Noise-canceling headphones boost sound clarity
Have you ever tried listening to your MP3 music while riding a bajaj, the hyper-noisy three-wheeled vehicle that every other road user hates but a lot of people still need for their daily transportation?
No matter how sophisticated your MP3 player is, it is unlikely that you would get any enjoyment from it. The noise from the engine -- which no longer has an effective muffler -- is so ear- shattering that you will not be able to hear any music even when you are using one of the best noise-canceling headphones on the market.
An airplane is another noisy means of transportation -- both inside and out, although newer airplanes now produce much less noise. In the past I never succeeded in spending my time on the airplane effectively, as I would like to, by listening to recorded interviews. Even an expensive pair of Pro-2 headphones that I bought in Changi airport could not do much to reduce the sound of the jet engines.
My break came when I bought a pair of Sony MDR NC11 headphones at a store in Narita International Airport, Japan. They cost me around Rp 700,000 (about US$82.5). They were quite effective in reducing noise when the aircraft was already airborne, and thus I was able to listen to the recording on my cassette recorder.
By the way, this also reveals to you that I have not yet bought myself a digital audio recorder. It turns out that the Sony MDR NC11 is one of the best noise-canceling headphones on the market today. What is more, the price I paid for it in Japan was much less than the $159 price tag I saw recently at Brookstore, San Diego, or the $100-$110 at any Internet store in the U.S. Requiring one AAA battery, it has an on/off switch and a volume control. It also has strong cords, too.
Incidentally, what is this technology called noise-canceling? As the name implies, it aims at eliminating or reducing the noise that our ears hear and at the same time makes the sound from the real audio source much clearer.
We have both passive and active noise-canceling methods. With passive noise-canceling, the headphones use thick padding to keep ambient noise out. The active noise-canceling requires additional microphones that pick up the ambient noise, then a pair of amplifiers produce the same audio in exactly the opposite phase. The two noises, one original and the other artificial, cancel each other out.
Besides on a plane, where else do we need noise-canceling headphones? Operators in call centers should actually be using them, so that they can work more effectively.
People who work in an extremely noisy environment will also need noise-canceling headphones to preserve their hearing -- even though they may not be listening to anything.
Who makes noise-canceling headphones besides Sony? A very popular product comes from Bose, a well-known name in audio technology. At $299, the Bose QuietComfort 2 is also quite expensive, unfortunately. Other high-end brands of noise- canceling headphones are Sennheiser and Shure, and there is also a series of models from Panasonic.
The Sony MDR NC11 is not only effective in reducing ambient noise, it also produces deep bass and great midrange and treble, too. The only problem is that it does not have an auto shut off. As I always forget to turn it off, I have wasted a lot of AAA batteries that I have decided not to use alkaline batteries for it.
When buying a pair of noise-canceling headphones, test the gadget first to see whether you like the sound that it produces. Check whether they are comfortable enough for you to wear for an extended period of time. Also, make up your mind whether you want a model that fits into the ear such as the Sony MDR NC11 or you can tolerate the bulk of models that fit over the ear such as Bose QuietComfort 2. -- Zatni Arbi
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