Cancel That!

[Brad Adrian]

<a href="http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=11000084&m=58&cat=70&scat=72">http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=11000084&m=58&cat=70&scat=72</a><br /><br />I have a new favorite Pocket PC accessory: my noise-cancelling headphones. Like a lot of you, I have used "regular" headphones for listening to music on my Pocket PC. Then, I recently got a pair of <a href="http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=11000084&m=58&cat=70&scat=72">Aiwa noise-cancelling headphones (model HPCN5)</a> to use while flying. I was amazed at the amount of jet engine hiss they can remove.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/adrian/aiwaphones.jpg" /><br /> <br />What REALLY amazed me is how much extraneous noise these kinds of headphones can remove, even while sitting in a seemingly quiet room. I hadn't realized how much subtle noise I'm surrounded with -- from the whir of the air conditioner to the hum of the refrigerator -- or what a great job noise-cancelling headphones can do in removing it. I've noticed such an improvement in the sound fidelity that I now use them no matter where I am. I've even started using them at sporting events to listen to "motivating" music ("We Are the Champions," Taking Care of Business," etc.) without much of the crowd noise.<br /><br />So, if you want to truly enhance your music listening with your Pocket PC, whether in the air or on the ground, you might want to give noise-cancelling headphones a try.

[jet8810]

hmm...these look interesting. How good is the sound quality on these babies though? I have a pair of (discontinued) $100 Sony DJ headphones and the quality is really nice, and while they have *some* insulation they dont have noise cancelling...

[Shraga18]

And here they are for $29.95 :)

http://www.capitalaudio.com/details.asp?itemid=881

[MultiMatt]

Wow! That is a really good price ($50)! Bose noise-cancellation headphones run around $300! :roll:

Brian, have you ever had a chance to compare the noise-reduction capability of the Aiwa as compared to the Bose headset? I was on a plane with a guy who had the Bose, and he let me try them. I was amazed. I was in envy. I also was not going to shell out $300 for them! 8O
That's a lot of cake! (but Bose always tends to overprice)...

I see that it appears the noise-cancellation circuitry is physically attached to the (right?) side. The Bose circuitry is located in a small box that's midway down the headphone cable...

I travel a LOT, so I'm going to take the plunge for a set of the Aiwa headphones - heck, my current "normal" headphones cost $30! :|

Matt

[ExtremeSIMS]

The Bose ones are far more comfortable and have better noise cancelling capability. Then again, for $200 more, one would expect that to be the case.

I am looking at the Sony earbuds that offer noice cancelling:

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?productLearnMore=T5113LL/A

A bit more portable for international travel.

[dbrahms]

i have the sony noise cancelling headphones. thery were more impressive in the store. seems like all they do now is act as amplified headphones...which is still good since PPC's can sometimes be low volume devices. The problem with these is that they dont go OVER your ears. I;ve since switched to a pair of senheiser $100 headphones that are great. hd 800 is think. since these go over the ear, they too block out some sound.

[pjtrader]

Should you care to read a review on the subject...

http://www.edgereview.com/reviews.cfm?Category=audio&ID=33

Cheers,
Pam

[bdegroodt]

Or if you really want to get some high end stuff take a look at http://www.headphone.com/

I want! I want! I want! Always more. My fiance tells me I want more stuff than anyone she has ever known...But I need it! I swear!

[Brad Adrian]

...have you ever had a chance to compare the noise-reduction capability of the Aiwa as compared to the Bose headset?...I see that it appears the noise-cancellation circuitry is physically attached to the (right?) side...
No, I haven't had the chance to use the Bose headphones. I'd love to try them, though.

Actually, with the Aiwa headphones, there's a small input/microphone on each earpiece that picks up the extraneous noise. You can cover them with a fingertip and notice just how much reduction is taking place.

[Crystal Eitle]

How does using bigger/fancier headphones affect battery life on the PPC? I use the earbuds that came with my 1910. The sound quality is only OK, but I worry that if I got bigger headphones it would totally drain the battery.

[bdegroodt]

An EE could probably better explain this, but basically, bigger doesn't always mean less battery life. It has more to do with the headphones impedance and ohm rating than the function of the headphone.

That said, many of these noise cancel type headphones are powered and if you don't have an auxillary power device specific to the headphones, you're battery life will surely decrease.

Short answer...It depends on what you get.

[Timothy Huber]

I've got a pair of the Aiwa headphones that I use for travelling. I agree they are great at removing jet noise, in fact without them it becomes very difficult to hear a DVD played through my laptop.

However, in a quieter environment, while they do remove background noise, there is a significant hiss added to the signal. I've been fortunate enough to borrow the Bose headphones for a few days and there's a night and day difference in sound quality. But then again, there's a huge price difference as well, so I guess performance deltas are to be expected.

As a result, I've taken to only using the noise cancelling feature when it's really needed.

Timothy

[JeZaD]

Have they built this sort of stuff into car radios yet? My car's engine is pretty loud, it could sample the engine noise from, say under the dashboard (dull droning sound - yuk), produce the cancelling frequencies, then add them to the music from the radio/CD.

