PCMech Forums - View Single Post - Noice Cancellation Headphone recommendations?

Statica · 12-20-2005, 06:10 PM

Just thought I'd update it and thanx again for the responses. So here's what I've been doing .. been trying out a few headphones from the local box store and trying to make a decent decision. Here's what I've tried & felt... (& just my opinions)
a) Sony MDR-NC50 - Ok there was a lot of prejudice against Sony , the company itself, but I couldnt find anything else on my list and decided to take this home.
This is a lousy set of headphones at any price and for much less at one that lists at $250 CAD, there is no way anybody should ever have to live with this. Firstly, the sound quality leaves a LOT to be desired, it's really awful .. but seems to get better when NC is engaged and no it's not because NC is that effective. The NC is a joke .. Sony's answer to NC is to generate a horrible, "loud?!" white noise! It's just worse than the noise itself. Finally, the design of the headphones are bad as well. I guess the shape of my noggin' aren't what they had in mind, but I found the headphones itself press down against the top of my head. I guess the only good that I can say for the phones was that the battery compartment, just required a single AAA, was built near the fones.
b) The Sennheiser PXC 250 was amazing! The design of the earcups was such that it roughly cut out more than half the ambient noises. The NC was unbelievable .. all I can say is WOW! The sound quality is very rich, the best I can describe it. The only downside to the Sennheiser, is the NoiseGuard circuitry itself .. it's quite heavy and the size of a pen. It just really has the potential to be quite cumbersome, but it's just one beautiful piece of equipment that I can see myself getting addicted to. The 2 AAA batteries are heavy, am not too fond of headphones that have audio cables from both earcups as opposed to the single ones that most higher end headphones have.
c) Bose .. I have yet to find a pair in the usual places I've looked at .. Hi Ho I know about your opinions on Bose, for me - I am fond of Bose audio and would be testing one. i still dont see myself buying a $300+ set but I am intrigued by the possibility of comparing a Bose to a Senn.
d) Panasonic and a few others .. blechhhh! Not even worth writing about.

Again, these are just my opinions so far, and audio perception is extremely subjective.

Thanx for your opinions.

12-20-2005, 06:10 PM	#9
Statica Premium Member Join Date: Jun 1999 Posts: 9,231	Update Just thought I'd update it and thanx again for the responses. So here's what I've been doing .. been trying out a few headphones from the local box store and trying to make a decent decision. Here's what I've tried & felt... (& just my opinions) a) Sony MDR-NC50 - Ok there was a lot of prejudice against Sony , the company itself, but I couldnt find anything else on my list and decided to take this home. This is a lousy set of headphones at any price and for much less at one that lists at $250 CAD, there is no way anybody should ever have to live with this. Firstly, the sound quality leaves a LOT to be desired, it's really awful .. but seems to get better when NC is engaged and no it's not because NC is that effective. The NC is a joke .. Sony's answer to NC is to generate a horrible, "loud?!" white noise! It's just worse than the noise itself. Finally, the design of the headphones are bad as well. I guess the shape of my noggin' aren't what they had in mind, but I found the headphones itself press down against the top of my head. I guess the only good that I can say for the phones was that the battery compartment, just required a single AAA, was built near the fones. b) The Sennheiser PXC 250 was amazing! The design of the earcups was such that it roughly cut out more than half the ambient noises. The NC was unbelievable .. all I can say is WOW! The sound quality is very rich, the best I can describe it. The only downside to the Sennheiser, is the NoiseGuard circuitry itself .. it's quite heavy and the size of a pen. It just really has the potential to be quite cumbersome, but it's just one beautiful piece of equipment that I can see myself getting addicted to. The 2 AAA batteries are heavy, am not too fond of headphones that have audio cables from both earcups as opposed to the single ones that most higher end headphones have. c) Bose .. I have yet to find a pair in the usual places I've looked at .. Hi Ho I know about your opinions on Bose, for me - I am fond of Bose audio and would be testing one. i still dont see myself buying a $300+ set but I am intrigued by the possibility of comparing a Bose to a Senn. d) Panasonic and a few others .. blechhhh! Not even worth writing about. Again, these are just my opinions so far, and audio perception is extremely subjective. Thanx for your opinions.