…my nose in a bookFood, research, yoga and music. . . is there anything else?

I have been testing out the Panasonic RP-HC500 Noise Cancelling Headphones for the past few weeks.  I have taken these lightweight silver headphones with me to various pubs, coffee shops and libraries to test out their ability to mask out talking and ambient sound around me while I try to study or write.

Panasonic RP-HC500 Headphones While Writing

The Pros:

These headphones are very clear in the treble and mid-range, with the ability to have the volume turned up quite high without distortion.  The bass sounds are good, yet there is room for improvement, in comparison to the Bose Quiet Comfort 15’s.  The earcups that wrap around the ear, are extremely comfortable, and allow for even my loop earrings to fit inside the headphone cup.

I was skeptical at first that headphone cord would not be long enough, yet it has not bothered me at all, and the headphone cord length seems to be the perfect length while working with a Macbook Pro sitting on your lap while drinking coffee/tea/beer.  The headband portion of the headphones has a comfortable squishy headband that keeps my head from hurting, and there is enough extension room in the headband to allow for large heads or even large hair that you dont want to muss up.

The noise-cancellation is wonderful, and does a great job of cancelling most sounds in the ambient environment.  As I will note below in my Cons list, the high treble frequencies of pop music are unavoidable with this headphones, and those sounds still seem to seep through the comfortable bubble of silence that these headphones provide.

The Cons:

As I mentioned before, the bass range of these headphones in comparison to the Bose Quiet Comfort 15’s could be a little better, though in comparison to every other headphone I have tried so far, the Panasonic RP-HC500’s are far superior. Sound-wise, the noise-cancellation is great, though background music at a coffee shop or pub isn’t completely cancelled by the headphones.  Unfortunately, it seems like most of the lower frequencies are cancelled, but the very high treble of the pop music or bad 80’s rock doesn’t go away.  You are left with a comfortable cone of silence, with the occasional burst of Cindi Lauper’s high pitch voice coming through.  I would have to say in comparison to almost all other noise-cancelling headphones, these are wonderful, though a bit more adjustment to eliminate outside ambient music would be fantastic.

Other problems with the headphones, in comparison to the Bose QC15’s include the fact that while the headband portion is quite comfortable, there is almost a tension that could create a headache over a long period of use.  The earcups hold very close to the head, and seem to create a pressure just behind the temples for people who may have a very large head. By large head, I mean someone who has more than a 24″ Inch head circumference an inch above the ear.

The Verdict:

All in all, I am extremely glad I bought these headphones, and have been thoroughly enjoying the noise-cancellation and wonderful sound that they have provided me.  @nachoman, from http://blog.nachbaur.com/ has taken to borrowing these headphones while he has been working on his Apple iPhone App development, and since he has a much smaller head circumference that I, he is able to fully appreciate these headphones without “large head” headaches.  So my final verdict on these headphones is: Wonderful headphones for $209 Canadian dollars, amazing sounds, great noise-cancelling, and comfortable for your ears.  If you have a large head (hat size 24″+), you likely will get pressure headaches after 4-6 hours of straight headphone wearing.  If you are looking for a cone of silence, with no outside noise in the least, you will want to get the Bose Quiet Comfort 15’s instead, though at $350+ it may not be worth it. These headphones are completely worthwhile, and I plan on keeping them for a while.  Plus they come with their own hardshell carry-case that makes tossing them into my laptop case a breeze.

Have a great day everybody!

Ciao

Deanna

I have been searching for the past couple months for a good pair of Noise Canceling Headphones. Not a pair of ear bud style ones, but a nice comfortable pair of ear-cupping anti-background noise headphones.

So the search began with trying on one of the most expensive headphones on the market, the Bose Quiet Comfort 15’s.  The 15’s are the newest Bose headphones on the market, and replacing the Bose Quiet Comfort 2’s.  I went over to the Bose Store at Pacific Centre, and tried on these thick cushy headphones, that seemed to just melt onto my head with the weight of a feather.  I turned on the sample music tracks provided by the wall mounted music player, and began to listen to some of the clearest audio I have ever heard.  The salesman for Bose stood beside me spouting off all the technical mumbo-jumbo about the headphones, yet all I wanted to do was listen to the music being played.  Turns out that noise-canceling was not activated just yet on the headphones, which is why I could still hear the salesman blabbering on.

Now, I am not one to just throw $350+ away for a pair of headphones that are simply comfortable and have good audio, I wanted to know what made these headphones so darn expensive.  So I asked. When the overly cheerful and almost robotic sales guy turned on the “Airplane Noise Simulation” of the cacophonous imitation of a jet engine taking off, I couldn’t really see how putting these headphones on would simply make the noise go away.  I doubt even my earplugs I use for travel or sleeping wouldn’t be able to mask the loud airplane racket emitting from the store’s speaker system.

I took the headphones, and put them on my ears only to be absolutely amazed.  The loud track that mimicked ambient sounds of a noisy airplane cabin no longer  rang through my head, nor could I even hear the salesman talking to me.  All I could hear was the gentle guitar strums and crooning of the folk singer on the mp3 playing on the sample audio track.  It was pure bliss!  How did I ever survive without a pair of these.

At a $350+ price tag, I of course wanted to think about this before purchasing these headphones.  Most noise-canceling headphones have a rechargable battery pack that clips into the headset, yet these Quiet Comfort 15’s take one AAA battery to power the noise-cancellation, which will only last about 30 hours worth of listening time.  Sadly, when the battery dies, so does the sound of the music or audio you are listening to.  On the other hand, it is a much better option to just pop in an easy to find AAA battery than have to bother to wait for your battery pack to charge, especially when you are on an 18+ hour flight with turbulence and crying babies around you.  The headset also comes with a handy-dandy carrying case, to protect it from getting broken (and to protect it from people like me, who toss a wide variety of heavy objects into my luggage, not being cognisant of what else I have in the bag).

I was very excited to get my very own headphones, and aye! there’s the rub; There were no Quiet Comfort 15s left in stock.  The store offered to sell me a pair of the Quiet Comfort 2s, and when they got the 15s in stock the store would call me, and I could then go through the hassle of returning the 2s and finally getting my hands on the 15s.  Well, that is simply too much of a hassle for me! I only go downtown once a month or so, and I wasn’t about to make a special trip just to return a set of headphones at a later and unknown date.

Since I now have what you may call a Gold Standard for what I expect out of a noise canceling over-the-ear headphone, I am now in pursuit of a pair of headphones that are comparable to the Bose QC15 headphones, that are in stock either online or in a store.

Wish me luck!

~Deanna