Bundled headphones may not be up to your exacting standards and certainly none cater for listening on planes or trains, so why not consider upgrading to noise-cancelling headphones? You could spend thousands on such devices, but Sony's recently released MDR-NC11 noise-cancelling Fontopia ear-bud headphones are extremely good value.

The ear-bud design plugs right into your ear canal, which in itself eliminates a large proportion of external noise and is quite annoying to begin with. But switching on the noise-cancelling unit, placed inline between the ear-buds and your audio player, produces remarkable results.

The noise-cancelling circuitry is most effective on frequencies between 50Hz and 1,000Hz, which just happens to be ideal for plane engines and train rumblings. Even without any music playing, you can activate the circuit and reside in blissful silence.

A single AAA battery promises up to 45 hours of noise cancelling, although even when the power dies you can still use the headphones as passive devices. The audio quality of the headphones is as expected from Sony, with the 9mm integrated driver units providing a powerful depth to sound produced.