I had a pair of Sennheiser HD-201 over-the-ear headphones which I bought a little more than 2 years back. They were not noise-canceling and were not foldable for easy storage. The latter caused them to snap in my travel bag due to the various pressures on it by air travel.
So this time I was out looking for a pair of noise-canceling headphones that would preferably be foldable for easy storage in a carry-on bag. Looked at a couple of way more expensive models (even the Bose ones) but did not feel comfortable shelling out hundreds of $ on a pair of phones that 'may' break again. So took a chance on this set which seemed to be the least expensive set and had both features that I was looking for. Below is a list of pros and cons:
Pros:
1. Foldable for easy storage
2. Noise canceling works great on airplanes. Much better than what I expected. Haven't tried it in other noisy environments, but would think that it should work as good within the frequency range specified in the product details
3. Sound quality as good as what I used to get on the Sennheiser. I can hear background instruments very clearly, which are usually not very discernible on regular ipod earphones or speakers.
4. Battery consumption seems quite reasonable. Uses one AAA battery that is to be inserted in the left ear cup.
5. Is quite comfortable. I don't have a big head, and it doesn't hurt me when used over extended durations.
6. 'Appears' to be a little flimsy due to the foldable parts, but is actually quite sturdy.
Cons:
1. No volume control for those of you who might be looking for this feature.
2. Headphone case could be better. I would have preferred a harder case, than just a plastic/cloth bag. But I just use another harder case to store these headphones when traveling.
3. The ear cups could have been a little bigger to completely cover the ears. Don't cover my ears as much as my Sennheiser used to, but I don't think it compromises the sound quality very much.
4. When the noise canceling feature is on, if you press your finger/hand on the left ear cup (that holds the battery) to adjust the headphone position on your head, it causes some noise distortion. I'm supposing this is because the battery is being pushed closer to the speaker magnets or something like that, but you need to apply a good amount of pressure to get this distortion. Didn't appear to be a big problem for me.
All said and done, I'm extremely happy with the value for money on these headphones. The Boses and Sonys may obviously have some better sound quality, but being a casual music listener, this set is more than enough for my needs. Sylvania SYL-NC735 Noise Canceling Headphones (Black and Silver)
Not really happy with these noise canceling headphones due to their limited frequency range of active noise cancellation. What I found out after I received these headphones is that the active noise cancelation only works in the 40 to 150 Hz range. The specifications on the box stated this, but the amazon web page specifications do not (as of 10/5/2010). This is probably the reason why many people have been dissapointed by the active noise canceling on these headphones. Basically that 40 to 150 Hz range will work OK for the type of engine noise on an airline, but is pretty much useless for things like a lawnmower, bus, subway, or conversational background noise which all tend to fall in the midrange frequency catagory (well above what these handle). So if you want an inexpensive headphone strictly for airline travel, these will work fairly well, otherwise keep looking.
I bought these so I'd have an alternative to ear buds which I had grown a little tired of, and so that I could have some NC headphones while working or traveling. These seemed like a good deal - and they are, especially now. But don't go in with huge expectations, and if you are impartial to ear buds or phones, get buds over these.
First, the noise-canceling seems to be fairly odd to me. I travel by plane about once every month or two and I've never actually used this feature for the entire flight. I'll turn on the noise-canceling and while the engine roar seems to decrease, the music also becomes almost inaudible. So in many cases I'll end up not using the noise-canceling just so I can actually hear my music without maxing out my MP3 player. Also, when the noise-canceling is turned on, there is a very audible high-pitched tone that after awhile can give me a headache.
The comfort of these headphones kind of makes me want to go back to ear buds. This is by far the worst feature. I have a small frame but I feel like my head is too large for these headphones. The convenience of the phones being foldable for storage comes at the price of a terrible location for the hinge on the phones - right at the top of your head. When I'm at work with my headphones on for a few hours at a time I'm constantly moving the phones around my head to get the hinge in a different spot, not to mention trying to find a hat that can give me the padding I need.
If you've ever had problems with comfort with headphones before but want to try something noise-canceling, I cannot recommend these. Other than that the sound quality seems fine, no better and no worse than what I've had before, and the phones have taken nicely to being in my backpack for the last year. They're a good value for the price, but I don't know that I'd get them for their noise-canceling and I certainly wouldn't say they're the most comfortable thing I've had on my head. - Noise Reducing - Headphones - Headphones Folding - Noise-canceling Headphones'
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