Why get expensive ANC headphones when a cheap inear one can do it?
I have both expensive ANC and also low cost (but good quality) inear buds without ANC. When I turn on music,the differences are not that high after you get used to it, I can put the inear buds in my pocket. Also noise-cancelling is as good in any of them passive noise-cancelling with in ear buds == ANC with headphones.
Seriously after you get used to any of them, you don't notice the differences in between them because you got used to the sound out of one of them that is unless you compare them.
Why do you prefer pricey over ear headphones over in-ear buds?
I don't care about noise cancelling, but I can't stand in-ear headphones of any type. They always end up causing pain and/or discomfort for me.
I kind of agree, not because cheaper earphones are good but because how disappointing the noise cancelling on the expensive models is. According to most reviewers the best pair right now is the Sony WH-1000XM4 and I ended up returning them after a couple of days because of the inadequate ANC. I imagine that it's even worse for older/cheaper models.
I use over the ear headphones (Sennheiser) and I could not go back to full time in ear buds. It is mainly a comfort issue as after long periods of time my ears will start to hurt from in ear buds. I also have an issue with the in ear buds staying in my ears. I have not found a way to keep them in my ear, especially when I start sweating.
From the standpoint of someone who produces music as a hobby, I tend to pay attention to sound quality