Necessary for travel, because they reduce sound on planes.

These are wonderful - really eliminates noisy environments with clear as a bell concert sound.

These Bose headphones are fantastic for blocking out the noisy drone of jet engines during long flights. They are also very comfortable on your ears, so you can wear them for long periods of time. I also tend to wear them in the office which allows me to focus on my work without being distracted by the sounds of a typical office.

My parents gave me this headphones for my birthday this year and I love them! So much do I love them that I want to use them all the time, not just when I'm listening to music. They cancel out tons of background noise, especially low-pitched hums and buzzes from motors and computers, making every sound in your DVD or music crystal clear.

We love these headphones because they make flying a much more peaceful and enjoyable experience. Forget about noisy neighbors, crying babies and engine noise ... with these on, all you hear is the sweet sound of your personal music playlist. Make sure you keep this off until the captain gives the green light for the use of electronics.

Bose took what is at the root of it a simple technology, and mananged to make the best of breed in this space. They've since repeated the success with different styles of earpiece (over ear, on ear) or better electronics (old qc1 model versus the newer qc2 and qc3) (via deborahlippmann)

I looked at both the System 2 and System 3 headphones, and went with the System 2 as they sounded better (they have a larger cone) and were more comfortable. Has made flying a much better experience.

Go and try these out. Now. You'll be standing there in the store, flipping them on and off, transfixed by the fascinating sensation of a silence vacuum sucking away ambient noise. Combine them with an audio input source and you can drown out most any source of aural distraction.

The rigid storage case also easily fits your MP3 player of choice--handy when packing for trips.