noisecanceling
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Audio-Technica unveils its best noise-canceling headphones yet
Audio-Technica has unveiled a huge range of new products at this year's CES, chief among them some new addition to its QuietPoint wireless noise-canceling headphones range. The line up features over-ear and in-ear models, and is, according to the company, its most effective yet in blocking out ambient noise.
Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones review: Goodbye, Bose
Sony's WH-1000XM3 headphones are the sort of dream gadget I can review succinctly in one sentence: They're incredibly comfortable, and they sound amazing. That's it. End review. When the first 1000XM pair debuted in 2016, they weren't just another set of premium cans -- they were a sign that Sony was ready to take on Bose for the high-end noise-canceling crown. The company managed to deliver something that sounded better than Bose's best headsets while matching them at their own game. Now, with its third version, Sony is giving us little reason to look elsewhere. The $350 WH-1000XM3s are basically the ideal pair of wireless noise-canceling headphones.
Bell Labs doubles beams in fiber optic lines to reach 400Gbps on a global scale
It's comparatively easy to run fiber optic lines at high speeds; it's another matter to sustain that pace between continents. Alcatel-Lucent's Bell Labs has found a way to go that extreme distance by relying on the basic concept behind noise-cancelling headphones. When the researchers send data across two light beams in opposing phases, they can superimpose the signals and neutralize the distortion that would normally occur at long ranges. Such clean output lets Bell Labs ramp up the signal strength and maintain high speeds across whole oceans: its test pushed 400Gbps through 7,954 miles of fiber. There's no word on how soon we'll see twin-light technique put into practice, although we suspect that a networking giant like Alcatel-Lucent wants the extra bandwidth as quickly as possible. [Image credit: JL Hopgood, Flickr]
Etymotic Music•Pro 9-15 earplugs bring high-end hush to audiences, lets us enjoy speed metal safely
Premium electronic earplugs usually find their homes with musicians eager to preserve their hearing at all costs; anyone within the crowd has more often been left to either use cruder plugs or cover their ears. Etymotic wants to bridge that difference with the Music•Pro 9-15. The combination of ER-9 and ER-15 earplugs matches its namesake not just through the choice of components, but through active noise cancellation that removes 9 to 15 decibels from the sound only when the rock gets too raucous: listeners can hear fellow concert-goers and even boost their volume without skewing the sound of the band. Pricing plays its own part in reaching out to the crowd, too. As high as the new Music•Pro set's $399 price might be compared to a typical pair of ear blockers, it's low enough that a dedicated fan of virtual Tupac can afford to go to the concert protected rather than voluntarily take on some hearing damage.
Able Planet Clear Harmony headphones deliver top quality sound at a premium price (Updated)
One of the more widely-used accessories for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Mac is a set of headphones. Whether you're using that little headset that came with your iPhone or iPod touch, or you have moved up to another type of headphone, you know how important it is to be able to listen to your music or movies clearly. I recently had an opportunity to test a pair of Clear Harmony NC1100B noise canceling headphones (US$299.99), but be sure to look for the NC1100BA option that includes an 8 GB iPod touch at no extra cost) from Able Planet and found that they're outstanding for enjoying sound from any of your Apple devices. Updated: the Able Planet website no longer shows the free 8 GB iPod touch option. Updated: the free 8 GB iPod touch is back! Design As you might expect from the name, Able Planet builds audio products for people with all levels of hearing. According to the Able Planet website, their patented Linx Audio technology "creates high frequency harmonics that enhance sound quality and speech clarity of difficult to hear words or notes, and increase the perception of loudness without increasing volume." In layman's terms, you don't necessarily have to "turn the knob to 11" to be able to hear music or speech the way you want to. The company has won a bunch of awards at CES over the past five years for this technology, and it should be interesting to see if they continue that string of wins this week. When you open the box that these headphones come in, the first thing you see is a nice cloth-covered and zippered carrying case. Opening that case, you see the headphones, the cable, and adapters. The NC1100B comes with both 1/4" and 1/8" plugs for use with a variety of devices, and the plugs are all gold-plated. There's also a dual 1/4" adapter that works with most airline sound systems. The NC1100B headphones use an over-the-ear design that totally covers your ears. I'm partial to this type of headphone design, since earbuds have a tendency to fall