Noise cancellation headphones came into consumer consciousness in the 1980\’s. Bose was the first audio company to offer options of noise cancellation headphones. This had been prompted by an employee of the company being completely dissatisfied with airplane issued headphones while on a flight – he thought there could be something better. There are people today who will not fly unless they have packed their noise cancellation headphones. So the question is what is the noise cancellation technology and what would make a good pair of noise cancellation 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.
All noise cancellation headphones need a battery to work. In some models the battery is housed with the cables which can make it somewhat inconvenient. More useful models have the battery in the headphone casing itself meaning no excess bulk or inconvenience is created. Some models allow the headphones to continue working as normal headphones without the noise cancellation technology when the battery runs out.
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.
The on ear version of noise cancellation headphones is a lot lighter but they do not cover the complete ear area. As a result they eliminate less outside noise but there is much more air flow. They are also less capable of filtering out loud noises.
On feature to watch out for when evaluating models is whether the cable can be detached. This is useful if you just want to sit and eliminate airplane noise or the like, and don\’t necessarily want to listen to music. Being able to detach means you won\’t be tied to a set of headphone cables.
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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