A friend then suggested the Bose QC2 and they were pretty good both at noise cancellation and suppression. But they were too big and bulky for frequent or light travel. I then tried out the Sony NC5 but found they were poor both in noise cancellation and in general sound quality. I finally ended up trying the Sennheiser PXC250 and found that they sounded and cancelled noise as well as, if not better than, the Bose and were much smaller to carry. They don't seal out sound like the in-the-ear or over-the-ear models, but they were much more comfortable after a long-haul flight than any others I had tried. And they're half the price of the Bose.

Short of buying a pair of the Etymotic ear-canal headphones with custom-molded earpieces, the Sennheiser is probably the best way to reduce airplane sounds right now.


Same quality triple the price   September 21, 2004
 24 out of 25 found this review helpful

I have owned a set of Panasonic RP-HC70 noise canceling headphones for a few years. Wanting better audio quality, I purchased these Sennheiser headphones. I assumed at 3 times the price of the Panasonic, they would definitely be better. Wrong. Although the Sennheiser are fine headphones, I could tell little difference from the Panasonic.

In a gym or on an airplane, the listening environment is not good. The noise canceling feature improves things a bit, but there is still enough background noise to make higher quality audio difficult to discern.

Another issue I was hoping to improve from the Panasonic headphones is the high frequency hiss that is created from the active noise canceling circuit. Unfortunately, the same amount of hiss is present in the Sennheiser headphones.

Summary in comparison to Panasonic RP-HC70:
Pros:
Folds up slightly smaller, Zippered carrying case is included

Cons:
3 to 4 times the price of the equal performance Panasonic, Battery case is bulky, no volume adjust knob, two batteries needed instead of just one



teh gud   November 3, 2005
 24 out of 26 found this review helpful

gud
-they have louder and guder bass than any other headphones i've had
-they are pretty loud overall
-they filter out AC, fridges, cars, deep voices, echoes, and shuffling noises
-i can wear them for hours without hurting my ears, which is rare cuz i have a big head
-the batteries last for days. it's the kind of deal you can forget about and leave on overnight, and it's no big deal.
-it's apparently very tough in its folded state, it seems to remedy the problem of the cups on normal headphones wearing off from repeated stuffing into backpacks
-you can turn cancellation off, or go without it when batteries crap out
-it's german engineering, man.

bad
-you get 3 feet of cord, then the unit, then another 3 feet of cord. i find myself sitting the thing on a table, leaning back, and having the thing fall and hit the ground
-you get a big thump in your headphones when it hits the ground
-no high-end noise cancellation

I like silence. Sometimes, I'll put in earplugs, and wear the sennheisers over em. Can't hear a damn thing then. When you flip the quiet switch, the unit also amplifies teh music. Music's too quiet without it on.

You can tell it's meant for airplanes when you leave it on for a while, and turn off the quiet switch. You'll hear the drone of an airplane.

The ambient noise of the noise cancellation is a very faint hiss. I find the sound pleasant, and impossible to hear while music is playing.

Worth it? Yeah.

UPDATE

finally broke it! took a year of normal use. there's a bad connection where the 2 part cord meets the stick thing. touch the wire, get LOUD racket in ears. i'll have to pry out those damn screws and have a look. 14 months is now the record for shog's headphones.


Great sound, reasonable price, small annoyance   May 3, 2004
 23 out of 27 found this review helpful

I bought these headphones to use with my new portable when I'm walking around the city and on airplanes. I also thought I'd try them on the NYC subway system, which is about the most demanding test I can think of, but I didn't have much hope for them working too well on the trains. In fact, they are pretty good in the subway, which is saying a lot given the racket down there, and for walking around town they are exceptional.

I sat in a park near one of the city highways and listened to a selection of various music styles, all of which sounded very good, even the soft classical pieces. The Sennheisers were very effective at eliminating the hum of highway traffic, and also cut about 70% of the noise from helicopters and boat traffic on the nearby river. If these work this well in the city, I can only imagine how much better my next airplane ride is going to be.

Now for the small annoyance: There are a lot of cords to deal with, as there are two different lines running out of each side of the headset and also a third line that runs out of the powerpack. Plus, the powerpack is somewhat bulky, which was a hassle when I tried to wear the headphones while exercising. But the excellent performance and the reasonable price make the cord issue one that's worth dealing with.

Speaking of price, these headphones are definitely a great value. I paid $103. for them on sale on Amazon -- a significant savings from what they go for in retail stores and far less than the cost of the Bose headset that I originally wanted. While I can believe that the Bose are a bit more effective at filtering out some sounds, the Sennheisers are more than adequate for my purposes -- and for only a third the price of the Bose.


Excellent lightweight noise cancellation headphones   September 1, 2004
 23 out of 24 found this review helpful

I bought these 6 months ago, just before a plane trip, to use with my computer. They are lightweight, comfortable, and sound pretty good for collapsible portable headphones. Then I turned on the noise cancellation switch on the small cigar sized and shaped battery compartment. Whoopeee! The sound, particulary the bass, got substantially better and clearer. When I got on an airplane a couple of weeks later I had the same Yahoo experience. The headphones (with the noice cancellation engaged) made listening to airplane audio much, much better, and also cut out a substantial (perhaps 50-70%) amount of the low frequency airplane noise. You can even use them for that purpose without listening to any audio source. For the money, a great buy. Good for everyday use around the home, and great for airplanes, trains or buses. I'd buy them again.