Noise Canceling Headphones

I am not fond of airplane noises---the roar of the engine, the fussy babies, or the arguing couple that often ends up behind me. Thank goodness for noise canceling headphones.

How do they work? Active Noise-canceling headphones reduce unwanted ambient sounds by using a microphone placed near the ear piece of the headphone, and electronic circuitry which generates an "antinoise" sound wave with the opposite polarity of the sound wave arriving at the microphone. This results in destructive interference, which cancels out the noise within the enclosed volume of the headphone. You enjoy your music without listening to the ambient sound in the plane.

Before going To Europe this summer, I researched noise canceling headphones as I wanted to get a really nice pair for my sister. I watched an entertaining and extremely helpful videocast about noise canceling headphones by David Pogue who reviews products for the New York Times. He tested out several headphones and came up with a recommendation. Bose. Second on his list and at 1/2 the price, AudioTechnica. Pogue says these are almost equal to the Bose. He is right! They are amazing. On the long flight to London, I gave them a try, so did my dad and sister. We loved them. So I just bought myself a pair. Wowzer. I had already forgotten how fabulous they are.

You might begin to look at these type of headphones for a great gift idea. We all fly, ride trains, sit in noisy bus stations, or want to ignore the spouse. Just kidding, honey.

BTW: David Pogue is funny -- you gotta watch his iPhone Musical, sung to the tune of Frank Sinatra's "I did it My Way". He recorded it in New York the day the iPhone came out. It's got personality. He is well-known for his Missing Manual books.