Best In-Ear Headphones for Travel
While top in-ear models will provide better isolation than noise canceller headphones, it is the deep sealing 'in ears' that will isolate best. Etymotic Research hold many patents in this category and has long been making some of the best in-ear headphones in the industry: the Etymotic HF5 is a beautiful looking and also beautiful-sounding earphone and the audiophile-grade Etymotic ER4PT has been a "serious listener" recommendation since our HeadRoom inception; it remains a truly brilliant earphone more than 10 years after its initial introduction. For smartphone listeners, the Apple iPhone-ready Etymotic HF3 is simply unbeatable in all-around audio performance and microphone clarity and features a handy 3-button Apple player controller built-in. Non-Apple listeners will need the 1-button design of the equally impressive Etymotic HF2 model suitable for any smartphone or music cellphone. Shure also makes a strong line of fully sealing in-ear headphones, all of which are extremely good performers. We'll specifically point out the Shure SE425 as a superbly detailed, musical set of in-ears that are easy to wear, along with the slightly larger but oh-so-sweet sounding Shure SE535, a triple-driver reference earphone with the fullest tonal presentation of any 'non-customized' in-ear we've heard to date. All Shure earphones remain very well accessorized and after-market iPhone/cellphone Shure headset cord adapters are available for the newest detachable-cord Shure 'SE' line of earphones.
Best Noise-Cancelling Headphones for Travel
The Audio Technica ATH-ANC7b is a slim, solidly-engineered and very competent noise cancelling headphone, a real traveler's headphone ready for road trips or airports. Bestowed with all the best bells and whistles, the Sennheiser PXC 450 is so fully featured that a push of the button will mute the music and an ambient microphone is activated, so you'll clearly be able to hear, "Would you like a bag of peanuts?" Fortunately, you can release your finger and quickly go back to the sublime sound and wonderful isolation of these fine upscale headphones. A recent audiophile contender is the DENON AH-NC800 a full-sized headphone featuring large circumaural ear cushions for maximum comfort, a smooth & 'warm' acoustic presentation, and fully active noise-cancelling ability. With some of the most compact dimensions in the entire 'NC' category, the Phiaton PS-300NC ups the style ante big-time while bringing in proprietary audio engineering delivering a clean, quick musical focus, solid active isolation ability for an 'on-ear' construction, and convenient slim-fit ergonomics. Of course, hip-hop lovers, deep bottom-end seekers, and style mavens already know the Monster Beats by Dre Studio headphones will get you positive notices both on the plane and on the streets. Luckily, savvy Dr.Dre style brings with it good sonic performance featuring big bass (as expected!) along with mild isolation.
For Best Sound With Laptops and iPad, Use a DAC or Headphone Amp/DAC Combo
Audio enthusiasts will tell you that laptop computers are notorious for poor sound quality (note: the folks from Apple actually do a pretty good job). There are several key problems here: 1) there is a lot of radio frequency (RF) and power supply electrical noise; 2) laptops feature low supply voltages, and 3) the internal digital to analog converter (DAC) and analog audio amplifiers inside laptops are typically low quality. This can be 100% remedied by connecting to an outboard DAC and headphone amp via the USB interface. The DAC electronics get the signal out of the noisy computer environment, the DAC processing will be much better quality, and the headphone amplifier will drive the headphones with total authority. You can also use an external DAC, or a headphone amp with internal DAC, with noise cancelling headphones. Though they won't utilize the drive power from the headphone amp, they will benefit from the better sound clarity of the DAC.
HeadRoom's Total BitHead has a built in DAC and amp, and is a great way to get a significant improvement in your laptop listening at a very reasonable price. Our Portable Micro and Portable Desktop Amp also have built-in USB DACs and will satisfy any discerning listener or music lover. Apple iPad has a digital USB signal available via the Apple 'Camera Kit' which is actually a USB adapter capable of exporting a true digital signal into any HeadRoom DAC for vastly improved sound quality into any headphones.
Things To Know About Headphones For Travel
