Manufacturer: Sharper Image
Price: $69.95

Noise-cancellation is the reduction of unwanted ambient sound. Passive noise-cancellation equally reduces all sound reaching the ears. Wearing ear plugs or placing hands over the ears are forms of passive noise-cancellation, in which all sound waves reaching the eardrum are reduced. Active noise-cancellation selectively reduces unwanted sound so that the desired sound can be heard more clearly. A microphone near the ear detects ambient sound and the headphone speakers produce sound waves with opposite polarity that cancel the microphone input.

At some time most people have cranked up the volume of their TV or MP3 player to drown out unwanted noise. This is not noise-cancellation, since all sound waves (including the unwanted sound) still reach the listener. This technique of increasing volume can lead to higher stress and hearing damage. The goal of active noise-cancellation is to reduce unwanted sound without increasing the volume of desired sound.

Sharper Image has released a new version of their noise-cancellation headphones, this time with larger padded earcups. An adjustable headband helps for fit. The headphones fold to take us less space for storage, fitting into an included travel bag with airplane jack adapter.

The attached 5-foot cord provides ample length for listening to portable devices, but can be somewhat short for stationary listening at home or work. If your computer is stored beneath a desk or your audio system across the room from your couch, a headphone cable extension may be necessary to reach the equipment.

One AAA battery (sold separately) is required for the active noise-cancellation to work. A small switch located on the back of the right earcup activates the circuitry with a red LED to indicate when the power is on.

For their size, the headphones are lightweight and comfortable. Because of the padded earcups, simply putting on the headphones passively reduces some ambient noise. The effect is similar to lightly placing your hands over your ears.

Turning on the active noise-cancellation reduces ambient noise by approximately 15dB. We were surprised to find it effectively muted much of the annoyance from fans, air conditioners, engine noise, and even an in-sink garbage disposal. The noise reduction was significant enough to use the headphones without audio input for a more relaxing work day. It would be a nice feature if the cord was detachable when only using the headphones for noise reduction and not listening to audio input.

While listening to music with the noise-cancellation on, audio output is slightly amplified by about 2-5dB compared to when the noise-cancellation was off. Loud and sudden ambient noise increased audio distortion when listening at higher volumes.

Compared to standard headphones, the audio quality is mixed — even when noise-cancellation is turned off. There is significantly more bass than with common earbuds, but overall the sound isn't as "bright." The highs and midrange aren't as strong as the bass, resulting in music sounding muffled. At increased volumes there is distortion in songs with heavy bass, a surprising result considering the overall bass-heavy audio reproduction.

Sometimes the highs are completely lost when overpowered by the low-end. We tried to compensate for the audio imbalance by using equalizer settings to reduce bass and emphasize treble, but the results were limited.

Results: Average

The Sharper Image Traveler's Noise-Cancellation Headphones 2.0 are comfortable and the noise-cancellation is effective. The bass-heavy audio left us disappointed because the other frequencies were lost, even when compared to the standard Apple iPod and Sony PSP earbuds. Casual listeners may find the sound quality to be adequate, but audiophiles should look for alternatives with more accurate audio reproduction.