Ears On

Why would anyone pay the price of an iPod nano for a pair of headphones? Better sound is one reason—Apple's earbuds are wretchedly tinny. Sennheiser provides another good reason with the PXC 300 headphones. These midsized cans have noise cancellation, resulting in both better sound and greater safety for those most precious and irreplacable audio components, your ears.

Portables take you into environments that are inherently hostile to music. Turning up the volume is a poor solution. It increases the quantity of sound but not the quality. And high volume levels, though they may seem benign compared to the roar of the outside world, may damage your hearing. In-the-ear buds like the ones Apple provides are even more hazardous, hearing specialists say, because they sit closer to the inner ear.

Noise cancellation is a better and safer solution. Tiny mics on the PXC 300 pick up outside sound. A circuit inside the headphones—Sennheiser calls its version NoiseGard—reverses the phase of the noise and generates out-of-phase soundwaves that are mixed with the music. The result is a reduction in noise, especially the kind made by plane and bus engines, in the upper bass and lower midrange bands. Using noise-cancelling headphones on a plane for the first time can be a revelation. I literally never leave home without them.

A traditional headband-type headphone, the PXC 300 is mid-sized, not full-sized, with earpads that cover the ear canal but not the entire outer ear. All other things being equal, a full-sized set of NC headphones will work better than a mid-sized set, but for the duration of a long flight, the sweating will get to you even if the pinching doesn't. The pads of these scaled-down cans are lighter and more comfortable than those of any full-sized models I've ever used. They don't pinch and they let more of your skin breathe. Build quality is superb, with the band and its folding hinges made entirely of metal. You needn't worry about snapping these things in half when hastily shoving them in your carry-on at the conclusion of a tough flight.

The noise cancellation circuitry and the two AAA batteries needed to make it work live inside a belt-clipped cylinder 5.25 inches long and one inch wide. There's 38 inches of wire between headphones and cylinder, and another 33 inches between cylinder and mini-plug. A switch on the cylinder turns the noise cancellation on and off, with a glowing red LED, and the headphones operate at 95 percent of full volume when the circuit is off. The diaphragms are embossed with spirals and backed with neodymium magnets for low distortion.

I took the Sennheisers into one of the most sonically hostile environments on earth: the back of a New York City bus. Normally close proximity to a large diesel engine would be enough to muffle all but the loudest moments of, say, a piano concerto. But the PXC 300 raised the percentage of audible material from 50 to 90 percent, allowing all but the lowest-level passages to get through. When I switched to pop music with a backbeat, the percentage rose to 100.

I had set the level before boarding the bus, so these tests were made at moderate volume, not high volume. At least half of my iPod nano's volume capability was needed to run the headphones at a middling level with most music. Occasionally I went to three-quarters.

With or without a bus engine in the background, sound quality is gentle, mellow, and smooth. That should make the PXC 300 an excellent mate for harsh-sounding portables. If your signal source musters a clean signal, you might want to adjust the EQ to let through a little more detail. You won't need the bass boost, though—these Sennheisers generate true low bass pitches.

The Sennheiser PXC 300 is a great way to enjoy the benefits of noise cancellation in a comfortable, rugged, and great-sounding set of headphones. Try them for yourself.

Price: $220

Mark Fleischmann is the author of the annually updated book Practical Home Theater. For links to the latest edition, visit www.quietriverpress.com.