25-06-2010, 14:00
noise canceling refers to an anti-noise signal that is emitted by the headphones which effectively cancels out the soundwaves of the unwanted noise. Yes, you can produce the same noise canceling effects by raising the volume on your phones, but this is very dangerous. as you raise the volume, the length of time you can listen to the sound without causing damage significantly decreases.
the headphones i have seen have a little button that you can click that will send out the noise canceling sound. when the batteries die, you get weird noise, so keep the batteries fresh. also, i used to have a pair of headphones that did not emit any noise but they were great at blocking out sound, though i don't know if they were advertised as noise canceling. but i agree that headphones already do a pretty good job of canceling sound. make sure you are getting the headphones that sit around your ear, and not on top... actually, i've never tried the on top ear ones, because i find the over the ear phones so much more comfortable, so someone else will have to chime in about the effectiveness of the over the ear jobbies.
i also know that you can pay a lot of money to have earbuds moulded to your ear, and these are great for canceling noise. usually these are very expensive and are used by professionals instead of using stage monitors. they are serious noise cancelers. but i would think that those earbuds that stick right into your ear (skullcandy, and what have you - the ones people are using cause regular little earbuds fall out of most people's ears when the wind picks up slightly, or someone breathes in your direction) should cancel noise to a certain extent, cause it's pretty much the same concept as your cheap drug store ear plugs.
personally: over the ear headphones all the way. i pick them at the store by trying them all on and picking the one that i find most comfortable. the price should give you an idea of how good the sound quality is, but not always. i don't like the little noise canceling sound, so i try to find ones that are made out of a noise blocking material. i have a pair of bose headphones, but i used to have a sweet set that blocked more sound and were substantially cheaper, but i carted them around everywhere i went and eventually they broke... that is another concern for buying headphones. you might want to get a travel pair of earbuds, or get a good hard case for your headphones, but it's all a little bulky.
the headphones i have seen have a little button that you can click that will send out the noise canceling sound. when the batteries die, you get weird noise, so keep the batteries fresh. also, i used to have a pair of headphones that did not emit any noise but they were great at blocking out sound, though i don't know if they were advertised as noise canceling. but i agree that headphones already do a pretty good job of canceling sound. make sure you are getting the headphones that sit around your ear, and not on top... actually, i've never tried the on top ear ones, because i find the over the ear phones so much more comfortable, so someone else will have to chime in about the effectiveness of the over the ear jobbies.
i also know that you can pay a lot of money to have earbuds moulded to your ear, and these are great for canceling noise. usually these are very expensive and are used by professionals instead of using stage monitors. they are serious noise cancelers. but i would think that those earbuds that stick right into your ear (skullcandy, and what have you - the ones people are using cause regular little earbuds fall out of most people's ears when the wind picks up slightly, or someone breathes in your direction) should cancel noise to a certain extent, cause it's pretty much the same concept as your cheap drug store ear plugs.
personally: over the ear headphones all the way. i pick them at the store by trying them all on and picking the one that i find most comfortable. the price should give you an idea of how good the sound quality is, but not always. i don't like the little noise canceling sound, so i try to find ones that are made out of a noise blocking material. i have a pair of bose headphones, but i used to have a sweet set that blocked more sound and were substantially cheaper, but i carted them around everywhere i went and eventually they broke... that is another concern for buying headphones. you might want to get a travel pair of earbuds, or get a good hard case for your headphones, but it's all a little bulky.