With the rise in popularity of MP3 players, there has been a steady increase in demand for noise canceling stereo headphones. In addition, many people are commuting long distances to work and they do not want to listen to a wailing child or chattering passengers on a bus...or the car road noise. They are looking for some peace and quiet while listening to their favorite music to relax themselves.



Although most headphones are great for listening to music, but sometimes the listening can get restricted to your living room where everything is quiet. The enjoyment spoils when the background noise from the outside world starts creeping in and this generally happens when you are outside on a bus or jogging. There is no way you can stop all this noise and this is where you will feel really blessed to have folding noise canceling stereo headphones. Instead trying to tell people to shut up or stopping cars on the road, you can just sit back enjoy relaxing music with these earphones.

The earphones use a process called active noise cancellation. They pick up unwanted noise from the world around you and produce an opposite sound. This results in both the sounds canceling each other and you end up hearing nothing. As the frequency of noise increases, the effectiveness of the noise cancellation reduces. However, you will find that most headsets use active noise canceling system as well as passive noise canceling system like pads and ears cups which end up giving you a pretty effective noise controlling audio listening device.

This said, not all the earphones are perfect. Some of them end up producing their own noise in the form of a hiss which you can hear when there is no audio output or when soft music is being played. However, you will not notice the hiss in soft music if you have the volume up to a certain level.

These headsets do require batteries to power the electronic unit that is between the noise source and the earpieces; and you may find it cumbersome to lug the batteries around. If you are out jogging or traveling on an airplane, you clip the battery pack to your waist and you will hardly notice it.

The most convenient part is that these phones are foldable-type so you can easily fold and carry them without causing any damage. Whether you are travelling or riding a bus, the cans be stored easily without too much worry.

There are different brands and models available all in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. Models from Sennheiser are considered to be the best as the company is one of the first to produce noise cancelling headphones. The Sennheiser PXC 300 is small and easily portable with a strong noise cancellation system which allows you to hear the bass and highs very clearly. In addition, it is easy to carry the cans in a bag or a coat pocket because of the foldable design.

If you want a good not pair of cans with a slightly less powerful noise cancellation unit, you can also opt for a Sennheiser PXC 250. This has all the features of the PXC 300 but is slightly cheaper. It is definitely a bargain for the price. Others are the Sennheiser Mx-75, Ultimate Ears, Shure and others.

There is nothing like sitting in your own world and enjoying the sheer pleasure of deep bass and clear highs without getting perturbed with the noises emanating from the world around you.