out with movement and I can't stand the feel of in-the-ear designs. The padded headphones are quite comfortable, perfect for those long flights where you might want to watch a few movies and listen to some tunes. Noise canceling headphones require power, so the cap on the right ear "cup" slides off easily to accept two AAA batteries. The headphones weigh about 8.2 ounces with the batteries inserted, which is surprisingly less than the pair of custom V-Moda Crossfade headphones I usually use (9.6 ounces). Functionality I'll be the first to admit that I am usually a skeptic when it comes to claims of sound quality with high-end headphones. That's why I'm totally surprised with just how good these headphones sound. I listened to a wide cross-section of music in my iTunes library, from classic rock to classical, and for each selection I listened not only on the NC1100B 'phones, but also the V-Moda Crossfades. The NC1100B headphones also did a surprising job in getting rid of hiss and background noise in a number of older recordings that are in my collection (a lot of my tunes are older recordings -- hey, I'm an older person!). When I listened to music with the V-Moda Crossfades after listening to the same tune with the Able Planet headphones, the music just sounded muddy with a surprising amount of hiss. The NC1100B headphones made everything sound much cleaner, crisper and more "real" than any other headphones I've ever used. The noise cancellation capabilities are also impressive. In my office, I have a DroboPro that is constantly adding a level of white noise to the ambient sound. Turning the headphones on and off while sitting at my desk really showed me just how loud that noise is. As with other noise canceling headphones, the NC1100Bs don't totally eliminate background noise, but they do temper it to a tolerable level. My test here was to listen to music from my iPhone while standing next to a running washing machine and dryer, turning noise cancellation on and off. Again, I could still hear the background noise a bit with noise cancellation turned on, but the noise was largely filtered out. Since many TUAW readers may use headphones to listen to movies, I also watched several movies on my iPad while listening to the soundtrack with the NC1100B headphones. Once again, the sound quality was outstanding, especially in situations where there was a mixture of dialogue with background noises or music. One final note: years of listening to music has caused me to have a moderate level of tinnitus in my left ear which seems to be getting worse as I get older. With most headphones, I have to turn down the volume in order to listen without discomfort. The NC1100Bs are so distortion-free that I can listen to tunes at a lower volume while still picking up all the nuances of the music. Conclusion Considering the number of headphones I've tested over the years, I was totally surprised -- in a good way -- with the Able Planet Clear Harmony NC1100B headphones. As with all of the items that we review here at TUAW, these headphones will be given away to a reader at one of our meetups, but this is one situation where I'm going to personally spend my own money to pick up a pair. The sound quality is that good. While Able Planet certainly doesn't have the name recognition of Bose, V-Moda, Beats by Dr. Dre, or Skull Candy, the company should. The Able Planet Clear Harmony NC1100B headphones are my new gold standard for comparison to any other headphones on the market.
Klipsch Mode noise-canceling headphones tweet highs, woof lows
We've been worried about Klipsch's future since Audiovox joined the picture, but it looks like there isn't reason to fret just yet. Remember the company's first on-ear headphones, the Image One? Well, Klippy's back for round two evidently; its Mode active noise-canceling headphones have quietly popped up on its website with a whopping $350 price tag and a fall 2011 release. The collapsible earcups are padded in plushy leather and house a 40mm mid / low woofer with a 15mm tweeter for silky highs, crunchy mids and thumping lows. Also included are two detachable 3.5mm cables, one of which has an Apple-certified three-button inline remote / mic. Best of all, ANC can be enabled for up to 45 hours on a single battery to zone out any bustle around you. We'll have an ears-on with these very soon, but you'll find details now via the source link below.%Gallery-128214%
Polk enters the headphone game with sporty, generic ear-speakers
It seems the Polk folk have had their fill of iPod docks, shower speakers, and soundbars, and are hungry for a new market: headphones. The outfit aims to "change the sonic landscape" (their words) for athletes and "ardent headphone users" with their UltraFit and UltraFocus monikered ear-gear. Between the two brands, Polk is promising four brightly-colored UltraFit sports 'phones, including in-ear, on-ear, and earbud models, as well as two UltraFocus in-ear and over-ear noise canceling headphones. No word on price or release date, but Polk suggests you should be able to get your hands on its sporty headgear sometime this fall. Need more? You can find a buzzword-laden press release after the break.
