I travel a lot by airplane.  The little plastic earbuds that the airlines sell for a couple of bucks just don’t work for me.  They are uncomfortable, irritate the inside of my ears, and the sound quality is basic at best.  They also have no noise cancelling feature.  Yes, yes… the headsets you get on many carriers when traveling in first class are great, but I’m only occasionally fortunate enough to fly up front.

I definitely require the noise cancelling feature (battery required) because I like to wear these even when not watching the movie or other video displays.  The noise cancelling option lets you minimize everything from engine noise to wind roar, and even makes that screaming infant or too-loud adult in the row behind you nearly tolerable. Just putting them on is usually enough to silence that overly chatty seatmate, too.    

I had a pair of NoiseBuster headphones from Pro-Tech Communications (some free “swag” I got back when I was the Editor of a fairly major {then} travel magazine and website) but they are finally wearing out. They were a great price at about $70, but that was a decade ago.  Sure, I’d love a set of Bose, but my budget just isn’t ready for a $300-$400 hit.  So I decided to check out the lower priced, entry level models to see what has developed over the last ten years.

I found a pair of Sony MDR-NC7 headphones online for about $25 and they’re available just about anywhere for under $50. They’ve got stylish looks and some pretty neat features.  They are not the most comfortable (the headband could use a little padding), nor do they have the best anti-noise ability, but the sound quality is quite acceptable, and they are much lighter and compact than the high-end models previously mentioned.

These headphones sit “on” your ear, rather than surrounding them.  To get the most complete noise-cancelling effect, I believe you need that complete ear-surround feature. But the trade-off is worth it to me because the full-surround style makes my ears sweat.

You can choose from either white or black, and both feature silver accenting. They can be folded down for storage and transport (a soft black pouch is included). There’s also a dual-pronged adapter for the rare occasion that you find yourself on an older plane that still has those style ports.

If you are a real audiophile you probably have already invested in some kick-a** headphones, and these aren’t for you.  Bass sound isn’t as strong as it should be, but the rest of the range is clear, and the spoken word has plenty of clarity and detail.

If you’re on a budget, or would rather spend your travel dollars on food, lodging or souvenirs, these should do the trick. 

This story was not sponsored by any vendor.