White mischief
I’VE BEEN LUSTING AFTER a set of noise-cancelling headphones for a while but just couldn’t bring myself to spend the roughly R4 000 that the likes of Bose charge for their units. I was wandering through the duty-free electronics shop at OR Tambo International Airport when I saw a pair of more reasonably priced headphones made by iLuv. At just R400 I snapped them up.
I’m afraid to say my relationship with my headphones didn’t start well. Sitting at the airport unpacking them, I noticed there was a battery slot (it takes one AAA battery) but nowhere on the packaging did it say what battery you needed, or even that you needed a battery to start with. The battery compartment is also in such a position – on the inside of the headband just above the right speaker – I was initially worried that it would press too hard on my head.
That fear was only partially realised, because positioning the headphones correctly wasn’t uncomfortable, but shifting them did place pressure on my head. That’s a horrible design flaw and makes me think iLuv’s designers forgot to test the product on real people.
Noise-cancelling headphones work on the principle that they produce a low level of “white” noise – which would sound like a hissing sound if you were in a quiet environment – to cancel out noise produced in your environment. They work best in places where there’s constant background noise, such as aircraft or noisy air-conditioners, but work less well when the background noise is erratic.
I found the noise cancelling to be quite effective and could definitely notice the difference between having the system enabled and when it was not. Due to the idiotic placement of its battery compartment, I can’t recommend the iLuv unreservedly but at the price it’s not a buy I regret completely.
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