| Sennheiser PXC300 - Noise Reduction Headphones | 
| Brand: Sennheiser
Category: CE
Buy New: £77.99
New (12) from £77.99
Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 1323
Media: Electronics
Fragile: No
Number Of Items: 1
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 0 x 0 x 0
MPN: 500370
Model: 500370
EAN: 4044156003290
ASIN: B00080O0UI
Release Date: December 5, 2005
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New- Immediate dispatch
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The Foldable PXC 300 headphones with NoiseGard Advance active noise cancelling technology let you enjoy music even in noisy environments.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 Great sound, belt clip proved fragile April 10, 2008
Graham Cobley (Hinckley, UK)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
First of all let me say I have NO complaints about the quality of these headphones.
However, the belt clip has proved very fragile and broke after only a few days careful use.
The noise cancelling is not quite as "aggressive" as the 250 series, so if you're planning to use them on the tube I'd recommend the 250 over the 300. However, the quality of the 300 in normal conditions (train, plane) is superb, and much better than the 250.
 Good, but very sensitive to mobile phones February 26, 2008
S. Laurens (London, UK)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The noise cancelling works well on background sounds such as the rumble of the underground, an aeroplane or a bus. It does not filter out voices and other non constant sounds.
I purchased my one to use with an iPhone, and found the following issues:
* You will need an adapter to plug it into the iPhone's recessed headphone jack
* You will clearly hear the normal mobile phone buzzing sound whenever your phone is active on the GSM network.
Noise Reducing - Not Noise Cancelling. May 23, 2007
Stephen Jones (Croydon, UK)
22 out of 22 found this review helpful
Faced with the prospect of a flight half way round the world, and back again, I decided that I needed something to reduce the omnipresent and oppressive noise of a 747 economy cabin. After much reading of specifications and reviews, I plumped for these headphones by Sennheiser, being unwilling to pay the premium price charged by Bose for their QC `phones.
The first thing to bear in mind with these, is that they are `noise reducing' NOT `noise cancelling'. They will not, for example, block out the sound of other people talking, children screaming, dogs barking etc. But, they will do a good job of reducing persistent low-frequency sounds such as fans, air conditioning units or jet engines. I must admit to being a little disappointed that when using them, I could still hear the AC / engines whilst in flight. However, the background noise was greatly reduced and it certainly made listening to music and film soundtracks more enjoyable and less tiring than without. I found then comfortable enough to wear while attempting to sleep, blocking out a significant portion of the omnipresent `roar' associated with jet travel.
These `phones are small and light, being foldable for easy storage. The downside is, that the `noise reducing' electronics are contained in a cylinder a little larger than 2 AA batteries end to end. This has a clip to enable it to be attached to your shirt / top. Otherwise you can leave it to sit in your lap. This is a little fiddly and a bit of an annoyance, but the alternative is to have the electronics attached to the earpieces which would naturally make these more bulky and less comfortable. Also, the unit is permanently wired in, so you cannot detach if you wanted to listen without the NC bit. Haven't tried them on the train yet, but imagine they would work very well there as well.
Sound quality is very good, definitely a big improvement over the headphones supplied by most airlines. Comes with an airline standard connector so you can plug straight into the sockets provided with your in-flight entertainment system. Also comes with a handy travel case, but takes a bit of patience and practice to fold them back up and stow along with the cable, after use.
[...]
 Great performance for the price March 29, 2007
G. Ward (Manchester, England)
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
I'm very happy with the PXC300 headphones and have found them very effective at what they are primarily designed to do, canceling out the background noise of wind and engine roar on aeroplanes.
With the noise cancellation activated the sound quality is very good. Aeroplane background noise was virtually but not entirely eliminated to a very comfortable level. There is quite evidently some equalisation of the sound signal being done by the noise cancellation unit when powered up. With the NC unit switched off the sound quality is disappointingly poor, the headphones sounding dull and muffled. This makes the PXC300 less of a multi purpose set of lightweight headphones suitable for a variety of uses, something hindered further by the NC unit not being detactchable.
I found the battery life to be excellent. The supplied pair of AAA batteries outlasting the duration of a round trip from the UK to New Zealand. In the region of 24 hours total use. That's not constant use by the way.
I personally found the comfort levels to be good too. Only after having had the 'phones on for a few hours did I feel the need to take them off for a minute and give my ears a massaging rub.
