Ask Engadget: best passive noise cancelling headphones?

We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Alex, who just can't take the noise, dude. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

"Hello Engadget. I've always been a fan of high quality audio but I have a problem. I need noise cancelling headphones, but active noise cancelling gives me a headache and my ear canals aren't round enough to use in-ear earphones. I've also looked into custom earphones but I can't afford paying $400 or more for a set.
What are your recommendations for the best pair of passive noise cancelling headphones? My ears thank you."

We will say that Klipsch's oval ear tips tend to fit in funky ear canals that typically reject round ones, but if you're still hellbent on a pair of cans, we're hoping our audience below can toss out some advice. If they can hear us from underneath their noise cancelling headphones, of course.