Active noise-canceling headphones aren't for audiophiles. They're for travelers caught between the roar of jet engines and their aversion to plugged ears. Those ear-worn voyagers will find compact, affordable solace in the Creative HN505 headphones ($39.99 list with soft travel bag and dual/mono airplane adapter).

The set's physical design is remarkably similar to that of the Kensington Noise Canceling Headphones, with a collapsible headband and an on/off switch on the right earcup. The right portion of the headband has a battery compartment on the inside that holds one triple-A cell, but these supra-aural (resting against the ear) din dampeners are still fairly light at 5.2 ounces.

The soft earpads actually form a decent seal, blocking out some noise passively. We're not crazy about the soft plastic strip that runs across the top of your head, though. Wearers with thinning hair may find it a little uncomfortable. The elastic inside the strip, however, provides just enough compression against your ears, striking a good balance between pressure and comfort.

Noise cancellation works fairly well. With it on, the bass and lower mids get a bit muddy, and highs are somewhat suppressed, but the audio is pretty good. Vocals, though a bit soft-edged, are prominent, and the headphones perform very well with movies. When we donned the cans for an awful in-flight flick, they responded quite well to dialogue and incidentals like gunshots and crashing cars.

Using pink noise to simulate the sound in an airplane cabin, we measured about 10 dB of quieting—respectable for supra-aurals. There's a slight hiss, as with most noise-canceling models, but it's not distracting, and you certainly won't notice it over the roar of a jet engine. The cancellation boosts the signal enough that we had no trouble using these with our iPod nano at 60 to 75 percent volume. With noise cancellation off, audio quality is still pretty good, though the signal loses some strength.

The combination of passive noise-blocking, active blocking circuitry, and a boosted signal makes for a pleasant listening experience on long flights. If you need the ultimate in quieting, you'll want to check out the tomb-like environment of the Bose QuietComfort. The Sennheiser PXC-250 headphones are also very compact and offer better sound quality and noise cancellation, but they cost three times as much. For combined compactness and affordability, the Creative HN505 headphones are hard to beat.

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