Loud, Clear and Untethered: Audio Technica and Plantronics
I have the sounds of J.S. Bach filling the air right now, and canʻt help but wonder at the many different ways there are to listen to music. Think about it, we have everything from scratchy transistor radios all the way through the most complex audio systems technology affords us. Itʻs really a marvel. Iʻm fortunate, in this moment, to be able to listen to this beautiful music as loud as Iʻd like. There are times though when I donʻt have the luxury of filling all of the space around me with music, and that’s when I’m the most appreciative of good choices available for personal sound. Over the years, Truly Obscure has looked at many options for in-ear and over the ear headphones as well as headsets, often with very pleasing results. Today we’re going to look at two wireless headphone sets, one of which also offers a microphone.
Audio Technica brings us the QuietPoint ATH ANC27 over the ear headphones offering both active noise cancellation and wireless capabilities. If you’ve never used noise canceling headphones I would urge you to give strong consideration to a pair the next time you’re buying headphones. The joy of not having to turn the volume on headphones way up just to drown out the noise around you is nearly indescribable (especially when you’re surrounded by cranky children on an airplane). These particular headphones offer some neat features that set them apart from some of the other noise canceling headphones on the market right now. The ATH ANC27’s utilize the same sound canceling technology used in their award winning ATH-ANC7b headphones, providing 85% noise reduction.
In addition to very clear sound and surprisingly decent bass performance, they have a detachable cable which allows them to work entirely without wires. The AAA battery lasted quite some time- we took ours on moderately long flights and didn’t have any trouble with power, over 30+ hours of use! It worked with our iPhone and with the in-flight entertainment system (using the adapter that comes with it) with no problems. These headphones are also compatible with iPods and most laptops and audio devices, and feature cushioned ear pads comfortable enough for lengthy listening sessions. Look for the ATH-ANC27s starting this month directly from Audio Technica or from Amazon for around $120.
Still staying wireless we also looked at the Plantronics 995 headset. While these headphones function quite well with regular audio sources, where they really shine is with use in online gaming and Skype calls. Sound quality is definitely slightly better in the previous headphones, but we were impressed with clarity in VOIP calls made via this headset. Both making and receiving calls with this headset, the sound was static-free and without distortion, and the microphone was easy to position as well as get out of the way (simply flip up). And setup is easy- the dongle is a bit large, but just plugs into any USB port.
Many of our writers double as gamers, and the consensus is that they are equally good for long runs playing Urban Terror or World of Warcraft as for online phone calls. There are controls for your music in the headphones, so even when using these a distance from the music source you’ll have the ability to adjust volume and skip tracks in both iTunes and WMP. The range on these headphones was right around 40 feet, slightly further in large rooms, and slightly less if there were lots of walls to contend with. We absolutely recommend this headset if you spend much time at all playing games or using Skype or any other web-based phone calls. There were two small annoyances however- the padding on the ears was a bit thin, making them a bit uncomfortable in longer sessions, and charging them was a bit of a pain since you cannot use them and charge at the same time. Charging is done via the included micro-USB cable which plugs into a regular USB port. The Plantronics 995 headset can be found on Amazon as well, or directly from Plantronics for around $110.
