Noise-canceling headsets … worth every dime they cost!

Have you ever noticed how high you need to turn up the volume on a plane’s entertainment system, your smartphone or iPod, to watch a video or listen to music while in flight? Did you ever try to listen to a “book on tape” while flying over the ocean without turning the volume to levels you’d never use on land?

I certainly have, especially while flying on one of those very noisy regional jets, until I invested in a noise-canceling headset.

If you’ve never used a quality noise-canceling headset while aloft, I assure you, they work.

Noise-canceling headsets can dramatically reduce the cabin noise from jet engines, and even diminish the noise from cabin conversation. They can permit you to listen to music and watch videos while flying without cranking up the volume to “dangerously” loud levels. When not plugged into any device, they can even help you get a restful sleep while flying.

Noise-canceling headsets can use two methods to reduce unwanted ambient sounds (noise); passive and active. Passive noise reduction is accomplished by insulating the ears from the ambient noise surrounding the listener.

Active noise reduction is accomplished by active noise control (ANC) which involves using microphones placed near the ear. The headset’s electronic circuitry uses the signals from the microphone(s) to generate “anti-noise” in each speaker in the headset. The destructive interference of this “anti-noise” cancels out the ambient noise heard within the headset.

In my experience, noise-canceling headsets which don’t use both passive and active noise-canceling aren’t particularly effective while flying.

To make my list of top headsets, the units had to be able to be used with my iPod and other MP3 players, smartphones, portable DVD players, laptop computers, and be able to be plugged into most of the airlines’ entertainment systems.

Noise-canceling headphones have limitations:

• Active noise reduction requires the headset be powered. That means their battery(s) must be either periodically replaced or recharged.

Headsets which have a proprietary, built-in battery, are unacceptable to me. I would only purchase a noise-canceling headset which used a replaceable battery, to ensure I could continuously use the headset while traveling, without having to put the device aside when it needed recharging.

• Active noise reduction works well for sounds which are continuous, such as the low frequency roar of jet engines in airplane cabins, but is far less effective against speech and other rapidly changing sounds.

• Some lower quality noise-canceling headsets may introduce high-frequency hiss into what you’re listening via their use.

• Many noise-canceling headsets, especially the ones which use both active and passive noise reduction, are often bulkier and heavier than traditional headphones and in-ear headsets.

Here are my top three noise cancelling headsets available today.

• Bose QuietComfort® 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® headphones ($300)

For use in airplane travel, I consider the Bose QuietComfort 15 (BQC15) the best headset overall. The BQC15 uses Bose’s exclusive noise-canceling technology to filter out ambient noise, especially the low tones we hear in airplane cabins from jet engines. Bose improved their noise-canceling technology in the BQC15 since bringing out their previously highly rated QuietComfort 3.

In the BQC15, Bose redesigned their ear cups which block out cabin conversation, as well as or better than any noise-canceling headset on the market. The BQC15 uses ordinary or rechargeable AAA batteries.

• AKG K702 Open Back Headset ($350)

AKG’s K702 Open Back Headset comes in second in my reviews. Their noise-canceling capability is the same as the Bose, in my opinion, for both active and passive noise reduction. In fact, at home, or in the airport, the sound quality may even exceed the quality of the Bose headset.

I have rated the K702 second to the Bose because in the air, this headset is no better than the Bose, costs an additional $50 and doesn’t come with a carrying case.

• Audio Technica ATH-ANC7B Headset ($120)

Third place in my review goes to the far less expensive ATH-ANC7B. Spending less money for your noise-canceling headset does come at a quality cost. The active noise-canceling quality is not the equal of the Bose or the AKG, but its darn good, and the sound it produces is very nice.

What pushes the ATH-ANC7B into a somewhat distant third place is its passive noise reduction quality. I was actually surprised by how much outside noise this headset permitted to get to my ears. The ear cups are substantial in size, but they just don’t do nearly as well conforming to one’s ears as well as the Bose and AKG.

If you can’t or don’t feel you should spend the money for the Bose or AKG, then purchasing the Audio Technica will still improve your listening pleasure while aloft significantly.