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Noisehush’s i7 ANC Headphones Cost Less Than Your Airport Bar Tab

By Ryan Waniata May 5, 2014 2:23 AM

There are plenty of people for whom travel is a near-constant part of daily life, whether it’s for work, or for a lucky few, pure pleasure. However, many of us only step on a plane a couple of times a year, and don’t necessarily want to spend big bucks on a pair of active noise canceling (ANC) headphones for those few times. If that sounds like you, we recommend checking out the i7 active noise canceling headphones from NoiseHush.

The i7 are light and comfortable, with plenty of padding on top, and silky sheaths of leather around the ear pads. Their style is similar to Bose’s QuietComfort 15, which you’ve likely seen on every flight you’ve taken. That’s by design, which means they’ll blend right in without screaming “budget.” In fact, the only thing that does scream budget on these cans is the price tag, which can drop down as low as $66 online.

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Noise canceling isn’t premium, especially for upper register noise, but they do well cutting out the low end, meaning engine hum will melt away. As for the sound quality, music is accurate and clean, with a bright flare to the upper register, and a nice little helping of smooth bass below. Dialog for movies and TV shows is clear, and there’s good overall balance to the sound, though it does lean a little on the light side and can distort if pushed too hard.

Accessories in the box include a hard shell carrying case, a removable mic cable with a single-button mic piece, and both airplane and quarter inch adaptors — a nice collection for the money. Other features include on board volume control, swivel ear pads, and the ability to play with or without power.

We can’t lie, these ‘phones won’t come close to favorites like the Phiaton Chord MS 530, or the Audio-Technica AC9 when it comes to overall performance — but priced around $240 less than either of those options, they’re cheap enough to break out twice a year and never lose a wink of sleep.

Ryan Waniata is a multi-year veteran of the digital media industry, a lover of all things tech, audio, and TV, and a… Read Full Bio

Elevate your elegance: Choosing your first cigar

Face, Head, Person

Earlier this year, I was strolling the streets of New York and ended up sitting in the Carnegie Club with an Old Fashioned in one hand and a cigar in the other while My Way by Frank Sinatra played from a speaker flanking leather-bound books behind the couch I had been using as my perch. It was my first cigar, but it led to a slight obsession that recently found me on the back deck of a lodge in Kenya, staring at Mount Kilimanjaro and smoking a stick while giraffes meandered by. Admittedly, there has been no intention in my budding hobby; I am aimlessly choosing the cigars that look good (the ones that look like those smoked by Arnold or Stallone in the movies, obviously). But I have decided to approach these in a new way, with a little help from my friends over at La Aurora, who graciously decided to navigate my ignorance with some info compiled by Brand Manager John Gaglio, with input from Master Blender Manuel Ynoa, CEO Ed McKenna, and Brand Manager Elvis Batista.

What to look for in your first cigar

FIFA’s Gianni Infantino Is Uglifying the Beautiful Game With $20 Billion Plot — But the Global Soccer Community’s Punching Back

People, Person, Crowd

For the better part of two decades, perhaps even more, corruption has allegedly run rampant within FIFA. Sepp Blatter, in particular, became the face of alleged extortion schemes, and he operated with impunity while at the helm of the organization for 17 years, from 1998 until his forced resignation in 2015 amid an FBI corruption probe. He’s banned for life from all football-related FIFA activities. If you’re new to the organization’s alleged deep connection to corruption, Netflix offers a brilliant 2022 documentary, FIFA Uncovered. In that documentary, Gianni Infantino appears in his previous capacity as Secretary General of UEFA (2009-2016) and later as the newly elected FIFA president, who vowed to root out corruption and hand the beautiful game back to the people where it belongs.

That, as it turns out, was all wishful thinking.

Escobar Cigars, Co-Owned by Nas, Drops Four-Profile Robusto House Blend Collection

Blade, Knife, Weapon

Imagine that, Nas is getting closer to ruling the cigar world. The legendary rapper’s Escobar Cigars, which he co-owns, is making waves with the launch of a new four-profile House Blend collection. The launch is in partnership with Cigar Chief, one of North America’s largest premium cigar retailers.

The Manual has not yet had the chance to do a taste review (a pack is on the way), but Escobar Cigars says the four-profile House Blend collection (Maduro, Premium Blend Connecticut, Habano, and Connecticut Robusto) “has its own distinct wrapper, filler, and strength profile,” and that “all four are rolled in 5 x 52 Robusto format using classic Cubano entubado construction.”