Is there something available that can do this?

PLEASE say YES!

[robeauch]

Have they built this sort of stuff into car radios yet?

That sort of thing would be handy in a car even when you're not listening to the radio. It'd be a lot easier to converse, for example, without engine/road/wind noise.

I want it too!

[Steven Cedrone]

That sort of thing would be handy in a car even when you're not listening to the radio. It'd be a lot easier to converse, for example, without engine/road/wind noise.

I want it too!

Or how about: listen to engine noise and cancel out kid's and (dare I say it) wife's noise... :twisted:

Steve

[rob_ocelot]

The Bose ones are far more comfortable and have better noise cancelling capability. Then again, for $200 more, one would expect that to be the case.

I am looking at the Sony earbuds that offer noice cancelling:

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?productLearnMore=T5113LL/A

A bit more portable for international travel.

I have the non-noise cancelling version of these earbuds. The shaft of the earbud fits right into your extenral ear canal and essentially plugs the canal. You really don't need noise cancellation with these, they are quite isolating all on their own. They have the best bass response I've heard in a set of earbuds though that is somewhat dependant on how you hit them in your ear -- it takes some adjusting. They run about $50 a pair.

Regards,
Rob S.

[One-eYe]

My favorite headphones aren't noise cancelling. Yet they provide clean and clear sound. The Sennheiser HD570:

http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/icm_eng.nsf/root/AB8764D6E612FE14C1256C9300429E44/$File/04485_pro1.jpg

These noise cancelling Sony's, ummm Aiwa's, might be interesting :)

[audiophile]

You can achieve better (passive) noise attentation of about 30 dB (broadband) using the in ear Etymotic headphones. Because they offer a tight seal or coupling to the ear,
they are also quite flat down to 30 Hz which is bette than most circumaural headphones I've measured.

see http://www.etymotic.com

[MonolithicDawgX]

I just bought the Sony $79 version. I had tried the Aiwa and Sony versions in Japan, and the Bose on an airplane. I looked at it as Noise reduction to dollar spent, and felt that the Sonys (look just like the Aiwa) worked better. The Bose are the best, but too much, and their retailers don't discount. I tried the Sony earbuds, but was dissapointed because their noise cancellation was nowhere near the larger versions, and you pay almost the same amount.

I used them just this last week when I logged over 9k mi on planes and used them to watch dvds and listen to music. I previously had used some Koss in the ear-tubes with the best frequency response I have ever seen in earbuds. But they often fell out of my ears, which bugged me. I'm not totally happy with the Sonys as they still allow a certain amount of noise in, but it is an improvement over the earbuds. I also think that if I wanted to watch a movie in loud-ear-splitting levels, I'd rather watch it at home in theater style, so a little noise while watching on my laptop is ok and expected.

I do expect the Japanese to perfect it and have $50 versions soon that rival the Bose... I just chose not to wait any longer, which means they will have it next week! :lol:

[rfischer]

I bought Noisebuster Extreme headphones from SharperImage for around $34.00 about two years ago to use at work. I had two extremely obnoxious salespeople sitting near me that I could no longer stand to listen to. Not only did these headphones cancel out the sales jabber, but the fidelity is awesome when used for listening to music. As a bonus, they came with a dual-jack connector to plug into the armrests on most airplanes. There isn't a better way to watch a movie on a jet. :D

Here's a link to one place that sells them (NOTE: I have NOT shopped with them, I just wanted to provide a link to more info):

http://www.discount-electronic.com/nb.html

UPDATE: Apparently they have been discontinued, but are still available. Another sub-$50 model is reviewed here:

http://21st-century-goods.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=21st&Category_Code=ANC

[Kirkaiya]

Brian, have you ever had a chance to compare the noise-reduction capability of the Aiwa as compared to the Bose headset? I was on a plane with a guy who had the Bose, and he let me try them. I was amazed. I was in envy. I also was not going to shell out $300 for them! 8O That's a lot of cake! (but Bose always tends to overprice)... Matt

I have both the Aiwa noise-cancelling headset, and the Bose. While both do a good job with the noise-cancellation, after I got the Bose headset (as a gift from a client) I gave the Aiwa to my wife - the Bose headsets are INCREDIBLY comfortable.

And - we just flew to Vegas last weekend, and we each took our headsets - I compared them on the airplane, and the Bose was definitely quieter (mainly because of the soft foam ear "cups"), and also was less likely to have strange buzzes when I turned my head. I don't like that little battery/circuit box on the Bose that much (it's not that bad, just a little annoying), as opposed to the integrated battery-holder on the Aiwa set, but this was a minor thing.

So anyway - they both do a decent job, but if you can afford the $249, the Bose headset is just incredible. Also, it has 2 settings, "Lo" and "Hi" - the "Hi" setting amplifies the incoming audio-signal, so that even if you have a PPC that isn't very loud, it will make up for it.

( for most of my vegas flight - both ways - i just put them on, and didn't plug into any source - it was just bliss not having that loud plane-noise roaring in my ears, and I fell asleep !)

