118 MACWORLD FEBRUARY 2020
PLAYLIST REVIEW: TAOTRONICS TT-BH046Before playing any music, I turned ANC
on and off in a quiet environment. As I’ve
heard from other ANC headphones, the
TT-BH046 produces a soft hiss when ANC
is on. It is more pronounced than others
I’ve heard, but I still think it’s insignificant
when playing music—or with no music in a
noisy environment.
I started my listening with “Europa”
from the album Caminos by Latin-fusion
group Alturas. The instrumentation
includes acoustic guitar, electric bass, Latin
percussion, synth strings, and pan flute.
With ANC disabled, the overall sound was
somewhat
congested and
veiled with boomy
bass, though the
guitar was nicely
rendered. Turning
ANC on cleared up
the sound, and the
bass was better
balanced with the
rest of the
instruments,
though the sound
was still slightly
veiled.
Next up was
“Tropical Breeze”
from Freedom at
Midnight by pianist
David Benoit. Aside
from piano, the instrumentation includes
electric bass and drums as well as soprano
sax. Without ANC, the sound was quite
rich but slightly closed in with bloated bass
that obscured the drums. Engaging ANC
cleaned up the bass and made the overall
sound somewhat thinner but with better
balance and clearer drums.
Turning to some country music, I
listened to “Voice Inside My Head” from
Taking the Long Way by the Dixie Chicks.
This is a great mix that’s heavy on guitars
with electric bass, drums, and pedal-steel
guitar as well as solo and backgroundThe TT-BH046 comes with a hard-shell travel case as well as a dual-pin
airline-audio adaptor. I haven’t needed one of those adaptors for many
years, but most travel-headphone manufacturers still include them.