I got myself some Sennheiser PX200 headphones a few months ago, to use with my new PSP Slim. What can i say, i was amazed by the quality of these especially as they were under £25. Anyone who owns a PSP will know that the volume can be a bit on the low side. Don't worry these will sort you out. These little German beauties, come with leather padding, fit over your head and even fold away. The case can even just about, be used as a holder for the psp slim.
The first thing you must understand is that noise cancelling headphones always require batteries. Normally a AAA or something similar. This is because when you activate the noise cancelling, the inbuilt microphones will activate and detect the sounds around you. Once analysed it will send out a frequency to cancel major low end noises.
The Bose QC 3 are excellent pair of elite headphones. After purchasing the Bose On-Ear i was very tempted with the QC3. However, once you have looked into them a bit more you realise that they may not be worth the £250 retail price. They can reproduce a lot of bass on heavy tracks such as RnB. Whilst wearing them and looking in the mirror, i noticed they are not circular and stuck out. The finishing on the leather was tacky and they felt a bit heavy. On top of this i did not understand why they would only cost me £180 across the pond in the states. Apparently, the EU version gets to rechargeable batteries and a EU charger, where as the yanks just get one battery. This leads me onto another negative, the battery is rechargeable which means you have t o connect them to the charger each time you run out of power. This and the fact that you cant turn the noise cancelling function off, meant i had to look at alternatives. By the way you can buy a pair from the Bose outlet in Oxford, with the standard warranty for £180. Apparently, they are refurbished from the states....hmmmmm.....or just imports.
This purchase lead me onto researching noise cancelling headphones a bit further. I am no kind of audiophile, however after major convincing that i needed a pair, i narrowed my choices down to: the Bose Quiet Comfort 3(QC), Sennheiser 350 and 450 and the JVC NC250.
The first thing you must understand is that noise cancelling headphones always require batteries. Normally a AAA or something similar. This is because when you activate the noise cancelling, the inbuilt microphones will activate and detect the sounds around you. Once analysed it will send out a frequency to cancel major low end noises.
The Bose QC 3 are excellent pair of elite headphones. After purchasing the Bose On-Ear i was very tempted with the QC3. However, once you have looked into them a bit more you realise that they may not be worth the £250 retail price. They can reproduce a lot of bass on heavy tracks such as RnB. Whilst wearing them and looking in the mirror, i noticed they are not circular and stuck out. The finishing on the leather was tacky and they felt a bit heavy. On top of this i did not understand why they would only cost me £180 across the pond in the states. Apparently, the EU version gets to rechargeable batteries and a EU charger, where as the yanks just get one battery. This leads me onto another negative, the battery is rechargeable which means you have t o connect them to the charger each time you run out of power. This and the fact that you cant turn the noise cancelling function off, meant i had to look at alternatives. By the way you can buy a pair from the Bose outlet in Oxford, with the standard warranty for £180. Apparently, they are refurbished from the states....hmmmmm.....or just imports. Sennheiser are one of the manufacturers competing with Bose for sound quality. The 350 and 450 are the top end noise cancelling headphones with amazing reviews by the pros. At about £130 and £180 they are not cheap, but are lot cheaper than the Bose. Excellent headphones, that go around the ear - which means they are more like ear muffs. The quality is amazing and you don't even have to kick the noise cancelling on to reduce the surrounding noise. This is probably due to the fact each muff is about the size of 3 Telcoms original phones. The 450's also take a single battery and have the feature of a talk through button. This allows you to press a button to hear what is going on around you without taking your headphones off. I think this is a bit rude and you would feel like a tit trying to talk to someone . Common courtesy would be at least to take you headphones to respond to someone.
Finally, a late contender was the JVC NC250. Shaped like the Bose QC3's these are finished in better leather and are much lighter. They are also smaller than the Sennheiser, however,still provide a bit too much bass when the noise cancelling is on some real heavy music. To tell you the truth, i was questioning if these were not the same headphone as Bose, but just under another brand. They fit the head real well and come in a nice hard case that could probably also hold your ipod. The major difference between these and the Bose, is that the JVC can take single batteries. I accidentally left them on one night and lucky for me all i had to do was change the battery. Where as with the Bose, i would have to recharge and wait. Unlike the Bose, you can still use the headphones without noise cancelling once the batteries have run out, there is a detachable cable and gold plated finishing. At £130 you cant really go wrong. I have now used mine for over two weeks and think they are brilliant. They are soft on your ears and the clarity is excellent. A high end pair available only at John Lewis (for now).
If your looking for generic cool headphones, look no further that Skull and Candy for about £25. About the size of Sennheiser ear muffs with some groovy patterns. Alternatively, if you have about a £1000 to spend, the worlds best wooden headphones are on the Grado website. Let me know if you get a pair : )
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