Travel-Gadget-Luggage

Noise Cancelling Headphones Review & Comparison

ben.hoffman — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:09:00 GMT

If you were to ask us here at the Business Travel Guru the best thing you can take along on a flight to help you travel better, our answer would be a good set of noise cancelling headphones. For many years I flew without a pair, but after purchasing my first set I don’t know how I flew without them! I mean I used to be one of those people who could never sleep on a flight, how things have changed now I sleep on the plane when I want or need to.

Having had the opportunity to own or demo most of the major Noise Cancelling Headphone sets on the market today, we decided write up this Noise Cancelling Headphones Review & Comparison, so that you can select the best pair for your needs and budget.

Sennheiser PXC 250 Noise Cancelling Headphones

Made by Sennheiser the leader in headphone & speaker technology the Sennheiser PXC 250 Noise Cancelling Headphones is one of the better performing sets of Noise Cancelling Headphones we reviewed.

The great thing about the Sennheiser PXC 250 set is that they are ultra compact & foldable which means finding that extra space in your carry-on won’t be an issue.

Reviewers Comments: A great choice especially if you don’t want to spend a fortune, however If I could pick any fault with this set it is that the noise cancellation circuitry & 2 AAA batteries for the PXC 250’s are housed in a unit that is attached half of the way along the cord which could be a little annoying, however this design does make the unit ultra compact. The best buy in terms of value for money and size, the Sennheiser PXC 250s will not disappoint

Lowest Price from US $60.00

Sennheiser PXC 300 Noise Cancelling Headphones

The Sennheiser PXC 300 Noise Cancelling Headphones look nearly identical to the PXC 250’s above however they are equipped with the next generation in noise cancellation technology.

Both the Sennheiser PXC 250 & PXC 300 look identical, the only difference to tell them apart is the model on the side of the speaker arm which is written bolder & in a white font.

Reviewers Comments: Slightly better quality than the PXC 250s however this set is also a bit more expensive, as with the above set the PXC 300 house the battery compartment & NC circuitry in an enclosure half way along the audio cable. Top notch sound an noise cancellation, and the ultimate set for those who want to pack light.

Lowest Price from US $103.00

Sennheiser PXC 450 Noise Cancelling Headphones

Unlike the Sennheiser PXC 250/300 units above the Sennheiser PXC 450 are your more traditional full size over/on ear headphones and therefore quite a lot larger, however what they lose in compactness they make up for in sound quality, noise cancellation & features.

What you will love most about this is the comfort you could easily ware this set on an entire long haul flight from Sydney to London.

The PXC 450 houses its noise cancellation circuitry, batteries & controls in/on the headphone unit. Apart from quality my other favourite feature is the Talk Through function which allows the wearer at a touch of a button to hear/take part in a conversation without taking the set off.

Reviewers Comments: Top marks for noise cancellation, sound quality & comfort, Price is on the high side however you are paying for a top quality set.

Price From US $270.00

Bose Quiet Comfort 2 Noise Cancelling Headphones

From the pioneers in noise cancelling headphones for business travellers, Bose have always been a name you can rely on. In fact my first set of NC headphones was Bose. A fair bit larger than the more modern units on the market today however that Bose quality in this set is still strong today.

Reviewers Comments: A great cheaper priced full on ear set, with excellent sound quality and Noise Cancelling performance, the only drawback with this unit is if the batteries run out you won’t hear any sound at all.

Price from US $399.00

Bose Quiet Comfort 3 Noise Cancelling Headphones

Bose have shrunk the Quite Comfort 3 noise cancelling headphones set and made the set a whole lot better, the design, sound quality & NC abilities on this unit is one of the best we have ever tested.

Again like the Sennheiser PXC 450s above this set is also very comfortable, you could easily wear them on a long haul flight, and luckily enough its batteries are rated for 19-21 hours of use on a full charge.

Reviewers Comments: A great buy in all areas however comparing the price to other units they are a more expensive; again you are paying for quality. The only downside is the non standard Bose designed batteries so we recommend buying another set.

Price from US $349.95

Sony MDR-NC500D Noise Cancelling Headphones

The Sony MDR-NC500D’s incorporate the first ever Digital noise cancelling technology which performs digital equalization adjusting the noise cancellation depending on the type of noise which is being experienced/generated Sony are however a relatively new comer to Noise Cancelling headphone technology and this is somewhat evident in this set of Headphones as the quality and noise cancellation just ok, for the price we would have expected a lot more!

Reviewers Comments: This set is too large with too many cables, quality Noise Cancelling effectiveness is average. The best feature of this set is the ability to charge the internal batteries of this unit while in use, which could be very convenient for long haul flight

Price From US $399.99

Plane Quiet Platinum Noise Cancelling Headphones

Reasonable quality in terms of sound and noise cancelling effectiveness, however build quality has a little to be desired.

Reviewers Comments: A great cheap set of Noise Cancelling Headphones that are surprisingly quite comfortable. If you are looking for your first cheap set these are worth a try.

Price from US $84.95

Sennheiser PXC 450 Noise Cancelling Headphone Review

ben.hoffman — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:25:00 GMT

Not being someone shy of technology, I decided to take up an offer to review a set of Sennheiser PXC 450 Noise Cancelling Headphones. My previous experience with noise cancelling headphones includes owning the following sets, Sennheiser PXC 250, PlaneQuiet Platinum, and Bose QuietComfort2 Noise Cancelling Headphones.

