Sennheiser PXC 250 Active Noise Canceling Headphones
by Sennheiser
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Our Price: $214.46 Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days Buy Used: from $45.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sennheiser PXC 250 Active Noise Canceling Headphones
Customer Review: Quiet Trade Offs
Summary: 5 Stars
When turned on but not plugged into an audio source, the Sennheiser headphones reduce white noise, such as jet engines and road noise, by about half (best estimate). It is enough to provide some relief but it does not reduce sounds like talking or clattering, so you will be disappointed if your goal is complete sensory deprivation.
The competing Bose headphones that I tried in stores provide better isolation but cost more than twice as much, are less compact and block air flow around the ears. The Sennheiser headphones allow ears to breath better and are comfortable enough to permit resting on a headrest or pillow while traveling in an airplane or automobile.
The headphones fold and store in a 4" x 7" x 1" case with a main pocket and front pocket that holds the converter jacks for old-style large audio jacks and airplane jacks with two prongs. I have enough room in the case to carry the extra battery pack from a digital camera and a USB flash drive.
When the noise-canceling feature is combined with an audio source, the sound is enhanced and is noticeably superior to regular headphones (especially the junk passed out on airplanes). I use them only once a month so their cost seems high but I am glad to have them when I am trying to hear or tune out sounds on a long flight.
The two AAA batteries lasted about ten hours before showing signs of fading. The battery pack is in the middle of the cord and can be clipped on a belt or kept in a pocket, leaving enough cord on either end to reach the audio jack and the headphones. Often, however, I find myself wishing the battery pack was at the plug end of the cord so I would not have to juggle it in my lap or lay it on the seat next to me.
I concluded there were no perfect headphones when I was shopping and opted for the Sennheiser's features and price. I may have chosen differently under different circumstances.
FYI: The headphones I bought in July 2004 were made in Ireland. Lately, I have seen on packages in stores that production was moved to...guess where...no, not Switzerland, keep going east... Chinese quality seems to be improving but they should have passed some of the cost savings along to the customer for a product that has been out for quite a while.
Customer Review: Decent sound, poor noise cancellation
Summary: 3 Stars
I have been using these headphones for a couple of years.
The sound quality is pretty good, not on par with good full size heaphones but good for their size. This is as long as the noise cancellation is turned on. The noise cancellation functionality also seems to act like an amplifier, increasing the dynamic range of the music, so even if you are listening to these headphones in a quiet room, you'll want the noise cancellation turned on to get good sound reproduction.
The design of the headphones for travelling is very nice. They fold up compactly and come with a nice small case that is large enough to hold the headphones and a typical MP3 player. They are also pretty comfortable but can make my ears hurt (as with any on-ear headphones I have tried) after long periods of time. The one drawback to the design is the external electronics and battery that are inline with the cord. An example of the type of problem I was having is; on an airplane, I would clip it to my clothes or the seat in front of me and later stand up or shift around to let somebody out or to stretch and the cord would catch on something and then rip the electronics module off of whatever it was clipped to and pull the heaphones off my head. This happened repeatedly and the hook on the back of the electronics module is now bent. I rarely have this problems with other headphones, but the combination of the length of the cord and having the electronics module attached to something seems to make these headphones prone to this type of thing happening, but this is really only an annoyance.
The most relevant complaint I have about these headphones is that the noise cancellation does not work well for me in situations when I actually need it. The last flight I used them on I was sitting at the back of the plane near an engine and the only way I could get these headphones to block the sound well enough to hear the music was to press the headphones against my ears to force them to seal. My Sennheiser HD 280 Pros actually do a better job blocking outside sound on an airplane and they are not noise cancelling. On the down side, the 280s are much bulkier to carry around. If my 280s had noise cancellation and magically folded into a compact case I'd be in heaven. :)
Customer Review: Can't fly without them
Summary: 4 Stars
These headphones are great! I fly 2-3 times a month, and the airplne noise (especially when you sit near the back of the plane) was getting highly annoying. My iPod earbuds would hurt my ears after a few hours, sicne they were turned up so loud, so I tried a pair of Sony in-ear buds, after reading some great reviews. They were worth the $30, but they didnt block out enough noise... so I did some research and, like most people, narrowed my search down to these Sennheisers and the Bose version. I really couldnt justify buying a pair of $300 headphones (same price as an iPod), and the fact that they were getting mixed reviews also made me skeptical. I did try them in a store, but I wanst impressed enough to drop the $300. I ordered the Sennheisers based on price, reviews, and coworker recommendation, and I am not disappointed at all! They block out a lot of the airplane noise... enough to listen to music or watch a movie comfortably. My ears dont hurt anymore, and I fell noticably refreshed when I get off of the plane... especially if I was able to sleep (you definitely sleep better with these on, even if you dont connect them to an audio source).
