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A guide in choosing the best noise cancelling headphones

Noise Canceling Headphones, Which Are the Best Ones for you?

Are you often annoyed with the sounds of vehicles, traffic, and people around while traveling? Here we’ve got an amazing solution for you. It’s called noise-canceling headphones.

We can’t shut the machines and people up. Therefore, noise becomes an unwanted but inevitable part of our daily errands. However, with some of the best anti-noise headphones available, we don’t need to worry on this front.

Just put on a pair and you’re good to go. With active noise canceling headphones, you can easily cut off the undesired sound while enjoying your favorite music.

Seeking the right pair for yourself? Sony,Bose and Sennheiser headphones can be your top choice among other greats.

How do noise canceling headphones works?

Most headphones that you buy would claim to be noise canceling. But is it really so? You can only be sure when you know how the noise cancellation technology works. Let’s find out. There are three basic types of noise cancellation used by the headphones. Even your headphones use one of these three methods. Here are the three types of noise cancellation.

Passive noise canceling headphones

Most headphones use passive noise cancellation (PNC). These headphones have feature designs, shapes, and materials that block the sound completely from reaching your ears. So PNC headphones just keep you sealed from all the noise around you.  Passive noise cancellation works best against irregular and high-frequency sounds.

While buying such headphones, you just need to check the fit. The better is the seal, the more sound they block. The size of these headphones is often too large and that can be the only issue.

 Active noise canceling headphones 

Active noise cancellation (ANC) teams up its shape and designs with advanced technology for noise cancellation. An audio processor in the headphones detects the external sounds and mirrors them with an anti-noise signal. This makes the external sound waves just vanish.

Active noise cancellation works best against constant and low-frequency sounds. It’s your best option to block airplane engine, traffic, chats, and other such sounds. So that makes it the best noise cancelling machine for commuting.

ANC headphones require a battery without which they work as regular headphones.

Adaptive noise canceling headphones     

Adaptive noise cancellation is a new technology. Here the strength of noise cancellation gets adjusted as per the level of noises around you. The noise cancellation is stronger when the noise is higher and vice versa. Some headphones adjust automatically while others let you set the level of cancellation.

Adaptive noise cancellation comes in handy when you want to be aware of your surroundings while keeping the sound low. If that’s what you need, then adaptive noise cancelling headphones are for you.

What’s your best noise cancelling headphones? Buyer’s guide.

Doubtful about how to choose the best noise canceling headphones? Don’t worry we’ve got you covered. The very first step while choosing a decent pair is to decide the type of noise cancellation. We’ve already discussed the types of cancellations and what’s best for what conditions.

Deciding the type of noise cancellation isn’t the end of the process, though. There are other important factors to consider as well. Here’s the complete list of things to look for in a great pair of headphones.

Wired vs. wireless    

Wired headphones can save you some money. But if you can go the extra mile financially, go wireless. Nothing seems better than the ease and extra freedom paced in wireless headphones, but with the above mentioned headphones you are able to use both in wired mode or wireless mode depending on your own desire.

Battery life

Battery life is another important factor. Most decent models today offer at least 25 hours of listening while noise cancellation mode is on when the battery is charged fully. You can also opt for a model that let you switch off the noise cancellation. This feature saves your battery in quieter places or keeps the headphones running when the battery is low.

Fit    

Noise canceling headphones generally use an over the ear design to block foreign sounds. Now, headphones to be used daily also need to be comfortable and easy on your ears. It’s better to go for smaller models. You can also choose the right earbud-style that’s comfy and yet a good noise blocker.

Adjustable/adaptive noise cancellation    

A really cool feature with some of the headphones is the adjustable noise cancellation. Such headphones adjust the level of sound cancellation as per the intensity of surrounding sounds. For instance, Sony WH-1000XM2 and its latest version Sonny WH-1000XM3 adjusts not just according to the intensity of foreign sound but your flight’s altitude as well. Your music stays untouched.

Access to the real world 

In the chaos of your city, you do need to cut the noise of the world. But there can be times when you want to be aware of your surroundings. A headphone with quick access to the real world can thus be a great help.

Voice control     

Many high-end models are offering voice controls through Google Assistant and Alexa. This can complete most of your tasks at your mouth’s utter. It’s quite a handy feature if you’ll buy it.     

Bottom line, Noise canceling headphones are quite the need of the hour. But if you’re ready to invest in a pair, make sure it’s totally worth the money. We’ve already discussed some of the best headphones available in the market. And we also tried to touch every point you need to consider before you make a buy.

If you want to buy a pair of noise cancelling headphones, then below is our list of recommendations based on quality, price and users’ feedback

For more information about noise cancelling headphones and headphones in general you might want to have a look at our list of e-books below

  1. Your health and headphones
  2. The In and out of anti-noise headphones
  3. Evolution of headphones technology

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