OT: wireless, noise-cancelling earbuds for sleeping

[Josh Paxton]

I'm on a quest for a pair of earbuds that offer the following:

 

⢠Wireless

⢠Compact enough to sleep in (one one's side)

⢠Active noise cancellation

⢠Sound isolating

⢠Can be used to listed to music, audiobooks etc.

 

There are a number of specifically-designed "sleep earbuds" on the market, but they only create silence or let you listen to their pre-programmed "sleep sounds." Most of the ones that let you listen to anything are too bulky for sleep. And most of the ones that aren't too bulky don't have active noice cancellation.

 

So far the Sony WF-1000XM4 seems to be the leading contender that offers all the options I want â and they're priced accordingly. So before I pull the trigger I thought I'd check in here to see if anyone else had alternatives they'd recommend.

[timwat]

Hey, Josh,

 

I have had very good experience with the Jabra 75t elite active. The current firmware provides ANC, as well as several different ambient sound programs (waterfall, rain, etc) which might be of use for this intended application. They are also small enough to possibly work for side-sleeping, although I have never tried to use them for this. They also have a lot of good "non sleep" features I use all the time - hear through option to allow ambient when running, cycling, etc., customizable EQ for several different sound profiles, multiple pairing (my wife uses hers for both her phone and our bedroom television). With Comply foam ear tips they are very comfortable as well.

 

All that being said, for the occasions I need earplugs for sleep, I've only ever used simple foam tips (the cheap ones you can buy for 20 in a blister pack at CVS and such). But I presume you've got a much different sleep environment than I do or you wouldn't be asking this particular question.

 

Depending on your ear size / shape, I think the Jabras look smaller than the Sonys, at least the part that will protrude from your ear.

 

Tim

[Docbop]

I don't think I could do earplug(s) when sleeping I'd never get to sleep. I use a Alexa speaker so can have it real close if I want. Then I've made a bunch of artist/style playlists or if working on a tune I will make a playlist of a lot of version of the song. Even that can become too distracting for sleeping, especially if a loud and or percussive tune comes on. Some night I find I can't fall to sleep because I end up listening to the music closely. But with the voice control of an Alexa type device I can just tell it to stop or change playlists. Plus an Alexa type device I don't have to recharge it just plugs in to the wall.

[RABid]

I cannot imagine ear buds staying in while sleeping. For me a better option would be those Bose speakers that bounce sound off of walls and fill the room at a low volume.