soon, but staying to long to return items under dutch/european legislation that allows a 14 day period to evaluate online purchases. Perhaps i could borrow a pair for a month or so, but afaik none of my local friends have purchased headphones like these.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

I'm actually rather please with how well my flight survival plan worked out. First leg of the journey I kept myself mostly awake, on the way to Vancouver, and until after breakfast. Once it was 11pm Bangkok time, I took 2mg of clonazepam, and a sonata. Unfortunately an hour later I was still fully awake, so I added one more sonata, 2mg more of clonazepam, and a very pleasant stewardess appropriately named Angela treated me to probably about 8 to shots of whisky. 10 minutes after that put on a sleep mask, buckled myself in, locked my head into my neck pillow.

Next thing I know it's 10 hours later, and I was woken for food. So surprisingly the 6 7 hour flight jfk to Vancouver was the tougher one.

Also slept for at least an hour on the flight from manilla to Bangkok. I was pretty tired when I landed, but nowhere as weary as when I made the journey last time.

Got to hotel, and did fully intend to go out for the night a bit, even though it was already 9pm local time. Unfortunately my body had other ideas and somehow while looking up directions on where to go... fell asleep. woke up today quite refreshed, naturally at about 9am, had a wonderful breakfast, a dip in the pool, unpacked, and ready to reenact the hangover... sans the trans girl, and the memory loss.

It's a wonderful feeling about vacations, to have so many options to do fun things, or not do anything at all

 

[Benm]

Well yeah, in all honesty i prefer the benzo's and booze approach to flights too.

It takes some experimeting and tinkering to see what works best though, i prefer some xanax and oxazepam (short active sedative bezno, not very common outside europe i think).

Back in the past i had little knowledge of the difference, took probably a bit too much of temazepam and found myself in singapore's changi airport with little clue on how i ended up there (well, by plane obviously, but hardly and recollection of the whole flight and stopover).

Also i prever drinking wine over spirits for these things, helps with the hangover a bit for me. After such long hauls i usually reserve at least day to chill though. I find that such induced sleep helps to pass the time but does not make me feel awake afterwards. Trying to arrive somewhere late afternoon or early evening is perfect, have some food, some beer, and just doze off early the first night so you can sort of get up at a 'proper' time the next day.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Actually I find I get by far the worst hangovers after wine in general, and red wine specifically.

Travel is somehow never super easy, a relatively short hop can be somewhat of a drain.

 

[Benm]

I guess it's something you get used to to some degree. At some point it thought something like a 3 hour flight was long, but once you start to do the intercontinental ones those start to feel like bus rides to the next city.

As for wines: I stick to the whites myself, red wines often give me heartburn, probably somthing to do with tanins in them. I like the taste, but i'd have to chase the second glass with an antacid to be okay sadly.

I guess people cope with these things using medication a lot, i've had empty blister packs of sleeping pills left by previous passengers fall from the in flight magazines on numerous occasions

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Flight back was a lot more brutal. Unfortunately it was 100% booked, and I could not get a seat with leg room or even isle, so was stuck by the window. Was stuck next to a very stuck up norwegian woman and her husband. Husband was actually quiet a pleasant fellow, idk how he ended up with such an unfriendly shrew

Ended up taking some pills, putting on eye mask, headphones, neck pillow, buckling in, and passing out. When I woke up, the woman was gone... apparently I snored a bit :-/ husband was half amused, half relieved when I woke up. To be fair I do always offer my seatmates earplugs, and ask them to wake me if I make them uncomfortable. While on the trip there I used only two medications, and 8 drinks. On the flight back I used 3 medications, but only two glasses of wine. In both cases it was enough to completely knock me out.

The Sony MDR 1000x, are by far the winner in my bose vs sony trials. The one area where bose does excel, is when it comes to windy environments. The Sony has at least 5 microphones, and unfortunately in noise cancelling modes, actually creates some noise from the wind.

 

[Benm]

Oh well, you made it

I have a long one coming in about 2 weeks (ams-bkk via abu dhabi) with the first leg being a night flight, but the second one being a day leg.

I really hate the long daytime ones where everyone on the plane is busy doing something that makes noise. Why do people want to be awake on 7 hours flights at all? If it were up to me just shove down all the window blinds and pretend it's night regardless of conditions outside.

Worst thing is they'll come and serve food somwhere in the middle of such flights.

I used to fly egyptair on this route and they have some nice stickers telling flight attendants not to bother you so you can put those up if you want to sleep and don't mind missing a meal. Downside of egyptair is that they do not serve any alcohol on board, so you'll have to bring your own from the taxfree shop. Upside is that they will give you stuff like cups and cans of soda to mix it with

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

What I don't understand regarding long haul flights, is why people don't try to adjust to the local time they will be landing in as soon as possible? What does it matter that it's morning time, or night time where you board, you're going to be in a different time zone on landing, so why not get a head start.

The food part also bothers me... I was in a DEEP sleep, and got woken up for a meal. Which I had zero desire to eat, and just ate the fruit cup. Definitely going to make a pin or something for myself... do not disturb unless we're crashing, no I don't care about the food. Yes wake me if there is a stripper performing a show. (Incidentally - DO NOT go to a ping pong show. I saw things I wish I could unsee.)

Also for some crazy reason, if you order the kosher meal (which I do because they tend to have slightly better quality control, as opposed to religious reasons) Norwegian air requires that you actually open the package. What do they think we crazy jews are afraid of being drugged while 10000 feet in the air? Ah well. Back to reality.

Back on topic though... combining the headphones with earplugs produced bad results. However, combining the headphones with these:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015IQ6HI4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 worked fantastically well. I could still feel the plane, but the sound was reduced to an extreme degree, especially after running the automatic equalizer on the sony mdrx.