Saturday 27 October 2012

Do Noise Cancelling Headphones Perform?

By Leroy Z. Sicari


Noise-cancellation - a common enough term. We've all heard of it, also it appears like an ideal thought. But exactly how do noise-cancellation headphones actually work? They do not simply prevent the sound - that's what frequent headphones do. So how do they undertake it?

It all comes down to sound waves. The earphones contain mics that capture the sound waves as they get to your ear, and then electric circuitry creates an "antinoise" signal. This transmission is an inverted copy of the original sound wave, which then travel collectively in your ear. The waves interfere with each other, called destructive interference, with no sound gets to your own ear.

Why bother? It appears a little extreme, doesn't it? Regular headphones do a very good job of blocking the sound. Even if your own environments are loud, you can easily turn your own headphones' volume up, right? Well, yes, obviously you can. However when you are sitting on a plane, attempting to rest near the roaring engines, and you have an option between turning up the volume - greatly - and also cancelling the noise completely, what would you choose?

Likewise, if you think about this, you're doing yourself a favor. Any time you turn up your own headphones to hide the exterior sound, you damage your own ears just a little more. You know how whenever you leave a concert plus your ears are ringing? That's harm to your eardrums. Therefore, instead of turning up the volume, you need to block out the ambient noise, and save your hearing. Eventually, you will be thankful later.

Personally, I have no desire for noise-cancelling headphones. I am not constantly around loud noises, as with the city, so regular earphones are adequate. But then again, I live in a small town. Possibly someone in San Francisco, or NYC, or L . A . will find the occasion to use them much more than I would. Everything depends on what you are looking for.

An additional substitute is the happy medium - noise-reducing headphones, which still stop ample background noise. They do not need electric batteries, are lighter, and, obviously, are usually much less costly, while retaining high quality sound. As the noise-cancelling headphones and the frequent headphones have their very own niches, the noise-reducing headphones are ideal for most occasions.

Then again, next time I am on an airplane, I believe I'll be yearning for those noise-cancelling earphones still.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment