Customer Reviews

Logitech Noise-Canceling Headphones

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

I should start this off with saying, I have not tried the products that these Logitechs are directly competing with, mainly the Bose Quiet Comforts.

The noise cancelling feature is amazing. At work there is a large air conditioner on the ceiling above me at work that emits a constant hum. If I put the headphones on with noise cancellation, this is all peacefully drowned out. If I was using other headphones, I would need to turn up the value to cancel it out, leaving me with a headache. I'm sure the noise cancelling will come in to play even more when I use them on an airplane.

For comfort these are also very nice. Super soft ear pads and very lightweight, probably some of the most comfortable headphones I have ever worn.

Price compared to other headphones is high, but compared to other noise cancelling headphones, is a very good price.

They come with a bigger square carrying case that holds the headphones, airline adapter, ipod, and a battery (in case yours goes dead).

These worked great for about a year, then the frame broke just above the ear piece. That side just flops over now, not sitting snug against my ear and all sorts of sound gets in. They can no longer function as noise canceling headphones. They weren't abused, or dropped, just not much structure or strength in the design in that area.

I purchased these headphones in January 2007 and I will soon be on my fourth pair in six months. The first pair received so much radio interference that I frequently heard FM stations come through. The second pair developed problems likely related to the detachable headphone cord, but Logitech wouldn't replace just the cord. The third pair arrived with the right earcup broken. The fourth pair will likely take three weeks to arrive due to a backorder. Warranty replacements require a great deal of phone or e-mail time, a pick-up arranged through DHL, and then at least a week's time without these headphones. For a product that commands a premium price, I expect good service. Logitech has not met my expectations.

When these headphones work, they produce good but slightly muddy sound with the noise cancelling feature enabled. When this feature is disabled, they let a surprising amount of sound through. I've found that the noise canceling works very well on buses and airplanes, and it even drowns out a nearby air conditioning vent very well at work. However, I would not recommend these headphones because of their low build quality and tedious support procedure.

These headphones are terrific. I used them on a 14-hour flight to Australia and back recently. They reduced the jet noise significantly and were so comfortable that I slept in them without any problems. With the background noise reduced, the volume on my Ipod was turned to a minimum, thus extending battery life. The AAA battery in the headphone was still good at the end of the vacation.

These headphones were quite comfortable worn for long trans-Atlantic flights and I found the noise reduction to be very good. Having the ability to listen to the airplane audio stations with the adapter plug very helpful. I'm not a sleeper on planes but using the headphones turned on, without anything else playing, made for more restful dozing, cutting out most of the noise. The storage case is nice to keep the headphones safe from damage. The battery life is excellent.

I found these headphones produce reasonable quality sound and would recommend them except that the folding joint broke on my second flight and trying to get through to Logitech for repairs would make it seem that they are located out of reach of all communication systems.

Before purchasing these headphones, I had tried several different brands at several different retailers. Some of the brands I tried were Sony, Panasonic and, of course, the very expensive Bose models. After reading the product information on these headphones from Logitech and some of the other customer reviews, I decided to give them a try. Boy, and I glad I did. These headphones are awesome. I have used them on commuter trains, planes and in my own backyard and am 100% satisfied. For the money, I think they are an excellent value. Maybe not quite as good as the Bose, but certainly close enough when you consider the price difference.

Headphones definitely have good noise reduction.
Like the fact that it uses a standard battery
that you can get easily.
Would purchase again.

I wanted to come back and edit this review. When I bought these they were giving them away through Tiger Direct, and they cost less than 40 dollars for a 235 dollar plus pair of headsets. So I jumped, and wound up buying 2 pairs. Others had complained about the swivel headband breaking, and I must admit that after 8 months of using them to do gardening and such, I came inside one day, and someone said something, and I abruptly pulled them off, and one of the ear pieces broke at the band. I know I can glue it, and it will work perfectly, just not swivel to be able to put it away in the case, but I don't care about that. Even if I did not touch them again, I got 8 months of use out of these for a little over a dollar per week. I for sure will glue them. If I use the right glue, you won't even be able to tell they are fixed. Currently I am using the second pair that I bought. Now onto my original review.

