August 18, 2008 More on marshmallows
Here’s a re-post on a product that has stood the test of time (and travel):
I understand; you don’t want to spend a $100 (or more) for fancy noise-canceling headphones to make that next flight more serene. You’ll lose them in two months anyway, and serenity is important — but not $100 worth of important. JVC’s Marshmallow earphones are an appealing low-cost alternative for the traveler who just wants to block out a little noise and pipe in a little music which sounds pretty good. These earphones — which will work with any airplane jack, iPod, CD or MP3 player — block the noise with their soft, conformable earpieces (hence - Marshmallow) and deliver pretty good sound and bass response — if you shove them in far enough. They are comfortable, too. Mine were very pleasant on a couple of recent trans-Atlantic flights. Here’s a positive review of these ‘phones (which are available in stores and online from $10-$20) by someone who knows a lot more about audio than I do.
Note: these earphones do not eliminate all the outside noise like muffs or noise-canceling varieties, but their ear-filling qualities do reduce outside noise considerably (you may be able to hear the stewardess and your music - I actually wear them while driving a tractor and operating a brushcutter). The linked review notes that the foam tips fall off easily. I haven’t noticed this. They do work out of your ears a bit if you’re sweaty, but how often are you sweaty in a cold, over-dry airplane cabin?
Frank@OBOW
Here are the similar Sennheiser buds (only $26.99) that Michael recommended in a comment below:
Reader Comments (5)
They are very good phones. Brought in total 4 pairs for myself and familiy during my trip to Japan. Constant daily use caused their demise.
Moved to Sennheiser head phones after positive reviews on amazon:
Sennheiser noise-isolating headphones
I have a friend who is an audiologist, and after some pushing from my wife, I got some ear molds. For about $60 I got a mold of each ear that can hook to any set of ear buds, making even cheap ones sound nice. All sound isn't blocked because of a small hole on the bottom of the mold, but they significantly lower background noise to the point that it's easy to tune out if you want but still hear the important (AKA "loud") things.
My ears used to hurt like crazy from ear buds, but with the molds of my inner ear, comfort is the name of the game. You can also buy sleeping molds, molds that block all sound, and special musician molds that block anything above about 100 decibels. I have a musician friend who swears by them.
I use Griffin TuneBuds. They block out enough background noise for a peaceful flight.
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/tunebuds
I bought a pair of the JVC marshmallows for my iPod after reading about them here. That was back in December. I took them on a trip to India and have used them since (while mowing, etc.). They're great--highly recommended!
I live on several acres in the country and I actually use the Marshmallows while driving a noisy tractor. They mask enough outside noise to reduce stress and make the audio listenable. On a plane you can still hear the flight attendant asking "Chicken or pasta?" but they reduce much of the whine.