Noise Cancelling Headphones
 
While the world keeps getting smaller as communication becomes easier and travel more common, sometimes you just need to get away and isolate yourself. It's now easier to do this no matter where you are. You don't have to hide at home or hike to a distant mountain top, you can just put on some noise cancelling headphones and be alone for a while.
 
 
It's not just the large padding around the cups that keep noise out of noise cancelling headphones, the most effective models use an active circuit that actually cancels noise within the earphones. It's the same technology that keeps an airplane's cabin quiet while massive jets burn just outside. The way it works is miniature microphones pick-up any noise that leaks in the headset. An electronic circuit takes that signal and inverts the sound wave so the original noise and the inverted signal cancel each other. This leaves just the music from your iPod or MP3 player for you to hear. Or near silence if that's what you prefer. It sounds complicated, but most of the higher end models do a great job of reducing unwanted noise.
 
One feature that is common among the most popular models is a monitor button. This is a button or a switch that momentarily mutes the audio and interrupts the noise cancelling function so that you can hear someone talking to you. This is a very useful feature which keeps you from having to pull off your headphones every few minutes.
 
Noise cancelling headphones typically require batteries to power the active noise cancelling function. An on/off switch is also usually located on the side of the headset. This allows you to use the headphones as traditional stereo headphones or activate the noise cancelling function so you can enjoy listening to music and block out any outside noise at the same time. It's a way to increase isolation between you and the outside world.
 

Increased isolation doesn't come without expense. Noise cancelling headphones will usually cost more than traditional headphones. For general purpose listening to music or audio books, the sound quality of most models of noise cancellation headphones is comparable to traditional headphones and earbuds. But there can be some slight degradation of sound quality or even an audible buzz when the active noise cancelling circuitry is switched on. This compromise is generally acceptable. The primary feature on these headphones is the noise cancellation. If you're looking for the best sounding headphones, you should probably look elsewhere. But if you want to escape to your own world for a while, put on some noise cancelling headphones and enjoy some peace and quiet (or music).