Maxell Noise-Cancellation Headphones by Maxell
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Digital camera reviews of Maxell Noise-Cancellation Headphones
Digital camera Review: Maxell HP-NC1 Noise Cancelling Headphones
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this product. I specifically bought it for a long flight to Hawaii and I wore them almost the entire trip. They were very comfortable.Digital camera Review: Mixed Review
Summary: 3 Stars
These are great headphones while they are still working. The noise cancellation is adequate (I have used them on an airplane and in other noisy environments and they manage to cancel out almost all of the environmental noise, and they are also manufactured in such a way that the band between the headphones has somewhat of a forward lean so that you xcan recline in your airplane seat and not be resting against the headphone band). However, having owned these headphones for almost 2 years, I had to replace them several times. This was precipitated by one side of the headphones suddenly not transmitting sound, so I would only be getting sound to my right ear and not my left. This might have been caused by the somewhat bulky battery case that is inline with the headphone wire itself and puts some strain on the wire whenever you wind up the cord to put them away. Luckily, Wal-Mart carried these for a number of years, so I was able to keep exchanging them whenever they ceased functioning properly. Overall, if you have $40 to spend and you're not planning on having these be your lifelong headphones, they are a good buy, and you won't be disappointed with the sound quality.Digital camera Review: Nice Sound, Poor Quality Construction
Summary: 3 Stars
Like another reviewer said, the right speaker in the headphones failed after about four months of normal use. I inspected the inside of the unit and could not find an obvious severed wire, though one of the solders from the circuit board in the left cup connecting the right speaker was sloppy, and could have been the culprit. Additionally, the plastic lines the padding was degrading, and the phones were goners anyhow.
I also found it hard to stuff my ears into the cups. I don't think of myself as having particularly big ears.
More positively, I really like the sound of these headphones, and I'm unhappy that they died so soon. The folding is a nice feature, particularly since I bought these to travel with my MP3 player.
I never used the sound canceling feature. I would have preferred not to have had to lugged around the additional hardware. Fewer parts are generally better.
I'll be buying a different pair next time. I expect headphones two last at least twice as long, given the normal level of moderate abuse that I subject my gizmos to.
Digital camera Review: Nice balance of cost and quality
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought a couple of these to take on a long trip in order to make the flights more comfortable. There were three of us, so I also bought one of the more expensive noise canceling headphones too, the Jabra 820S (see my other reviews). The noise canceling feature on the Jabra was definitely better, but the truth is, for airline comfort, the Maxells were enough for us. I usually have a hard time sleeping on a plane, but this time I put on the headphones with the noise cancellation on, inflated one of those headrests pillows that wrap around your neck and put that on, turned on my Mp3 player connected to the headphones, and listened to Schubert's "Ave Maria" repeated over and over at very low volume, passed out, and slept like a baby for hours, so these headphones did the trick for me. I really like how they fold up into a ball very quickly so you can get them out of the way without much hassle and their construction seems quite sturdy. Back home, I stored away the Maxells and use the Jabra with my computer to listen to music, etc.
For the plane, the Maxells are a bargain, but their sound quality is not "audiophilic" and the cumbersome inline battery pack make them not a great choice for most home or other day to day activities. They should come with some kind of holster or clip for the inline battery pack so you can attach it to your clothes when you're moving about, otherwise you have to hold the battery pack or let it swing around tugging at the wire. The Jabras and a lot of the other models have detachable cords which is a much better design, but on the plane you're just sitting, so having the line and battery pack cradled in your lap is no big deal. Buy these Maxells for a less expensive headphone for the plane, but for real audio purposes you'll probably want one of the more expensive models, but of course, that depends on how particular you are about sound quality. If that's not a big issue for you, these might be just enough for you at home too. For television watching, I think they'd work fine.
Digital camera Review: Nice execution for the money
Summary: 4 Stars
We bought these to soothe our nerves during flying. I found that they function very well as headphones. The noise cancellation circuitry adds a very low level white noise that can only be heard in quiet passages in quiet environments, but the circuit can be switched off and the headphones function as any unpowered phones do. Sound reproduction is good, the noise cancellation works mainly in the lower octaves (rumble and roaring noises) which is where you need the help when traveling. Higher frequency noises like voices are only slightly attenuated. This may be a design strategy which makes sense, but is also likely much easier (cheaper) to execute than full-bandwidth attenuation. Very helpful for our intended purpose.