Folding the headphones and putting them away (in the very nice carry pouch) even after a little practice remains a fiddle. One arm must be folded before the other for success and the marking on the headphones indicating which must be folded first is not easy to see. The fact the NC unit is not detachable makes packing away just that little more fiddley too. I saw no option other than to qite tightly coil the cable up around it.
For currently less than 80 I can find little to find serious fault with the Sennheiser PXC300's. A detachable noise cancellation unit and better unpowered sound quality would be nice. Perhaps there are better performing noise cancellation headphones on the market, we often hear Bose mentioned here, I've never tried them myself but if that standard setting benchmark performance is what you expect, get your hand in your pocket and pay for it.
 Underwhelmed... February 5, 2007
Mr. A. Blair (UK)
23 out of 45 found this review helpful
First things first; I'm not stupid. I can read above and it says "Noise Reduction" headphones. However, when I bought my PXC300s, I had read of them as being "Noise Cancelling" headphones. I had every right to expect my "Noise Cancelling" headphones to do just that. If I ask my milkman to "cancel" my milk order, I expect him to stop bringing me milk completely - not to bring me 3 bottles instead of 4... People are being mislead and subsequently disappointed time and time again by this "Noise Cancelling" description.
I really wanted to LOVE these headphones... I've owned a pair of PX200s for about 4 years and they've given me many hundreds of hours of listening pleasure. Sadly, the cable has started to fail and it was time to look for replacements. I sit next to the office stereo at work and sometimes the choice of music isn't always to my liking. That, combined with other distractions like mobile phone ringtones and people having noisy meetings etc, can make for a stressful day. I bought a pair of "Noise Cancelling" headphones thinking they would be the answer to my prayers...
Since I had been very happy with the performance of the PX200s, it took little persuasion for me to place my order for the PXC300s. Apart from the battery/PCB housing, they looked identical to my old headphones so I was not worried about being disappointed by the performance. I found the headphones online priced [...].
The headphones came supplied with a carry case, 2 AAA batteries and an adapter that would allow the headphones to be used in the armrest of an airplane seat. I thought this was an excellent inclusion as I was about to go on holiday and had an 11 hour transatlantic flight to look forward to. The headphones usually supplied on the flight are hopeless so I was feeling quite smug about my new purchase. They have the same folding design as the PX200s which is tricky to master at first but you soon get the knack.
Full of anticipation, I fitted the batteries and plugged the headphone jack into my MP3 player and prepared to flick the on/off switch on the battery pod. This was the big moment! Say goodbye to all that noisy chatter and annoying commercial radio that had been making life so stressful...!!....???
Well, not really. The first thing I noticed upon throwing the switch was a slight pressure sensation in my ears... Like when you need to "pop" your ears during a flight. It's not unbearable, just a bit weird. The next thing you notice is how clearly you can still hear people talking around you. And the radio playing. And the phone ringing... Disappointed, I flicked the switch a few times to make sure there wasn't a fault and yes, okay, it does cancel out the drone from PC fans and such like but those are the sort of noises you become accustomed to anyway! In short, if you expect these headphones to "cancel" all those irritating noises around you, you will be bitterly disappointed. Consider a pack of cotton wool instead. Any noise that isn't a low frequency drone will be just as audible as it was before. You may even find it more distracting when you consider the 80 worth of plastic and wires hanging around your head was bought with the understanding that such noises would be "Cancelled".
Additionally, the battery pack is a nightmare. Ungainly and heavy, it's far to easy to forget to switch it off and run the batteries down. You can listen without the noise "cancelling" circuitry enabled but that's not much fun as the sound quality is terrible. Power on though and the sound is every bit as warm and lovely as the PX200s. Volume wise, I wish they had a bit more punch and they do get a bit "farty" when you listen at high volume - which may be necessary if you truly want to "cancel" background noise...
Not good then. As normal headphones, they are great - just like the PX200s except with a heavy plastic cylinder halfway along the cable. And a great deal more expensive. I didn't get to test my "Noise Cancelling" headphones on my transatlantic flight as they developed a fault the day before I was due to fly and had to be returned to Sennheiser. I'm still waiting for them to be returned but to be honest I don't care now as I've just ordered a pair of Quiet Comfort 3s from Bose.
Cheers,
AB
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