3AW.com.au technology blogger, Risto Sampola, comppleted a simultaneous 'group test' on four top-shelf noise-cancelling headphone models. Read his reviews below.

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The old saying ‘There are three givens in this life - death, garbage and taxes’ should also have the word ‘noise’ added to it. There’s no getting away from the fact that the world is a noisy place and that noise can vary from mild annoyance to a full-blown distraction, which prevents sleep, work and relaxation. The negative effects of noise on health have also been documented and jet lag is believed to be made worse by the constant drone of the aircraft’s engines. A little closer to home, many commuters could also use some peace and quiet on their daily journeys. Even right at home, sometimes we just feel the need to ‘shut out the world’ from other occupants and whatever they might be doing.

Technology has come to our rescue in the way of noise cancelling headphones, which can work wonders to offer us some respite from the noise around us. There are two main ways in which these headphones work. The first is called ‘isolation’, which refers to the noise-dampening effect of having the headphone cups placed over our ears. The right thickness of the right material can make a big difference. The second way is the deployment of actual noise cancelling circuits, which is what sets them apart from regular headphones.

The phenomenon of ‘sound’ is essentially a pressure wave travelling through the air and other sound transmitting mediums. The noise-cancelling circuit consists of a tiny microphone embedded into the headphones and it constantly monitors the noise surrounding the listener. This signal is then fed into the processing unit inside the headphones and turned out of phase (in other words ‘upside down’) and fed into the headphone speakers. If you imagine a sound waveform with a given shape and then you superimpose the same waveform ‘upside down’ on top of it the two cancel each other out, resulting in silence. In the same way that 5-5=0, it is true to say that two equal, but opposite, waveforms add up to zero. When you plug an audio source to the headphones the sound is heard as usual, but with much of the background noise now gone.

Because noise-cancelling headphones reduce the noise around you, there is no need to turn up your playback volume to ‘drown it out’. The benefit to you is preserving your hearing, which can be permanently damaged due to excessive listening volumes – and the benefit to those around you is not having to listen to the sound spilled from your headphones! Even though noise-cancelling headphones have numerous uses, they were originally aimed at the air traveller and as such they usually come with an airline seat adaptor, so you can use them for all your in-flight movies.

As good as some of these headphones are, you should be aware of their limitations too. First of all, they work much better with lower frequencies – such as an aircraft drone. As lower frequencies have longer wavelengths, they are more effectively cancelled. Higher frequencies are also cancelled, but if, for instance, there’s a crying baby next to you on a flight then you’ll still be able to hear it, but much quieter than with normal headphones.

Another thing to consider is that they all need batteries to operate as something needs to power the electronics involved. Some use normal AA or AAA batteries, while some use custom made rechargeable batteries – and of these rechargeable batteries some are embedded and some are easily user replaceable. All of these batteries have their advantages with normal AA or AAA batteries being my personal favourite as they’re pretty cheap, offer fairly long use and saves me packing yet another charger and the hassle of actually remembering to charge them.

Rechargeable batteries on the other hand don’t incur any ongoing costs, but one day (usually after around 300-400 full charge cycles) you’ll have to buy a new one. As they are mostly custom made batteries they can be costly and may have to be especially ordered. The embedded rechargeable battery is my least favourite as the battery can only be charged with the entire headphones plugged into a charger and when that battery eventually dies you’ll probably have to send the headphones back to the manufacturer or be prepared to do some ‘open electronics surgery’ right there on your kitchen table.

Then there’s the sound quality... Let’s face it, this is really the most important consideration. Because the noise cancelling technology must alter the audio signal (remember the upside down waveform that must be added to cancel the ambient noise), so it’s fair to say that none of them are the very best in audio fidelity, but the cream of the crop these days are pretty damn good. The headphones must be able to handle film dialogue as well as music of various types. Whether you prefer a coloured sound, like exaggerated bass, to a truer sound is a personal preference. With headphones I would suggest something fairly accurate as things like extra bass can usually be added from the equalizer in the playback device.  

On a final general note, make sure you try them on before you buy them – it’s something you’ll wear! Some are so comfortable they pretty much ‘disappear’ when you slip them on. Some feel too tight or don’t otherwise sit right on your head. I love to use them even when sleeping on a flight with some fairly mellow music turned down quite low. If the thought of this appeals to you, make sure they’re comfortable even when your head rests against the headphone cup.