I was looking for an inexpensive set of noise cancelling headphones because I do gardening, trim the bushes with a gas operated trimmer, have an elaborate woodworking shop, and the planer is desctructively noisy, and I wanted something that would quiet that down, and be able to plug my iPod into.
Of course I was looking at the Bose Quiet Comforts, but at 3 or 350, they were outside of what I wanted to spend to get dusty in the shop, and sweaty working outside. So for the price I popped for the Logitechs. Boy am I glad I did. I wasn't expecting much, since some of the reviewers were less than pleased with the sound. That is the advantage of people creating low expectations, then when you put them on, turn on the noise cancelling, which boosts the sound, and don't expect much, then hear a symphony of sound, with sub-woofer like lows, great mids, and superb highs, you freak. What were they thinking? :-) Look I had a band that took top awards, (tied for first place in a 50 band, county wide rock and roll contest in high school) have more high end stereo gear then I care to admit, (replacement cost is nearing 15k) and I am telling you these things sound great for a pair of noise canceling headphones. What do you mean for a pair of noise cancelling headphones? I have been studying this for a while now. In the professional stereo reviews, they state that, "None of the noise cancelling headphones put out a quality of sound equal to a studio grade headset" I have to agree with them there. I first bought a set of Sony MDR7509HD Professional Headphone and the sound, and accuracy of those is another dimension. So if you are looking for just sound, without the noise cancelling feature, I highly recommend the Sony's. As one of the reviewers stated, who is a recording engineer, "He was never so impressed by a set of headphones, and that he would do a final mix with these, and he never thought he would say that about a set of cans, and he has been in professional audio for 20 years" I couldn't have said it better myself.
Ok so let's get back to the Logitechs, and enjoy great sound, and save our hearing when working around a lot of noise. Is the sound coming out of the Logitechs the same as coming out of the Sony's? Not really, but it is hard to make a qualitative analysis when it comes to sound. Some people like tons of bass, some people like a totally flat sound, they prefer music to be in the background, they often go for low efficiency speakers, and others want high efficiency, with full splashy highs, and full bass, which is more like the sound of these Logitechs. You won't be looking for the bass and treble knobs to turn up with these. I wear these as often as I wear the Sony's. I love the both types of sound, and I appreciate the noise cancelling of the Logitechs. Ok let me get technical for a moment.
The Logitehs have a swivel feature on the headband, and that enables them to lay flat in the very nice traveling case they come in. They only swivel one way, so if someone, not knowing that, tries to swivel them the wrong way they can break them with a lot of effort. Frustration sets in when someone may try to put them in the case, they won't go in without swiveling them, so they won't move one of the directions, and if forced to move, could break the mount in the headband. Is it possible that someone received a pair of these broken? Sure. Is it possible that someone broke a pair in frustration, and wishes to bash the headphones, and return them for a refund? Sure. I received 2 pairs, and they both are in pristine perfect condition, the headband swivel feature is tight, and accurate. No problems. These are more substantially built then the front runner of noise cancelling headphones. The cord that comes with them is detachable. You can unplug it from the headphones. What a great idea. The most common problem with headphones is people get up and walk away from a stereo, for example, and forget they have them on, and tug, or break the cord end jack. With these, any standard replacement din jack will do, or you could get a new wire. The slot opening that the jack plugs into, will not accept some larger plug though, so you have to be careful which replacement you choose. If they gave you a gaping opening, there would not be any support to prevent you bending the plug. They engineered it properly. I also like the fact that the wire in a single stereo wire, that is not a coil cord. I like to wear my iPod wire under my shirt, and park the iPod in my pants pocket, so no wires show. A coil cord would not make that practical. By the way when I am outside doing landscaping, cutting bushes, lawnmover and the like, I have been wearing the iPod earbuds, and the following problems ensue: 1) They keep falling out of my ears. 2) My ears get sore after awhile. 3) They do not cancel, or even block loud outside noises, so I have to turn them up so I can hear the music, which is doing even more hearing damage. 4) The sound is great as long as you are pressing them into your ears, but when you let go with your finger, the sound drops to a more washed out thin sound. 5) My neighbors not seeing the earbuds in my ear, shout over to me, some friendly message, and then come over to see if I am mad at them because I am refusing to respond to them. As they are approaching, they either see I have earbuds on, or they ask me if something is wrong, and then I explain it to them. With the Logitechs, I 1) Enjoy a symphony of sound, they blow the earbuds away. 2) My neighbors know I have them on, and don't feel insulted 3) The loud gas operated bush trimmer, even when it is in my face, might as well not be running. 4) I can turn the sound way down, and still be immersed in great sound because the full earcups block unwanted noises, and the noise canceling blocks out the low end almost completely, and yet allows the voice level to come through clearly enough to know what everyone is saying. You can hear the whir of machinery, but not that loud. Even at moderate music levels, you can hear the dangerous stuff softly in the background. When I am using wood working equipment, it is a faint whir, enough for me to know it is on, but not enough to even distract a little bit from the enjoyment of the music.
I have a 7 5/8ths inch head, and these fit me very, very comfortably, snug enough to do there job of blocking out sound, and keeping them on your head, but soft enough, not to be uncomfortable. They get an A in comfort. The noise canceling is around 20db, which means a 100db level of sound, which is loud enough to damage your ears is reduced by 20 dbs to 80, which is within non-damaging levels. Others reduce 30 dbs but some others complain about a hissing sound, or excessive pressure on their ears from the electronic noise canceling. I find these to be just right. No hiss, no excessive pressure, it is only slight, and I have searched far and wide, and not one report of any hearing damage from using electronic noise canceling, but you can research that one for yourself, whereas I am not an expert. The battery a tiny AAA lasts for a super long time, I would have to look it up, but I think it gives you 40 hours of turned on use out of a single battery. It fits in the headphone itself in a separate compartment, so you do not have to deal with a bulky cord switch etc. A big advantage of this set is that if the battery goes dead, and you are stranded on a desert island, these still play music without a battery at all. It is a flatter sound, I will call it acceptable, especially considering the competition doesn't provide any sound at all unless the battery is working.
Be nice to your ears, do you know how many people can't hear very well? The older you get, the more you become aware of it. Hope this helps.

Very comfortable and relatively compact headphones. This is my first set of noise cancelling headphones, and the difference is quite noticeable. I don't know how the technology works, but flip a switch and I'm immersed in a movie or online xm radio. The battery slips into a well-hidden compartment on one of the headphones, so there is no extra bulk on the audio cord. Very cool design. The carrying case is a nice bonus. It holds the detachable audio cord very nicely with a velco strap, and there is a place for the airline adapter, an extra AAA battery, and a business card. A great purchase.