If you are thinking about noise cancellation devices, headphones are the most prominent ones. This article talks about noise cancellation headphones, earphones, and microphones…
Due to technological advancements in the electronics industry, there are many useful devices available in the electronic market. Some of these devices are headphones, earphones, and microphones which are mostly used by music lovers and musicians. One of the latest features incorporated in these devices is the noise cancellation technology which does the job of canceling unwanted noise from the surrounding.
Noise Cancellation Technology
The very first patent of the noise cancellation technology was given to Paul Lueg in 1934, who proved how arbitrary sounds can be canceled around a loudspeaker. Noise cancellation technology is a very interesting feature that comes in the latest headphones, earphones, and even microphones. The general working of this technology is that it does not allow the user’s ears to be exposed to unwanted sound coming from the surrounding environment. It cancels ambient sounds using a special kind of electronic setup or simply the body of the device. This is known as active and passive noise cancellation, which we are going to understand in the following.
Passive and Active Noise Cancellation Devices
Passive and active noise cancellation refers to the manner in which unwanted sounds in the surroundings are deflected. Passive noise cancellation relates to deflecting outside sound waves with the help of the device’s exterior. For example, the body of these headphones comes with extra levels of foam and sound absorbing materials. There is no electronic setup in devices with passive noise cancellation.
In active noise cancellation, the device consists of an electronic setup that gives out sound waves having an inverted signal to the outside sound. The sound waves produced by the setup is at the same frequency of ambient sounds, but only at inverted signals, which eventually levels out the unwanted outside noise. Noise cancellation headphones also have passive features considering the exterior, which aids in additional noise reduction. Active ones usually require a battery for running in the noise cancellation mode.
Noise Cancelling Headphones and Earphones
There are many models of noise cancelling headphones available in the market; out of which the top ones are manufactured by brands like Bose, Sennheiser, Sony, and JVC. If you want the best quality headphones with noise cancellation feature, the Sony MDR-NC500D is a good bet. This product has been termed as the world’s first digital noise canceling headphones which also has digital equalizer and sound profiles. Another good one is the Bose QuietComfort 3 Acoustic which too provides the best quality sound to enhance your music listening experience.
Noise cancelling earbuds also function on the similar platform as headphones do. They may provide noise isolation as well as noise reduction. You need to know that noise isolation is associated with the earplugs fitting snugly into ear canals and ruling out the possibility of any outside noise coming into the ears. Some of the best noise cancelling earbuds are Sony MDR-NC22, Panasonic RP-HC55, Acoustic Research ARNC01, Sony MDR-NC33 and many others. These are models to be used when it comes to listening to music. On the other hand, products such as NoiseBuster electronic noise canceling safety earmuffs are used in industrial settings to prevent outside noise to damage a workers’ hearing ability.
Along with headphones and earphones, you will also find noise cancelling microphones which are largely used in call centers, for pilot, and race car drivers’ headsets. Also note that noise cancellation devices can be more expensive that their standard counterparts. If you are thinking about noise cancellation software, it is used for eliminating the noise present in photos clicked by a digital camera.