Check out my video tech talk segment from today’s Sunday Morning News on Global TV on a live demo of the newest noise cancelling headphones:
http://www.globaltvedmonton.com/video/apr+8++tech+talk/video.html?v=2220673590&p=1&s=dd#newscasts
Recordings of five noise cancelling headphones being turned on half way through, show how “quiet” they are in an Air Canada 320 airliner during flight. Improved performance from top to bottom: Sony NC500D, Klipsch Mode M40, Bose QC 3, Sony NC200D and Bose QC 15, which showed the most dramatic noise cancellation.
Morning folks, today on my GlobalTV Sunday Morning News Tech Talk segment I demonstrated some of the best noise
cancelling headphones on the market.
They are not cheap, easily costing several hundred bucks,
but are worth it as they will save your hearing on the long run. Since they
cancel outside noise, you don’t have to have your volume that high to listen to
your music or a movie on an airplane.
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They basically work by
reducing ambient sound by synthesizing an opposite phase sound produced by the noise
canceling circuit.
Klipsch Mode M40 $399.99
Pros: Best quality materials from cables, high grade leather
ear cups and produce the highest listening volume. They come with an Apple
3-button controller, run on one AAA battery for 45 hours and is the only model in this
grouping that will work without batteries in plain mode.
Cons: They are chunky and become uncomfortable by pressing
too hard on most heads.
Sony NC500D around the ear $399.99
Pros: Uses an effective AI to adjust in different noisy
environments and comes with a charger and external AA battery holder for a
combined 28 hours of use.
Cons: It was the least effective of this grouping in very
loud environments. Not recommended for airplanes.
Sony NC200D on the ear $229.99
Pros: These where the second-best sounding and performing
headphones in this grouping. The AI button did a good job of adjusting to
different environments. Runs on a single AAA battery for 22 hours and is the
most compact for travel.
Cons: Not ment for loud environments, like airplanes.
This 3D Steinberg WaveLab analysis of a typical airliner jet noisy cabin, using Bose QC 15 headphones shows how parts of its loudness are brought down after noise cancellation is turned on halfway though, starting at the green dot. Note that in this case, a frequency of about 60Hz is drastically reduced.
Bose QuietComfort 15 around the ear $399.99
Pros: Runs on one AAA battery for 35 hours, includes a switching
cable for iPhones and unquestionably is the best noise cancelling headphone I
have ever tried, including airplanes.
Cons: Like the Sony “around the ear” model, the sound is not
as natural and “in your face” as the “on ear” models whose drivers are closer
to your years.
Bose QuietComfort 3 on the ear $399.99
Pros: It has the most natural sound in an average room
environment and the most comfortable fit with cushions that gently mold on your
ears. Has a built-in 25 hour battery and
charger.
Cons: coming in at the same price as its larger “quietest”
sibling QC 15, I expected the same performance but not. You are paying the same
price for a smaller size, comfort and slightly less noise cancellation in the most noisy environments.
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