Noise-canceling headphones
are nothing new. Every plane I ride has several passengers who obviously won’t
leave home without their Bose. But the new Sony ’phones, the MDR-NC500D, bring a new wrinkle to
the party.
Actually, three new wrinkles. The headphones sample the ambient
noise environment, and automatically select one of three algorithms to
optimally cancel out the bad stuff. Great for cutting the noise.
On the other
hand, middle seats still suck.
—Ken C. Pohlmann
