Have you ever had a problem listening to your favourite music or the soundtrack of the in-flight movie on a long plane journey? The constant background noise of the engines can cause difficulty in setting the volume level on standard headphones to listen comfortably without being too quiet or too loud. Using noise reduction headphones gives an amazing solution, when you put them on, the background roaring and humming noises are reduced to virtually nothing. In addition, after using these headphones you will feel more refreshed and a lot less fatigued at the end of a lengthy flight.
Standard headphones are designed to carry audio. They don’t do very much to fade background disruption. The best quality noise reduction headphones are manufactured by the likes of Sennheiser, Bose QuietComfort, Sony and Philips. Future articles will include some details on specific products along with some impartial reviews and advice. You won’t believe how good these headsets are until you try them out, so how do noise reduction headphones actually work?
Sound is formed by a succession of pressure waves that pass through the air. A sound is constructed from equivalent numbers of high and low pressure waves that travel from where the sound is formed into your ear where the sound is heard. The simple way to silence a sound is to put a device, such as earplugs or earmuffs that blocks the path of these waves to your ear.
Noise reduction headphones have tiny microphones inside the cups of both earphones that monitor what you are hearing, including any outside background noise. Some electronic processing wizardry takes place to create a correction signal, which is the difference between the required sound and the background noise. This signal is fed to the speaker in each earphone. The net result, when combined with the passive noise reduction of the headphones themselves, is a massive reduction in background noise and a much-improved listening experience. Some noise reduction headphones allow you to switch on the noise reduction system without actually listening to music, reducing background disruption and making you more relaxed!
