Genius' $50 noise-cancelling GHP-04NC headphones

05:45 April 2, 2009 PDT

The GHP-04NC headphones

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As recently reported here at Gizmag, when it comes to headphone quality a growing number of consumers seem to be sacrificing sound for style . Fortunately there are companies out there still looking to cater for aural afficianados and the latest effort from Genius - the GHP-04NC Noise Cancelling headphones - have the added bonus of costing half as much as the company's offering from 18 months ago.

These headphones have a sound blocking feature that cancels out the distraction of any background noise, leaving the listener hearing their music and nothing else. The technology is based on the “superposition principle”, which basically means creating an inverted version of the noise signal. Also known as destructive interference, this cancels any low frequency outside noise when the two identical soundwaves combine.

The Genius GHP–04NC headphones come equipped with a 40mm unit driver and 6.3mm dual-plug stereo adapter, offering increased usability in places like domestic aircraft. The headphones offer up to 50 hours of use from two AAA Alkaline batteries, as well as swiveling ear cups and an adjustable head band.

Priced at around USD$5, this is quite the boon for those that love their uninterrupted sound - when Genius first utilized the technology around 18 months ago the asking price was more than double what it is now.

Mick Webb