As a quasi-audiophile, I would say that the audio quality is above average. If you want a noise-cancelling feature, then you have to give-up some of the audio quality. I also feel that all Bose speakers and headphones are highly overrated and overpriced (Cambridge Soundworks has much much much better speakers, for a much better price... they dont make headphones though). All in all, I would definitely recommend these headphones... if you shop around you can get them for as low as $109... at that price, it is an exceptional deal.
My only complaint is the overall style of them. hey are kind of ugly (look like they are out of the 80s), and I would prefer them to go around the back of the head, as opposed to over the top. Also, the "bar' that holds the batteries and noise cancelling unit is ugly and obtrusive. It would have been better if this was integrated into the headphones themselves, or place closer to the bottom where the headphone jack was. These are just style issues, though... the headphones work, and work well!
Customer Review: Update after 19 months
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought these in January 2008, they died in September 2009. No clue why, the light turns on, no noise canceling is there. Music still plays, but with these the sound is poor without the noise reduction. A friend had his for less time, and I recommended them ;-( They did the same thing, for him after he left the wand on until the batteries ran out. His were not even a year old. Yes, he should have done a warranty claim, but decided he didn't want another pair.
I checked the Sennheiser website. It's a joke. they offer flat rate repairs. For this item the rate is $59.95 before shipping. You can buy new one's from Amazon for around $80 with free shipping.
Sound quality was decent but not stellar. Battery life is very good. Small earphone size is nice, if you don't mind finding somewhere to put the line-in wand.
Can't recommend due to the lifespan, I expect $86 headphones (what I paid) to last at least two years.
Per the post purchase review below - I have been fooled by Sennheiser three out of four times, shame on me!
Post purchase review follows
I already own a pair of PX-100's. the PX-250's do not have as good of bass response. Without the noise suppression there is no bass. The earphones are comfortable and the noise reduction is adequate, helps hear the music above the street noise, talking, etc. but does not cover it completely. The wand is a bit unwieldy, but it works OK. The battery life is pretty good - think I got 30+ hours out of the first set. I wear them now and do enjoy the music more on the walk to and while on the train. I'm not unhappy with these for the price. The other noise reduction sets I've had were some cheap Coby ones I bought at O'hare out of desperation (very bad) And my nice Shure earbud set that truly do block out all sound.
So, overall, 3 out of five. This is the fourth set of Sennheiser phones I've owned, the PX-100's are still my favorites if the environment is right. The old HD445 studio set had cord problems and a cheap pair of pxm-200's I got for a deal at Target. Hmm, why do I keep buying Sennheiser?
Customer Review: Not what I hoped for...
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought these to try to help with a "noisy co-worker." They do help some, even though technically they're not designed to block out voices. I find that using the headphones while playing classical music does make a difference, enough that I can live with the situation! And it's amazing how much background noise they block out, i.e. the hum of flourescent lights, the fan on my hard drive. Sound-wise, you won't get good quality on base - in fact, for some music, the base nearly disappears. So far, I don't feel this is a drastic problem, but I'm sure others might feel differently.
However, I was astounded that the headphones just didn't do much to help noise on a 4-hour flight. I'd say they cut the noise maybe 30-40%, but it was still extremely loud, and really, I can't say it made the flight that much easier on my ears. (I sat in the back of the plane on the way out, but middle of the plane on the way back. The seat made no difference.) After some of the reviews I've read, I really was expecting a much bigger difference! And seemingly, "airplane noise" is just what these are designed for. Note - I highly suspect the "over ear" design is part of the reason for this. If these headphones covered the entire ear, I think the results would be a good deal better. In fact, I noticed that if I press them firmly against my ears, the results improve dramatically.
I would not buy these particular ones again - but I would consider buying the same brand with a "cover the whole ear" design.
Some misc. notes: so far, I've had no trouble with battery life. The entire package is very easy to use; they fold up into a nice little package that's easy to transport. They are generally comfortable, though on occasion they seem to pinch just a little. The main competitor is Bose, it seems. The reason I did not buy the Bose is b/c several reviewers indicated that, good as they are, they fall apart within about 18 months. I totally am in no position to spend $300 or more on something that will fall apart in less than 2 years with normal wear and tear, no matter how good they are. (If I flew more often, maybe.)