For a while now, Bose has enjoyed an iPod-esque stranglehold on the market for noise-cancellation headphones. When Bose's QuietComfort 3 (QC3) on-ear headphones hit the market, other companies scrambled to make more similar, but more affordable models, desperate to get a piece of the ever-growing noise-cancellation pie. The JBL Reference 510 headphones vaguely resemble the QC3, sitting on the ear instead of forming a cup around it, but they ring up for $149.95 (list)—a full $200 less. I didn't reasonably expect them to stack up against a pair that's more than twice as expensive, but a simple compare-and-contrast produced some interesting results.