Whilst there are many companies making noise cancelling headphones, I decided to review and do true side-by-side comparisons between the best from Bose, Sennheiser and SONY. The pioneers were arguably Bose, who released their first commercially available noise-cancelling headphones in mid-1980’s. Sennheiser have been making headphones for pilots for many years and provided Lufthansa’s pilots with their NoiseGard technology way back in 1987. SONY have been an electronics giant and innovator for decades and have brought something new to the table with their latest MDR-NC500D (who names these things at SONY?) all-digital circuitry noise cancelling headphones. SONY have been making some pretty bold claims, such as “Up to 99%” noise reduction. From Bose I have their current QuietComfort2 and QuietComfort3 headphones, while Sennheiser’s corner is defended by their top-shelf PXC-450 headphones.

All prices listed are RRPs, but you can often do better with a little shopping around and don’t forget that right now most dealers are willing to shave their margins. So c’mon, let’s... err... feel the lack of noise!

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BOSE – QuietComfort2 - $499:

Yep, these guys really live up to their name. The padding is super-soft, but not ‘flat’ and the tension on the headphones seems good and as they are circumaural, they cover your entire ear. You could wear these forever. The power is from a single AAA alkaline battery, which makes the most sense to me. Bose claim a battery life of around 35 hours with a five-hours-to-go indicator. My one single battery never ran out during all my testing, so I don’t doubt that claim. The cable is detachable from the headphones, which makes replacement easy, but the cable itself is fairly thin. Operationally you get one switch – on/off – and that’s about the size of it.

For my listening test I had the same audio source (a CD player) plugged into a four-channel headphone amplifier as this allowed me to swap headphone on the fly. The Bose QC2’s have a rather exaggerated bass end, which may be favoured by some, but in my opinion it was a little too much. Excessive bass frequencies can mask audio frequencies higher up and this was evident on the QC2’s. A strummed acoustic guitar in a Dido track more or less disappeared.

Listening to The Crystal Method’s ‘Tweekend’ album, which is bass-heavy to begin with, was pretty much over-the-top. Reverb tails were fairly undefined and this leads a sense of loss for space, so wide and vast sounding classical recordings managed to sound smaller-than-life. The stereo imaging was also somewhat clouded and unfocused.

Film dialogue was coped with more ease and the QC2’s were acceptable, but on occasion low level sound effects could again be excessive. The noise cancelling functionality is excellent with most of the low frequency noise eliminated, but of course those higher frequencies still creep through to some extent.

Overall excellent comfort, solid construction (albeit a thin cable) and good noise cancellation – all somewhat let down by lack of detail in audio reproduction and excessive low frequency level.

2.5/5

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BOSE – QuietComfort3 - $599:

Essentially similar pads to the Bose QC2’s, but as these headphones sit over your ears I didn’t find them quite as comfortable, but as mentioned earlier, we all have different preferences, so a try is a must. For some reason Bose have decided to go with a rechargeable battery with these headphones, but at least the battery is easy to change and Bose have included a spare, so you can have one battery charging (as long as you’re near a mains point and brought your charger) while the other is being used. Bose claim a life of around 20 hours for a fully charged battery and you can buy further spare batteries from Bose. This all now does of course mean I’ll have to pack that charger... The lead on the QC3’s is also detachable and as thin as the one supplied with the QC2’s. The QC3’s also have one single on/off switch with no further functionality.

The Bose QC3’s did a little better in the listening test, but also exhibited too much of a bass boost for my liking. This in turn led to some of the problems mentioned with the QC2’s. Muddied mid and high frequencies and the inability to project an accurate sense of space. Whilst close, the QC3’s did sound a little better to my ears than the QC2’s, but there wasn’t a great deal in it. The noise cancelling again was excellent and very comparable to the QC2’s, despite the QC3’s on-ear design.
 
Better than the QC2’s, but still lacking in sheer sound quality and I think you can do better if you want a more balanced sounding headphones with better overall clarity.

