Sennheiser PXC250 Stereo Mini Headphones with NoiseGard

I had a pair of Aiwa HN5 Noise Cancelling headphones for years and while they were big, bulky and not really great in terms of sound quality, they did cut out noise nicely. Eventually however, the earpad foam finally fell to pieces and the cable was getting a bit dodgy. The wife was also looking for a pair of noise cancelling headphones for a noisy office situation too. We picked up a pair of Sony headphones, and were very dissappointed in the active noise cancelling perfomance (when you have the switch turned on). They were nice enough, comfortable, but really didn't have any noise reduction performance. Someone suggested the Sennheisers, and a couple of online reviews also made us willing to spend a little more and try them out 'ears unheard'. Wow. I just ordered a second set for me...so we'll both have a pair. The headphones are very comfortable - they are covered with soft, plush pads and sit on the ear without a huge clamping pressure. There is some passive attenuation of the ambient noise at this stage, and the adjustment is enough for the largest heads. With no music in a quiet room, you can hear a slight high-frequency hiss from the active reduction system when you turn it on, but not even close to the level of my old Aiwa's. With the active reduction on, and a some music playing, I would be hard pushed to tell my coworkers were even in the office - some very muted sounds occasionally, almost at the edge of hearing. I can barely even hear myself typing this ;) If you are expecting complete silence, you'll always be dissappointed - for that you need to go with an around-the-ear set with much better passive reduction. If you are looking for significant noise reduction, in a lightweight package for a fraction of the price of the Bose QC3s, you could do a lot worse than these.
 
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This item is great and works perfectly. We received it during the Christmas timeframe in only a couple of days. We appreciated the fast shipment!!
 
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The earphones are a pretty good value for the price. The only real fault I find is that they only shut out "up to" 80% of unwanted noise. You find this out when you receive the documentation. I guess that using small ear pieces instead of the large around the entire ear is part of the reason. If this shortcoming does not bother you, try it. Some reviewers complain about the short cord (over 3 ft.)but if you have no need for a longer one, it could get in your way. I find it adequate. You can buy a 6 foot M/F extension for just a few dollars if you really need the length.
 
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They sound great, comes with a nice carrying case. A great pair of noise canceling headphone. You have to get a pair to see. Oh yes, and the price is great also. :)
 
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I bought these Sennheiser earphones due to working in a noisy office and travelling a great deal. They are quite good in both environments, although they don’t get rid of a train whistle, which is a problem if you take trains in Canada. I have been told that competitive earphones don’t address this problem either.
 
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I have these and had the opportunity to compare them side by side to the Bose while flying business class. My assessment - they sound better and attenuate noise equally. If you are going to buy something like this, I'd go for these.
 
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