Ever been on a flight where someone is wearing a set of Bose noise-cancelling headphones? If so, you've probably witnessed the look of serenity on their face while you shuffle uncomfortably in your seat, wondering whether or not the airline-provided headset will do anything to drown out the baby crying in the aisle ahead.

Ironically, a loud, high-pitched and non-period noise like a wailing baby are the worst case for active noise-cancellation systems. They work very well with low-pitched periodic sounds like aircraft engines and cabin ventilation fans, but for screaming children basic passive isolation (IEMs/'canalphones') are far more effective.

Hmm. I must say I'm very satisfied with my Plantronics 7.1 gaming headset, though I think if I was going to drop £140 on some headhones I'd go for some wired studio quality phones rather than fancy wireless ones with all the bells and whistles. That said though there's clearly a market for this kind of thing.

Meowdance
Hmm. I must say I'm very satisfied with my Plantronics 7.1 gaming headset, though I think if I was going to drop £140 on some headhones I'd go for some wired studio quality phones rather than fancy wireless ones with all the bells and whistles. That said though there's clearly a market for this kind of thing.

There's even a market for +500€ wireless headphones/headsets, so it's understandable these might sell well. I personally always favor wired headphones for I don't trust proper audio quality to be made available through the air :)

tribaljet
I personally always favor wired headphones for I don't trust proper audio quality to be made available through the air :)

Well my Sonos plays lossless FLAC over wifi. With a digital wireless connection like wifi or Bluetooth there's built-in error correction so if you get a connection at all you'll get a flawless one.

Nelviticus
Well my Sonos plays lossless FLAC over wifi. With a digital wireless connection like wifi or Bluetooth there's built-in error correction so if you get a connection at all you'll get a flawless one.

WiFi might be more resilient to errors but Bluetooth is still a faulty method for streaming, especially with partial error correction being the only available methods for the time being. This, for saying that while there are already certified streaming techs around, I personally have always favored wired connections and will do so in the foreseeable future, but I do respect each and everyone's preference, particularly since wireless connections do avoid physical clutter.

I don't care about “sexy looks” or product endorsement,in fact I generally avoid any product that has been endorsed by a celeb knowing that for them, its just cash for exposure.
I do care about quality and functionality and the more low key headphones are the better.
I think people with “look at me ” headphones on look rather silly,but thats just this grumpy old mans view :-)