Panasonic Noise-Canceling Earbud Headphones at 200Hz lowers about 88% of the outside noise (18dB). They have a compact pen-type design and have a plug adaptor for airplanes. There are also additional earpads included in the unit. Other features of the unit include Silver Cord Holder for Tangle-Free Storage, Drive Unit 9mm in diameter, Impedance (ohm/1kHz) 103, Sensitivity (dB/mW) 105, Frequency Response (Hz-kHz) 10-20, Cord Length (ft./m.) 2.3/0.7 + 2.3/0.7, Magnet Type Neodymium, Weight (g./oz.) without Cord 30/1.06, etc.
Compared to other common headphones used for listening to music as well as noise cancellation, these are great, besides being comfortable to use. They have a rubber type bud that seals out the background noise in addition to noise canceling.
Other ANC headphones like Shure E2c Sound Isolating In-Ear Earphones Color CLEAR – E2C / E2, are convenient, light, and has good-sound, as well, but not as strong enough noise cancellation solution for regular flier; Aiwa HP-CN6 Noise-Canceling Over-the-Ear Headphones are light, but hard on the skull and has only mediocre noise dampening. Panasonic RP-HC55, with its miniature and superior design gives very little discomfort even in long flights and the noise canceling is very effective as well.
The wire to the battery unit is a little short for walking around with and hence could turn out be inconvenient. However, the unit is very light and the cord being short enough you can unplug the connector and keep it into the pocket, if required without removing the buds. They are also easy to set up and use with iPod or the computer.
The cords of the Panasonic headphones are made of elastic rubber so, if you are used to wrapping them around your ears and keeping them in place by locking the Y-junction against your chin, it may not be possible with these. The Y-junction of these headphones is not adjustable for the purpose.
The range to control the volume is limited and it might not be possible to reduce the volume to the minimum without muting it completely.
This is a great product, worth your money, especially if you are a frequent flier and are looking for effective noise canceling headphones. You can easily wear this for eight hours; non-stop and you will love the experience. Noise-canceling works perfectly without providing any discomfort. It is quite comfortable due to its light weight and due to the short length of the cord. It is also easy to unplug the connector. When compared to Sennheisers they are quite short and easy to carry, they also go well with the dual driver phones. Overall they can be rated for having excellent value, good sound isolation and better sound quality.
After using the Sony noise canceling buds, you will find these Panasonic noise canceling buds to work better on your ear. They have better sound quality as well as the noise canceling features when compared with the Sony ear buds, due to their rubber kind bud that helps in noise canceling, as well as in sealing out the sound.
The Denon AH-NC732K Active Noise Canceling Headphone is a compact pair of headphones that can effectively reduce low frequency noise like engine noise, up to 95%. They are quite compact, have a lightweight collapsing design and are comfortable on your ears. They come in a small molded carry case that can be easily slipped into a carry bag while traveling. The headphone case also has enough space to contain other adaptors and cables. They are iPhones/Touch compatible with no adaptor needed. With a single AAA battery, they can get up to 40 hours of battery life.
They do not just fit around the ears, but cover the entire ear like a seal so as to get the maximum noise reduction. They are quite comfortable to wear. However, it may take a while to find a perfect fit.
Many people will use them for the noise cancellation feature rather than playing music through them. There is a small switch at the side of the headphones that can be used to turn the noise cancellation on and off. With this switch turned off, the humming of airplane engines and other noises inside an airplane can be clearly heard. When the switch is turned on, the noises reduce by a tremendous amount. The sound of the airplane engine and other noises would be feebly audible as if from a great distance.
The effect of listening to music the first time on them is not as impressive as compared to their noise reduction capabilities. Fresh out of the box, these headphones may not sound as good as a well-used pair. They may sound bright or harsh and you may be disappointed with the sound coming out of them. With the noise cancellation switch off, the effect could even be worse. ‘Burn in’ or ‘break in’ may be required to make them sound the way they are intended. You can play music continuously and loudly through them for a few hours to burn in your new pair of headphones. They begin to sound better, smoother and relaxed, once that is done. However, these still fall below the standards of other common headphones.
Check the EQ settings on the player to find the one best suited for you. The volume adjustments are different when compared to other common headphones in that these have to be raised to about 90% to get the kind of sound that the others gave at a middle setting.
They are quite convenient for use with their detachable cords and the case. They are good value for money if they can be purchased at a local dealer with ample discount.
JVC HA-NC250 blends terrific sound quality that has noise-canceling and advanced technology of isolation for providing a superior experience to the listener. The circuitry noise collection of HA-NC 250 involves the feedback technology that monitors the process of noise cancellation constantly. These results in elimination of 85 percent of irrelevant background noise from the headphones. The HA-NC250 also provides two innovations of JVC for blocking the noise further, this helps in isolating the user from sounds coming from outside. To provide extra sound layer of insulation, every earpiece utilizes double housing structure.
A new technique was developed by JVC the headphones for isolating the background noise and that was done by attaching the cushioned ear pads of the headphone to the housing. This feature is essential and can be used with the energetic cancellation of noise switched off. The new headphone uses a neodymium driver of 40mm in each earpiece to get the best quality of sound. The JVC HANC250 to provide portability and comfort has headphones that are light-weight and weighs just 5.3 ounces. It can also be folded flat and includes a detachable cord of four-foot, slim carrying case, and plug adapter of ¼ inch and airline dual plug adapter. This can be used with most of the home video and audio components. Around 1.5-volt AAA battery is used by the headphones to power the circuitry of the noise cancellation. The life of the battery is about 50 hours.
It also has good quality of sound, specifically bass, but they are quite tight around the head especially when you are wearing it for a longer time. The JVC was being tested in a very noisy server room and its performance was spectacularly good. There were few things that are absent in the Solitude Plane Quiet II headset when compared to JVC, and they are:
JVC is extremely light and comfortable and have good build quality as well
They have better performance of noise canceling in spite of the ear design and also offer good sound insulation.
JVC has well-balanced treble and bass, good sound quality and zero hiss.
JVC needs only one battery and has better battery life.
There are few more benefits of purchasing JVCs such as they have conventional cable and when the battery dies, they are also provided with the audio passthrough. JVCs are non-proprietary and have single AAA battery. They also have great value tradeoff as compared to the Bose QCIII or II.
There are few problems with the JVCs like, on the headset, they are not provided with the volume dial control and the cable of the headset is quite short, it is only 43 inches in length, hence it gets difficult to use with the equipment of the home stereo. The other problem is it gets slightly difficult to replace the battery, as it includes popping out the right earpiece.
Few tips required when carrying JVCs, first one is keeping a few extra batteries inside the case of the headphone, in the accessory pouch. Second is to keeping the business card in same pouch.