How noise cancelling technology work?

Noise cancelling technology works by detecting low frequency repeating ambient noise via microphone/s built into the headset, this noise is then electronically processed to generate an inverse of the noise thru the headphone which in effect cancels out your unwanted background noise.

Don’t buy a set of noise cancelling headphones expecting it will eliminate all unwanted noise, because as mentioned above this technology only works effectively on repeating low frequency sound, for example the noise of a jet engine, air noise heard in the cabin.

At first sight the Sennheiser PXC 450 Noise Cancelling Headphones are comparable in size to Bose QuietComfort2 Noise Cancelling Headphones, yet much larger than the Sennheiser PXC 250. Sound quality & noise cancelling wise all three of my previous sets have nothing on the Sennheiser PXC 450’s. Simply put its sound quality is superb & its noise cancelling abilities are second to none.

Picture 1: PXC 450 (top) compared in size with the PXC 250, both folded

The Noise cancelling technology which Sennheiser has implemented in it PXC 450s is referred to as NoiseGard™ 2.0 and claims to eliminate up to 90% of unwanted background noise, this is achieved thru both the headphones superior noise cancelling electronics & also passively thru the headphones well designed earpads.

Check for the cheapest price of the Sennheiser PXC 450 Noise Canceling Headphones

Picture 2: Sennheiser PXC 450 folded in its soft carry case

Most of the controls for the PXC 450 are located on right side headphone, these being the power on/of, Volume +/- and the talk through buttons. On first use I found these controls a little hard to find (now are the controls on the right or left side and which button was Volume -) this is especially true if you are used to noise cancelling headphones with controls on the audio cable, however after my second flight I knew the exact positions for each button.

A neat feature I love about the Sennheiser PXC 450 noise cancelling headphones is the Talk Through feature which allows the wearer at the press of a button to listen & talk to someone without having to take off their headphones, this is achieved by using the same built-in microphones, used for noise cancelling to pass the conversation thru to your headphones.

Picture 2: The controls on the right hand side headphone

Even though the Sennheiser PXC 450 Noise Cancelling Headphones are a tough and durable set of foldable, they are a little larger than what I am used to after owning Sennheiser’s PXC 250 for many years, initially it was hard to travel with this larger set, however I do take my music & in-flight comfort seriously and in my opinion the larger set was a small trade off for the superior sound quality and noise cancelling abilities of the Sennheiser PXC 450.

What comes in the Sennheiser PXC 450 box:

Sennheiser PXC450 Noise Cancelling headphones
Set of AAA batteries
Soft protective case
2 plug adaptors (1 X Airline plug & 1 X 6,3 plug adaptor)
Instruction Manual

Cheapest Price Online: US $240.00

Score 8.5/10

Pros

Outstanding Sound and Noise Cancellation quality
Detachable audio cable Long 1.4 meter cable length
Talk through feature allowing you to hear someone/take part in a conversation without taking off your headphones.

Cons

Large size (Well larger than my set of Sennheiser PXC 250s)
Cost - A fair bit more expensive than an average set of Noise Cancelling headphones

PLANE quiet Platinum Noise Cancelling Headphone Review

ben.hoffman — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:17:00 GMT

PLANE quiet Platinum Noise Cancelling headphone review - One of the most annoying facts of air or bus travel is low frequency cabin and road noise, for most travellers it stops them getting any sleep on route, which is bad news if you need to get straight into a meeting or start your holiday adventure on arrival.

The Solution Noise Cancelling headphones, the PLANE Quite Platinum Noise Cancelling headphones are a high quality US designed set of Noise Cancelling Headphones priced at a cost, (US$99.00 with free delivery to the US) which won’t break the bank or your holiday budget.

So how about the feel and sound?

Once I put the PLANE quiet Platinum Noise cancelling headphones on I found they very comfortable indeed and the noise passive noise cancellation from the headphone padding alone was very good, my next thought was imagine how much better the noise will be reduced once the Active noise cancelling is kicked in! After switching the noise cancellation switch to the on position, I was instantly transcended into a state of near noise peacefulness and tranquillity, now I work in a room with several PCs that have noisy fans, and these headphones did a great job of cancelling out this unwanted noise.

When connecting my PLANE quiet Platinum Noise cancelling headphones to my IPod I found the music actually be enhanced, this is because the surrounding noise (repeating low frequencies) from my room was eliminated, enabling the full range of sound from my music to be heard and fully enjoyed.

The PLANE quiet Noise Cancelling headphones are well constructed, with a decent amount of ear and head padding that will see you thru the longest of flights without feeling uncomfortable, the headphone cord is long enough yet not too long that the cable will tangle up too much, half way down the cable is the on/off switch for your active noise cancellation along with the battery compartment (2 X AAA) to power the active noise cancellation circuitry, in all a very good design.

In the PLANE quiet platinum noise cancelling headphones box you get the following:

Plane Quite Platinum Noise Cancelling headphones

Set of AA Batteries (2 X AAA)
Zippered Carry Pouch
Dual-pin Airline Adapter
1/8 in to ¼ In Adaptor

The PLANE quiet Platinum noise cancelling headphones are a highly recommend addition for any business or holiday traveller, who wants great quality noise cancellation at a great price. I cannot wait for my next flight in a few weeks to give the set a full workout, also drop back soon for my video review of this set.

You can purchase the PLANE quiet noise cancelling headphones at the great price of US$99 with free delivery, from Pro Travel Gear.