3/5

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Sennheiser PXC-450 - $799:

Phew! If these were a main meal, I don’t think I’d be able to finish it – they’re BIG! But sometimes big is good and this is one of those times. I actually found them almost up there on par for comfort with the Bose QC2’s and possibly more comfortable on longer travels when you might need a night’s sleep on a plane, train or bus. Sennheiser have also decided to go with a single AAA battery and it seems to be good for around 15 hours of use, which is still fine – Melbourne to Los Angeles on a single AAA battery.

These headphones are also engineered to the maximum and definitely feel the best made, which isn’t to say the others are shabby, but the Sennheisers really go back to that old saying about German engineering. Even despite the large size of the headphones their carry case is fairly small due to the way they fold. The lead doesn’t seem to be replaceable, but is by far the chunkiest on test and should last a lifetime.

Listening to the Sennheisers was mostly a pleasure, but there was some high frequency graininess and lack of detail, but this was fairly minor and not evident with all listening material. The bass was solid and well balanced with fairly detailed mid frequencies and stereo imaging. The sound was quite natural, balanced and uncoloured, which in my book is a good thing. Film dialogue sounded good and special effects were well handled. Even after long listening periods my ears never felt fatigued. The noise cancelling circuit is excellent and I would go so far as to say it’s even better than either of the offerings from Bose.

There’s also a ‘talk through’ button if you want to listen to the outside world, like having an air hostess ask you, “Chicken or fish?”, but this feature is somewhat lost on me as it’s actually quicker to take off the headphones than trying to locate the button whilst wearing them. There are also volume ‘up’ and ‘down’ buttons, but again I would prefer to control the volume from the playback device itself.

Quality headphones and great performers, only really marred by some high frequency artefacts, but this is minor issue many people would possibly not even notice. Seriously good construction and great comfort.

4/5 - RECOMMENDED

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SONY MDR-NC500D - $799:

The SONY’s felt the least comfortable with the skinniest strip of padding, which in itself was pretty hard. After a few minutes I did forget that they were there, which gives SONY a ‘pass’ on the comfort factor, but this is a personal thing. SONY have decided to go with a rechargeable battery, which is actually embedded into the headphones – yes, my least favourite option. However, they have made this easier to swallow as the headphones also ship with a battery case, which takes two AA batteries, so if the embedded one dies on you, by carrying this with you it is possible to revert back to using regular batteries. The embedded rechargeable battery is good for around 15 hours and a double pack of AA’s will keep you entertained for another 10 hours. Of course all this means lugging around not only the charger, but also the extra battery pack. In all fairness, these pack into the supplied carry case, but it’s probably no coincidence the SONY case is also the largest.

The cable is also detachable and a little stronger than the Bose cables, but not as chunky as Sennheisers. The SONY headphones are also the only ones that cannot be used without the noise cancelling turned on. Not a major issue, but if your batteries are flat the headphones won’t work. In addition to the on/off switch, there’s also a switch to toggle between the three noise cancelling modes (airplane / bus or train / office), but I found the automatic mode worked well. There’s also a ‘monitor’ button, which let’s sound pass through, but again as with the Sennheisers, I found it easier to flick one of the ear cups off my ear to get the same result.  

No matter what recoded material I was listening from film dialogue to various types of music it was always a pleasure to listen to the SONY’s – and a shame to put them down. They were without a doubt the best sounding headphones out of the whole bunch. The sound was very natural and open and it was easy to forget they were actually noise cancelling headphones. On bassy tracks the low frequencies were handled with ease and unlike Bose, you only got bass if there was bass in the original material to begin with. Mid frequencies were clear and things like strummed acoustic guitars well-defined.

Every mix had a great sense of space and the openness of the higher frequencies was excellent. The Crystal Method’s bass was deep and solid, Dido’s acoustic guitar shimmered through and you could hear the finer nuances of classical recordings. The noise-cancelling itself was also the best by quite some margin and SONY have definitely raised the bar with their technology. There are three noise-cancelling modes for different surroundings, but I found the ‘auto’ mode worked well overall.

My only major niggle with the SONY’s is their embedded built-in battery and thankfully the extra battery pack can get around this issue. For noise-cancelling headphones these sound as good as I have ever heard and the actual business of cancelling that noise is also the most effective I have ever heard. My pick of the bunch.

4.5/5 – BEST ON TEST