Sony's NC-13 buds cancel noise, RF865 cans transmit across a football field
Given the one-size-fits-few nature of most audio products, it's good to have choices, and Sony happens to have two new pairs of headphones designed for very particular segments of your life. If, say, you're a traveling music lover who doesn't happen to have the disposable income to obtain Sony's premium $300 MDR-NC300D noise canceling buds (which the company claims filter out 99 percent of noise), you'll find a cheaper alternative in the new $70 MDR-NC13, which only make a estimated 87.4 percent of background distractions go bye-bye. C'est la vie. If, on the other hand, you need to throw sound from one end of your mansion to the other for hours on end, the MDR-RF865RK wireless headphones might be the wide receiver you've been dreaming of -- Sony claims they'll play audio up to 100 meters away from their dock, which provides up to 25 hours of playtime after a 3.5 hour charge. No price or availability for the wireless cans, which were just announced in the UK, but you'll find the NC-13 on sale at Sony's online store right now. PR after the break.
Pioneer's SE-NC31C-K noise-cancelling earbuds are cheap, but are they effective?
Active noise cancellation's the secret sauce that keeps us counting sheep even when surrounded by the cacophony of crying babies and the dull roar of jet engines -- though we often find the bulky form factor of those serenity-inducing cans unwieldy. Luckily for us, Pioneer has released its SE-NC31C-K noise-cancellation earbuds that promise to remove 90 percent of ambient noise at the flip of a switch on its AAA battery-powered in-line module -- all for around a hundred bucks, which is a far more palatable price than its sound-suppressing brethren from Sennheiser ($320) and Sony ($415). Should you run out of juice, fear not, for you can bypass the noise cancellation features to listen to your tunage as you would with a garden variety set of buds. Given its (relatively) bargain-basement price, we aren't sure how well Pioneer's latest nullifies ambient noise, but there's only one way to find out if they can give the best headset ever made a run for its money. Should you not share our skepticism, hit the source link and grab a pair for yourself.
Ask Engadget: best passive noise cancelling headphones?
We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Alex, who just can't take the noise, dude. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com. "Hello Engadget. I've always been a fan of high quality audio but I have a problem. I need noise cancelling headphones, but active noise cancelling gives me a headache and my ear canals aren't round enough to use in-ear earphones. I've also looked into custom earphones but I can't afford paying $400 or more for a set. What are your recommendations for the best pair of passive noise cancelling headphones? My ears thank you." We will say that Klipsch's oval ear tips tend to fit in funky ear canals that typically reject round ones, but if you're still hellbent on a pair of cans, we're hoping our audience below can toss out some advice. If they can hear us from underneath their noise cancelling headphones, of course.
Ask Engadget: Best noise cancelling Bluetooth headset?
We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Jonathon, who's currently preparing for a summer of fun with top dropped. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com. "I'm looking for a Bluetooth headset with the best noise reduction. I've got a convertible and would like to be able to have a conversation with the top down (at least around town, highway would be fantastic but probably unrealistic). So, any thoughts and / or suggestions?" BT headsets have come a long way since we first posted a similar question in 2005, so we suspect the answers here will be quite a bit different. Do you have a particular earpiece that you enjoy while cruising under the open skies? Don't hold back on us, now.
Sony's noise-canceling earphones US-bound in February
You didn't have to wait until now to pick up Sony's MDR-NC300D noise-canceling earphones -- after all, they've been imported from Japan since their June debut. Still, now that the 'buds are hitting official status US routes in February, it'll be a heck of a lot easier to make that impulse buy. No price mentioned, but expect at least a few Benjamins to automatically eject from your wallet.
Video: Sony's MDR-NC300D noise-canceling canal earbuds
We know you haven't slept in the week since we first got wind of Sony's MDR-NC300D heaphones and while, sadly, there is (as of yet) still no domestic street date, we do have some more details and a fun little video to tide you over. Billed as the "world's first" digital noise canceling canal earphones (and we're inclined to agree) these guys boast 98.4% noise reduction, an integrated S-Master amplifier, 16mm diameter drivers for each bud, and three separate noise canceling modes. For those of you with a more technical bent, you'll be pleased to know that the 'phones sport a playback frequency of 6Hz ~ 24kHz, a sensitivity of 103dB/mW, and a 16Ω impedence. And it runs on AAA batteries -- meaning these aren't the iPod killers that we've seen in similar devices. This bad boy will hit the streets and shelves of Japan on June 21st for ¥30,975 (around $315).Video after the break.[Via Sony Insider]
Sony introduces MDR-NC300D noise-canceling headphones
Tired of listening to more than just your music? Not down with handing over any of your hard-earned cash to the specification-hiding folks at Bose? Have a look at Sony's latest, the MDR-NC300D. These flashy earbuds boast an in-line noise-canceling module with three separate modes: a general mode, airplane mode and one for trains / buses / cars. Granted, we get the idea that those selections are a bit of marketing hype, but whatever the case, Sony asserts that these buds will eliminate up to 99 percent of undesired jibber jabber. All that's required is a single AA cell, which should provide right around 20 hours of noise suppression. Interested? Pony up ¥40,900 ($415) and prove it.[Thanks, Waroxy]
Toshiba's auxiliary speaker cancels noise from main speaker
Er, something like that. Reportedly, Toshiba has conjured up some sort of newfangled technology that's able to more accurately reproduce sound by using a noise canceling auxiliary speaker. Specifically, the tech utilizes "sound from an auxiliary speaker to eliminate noise generated from the main speaker," and in case your wild guess wasn't good enough, it relies on "opposite-phase sound waves generated from the auxiliary speaker attached to the main speaker" to make it all happen. We know, our head is spinning just as fast as yours here, and it's all the more difficult to comprehend without an actual product to demonstrate. That said, Tosh is planning to conduct research and development in order to implement this into its own products, so hopefully we'll be seeing something a touch more tangible real soon.
