Working in a noisy environment can be stressful. At my working space there’s a lot of chatter on the phone, cars passing by and furniture being moved around. So for me, ideal timing to start the search for Noise Cancelling (NC) headphones.
Noise cancelling headphones are by definition designed for use on airplanes. They filter out the low-end part of the frequency spectrum that the engines on a plan produce. But do these headphones also work in a noisy work environment? Read on.
The main competitors for the PCX 450 are the Bose QuietComfort 3 and the Beats by Dr. Dre. All three are in the high price range, so keep an eye on your wallet while shopping.
Sound quality
You can choose to listen with or without noise cancelling activated. I find listening to music with the function disabled a dull experience. High tones sound somewhat muffled and bass sounds flat. A bit like listening to a low-bitrate mp3 track.
But if you activate the noise cancelling the high notes sound precise and the bass is descent. So I personally always listen with NC activated.
In my workplace it works very well. It really makes working more relaxing. The environmental sounds are much less direct.
More like all the noise comes from 2 rooms away.
I’ve also tested the headset on a plane, where it should perform at its best. The experience was less shocking than expected. But the trip (Brussels – Rome) was made to look like 30 minutes with the headset. A lot of the engine noise was gone, but it was still clearly present.
One word of warning: NC gives you warmer, more precise sound but also a slight ‘hiss’ in the headphones. This is an effect from which all noise cancelling headphones suffer (the Bose, and the Beats inclusive). In my experience you will hear this ‘hiss’ mostly while listening to classical music or during silences in general.
Build quality and comfort
As you can see in the second picture, the build quality is very decent. The ear cups neatly fold around your ears and are covered in very soft leather-like fabric. Hinges are made from steel, not plastic and the headphones rest relaxing on your head.
If you should have glasses like me, the headphones could get uncomfortable after some hours of listening.
Some reviews say the headphones are extremely heavy. I disagree. Yes it has more weight to it. But in this case weight = quality.
I go running with this headset and it stays on very nicely.
Another feature is ‘Talk Through’. This mutes all music and enhances the voice frequencies so you can hear colleagues, airplane personnel, .. This way you don’t need to remove the headphones from its comfortable position.
Very practical indeed. A button on the right ear cup allows you to activate/deactivate this feature. It is not necessary to hold down the button, a simple tap will do the trick.
Practical things
The headphones use 1 AAA battery for the noise cancelling. This gives you about 15-20 hours of music. It also has the ability to function without battery and thus without noise cancelling.
Accesoires:
- transport case (you can fold your headphones)
- 2 audio adaptors (in-flight entertainment and 6.3 mm)
- 2 AAA batteries
- Detachable cable (if you want NC without music)
Buttons:
- Volume +/- buttons to increase and decrease the music volume
- ‘Talk Through’ button.
- On/Off button to activate or deactivate the noise cancelling function.
- Switch to listen to music without noise cancelling and thus without a battery (not visible on picture)
Conclusion
Pro’s:
- Very comfortable
- Better than average sound quality
- Durable design
- Easy to transport (foldable design)
- Listen to music without battery (most noise cancelling headphones do not have this feature)
- Convenient ‘Talk Through’ function (tap to activate, tap again to bring back your music)
Cons:
- ‘Hiss’ when noise cancelling is activated
- Price
- Average sound quality when listening without noise cancelling
