So, a question for the #audiophiles about noise-canceling headphones...
Are they supposed to be able to reduce *all* external sound? Or just ambient hum (like jet engines), but not actual conversations?
For literally decades of business travel, I wore wired Etymotic noise-isolating earbuds - but my current phone doesn't have a headphone jack. ☹️ I got a pair of Sony WH-1000XM4 Bluetooth headphones, based on good reviews of their noise reduction, and they definitely block out engine noise well... but I've just been on a plane for three hours, sitting in front of one of those bloviating captains of industry who has no inside voice and the firm conviction that everyone around him is entitled to his opinion. My Etys would absolutely have made him disappear as soon as I turned my music on, but these Sony cans just provide a background soundtrack to his monologue.
Am I expecting too much from these headphones? Should I just go looking for a headphone-jack-to-BT widget and go back to my beloved Etys? I must admit that not having to manage a dangling wire is nice, but I'd happily sacrifice that for the ability to mute this dude. 🙄