play it again, sam.

Sennheiser PXC350

As far as noise-canceling headphones go, Bose and Sennheiser dominate the top-end of this product range. While there are a few exceptions to this rule, it makes sense to gravitate to the veteran brands in the market. Although I did consider Bose to begin with, one major negative to their entire line of NC headphones was that audio transmission folds in passive mode, so once your batteries go flat, you’re basically left with a nice looking void.

Sennheiser’s high-end line includes two products: the PXC 350 and it’s slightly more tricked out older sister, the PXC 450. Both headphones are circumaural and offer Sennheiser’s advanced NoiseGard technology (which was originally developed for use by pilots). The PXC 450 offers to cut out up to 90% of ambient noise (as opposed to the PXC 350’s 85%) and also offers a feature called Talk Through, which allows the listener to momentarily activate tiny microphones on the exterior of the headphones and by thus doing enables the listener to communicate with, say, a flight attendant, while still wearing their headphones. With the exception of the above, and a distinct aesthetic look for each, the specifications of the two products are identical.

Opting for the PXC 350, I decided that as long as the noise canceling was sufficiently impressive, I could be content to live without the extra gadgetry. And so, we hit the road.

Pulling these out of the box, one is immediately impressed with is how sleek and solid these headphones are. The padded headband is adjustable and offers an axis from which the cups may be rotated (useful when folding flat for transportation). It’s nice to see that Sennheiser has also designed this product with the future in mind, making both the cord and the cushioned cups replaceable. Another feature to note is the indiscernible positioning for the battery compartment, which is integrated into the earcup and is virtually invisible when being worn. The noise canceling feature is activated by a small switch located toward the base of the left cup, with its status indicated by a red led light.

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