But one thing I finally decided to splurge on, and something I've been ogling over for a while, was a pair of noise cancelling headphones. I've been lusting over the idea of these things for several years, and considering the amount of flying and train riding I do in general, and will be doing in the immediate future, I figured now is as good a time as ever to pull the trigger.
Of course, the paragon for noise cancelling headphones are those made by Bose. At well over $300 though, my desire isn't that strong. I did a bit of research geared towards second tier headphones, reading lots of reviews online, along with looking at what was locally available. It came down to a pair of headphones made by Sony, versus the pair I eventually bought, which are made by Audio Technica. I also ended up finding them online for substantially less than they are going for in the local electronics mega-shop. Surpise surprise.
So what's the verdict? I'm not really sure yet, to be honest. Initially, I was disappointed with the amount of static I've been getting through this pair of headphones. What I've come to understand is that these things (in general) are imperfect, and require a bit of tweaking to achieve optimum sound. I've yet to find the sweet spot for these headphones, but I've mostly abandoned the notion that there is something wrong with them. I also read a review that suggested upgrading the cable that comes with headphones (which is fully detachable), which is probably an inexpensive improvement (though I wonder WHY I would have to do that on a set of expensive headphones). The other thing to consider is that this type of headphone is geared to cancel out low frequency sound, like jet engines. I've only used them so far in my bedroom, where sadly, I don't actually have a jet engine (though my neighbor's air conditioning/heating unit isn't far off). I'm thinking once these things actually have some tangible noise to cancel, sound might actually improve. We'll see how the flight goes I suppose.
So we're down to just one more day before we'll be off to Europe. I'm a bit out of sorts only because, in very uncharacteristic fashion, Chieko and I are not actually taking our planning down to the wire. We've gotten our Euros and travellers insurance, electrical converters and batteries. We've lined up hotels for the first couple of nights (I think...the verdict is still out on the second night). We've sorted out FREE long term parking at the airport. We've copied passports and reservations and eaten most of the food in our fridge. All that's left (aside for the stuff I'm forgetting) is to do a bit of laundry and actually pack our bags. Considering that we're travelling extremely light, this should be a huge undertaking.
In anticipation of several weeks in which the food and alcohol consumption/exercise ration will be vastly skewed in the wrong direction, I've been hitting the gym with force this week. I know we'll be walking a lot in Europe, but I'm not sure that will counteract the lavish lifestyle we plan on living there. Sure, Europe has thousands of years of history, but when it comes down to it, we're going for the food and wine.
And that's where we stand, or sit, rather. Normally the day before travel is spent in a frenzy doing all the things that we've had numerous chances to take care of, but didn't. Only this time, it seems we did. Still not sure how that happened, but will try to repeat. I'll shoot for a sayonara post tomorrow evening that should be thrilling!!
No comments:
Post a Comment