The life of the financially starving media artist is not easy. The advice I offer is more like common sense. When shopping for any type of noise cancelling headphone, I simply pay attention to the size of the speaker in relation to the shape of my ear before committing any amount of dollars into the purchase. That’s when shopping at a local store is preferable over the blind testing when buying online. You don’t know what to expect unless the pictures show a sense of scale.
The better enclosed the headphone is to one’s ear, the better it can block out ambient noise. That’s why I love the Over-the-Ear style of headphone. What’s sampled inside the chamber compared to the outside environment can help cancel the ‘noise’ that’s produced.
In-Ear type devices are nice but there are not many true noise cancelling headphones in this particular category. I’m the type that finds that this style slides out of my ear canal after a few hours of wear. The silicone is not quite fitting snugly.
As nice as they are for blocking some outside hums, they hardly ever work perfectly for low-level frequencies. That’s because when they are drawn out on an electronic monitoring device, they look like rolling hills. High frequencies can be like the regularly splashing waves from the ocean hitting the beach when the wind is gusting. Unless the seal from the headphones to the skin is perfect, low frequencies are more easier to slip through. High or medium range frequencies, however, are not that easy. To have a headphone with the right size microphone to record the environment is important.
To apply these physics to the right kind of headphone is both an engineering and acoustic design challenge. Style is somewhat important because room is needed to create comfort for the music listener versus the technology that knows exactly what to look for and filter out. That’s why paying attention to packaging specifications is important. The more listening devices that are on the headphone the better, and having a switch to distinguish between natural environmental and engine noise can help buyers decide from buying one type of headphone over another.
On-ear headphones are weird. That and the Over-the-ear design are a common feature for active noise cancelling devices. Strangely, I find the square-shaped design in Harman Kardon’s latest line of headphones, like the NC, BT or CL-RECTIFIED, more beneficial because they are comfortable to put around any ear. Monster’s Inspiration series is the perfect example of perfect functionality. But sadly, ever since Dr. Dre decided to make headphones a clique accessory, to find the right items that are more functional than fashionable is tough. I dislike this direction but hopefully the next set of phones I’ve ordered will be to my liking:
Hopefully Audio Technica ATH-ANC29’s will be what I desire for a headphone instead of the ANC-9 (a heavier and expensive version with selectable noise filtering modes).
To be continued
Discover more from Otaku no Culture
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