[Felix Torres]

I have a pair...
...and they work quite well on airplanes.
Better than around the house, actually.
(It has to do with the type of noise a jet engine produces; the waveform is easier to analyze and cancel than the variety of noises you'll get around the house or in the car.)
The sound is not studio quality but still pretty good and the noise cancellation really does work.
Battery life effects on my Jornada 568? None I can detect.
One warning: they're not tremendously heavy but they're far from light.

A cheaper solution that I've found works *almost* as well for less than half the cost is a pair of KOSS earbud headphones ("the plug"). I got mine at CompUSA for $15. I also saw them at Best Buy for $25. They're not noise cancelling but they use very soft acoustic rubber to block off extraneous noises. I tried them on my last plane trip and they were more than just acceptable.

The extra advantage of these in-ear earbuds is that they are very small and light.

My suggestion is that unless you travel a lot or absolutely hate earbuds, you find a set of quality in-ear buds and pocket the change; you'll get better sound quality *and* the aircraft usability.

Of course, you could also try SONY's noise-cancelling earbuds. But the best price I've seen on those was $100. :-)

[docnilay]

And yes, the Bose headsets were too expensive... but I got them for a plan that automatically bills me $24.95 each month directly to my credit card. I don't mind paying it off slowly this way, and as I fly a lot, I'm very happy! I initially got the Aiwa, but they weren't as comfortable on my ears, so I gave them to a friend.

- Nilay

[piperpilot]

I have used two Sony models--MDR-NC5 ($70) and MDR-NC20 ($150)--and found that they performed admirably on planes, the subway, etc. The more expensive ones are more comfortable and have better sound, in my opinion. Both fold up for storage and come with an airline adapter and a storage pouch. I wish I had used the storage pouch for my first set--the $70 model. Left alone with the headphones for just 15 minutes, my cat chewed through the wires. She's really lucky that she's so cute!!!! :wink:

[rhmorrison]

About 20 years ago when I was in the Air Force stationed at Rhein Main AB, Frankfurt, Germany I saw an interesting AM radio in the BX (Base Exchange store). It was like a long flexible rectangle out of soft plastic with radio controls on one end of the unit. You could turn it on, adjust the volume and change the station but heard absolutely nothing until you placed the thing around your neck (resting on your shoulders). They you heard the sound as if was coming out of thin air.

Although quite the opposite of noice cancelling I always thought that this technology would be great for watching TV without bothering the wife as it let's you hear all the normal noise in the house and no one can hear what you do (even though it sounds like they can).

It seems to me that until the new hypersonic sound technology is packed into a product for this purpose that this is the ideal type of headphones to have for watching television w/o disturbing your partner.

Has anyone seen anything like this available as a product?

I have serached the Internet several times looking for this AM radio with no luck. Searches for 'bone conduction' also never resulted in the type of neck phone product that I am looking for.

I would be greatful for any tips...

:google:

[umichboy]

Active noise cancelling headphones are ok for planes, but they can't cancel out voices like crying babies.

The etymotic in-ear earplug/headphones were mentioned, and that's what I'm using now. The sound quality rivals Sennheiser's HD580 (which I use at home) and the noise rejection is 20-30dB of ALL noise crying babies, conversations etc...

I use this because I fly a lot, and when I fly I go to sleep. Active noise cancelling headphones are better if you don't sleep since you'll still be able to hear people who are talking to you like the flight attendant or your friend next to you.

In the car, you don't really want too much noise rejection and cancellation. The high end automobiles are already pretty quiet, and if they got much quieter you wouldn't hear car horns, ambulance/police/fire truck sirens etc... anymore.

[rhmorrison]

I searched the Groups using GOOGLE and found that the device I am referring to was called the "Bone-Fone". Some said that it didn't work that well, others that they were GREAT. I was very impressed when I tried it out in the store!

Anyone know where I could get a used set to play with?

:bangin:

[docnilay]

Active noise cancelling headphones are ok for planes, but they can't cancel out voices like crying babies.

The etymotic in-ear earplug/headphones were mentioned... and the noise rejection is 20-30dB of ALL noise crying babies, conversations etc...

I use this because I fly a lot, and when I fly I go to sleep. Active noise cancelling headphones are better if you don't sleep since you'll still be able to hear people who are talking to you like the flight attendant or your friend next to you.


I have to agree.. but the "in-ear" models hurt my ear. And on my red-eye from San Diego last weekend, as I slept it was good I had the Bose headsets on. All was silent until the stewardess announced overhead for a doctor to come to the back of the plane immediately. Fortunately, I heard that, awoke from my sleep and rushed back to help a fellow passenger out.

So... it depends on your needs and your comfort factor.

- Nilay

[One-eYe]

I guess i'm in the group of, who needs stinking noise cancelling headphones anyways. 8O

[rfischer]

I guess i'm in the group of, who needs stinking noise cancelling headphones anyways. 8O

What? I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you. I had my noise-cancelling headphones on. :wink: