The Sound of Silence

Oh ... it is about time that I shared a recent gadget buying experience with you. I was in the states when I came across a Bose kiosk. Now, I have been eyeing off a set of Bose noise reduction headphones for some time. Probably 7 years, actually. These headphones work by generating the inverse of any soundwave that they encounter that is outside the headphones, this cancelling the sound. In theory, this would work farbetter on low frequency, rythmic or constant sounds than higher frequency, rapidly changing sounds. This makes them perfect for aircraft. In the states, I knew I had at least another 8 hours ahead of me to get back to London. In Aug I have the M & J wedding, a return flight tally of 44 hours in the air, plus another flight to Aus some time early next year for ... well just for catch up. So I figure if ever I am going to get my money's worth it is going to be now. So I a pair. How much? You know me ... the king of subtle. Let's just say that they cost just oer half of what they would cost in Oz. The results? It depends on what you are expecting. If you are expecting that all noise from the outside world be cancelled, look elsewhere. But I was not expecting these kind of results. On the flight over to the UK, I ws impressed with the airlines in flight entertainment systems, but was fatigued by the need to raise the volume in my headphones to nigh on full bore. On the flight from the US to the UK, I only need to have the headphone on just under the half way mark. And when trying to sleep, I put the headphone on the most quiet setting before off, and still the volume from the entertainment system was too loud. But most off all, I did not want to take them off for the whole flight, even when I was not listening to the entertainment system. Not, as the cynical may suggest, to get max value for money. More, it was because I could not get used to the loudness of the aircraft without them.