My neighborhood is mostly a silent retirement community, save for my immediate next-door drunken and openly-racist neighbor who routinely blasts classic rock FM radio while he burns fires right outside my bedroom window every night when I'm trying to sleep. The music is so loud that I can’t read or do anything to distract myself from the racket. Speaking to him was hopeless, and I've had the police out but he starts it up again the very next night.
No amount of my gentle classical or ambient music could drown out his onslaught of staticy AC/DC and car adverts. I felt trapped in my own home and would likely have to endure this every night until the winter and again through all the fairer seasons. I needed a solution, and fast.
I came up with the idea to invest in a quality pair of active noise-cancelling headphones.
A very quick overview for those not immediately familiar with active noise cancellation technology - microphones built into the headphones pick up the noise around the listener. An adaptive algorithm analyzes the waveform of the background noise, then generates a signal that will either phase shift or invert the polarity of the original noise. This inverted signal (in antiphase) is then amplified and a transducer creates a sound wave directly proportional to the amplitude of the original waveform, creating destructive interference. This effectively reduces the volume of the perceivable noise.
In short, its technology frees me from being subjected to an endless loop of "Comfortably Numb," "Stairway to Heaven," "Sweet Child 'O Mine," and "Hotel California."
One of the most popular active noise-cancelling circumaural closed-back headphones on the market is the Bose QuietComfort 35, usually priced at around $300. Thankfully, Amazon offered a highly-competitive contender to those headphones at a fraction of the price.
A few quick specs of the solution I found:
- Customer Reviews - 4.4 out of 5 stars from 11,799 Reviews
- Best Sellers Rank - #1 in Over-Ear Headphones
- Sound - Hi-Res sound via 40 mm dynamic drivers, BassUp technology, dual EQ modes
- Noise Cancelation - 4-microphone hybrid active noise cancellation for music, uplink noise reduction for calls
- Playtime - 60 Hours (ANC off), 40 Hours (ANC on) or use the included AUX cable for unlimited listening in wired mode.
- Fast Charging - Charge for 5 minutes, listen for 4 hours
- Connectivity - Bluetooth 5, AUX
- Other Features - Foldable design with ergonomic headband, memory foam ear cups and multi-point rotation, travel pouch
- Date First Available - March 21, 2019
And these headphones were discounted 25% off for a final price of just $44.99 with free shipping and free returns. I initially hesitated and missed the Amazon sale but found the exact same sale price from the manufacturer’s official new product listing on eBay with 779 units sold and a 5-star product rating from all buyers. I knew better than to pass up the second opportunity and ordered them on the spot.
The model is the Soundcore Life Q20 by Anker, featuring hybrid active noise-cancellation, which they explain thusly:
Hybrid ANC is the best noise cancelling technology which combines feedforward and feedback ANC by placing a microphone both on the inside and outside of the earpiece. Therefore it can suppress noise over a wider frequency range, adapt to and correct errors and is less sensitive to sound angle and user wear.
The New York Times’ Wirecutter staff review called them "The best budget noise-cancelling headphones under $100."
These headphones pair with up to two Bluetooth devices and in addition to noise-cancellation feature action controls for volume, play/pause, previous/next track, and phone call controls all from the earpiece. And as I mentioned in the specs list, the 60 hour (ANC off) / 40 hour (ANC on) wireless run time and unlimited wired listening as well as the fast-charging feature where a 5 minute charge provides 4 hours of wireless listening make these an incredibly viable solution for sudden instances of unwanted ambient noise.
The earcups swivel and the headband can be manipulated in all directions, providing resilient durability and increased comfort like you’re not wearing any headphones at all, making this model a strong contender punching well above its weight to compete with professional headsets at seven times its price point. The Q20s reduce ambient noise by up to 90%. They are particularly effective masking lower frequencies which are often the most problematic undesired sounds.
I just put them on, queue up a soft sound bed like Robert Rich’s seven-hour
Somnium sleep concert, and drift off undisturbed. And with the wireless Bluetooth feature I am free to walk around my home wearing them, blissfully free of my neighbor’s sonic assault.
Problem solved.
