I never understood people that get on airplanes without headphones. What is so appealing about your surroundings? Are you afraid of missing reports from the pilot? Is it the gum popping? The engines? The endless chatter from the guy next to you?

If you’re looking to make the skies slightly friendlier, drown out your fellow passengers with one of the new headphone solutions from Acoustic Research.

The ARW200 Dolby Digital 5.1-Compatible Surround Sound Headphones ($99.99) plug into any USB port, promising a surround experience that you’d expect to hear from six home theater speakers. Designed for plug and play with Microsoft Windows XP or Vista or Mac OS, the set folds up, making it easy to stuff into your carry-on.

If you don’t want to rock out to drown out those sounds, the ARNC01 Noise-Canceling Earbuds ($59.99) promise 50 hours of quiet on a single AAAA battery.

For uninterrupted sound, the AWD209 Wireless Headphone System ($149.99) sends uncompressed, CD-quality audio signals from a small 2.4GHz transmitter that plugs into your CD player to lightweight headphones. That means you can stretch your legs without getting tangled up in headphone wires—up to 100 feet from the transmitter.

The ARW200 and ARNC01 are available now; the AWD209 is coming next month.

Check out each of the models in our slideshow.

About the Author:
Rachel Cericola - Contributing Writer

Over the past 15 years, Rachel Cericola has covered entertainment, web and technology trends. Check her out at www.rachelcericola.com.