So I saw the Sennheiser 4.50 BTNCs on Takealot daily deals the other day (for R1800) and decided to get them. The JBL E65s were on a week or 2 earlier and I decided to skip (found the E65's didn't fit my ears so nicely - my wife does say I have funny shaped ears though). I bought these without trying them, but did get a friend to test them out before I clicked checkout. Managed to then compare them to a few models: JBL E65 - Can't comment on the audio as I didn't even listen to these as they were too uncomfortable, but the Sennheisers are definitely feel better quality. JBL Everest 700 - Cans are a little bigger on the JBL so slightly more comfortable on the ears. Sennhaiser seem a little better on the quality overall. Noise cancelling is pretty similar. Sound was more neutral on the Sennheisers, and a bit more crisp - also seemed to have a bigger soundstage than the JBL (if that makes sense). Would have been happy with either of these at the same price. BeyerDynamic OnePro - Look, these are wired monitor level headphones, so insanely clear and very neutral. They have an adjustable base port for enhancing bass, but aren't really comparable in terms of sound quality. Similar comfort level between these and the Sennheiser, no noise cancelling. But these are not the headphones you wear on the plane. Then I managed to compare the Sennheiser to the Bose QC25 while in flight - it was a pretty quiet plane to start though. I understand that these are just the wired version of the QC35. IMMEDIATELY the noise cancelling difference was clear. especially when not listening to anything. Sound Quality was similar - I'd probably say that I prefer the Sennheisers actually, but the Bose were probably 10-15% louder (but only when the NC was activated). I'm not sure if this was due to the superior noise cancelling, or if it genuinely is louder. That said I don't even listen to the Sennheiser's on full volume. Bose had slightly more comfortable cans, but the headband was more comfy on the Sennheisers. Build quality the Bose have an upper hand, and looks wise they do too as the cans seem smaller and more streamlined. I can see why people would spend extra on the Bose after testing the two in-flight, but I can't say that I want more than what the Sennheiser's offer. Directly comparing the NC as this is where the biggest difference is, I'd give the Bose a 5/5 and the Sennheiser a 3.5/5. Last night wore the Sennheisers on a commercial flight. They were comfy for the 4 hours I wore them. Didn't feel like I needed to take them off, or that I was overheating (and I'm a sweater). Wore them this morning on a noisy plane for 2 hours. Interestingly found a position of the cans which "improved the noise cancelling" quite dramatically. I think I'd been wearing them with a bit of sound leakage before. Was really impressed with them on this flight, while I could still hear the engine hum a bit, I was significantly more comfortable than on previous flights, had the music on low volume and managed to sleep nicely. TLDR: Sennheiser 4.50BTNC are a great option at half the price of the Bose (and Sony). Even better if you can get them on special. But if you plan on regularly wearing them in NC mode only, then you might be disappointed as they make the background quiet rather than silent.
