Noise Cancellation Headphones Review
The technology of noise cancellation headphones has been around since the 1950s but only in the public arena since the 1980's. Bose Corporation, the h...
The technology of noise cancellation headphones has been around since the 1950s but only in the public arena since the 1980’s. Bose Corporation, the high end audio suppliers were the first to release this technology. One of their staff traveling on a commercial airline found the headphones issued to be lacking. Many people today will not travel long distances on flights without their noise canceling headphones. So the question is how do they work and what makes a good set of headphones?
The technology is based on inverting the noise around you to cancel out what you are hearing outside the headphones. It does this by a microphone picking up the sounds around you. It inverts those sound waves so they are the opposite and when played back, the outside sound disappears. This is done in real time. As a result of the need for real time canceling the headphones work best with constant sounds such as air conditioning units rather than any quick changes of sound. So they eliminate some sounds, but not all.
The noise cancellation technology and microphone need battery power to work so this must be built into the unit itself or added as a box on the cabling. When components need to be added to the cables it can be bulky and inconvenient. More technology is moving to being housed in the earphone itself eliminating extra bulk. Some headphone models can continue to work as headphones even if the battery has run out, the noise cancellation technology just doesn’t operate in these circumstances.
The two major forms of noise cancellation headphones are the ear surround model and the over ear model. The ear surround model works somewhat like a pair of air muffs. As well as passively reducing the sound getting into the ear canal, the cancellation technology reduces noise even further. They are well cushioned but some people find them heavy and when worn for long periods of time to be hot and sweaty.
Noise cancellation headphones that are worn on the ear simply rest on the ear surface and tend to be lighter. With more airflow the trade off is less noise being eliminated. These are effective to cancel out background noise that is not too loud.
The ability to detach the cabling may be something you would use. Some people like to use them without listening to music. They just want the constant noise around them to disappear. This can be useful to protect the hearing such as when you’re out mowing the lawn.
Most people who use noise cancellation headphones tend to travel with them. Check for the carry case that suits you. Many come in soft cases, which may be easier to pack in luggage, but will provide little protection from outside shocks. Hard cases will protect the headphone if you think they will be knocked about.
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