That’s me on JetBlue Flight 481 to Long Beach, wearing my noise canceling headphones. Sandee saw me wanting them, so she was especially happy to make them a Christmas present to me. And, with all the flying I’ve been doing lately, I was especially happy to have them.

I wanted the QuietComfort 2s not just because I like big, old skool, over-the-ear headphones (I don’t, actually), but because I really wanted the extra noise reduction that design offers. I had tried the QuietComfort 3s in a Bose store and wasn’t convinced they were better. Smaller, yes, but still large enough that I can’t lean my head against the window without knocking them off my ear. That, and I really didn’t want to have to carry yet another charger when I travel — the 2s take a single AAA battery (so carrying extra or finding more is easy), the 3s take a custom rechargeable battery. Still, if the 3’s electronics are really better, I’d like to see them applied to the OTE design to get even more noise reduction.

As it is, however, I’m quite pleased. Listening without music, headphones do a good job of quieting the drone of the plane, and with a bit of music, it largely disappears. And unlike with my iPod earbuds, which I had to run at full or nearly full volume, I can now listen — and hear the music — at volumes from the lower half of the range. What I didn’t like, however, was how bulky they are compared to my old earbuds. Sleeping required new attention to where I was leaning my head; tip my against the window or fuselage and not only would I rick knocking the headphones off my head, but the vibration would suddenly be amplified by the noise canceling hardware.

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Engadget echoed a story from AutoBlog (duh, I just noticed that they’re both from Weblogs Inc.) about an iPod integration kit that works with most all 1998-or-newer cars: iPod2car.

First, it gives a clean line-in to the stero from the iPod, then it gives next and previous track as well as rewind and fastforward control on the stereo. Sure, you can buy a 2005 BMW and get the same deal as an option, but this is cheaper.

Most importantly, it’s compatible with both my Scion xB and Sandee’s Honda Civic. The FAQ answers some questions, and links to the installation manual.

The manual also helps answer some basic questions about the xB stereo. For instance, all Toyota (1998 – 2005), Scion (2003-2005), and Isuzu (1998 – 2003) factory stereos apparently have the same connections. But, Toyotas require a cable adapter that’s only available from the dealer (part #08695-00370). With this in mind, I can probably get a cheaper audio-only input adapter. I went looking for such a solution before, but details about the Scion radio are scarce.

Also in iPod2car FAQs is a link to carstereohelp.com’s stereo removal guides. And, back at Autoblog, they’ve got an entire section devoted to the xB.

Then, for home-use, I can’t help but like the Bose SoundDock.

Related iPod stories at MaisonBisson:
Integration: In Car iPod, In Car iPod Take 2, iPod Integration Kits Proliferate For Home And Car, Saab, and PIE iPod Input Adapter.
Hacks, laughs, and background: iPod Hacks, iPod Giggles, What Does Proprietary Mean Anyway?

Technorati Tags: adapter, bose, civic, engadget, honda, honda civic, icruze, integration, ipod, ipod2car, scion, scion xb, toyota