A little music at just the right moment can take the edge off tedium and聽improve聽mood, even just by canceling out an annoying rattle. But a good sonic intervention doesn鈥檛 happen by accident. One must travel prepared with the gear to broadcast it, the backup power to keep it thumping, and, of course, the right mix of tunes.
Bose QuietControl 30 earbuds ($300)
Most experts agree that has the best noise-canceling technology on the market. These wireless earbuds are fixed with microphones that measure background sound and then neutralize it with a built-in processor. You can turn it down to hear when your plane is boarding,聽then max it up when the engines crank during take off. A handy remote allows you to answer calls with the touch of a button, and adjust the amount of filtering separately from the sound, so the music is always clear.
Urbanears Plattan 2 headphones ($49)
The 鈥檚 checks all the travel-headphones boxes: braided cables and a flexible headband that stand up to abuse, super-comfortable fit, a nesting shape for compact portability, and a second audio port for easy sharing. Plus, with a modest price tag, it won鈥檛 hurt too much if you forget them in your hotel room.
Ecoxgear Eco Pebble Lite speaker ($40)
Measuring three inches across and less than two inches deep, there鈥檚 always room to bring the . And it鈥檚 ready to go anywhere. The portable three-watt聽Bluetooth speaker broadcasts impressive sound for its tiny size, and its battery lasted for an entire day. It鈥檚 also tough enough to take to the beach鈥攂uoyant, waterproof, drop-resistant, and backed by a three-year warranty. With additional accessories, you can mount it on a handlebar or suction it to a board.
Outdoor Tech OT2650 Kodiak Plus external battery聽($80)
Ten thousand milliamp hours is enough juice to recharge a laptop. Put another way:聽the 鈥檚 lithium-polymer battery stores more than enough electricity to revive a phone and a speaker. Bonus: since the Kodiak Plus has two USB charge ports, it can resuscitate both at the same time. Fully waterproof when it鈥檚 not charging, the rubberized case is tough and lightweight at聽just over ten聽ounces.
Seagate Wireless Plus hard drive with Wi-Fi ($160)
With up to two terabytes of memory and an active mobile hotspot, the can store a ton of media and stream it via Wi-Fi to any device鈥攏o Internet required. Pair it with your phone, tablet, or computer and you鈥檒l have access to thousands of songs or hundreds of movies, whenever you need it. The Wireless Plus is ideal for saving space on your phone, and since it can simultaneously stream three different songs to three different devices, you鈥檒l never get into another argument over what to listen to.
iLuv Splitter audio adapter聽($10)
Sharing tunes with a seatmate is great, but it鈥檚 not fun listening to just half of the stereo sound. The next time you have to share earbuds, plug in a splitter like this one by . It turns one earphone jack into two聽while maintaining the volume adjustment, mute, and other remote functions of each鈥攚ith no loss of sound quality.
Indie Shuffle app (free, Android and iOS)
We stream whenever we want an introduction to a whole bunch of new music. Dedicated to independent artists鈥攏ot top-forty junk鈥攖he app can filter your selection by genre or mood, while a team of listening aficionados curates a one-of-a-kind playlist of small-time and up-and-coming artists.