Creative intros new $99 noise-canceling headphones
Creative's new HN-900 headphones are a third the price of Bose's Quiet Comfort 15s.
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I'm always looking for cheaper alternatives to Bose's highly regarded but expensive Quiet Comfort noise-canceling headphones, which is why Creative's new HN-900 headphones caught my eye.
In the past, Creative's noise-canceling headphones have been pretty decent, and the nice thing about this one is that unlike the Bose and many other noise-canceling models, the HN-900 has an integrated microphone for making cell phone calls. One AAA battery gives you about 40 hours of active noise-cancellation.
At the same time Creative released the HN-900s, it also announced the impending arrival of a higher-end model noise-canceling model, the $199.99 Aurvana X-Fi 2, which adds virtual surround technology.
"The Creative X-Fi CMSS-3D virtually transforms stereo headphone playback into the more immersive listening experience of a surround-sound speaker system," Creative says. And you can "independently select noise cancellation, X-Fi Crystalizer, X-Fi CMSS-3D, and volume with convenient controls on the headphones."
One AAA battery gives you 9 hours of battery life if you activate all that technology at once.
Worth noting: the higher-end Aurvana offers better noise-cancellation (20dB vs. 18dB) but doesn't feature the integrated microphone.
We'll let you know how both models perform when we get our hands on review samples.