Ask Engadget: Best noise-canceling headphones?
Over at the Engadget household today, we staffers have gathered around a cornucopia of good eats, good gadgets, and most importantly, good times. When it came time to list all the things we were thankful for, our readers were undoubtedly the top choice. And with Ask Engadget questions like this one, can you really blame us? "I've been listening to your podcast since the day you reintroduced it and I really like it, but I have a hard time understanding what you're saying when I'm in the subway. So I'd like to know what are the best noise-suppressing headphones I could get for around $150. Either that, or you could just ask Nilay to speak louder... thanks a lot!"We'll be sure to pass the word to Nilay (he's a bit busy with the pumpkin pie at the moment), but for all of you overstuffed individuals out there, how's about giving Gabriel an answer he'll appreciate? Afterwards, send in a question of your own to ask at engadget dawt com.
Sony unveils five new audio accessories: headphones, speakers and remote
Rather than just introducing these five items individually, Sony reckoned the world at large may pay more attention if they were unveiled in one fell swoop. To that end, we're left staring at a new pair of noise canceling headphones (MDR-NC7; $50), travel speakers (SRS-M50; $50), a universal remote (RM-VL610; $30), EX Series earbuds (MDR-EX36V; $30) and stereo Bluetooth headphones (DR-BT160AS; $160). While the first two are pretty self-explanatory, color lovers will appreciate the three swappable back plates for the remote, and the water-resistant BT 'phones pack a built-in microphone, rechargeable Li-ion cells and A2DP support. Everything should be available now if you look hard enough, and the full release with all the gory details is waiting just after the break.%Gallery-37129%
Acoustic Research doles out ARNC01 noise-canceling earbuds
Audiovox's extravaganza is closing up with the introduction of the Acoustic Research ARNC01 ($59.99) earbuds, which promise to use whiz-bang active processing to reduce noise for airline addicts and those with a crib full of rambunctious youngsters. The circuitry is housed in an in-line module with an On / Off button and a compartment for a single AAAA (yes, AAAA) battery, which should last you around 50 hours. You know, plenty of time to head off to Akihabara and back for a few new Japanese exclusives.
HP's noise-cancelling Bluetooth headphones hit the FCC
We didn't see these noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones hiding anywhere in HP's CES booth, so we can only assume the company is trying to sneak 'em by Uncle Sam while we're in Vegas. Of course, you know we're still on top of everything else that's going down even in the middle of CES, which is why we'll be rewarding HP for this deception with a full gallery of pictures. There's nothing going on here internally that's super-crazy, but the form factor is nicely classic, and noise-cancellation is always fun. Check it all out in the gallery -- and HP? We're watching, guys. %Gallery-13277%
Sony's $400 digital noise canceling headphones
The age-old battle between the forces of digital and analog wages on, with Sony's new MDR-NC500D noise canceling headphones claiming to out noise cancel your totally old-fashioned analog pair. We don't really understand the audio alchemy explained in the press release ("the analog audio input signal is converted to a digital signal and sent through a digital equalizer to enhance the mid-range vocals and alleviate the excess bass"?) but if it means we can tune into whatever crappy movie they're playing on the plane while blocking out the roar of the jet engine and maybe even a crying infant or two, then consider our attention gotten when these things start canceling noise in February. For $400, we're expecting nothing less than a miracle.