Clear Harmony Noise Cancelling Headphones Hits the Right Note- A Personal Oasis

In today's sensory-cluttered world, silence isn't just golden, it's priceless. If you live and/or work in a noisy environment, the sensory overload can make you anxious and actually undermine your well being. So when my husband had one of those "big birthdays," I bought him a set of noise cancelling headphones. He has taken them everywhere, from business trips to the office. On our last plane ride together, a man collapsed in pain, in the row ahead of ours. My husband was wearing his noise cancelling headphones during the flight, and feel alseep while listening to music. He stayed fast asleep for the entire ordeal, while I heard every scream of agony as a volunteer doctor attempted to help this suffering man. When we finally arrived at our destination my husband finally woke up as the paramedics came onboard to take the man to a hospital. He was calm and relaxed and asking: "what happened?" while I was a nervous wreck.

Of course, you can use noise cancelling headphones just for the sheer joy of listening to your favorite music with high quality sound, too. Which brings me to the point of this post. I have just discovered the only web site for AblePlanet and their range of excellent headphones, and especially the awesome, CLEAR HARMONY NOISE CANCELING HEADPHONES [NC1000CH] $299.99 with LINX AUDIO™. These have made it possible for me to control the sounds in my own space, making my world a little bit better and a whole lot more peaceful.

IS IT WORTH $299 FOR HEADPHONES?

You may think that $299 is a lot to pay for headphones, but if you have uncontrollable noise in your life, high-end, noise-cancelling headphones are a necessity, not a luxury. And if you love great sound, noise cancelling headphones lets you enjoy it without outside distractions. One woman I know (with a home office) was forced to move out of her condo, because she couldn't take the noise in and around her urban apartment anymore. She looked into blocking the sound with acoustic tiles and so forth, but it would have cost her thousands of dollars, with no guarantee that the noise really would stop. For just a few hundred dollars, she could have purchased Clear Harmony Noise Cancelling Headphones to manage her life and work a little better. If your office mates listen to music that you loathe, it is a lot less expensive to save up for headphones that allow you peace and quiet, rather than resort to more drastic (and expensive) measures.

That being said, there are good noise cancelling headphones, and great noise cancelling headphones. Many hover in the $300 price range and many are quite good. But Clear Harmony has some nice features. It has a technology originally developed for a new generation of top-of-the-line hearing aids called Linx Audio. It alters the audio signal to make it easier to hear frequency words or notes and increases the perception of volume, without actually having to increase it. Linx Audio reduces distortion, filters out undesirable sound, while providing the ability to hear full, rich base notes and clear, high notes. For those who understand the tech stuff, the Frequency Response is 20-20,000 HZ, Sensitivity at 1KH: 115db (Off); 121 DB (On); Output Power is 30mW.

CLEAR HARMONY NC HEADPHONE HIGHLIGHTS:

For starters, you don't get noise cancelling benefits unless you turn on the NC feature. But Clear Harmony headphones will continue to still play audio even if the Noise Cancelling battery dies -- this is unique to most products on the market. When I originally tested these headphones, I forgot to turn on the noise cancelling feature, and they still blocked noise, while delivering amazing sound through my computer and iPod. When I turned on the noise cancelling button on, the difference was amazing. I could still hear the phone ring and conversation, but all the other annoying, ambient noise was virtually eliminated.

The Clear Harmony headphones are nicely made, with a 5' audio cord featuring a sliding volume control/mute button, so you don't need to remove the headphones to really hear outside sounds. I often find that full-sized headphones are too big to adjust down to women and teens, but the Clear Harmony headphones are well padded at the top where the bar hits your head, and the large, well padded ear pads adjust up and down to fit everyone. They are the most comfortable I've ever worn. Apparently you can also use these headphones with a hearing aid, if you wish.

The Clear Harmony NC headphones require two AAA batteries, but you can use recharge ables if you want to. When you want to carry the headphones with you, they fold up into a hard-sided, clam shell type zippered case with interior mesh pocket to keep extra batteries (along with the 1/8” and 1/4” Stereo Adapters and the audio cord). The interior of the case also has a ready made tray for your ipod or MP3 player--a nice touch.


HOW WELL DO THESE HEADPHONES WORK?

Although it's not a scientific test, I did a comparison with the high-end headphones I bought my husband (for about the same price) and the new Clear Harmony NC headphones. Both delivered great sound, but the Clear Harmony headphones performed better and were more comfortable, overall. The Linx audio allowed me to hear every word to every song, even songs where the words never seem to be understandable. As a test, I listened to that classic, unintelligible song by Creedence: "Bad Moon Rising." Who doesn't remember hearing: "There's a bathroom on the right" instead of the real lyrics: "There's a bad moon on the rise." With the Clear Harmony NC headphones, I could easily hear the words. You will hear every word The Lonely Planet sings (so clearly, you might not want to give the headphones the kids while Incredibad is playing. No matter what your pleasure, when you remove the headphones, it's like emerging from your own little world of quiet. You really hear the difference in sound level, immediately. For a moment, it's almost a shock!

You don't just have to take my word for the quality of these headphones that have brought a new peace to my world. In 2006 and 2009 LINX products were 10 time winners of the International Consumer Electronics Show Innovations Design and Engineering Awards, and two time winners of the CTIA Wireless Association Emerging Technology Awards.


School is just about to start. Give your college-bound kids a gift they will adore, or just treat yourself to some genuine peace and quiet. Visit www.ableplanet.com to get these amazing headphones, or choose from their other headphones to suit all budgets, larger and smaller!