![]() Radio Silenz is the world’s first active noise cancelling headphone to employ wood housings instead of plastic. If you're a fan of crisp audio and looking for a pair that offers a certain degree of noise-cancellation at a reasonable price, the Radio Silenz is a good-looking option worth checking out, but it's far from flawless.If silence is indeed golden, then add a little flash to your life with Tivoli Audio’s Radio Silenz active noise cancelling headphones. Overall, I like the Radio Silenz as a straight-up headphone pair-I wish that it didn’t have any noise-cancellation circuitry, bulky shirt-clip, or added volume control. The in-ear Phiaton PS 20 NC ($149, 4 stars) is a bit less expensive than the Radio Silenz, and it doesn't distort at high volumes, though it does have a bit of a hiss issue, too. But below $200, your options are limited. Unlike the Radio Silenz, the K 490 NC does not suffer from hiss issues. The best-sounding, most affordably priced pair we've tested recently is the AKG K 490 NC ($249.95, 4.5 stars). ![]() ![]() Of course, it is also almost twice the price. The industry standard Bose QuietComfort15 ($299.95, 4 stars) does not have this problem. The hiss, no matter how much low and middle frequency ambient droning it can eliminate, is quite noticeable, and even audible over the music. It immediately reminded me of the Sony XBA-NC85D ($499.99, 3 stars), a in-ear pair with some audible noise-cancellation hiss issues. That said, the noise-cancellation is not the best we've tried. For the most part, however, the sound signature suits orchestral music very well, and many bass-heavy genres benefit from the Radio Silenz's more refined, articulate response. In my tests, John Adams' modern classical piece "The Chairman Dances" sounded bright and beautiful, though it sometimes felt like it was missing a hint of deeper resonance on the lower register strings and percussion, and very occasionally, usually with stringed instruments, some notes sounded a bit harsh at higher volumes. At moderate volumes, deep bass tracks sound more balanced than they do on a booming pair of headphones. Unfortunately, these deep bass tracks can get a bit distorted at top volumes, but you shouldn't be listening at those levels anyway. Dre ($349.95, 4 stars) bass response-it's much more of an audiophile-friendly flat response. ![]() It's a sound signature that, oddly, reminded me of the in-canal Etymotic ER-4PT ($299, 4.5 stars), but with a bit more bass boost.ĭeep bass tracks like The Knife's "Silent Shout" have plenty of low-end presence, but this is not a subwoofer-like Beats by Dr. In these two cases, I found the Radio Silenz to have a beautiful, crisp, articulate response-not bass-heavy in the slightest, but armed with subtle low-end. Other combinations can work as well, such as maxing out the headphones (or coming close) and lowering your source volume significantly. The best sound I got out of my iPhone source was acheived by putting it close to maximum volume, and slowly adding volume on the headphones. If you were to max out both your sound source's volume and your headphone volume, you'd likely be in for an ugly (and painful) surprise. Some do offer volume controls that actually adjust the sound source's volume, as is the case with many iPhone-friendly models. Most headphones don't include an independent volume control, for this very reason. ![]() PerformanceUnfortunately, the volume knob is an unnecessary addition that has the potential to cause distortion if your sound source's volume and the headphone volume are both too loud. You get no mobile phone controls or microphone for calls. The headphones ship with a not-so-protective, unpadded carrying pouch that they can fold down flat into, along with an airplane jack adapter. Also on the compartment are a Power switch that engages the noise-cancellation (the Radio Silenz can output audio when in passive mode), and a volume knob. The compartment also has a "Defeat" button, which mutes audio playback and boosts the ambient microphone feed so you can better hear your surroundings without needing to remove the headphones. Best Hosted Endpoint Protection and Security SoftwareĪ black cable connects with the left ear, with the shirt-clip compartment that houses the noise-cancellation circuitry and the single AA battery (one is included, and Tivoli estimates a battery life of about 50 hours). ![]()
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