The downside of these headphones is that they become yet another device which includes batteries that need to be recharged. And since the headphones require batteries and circuitry, they are significantly bulkier than your standard issue headphones or earbuds.

Another negative aspect is the somewhat odd phenomenon of feeling "pressure" in your ears when the noise cancellation circuitry is turned on. If you'd like a sample of this, just visit the Graduate Student Reading Room on the fourth floor of Scott Library. Yes, it is only supposed to be for grad students, but you undergrads have discovered the door code now, haven't you? Naughty.

In this largely-filled-with-undergrads-pretending-to-look-older room is installed a set of noise cancellation speakers broadcasting silence at you without the need of special headphones. It's pretty cool in a science fiction kind of way, but it gives me a headache.

Of course, there are other ways of cancelling out background noise. The most obvious are large headphones that cover your ears entirely, sealing in the musical goodness. If you don't mind strapping a large appliance to your head and having your ears sweat, this a pretty good way to go. It is also a good way of stopping people from talking to you. It is like wearing a large sign on your head saying, "I am anti-social and I do not want to talk to you."

From my experience of wearing earbuds, I have found that people feel quite free in asking me directions, informing me as to why I should consider membership in their organization or asking for change. I remain integrated into society. And, of course, being able to hear some of the things going on around you could be helpful the next time you walk into a shoot-out on Yonge St. "Watch out!" is a terrible thing to filter out for the sake of musical purity.

Personally, I swear by my Koss The Spark Plug earbuds. They are basically the result of what you would get if you mated a pair of earbuds with a pair of earplugs. They look pretty much like normal earbuds, except they fit in your ears like earplugs do. You squish the part that goes in your ears with your fingers, insert them and in a second or two, the material expands to fit your ear perfectly and quite comfortably. While they do not cancel out as much outside noise as a pair of cover-your-ears headphones do, they certainly cut out much more than standard earbuds.

In fact, I find they work better than the expensive electronic noise cancelling headphones without all the extra bulk. Low tech wins out over hi-tech this time. And due to the sound isolation, the bass sounds great. If that is not enough, I have found that very little sounds spills out. This means two things: You do not need to increase the volume as much as with normal headphones, which drains your battery life, and if you are in a quiet place, what you are listening to will remain a mystery to those around you as they will not be able to hear the music spilling out from your ears, judge you on your musical taste and more importantly, be disturbed by your music.