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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want maximum passive noise isolation for airplane travel with zero battery anxiety, choose Direct Sound EX29; if you need adaptive noise cancelling, wireless freedom and marathon battery life for airplane trips, choose JBL Live 780NC.
• Direct Sound EX29 — biggest strength: 36.7 dB of passive attenuation from closed-back 40 mm drivers, which is an enormous amount of natural isolation without any electronics involved.
• Direct Sound EX29 — biggest trade-off: It's a wired-only design (3.5 mm jack, with an 8' extension and a 6.3 mm screw-on adapter), so there's no Bluetooth streaming or app control despite the spec sheet listing Bluetooth under wireless technology.
• JBL Live 780NC — biggest strength: True Adaptive Noise Cancelling 2.0 with six microphones that recalibrate in real time, plus up to 80 hours of battery with ANC off (about 50 with ANC on).
• JBL Live 780NC — biggest trade-off: It weighs 260 g with a silicone headband and relies on battery and firmware, so it's a more complex, more electronic product than a simple isolating headphone.
• Who each is for: The EX29 suits anyone who wants plug-and-play isolation — including as kids headphones for airplane use — while the JBL Live 780NC suits travelers who want wireless convenience, calls and app tuning.
The EX29 is a study in doing one thing extremely well. Direct Sound builds it as a closed-back, over-ear headphone with 40 mm dynamic drivers and an aluminum enclosure, and the headline number is 36.7 dB of passive attenuation. That's not noise cancelling in the electronic sense — there are no microphones analyzing your cabin — it's physical blocking, achieved through the closed-back cup design and the seal around your ears. For a plane, that matters. Engine drone is a steady, low-frequency wall of sound, and a headphone that simply refuses to let it in is a genuinely different experience from one that tries to cancel it after the fact.
The rest of the spec sheet reads like a piece of pro gear. Impedance is 32 ohm and sensitivity is 114 dB at 1 kHz at 1 mW, which means it's easy to drive from a phone, a seatback entertainment jack or a small portable player. Frequency response runs 20–20,000 Hz, and Direct Sound labels the driver tuning High Precision Audio (HPA) for improved fidelity. The included 8' cable extension with a 3.5 mm plug and a 6.3 mm screw-on adapter is the giveaway that this is meant for real-world connectivity — long reaches to a seatback screen, or a proper fit into home and studio gear. The detachable premium cable and aircraft-grade aluminum cable grommets are aimed at stability and quiet operation, so cable noise doesn't ruin a quiet passage.
In my opinion, you should buy the EX29 if you want isolation you never have to charge, a wired signal path that just works, and a headphone that disappears into the background of a long flight. It's also a sensible pick as kids headphones for airplane travel, since there's no pairing, no battery to manage and no app to configure — you hand it over and it works. Skip it if you want wireless streaming, active noise cancelling you can dial up or down, touch controls, voice assistants or call handling. The EX29 simply doesn't play in that arena.
JBL takes the opposite approach: solve airplane noise with electronics and give the traveler every modern convenience on top. True Adaptive Noise Cancelling 2.0 uses six microphones to capture and filter environmental noise, continuously analyzing your surroundings and adjusting in real time. You can also open up the JBL Headphones App and decide exactly how much of the outside world gets through — useful when you want the cancellation for the engine but still need to hear a boarding announcement.
Battery is the other headline. JBL rates it at up to 80 hours with ANC off and up to 50 hours with ANC on, and a five-minute speed charge buys you roughly four more hours of playtime. For a long-haul flight, that's the kind of number that removes charging from your pre-trip checklist entirely. Connectivity is next-gen Bluetooth with LE Audio for lower power and higher quality, plus Auracast support through the app for audio sharing, and multi-point pairing lets you stay connected to two devices at once — watch something on a tablet in the airport lounge, then take a call on your phone without re-pairing.
Comfort and calls are clearly priorities too. The Live 780NC weighs 260 g, uses soft ergonomically shaped oval earcups and a lightweight silicone headband, and adds a sturdy metal hinge so it folds flat into the included protective case. The 2-mic Perfect Calls 2.0 system with dual beamforming mics and an AI-trained algorithm is built to cut through traffic, wind and background hum, which is exactly the environment you're in when you take a call from a gate or a seat. Drivers are 40 mm dynamic with a 20 Hz–40 kHz range — the extended top end is what JBL means by Hi-Res Audio — and impedance is 32 ohm. Controls are touch-based with Google Assistant and Siri support, and there's a 3.5 mm jack plus a USB-C to analog cable in the box for wired listening when you want it.
Buy the JBL Live 780NC if you want one pair of headphones to cover flights, calls, commuting and desk work, and you're happy to keep it charged. Skip it if you'd rather not think about batteries, firmware or apps at all.
• Best for raw airplane isolation → Direct Sound EX29. 36.7 dB of passive attenuation blocks engine noise without any electronics involved.
• Best for canceling noise you can control → JBL Live 780NC. True Adaptive Noise Cancelling 2.0 with six mics recalibrates in real time, and the app lets you adjust how much gets in.
• Best for battery life → JBL Live 780NC. Up to 80 hours with ANC off, about 50 with it on, plus a five-minute charge for roughly four more hours.
• Best for never charging anything → Direct Sound EX29. It's a wired headphone, so battery life is a non-issue.
• Best for calls and meetings → JBL Live 780NC. 2-mic Perfect Calls 2.0 with beamforming and an AI-trained algorithm targets wind and background hum.
• Best for multiple devices → JBL Live 780NC. Multi-point pairs two Bluetooth devices at once, and LE Audio plus Auracast add future-ready options.
• Best for plugging into a seatback screen → Direct Sound EX29. The 8' extension cable and 3.5 mm plug reach where you need, with a 6.3 mm adapter for home gear.
• Best for travel storage → JBL Live 780NC. It folds flat on a metal hinge and ships with a soft protective case; the EX29 is a fixed over-ear design.
• Best for kids on a plane → Direct Sound EX29. No pairing, no battery, no app — just plug in and hand it over.
If I were buying for myself and my priority was arriving at my destination without hearing the engine for eight hours, I'd take the Direct Sound EX29. That 36.7 dB passive figure is the whole argument, and the wired design means it works the moment I sit down — nothing to charge, nothing to pair, nothing to configure. For airplane use specifically, that reliability is worth a lot.
That said, I'd recommend the JBL Live 780NC to most travelers who want one headphone for everything else. Adaptive cancelling you can tune, up to 80 hours of battery, multi-point, clear calls and a foldable frame make it the more versatile pick — as long as you're fine keeping it charged. Before you decide, check the current price on Amazon for both, since that's the one variable that can tip an otherwise close call.
FAQ
Yes. There's a 3.5 mm jack and a USB-C to analog 3.5 mm cable in the box, so you can listen wired. Note that the Direct Sound EX29 is a wired headphone by design, using a 3.5 mm jack with an 8' extension and a 6.3 mm screw-on adapter.
I'd lean toward the Direct Sound EX29, because there's no pairing, no battery to manage and no app — you plug it into the seatback jack and it works. The JBL is aimed at teens and adults per its spec sheet.
JBL rates up to 80 hours with ANC off and up to 50 hours with ANC on, with a five-minute speed charge adding about four hours. The EX29 has no battery at all, so it never needs charging.
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