Noise-busting ear buds

Sure, you have more than a thousand songs crammed into your MP3 player, but what good is all that music if you can't hear it over the jet, train or automobile noise? Enter noise-blocking headphones designed to kill the racket while preserving the rich tones. But now there is an alternative to those bulky, hairdo-mashing headphones: noise-blocking earphones. The earphones -- or ear buds -- are a fraction of the size of headphones and fit inside your ear. There are two types: the kind that block the noise by sealing your ear canal and the kind that use high-tech circuitry to create "anti-noise" sound waves to kill ambient clamor. We tested four models for clarity, comfort and noise elimination.

EAR-POPPER

First look: Otto Engineering, makers of two-way radios and other communication equipment, recently introduced "isolating ear buds," which block out noise with "passive" noise-reduction technology. In layman's terms, that means they cut noise by sealing your ear canal with soft, rubber tips that encircle the tiny ear bud speakers.

Likes and yikes: For their size (less than half an ounce), these ear buds have good sound quality, but the noise-reducing abilities are minimal. Most standard earphones rest on the outer part of the ear, but the Otto ear buds squeeze into the canal. The ear buds stay in place but form such a tight seal that, when inserted, it feels as though your eardrums are about to pop.

The 411: $69.95, available at Micro Center stores; call (888) 234-6886 or go to www.hearotto.com.

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FORM FITTING

First look: Outside the Box, a company formed by an airline pilot and his flight-attendant wife, originally came up with the Solitude Acoustic Isolation System earphones so NASCAR fans could hear the radio communications between drivers and pit crews without all the ambient noise. The Solitude AIS earphones use passive noise reduction, relying on cone-shaped ear bud tips made of a soft memory foam that molds to the shape of your ear canal.

Likes and yikes: The squishy foam on the tips fits snugly in your ear without giving you that underwater, ear-popping sensation of rubber-tipped ear buds. But we found the sound quality and the noise-reducing capacity limited. Still, if you are not ready to spend more for serious noise-canceling technology, these ear buds are a pretty good deal.

The 411: $39.95, available at Airport Wireless stores; call (704) 583-1100, or go to www.protravelgear.com.