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: perfect headphone for travel
Summary: 5 Stars
Today I purchased a pair of these headphones at the Atlanta airport. In the store, there are serveral Noise Canceling headphones (this one, Sony MDR-NC11, and SoundShield) to choose from. I pluged those earphones into my ipod and compared their performance with noise cancelling on.
Without music, all the headphones could effectively cancel out the ambient noise in the store. Sennheiser worked equally well as SoundShield by dimming the noise without introducing new "deceiving" sound to fool the ears. Sony seemed to add new white noise. When music was on, there was a HUGE difference between them with Sennheiser clearly winning out. Sennheiser could produce the crystal clear music, while the other two mixed a humming sound with the music. Based on the experience, the choice was a nobrainer for me.
On the flight I found it wouldn't 100% eliminate the jet engine sound (this may be an unrealistic expectation). If I pressed the ear cups tighter to my ears, the cancellation would be better, which seemed that the electric circuit worked well as expected but the noise sneaked through from the earphone's cushion. I watched a movie with the new headphones. The difference of sound was very obvious when I toggled the cancellation switch on and off. When it was off, the movie sound was flooded with the loud engine noise; when it was on, the dialog and music became much clearer, I didn't have to turn up the volume loud to hear the movie. The reality was the noise could still go into my ears, but it was largely eliminated. After getting off the plane, the ears didn't feel uncomfortable as I normally do because of the noise and music volume.
I recommend the headphones if you need to travel on the plane, train, or car with those annoying ambient noises. Otherwise, don't waste your money on it. To me, they don't sound better than the original ipod earbuds acoustically.
Customer Review: Unwieldy
Summary: 1 Stars
I have had a long and happy history with Sennheiser (I still love my HD 550's), so the poor quality of this unit really surprised me. I've had this unit for about 4 months, and can't get passed its awkwardness.
For starters, there is the "NoiseGard" unit. This is the 4"x1"x1" unit that is attached to the cable at about the halfway point and is supposed to drown out noise. It houses two AAA batteries and weighs about half a lb. Apparantly, the nice boys at Sennheiser labs never take off their neck-ties -- the unit is supposed to clip to your shirt through a swivel clip on its back. You can clip it to you button seem or a front pocket if you're in the attire; this will give you about 3 feet of cable between your torso and receiver. If your idea of casual home attire doesn't involve a collar (or large nipple rings), then you'll find yourself knocking this non-replaceable unit around a bit.
The earphones are meant to be portable and it's got a price tag for what you get, so perhaps Ralph Lauren was specified in the requirements. I don't know about that, but I can tell you the package ships with a fanny-pack -- not my idea of portable. And, as you might expect from the pictures, folding the headset is just shy of a certain Japanese paper-folding art.
Beyond even these fauxpaus, I'm not certain the unit is filtering any noise. I switch the NoiseGard unit on, and I hear the sound amplified, but I still get all the background noise I hear w/o it, plus a low humming static. This doesn't mension it's lovely battery life -- don't forget to turn the unit off for the night.
I decided to write this review after breaking down on my last international flight and purchasing their $10 ear-plug style phones and finding a better noise dampening and sound (and comfort) quality.
In short, stay away.
Customer Review: Can you hear me now?
Summary: 4 Stars
If you travel by plane you already know what it's like watching a movie with the 'free' headset while competing with the cabin noise, it's a close call of whether to even bother. Slip on a noise canceling headset and you suddenly enter another world, a very quiet world, and watching the movie becomes a pleasure rather than a chore. Or plug it into your IPod and hear the music as clear as you would at home.
From the reviews I have read, not all noise canceling is created equal, the cheap ones don't get good reviews, but I have owned my own pair of Sennheiser PXC for a couple of years, and have bought them as gifts for three friends, these are the real deal. The sound quality is great, the noise canceling works, and they fold up into a very small package for easy travel. The minus is the wires, wires everywhere, because the noise canceling electronics are enclosed in a cigar shaped unit that is attached in line to the headset wires. In practical use it's fine, you just clip the cigar onto a piece of clothing and forget about it, but it can seem a bit of a mess at first. The plus is that the actual headset itself is much lighter and much more compact than it would be with the electronics built into it. The cigar also has an on/off button, so if the batteries start to die (2 AAAs, they have a tremendously long life, far longer than the specs would have you believe) you can simply turn off the noise canceling and still listen as if they were normal headphones; the quality is not nearly as good in this mode, but still good. If money were no object I would probably do a close comparison with the Bose III headset, those are much more expensive, but fairly compact too, with comfortable over the ear pads, but for the amount of use I give mine (mostly for travel) the price difference wasn't worth my giving them consideration.
Customer Review: teh gud
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
Customer Review: Maybe these are it.
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been through at least a dozen different types and styles of headphones and earbuds. I think these Sennheisers might finally be the ones I've settled on. I work in radio, and have been spoiled by high quality headphones. I can't stand ear buds, even though they tend to sound the best. After an hour I want to rip them out of my ears. I've tried over the head and behind the neck styles, and they just don't have the richness in frequency response I want unless you hold them tight to your head with your hands.The Sennheisers sound very, very good and are comfortable to wear. They're a little larger than I'd like for travel, but I really can't give up quality sound. One word of negativity; they only sound good when the noise cancelling circuit is turned on. Yes they still work without it, but they lose a great deal of sound quality. I don't have enough experience with them yet to know how long the batteries will last, but on longer trips to Europe I'll carry spares just in case.
These come with a nice carry case and a couple of adapters to use with home systems and the Delta Airlines double plug. Pricey yes, but I've already spent more than double what these cost trying to find something good. I think these could be the ones.
The battery compartment is a little bulky, but can clip onto your belt. The cord could be a little more substantial, but there is a two year warranty should it break. The headphones adjust to your head very nicely, and the ear pads are thick and comfy. These don't totally enclose the ear, rather they sit on the outside. Not the smallest or easiest to carry around, but if you want high quality sound without the discomfort of ear buds, these are the way to go. The noise cancellation is decent, but the sound quality with the noise reduction circuit engaged is the prize.