Q: You have written about noise-canceling headphones for flying, and I hope you can help me with a recommendation. I am interested in headphones with good sound, but most importantly I want very effective noise cancellation for the flight. My budget is up to $200, maybe $250 if it makes a big difference.
A: One of my top recommendations for great noise cancellation is the Soundcore Space Q45 headphones, which reduce noise by up to 98% with their adaptive three-stage noise cancellation system. The utter silence is almost creepy, akin to what you might expect deep space to be like. The audio quality rates highly in their price class, and high-resolution audio is supported. Playtime per charge is a very long 50 hours with noise cancellation and 65 hours without. The Soundcore Space Q4 headphones sell for $149.99, and they should satisfy your desires for everything you want. (soundcore.com)
In the near future I will be writing about the Focal Bathys (pronounced foh-cal buh-teese) headphones, which emphasize good sound over noise cancellation. The noise cancellation is adequate though not class-leading, but that "good sound" is absolutely phenomenal. When I travel, I usually take two pairs of headphones, a noise-canceling pair for the flights and another pair that prioritizes sound quality for use on the ground. With the Bathys, I may have found one pair of headphones that does it all.
They work wirelessly or with a wired connection, have a mic for phone calls and feature a top-quality DAC for use with a direct digital connection with a computer, tablet or phone. You can find a lot of Bathys info and user reviews at headphones.com, and given the $799 price, the site would be a good place to buy them, as well, given the 365-day return policy. That's a lot of money to have tied up in a pair of headphones, and having such a long return window should build confidence that what you bought is going to be a keeper.
Buy another turntable
Q: I have a Rega Planar 3 turntable with a Cambridge Audio Azur 640P phono preamp. I need a USB phono preamp to digitize albums for car listening. I am not as picky about car sound, so I have thought about just adding a USB turntable dedicated to computer use, especially because my current turntable is several feet away from my computer. What if I got another turntable for the same price as whatever preamp you would recommend?
A: You are on the right track because it would cost a small fortune to buy a USB phono preamp with comparable performance to your Cambridge Audio model. The $279 Audio-Technica AT-LP60XBT-USB is fully automatic and will make digitizing your vinyl easy. If you look around on Craigslist and eBay, you probably can find the older AT-LP60-USB for under $100, and it will do a fine job, as well. Just put on a new stylus if you buy a used turntable.
Send questions to Don Lindich at donlindich@gmail.com. Get recommendations and read past columns at soundadvicenews.com.
