Customer Reviews

Maxell NC-IV Superior Noise Cancellation Headphones

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I purchased 2 sets these primarily for use while traveling so my wife and I can enjoy movies and can listen to CDs and DVDs and actuallly be able to hear what's going one. The Maxwell NC headphones work quite well and for me are great "bang for the buck". Comparing cost, what they do and the value to me, I just couldn't convince myself to spend $300-350 for the Bose or other high-end head sets. I'm not an audiophile so I can't quote db cancelation, frequency response, etc. but they do what I need - filter out a portion of the background noise on a plane. They produce very acceptable sound with a very acceptable frequency range. One feature that is particularly useful is a 3-position volume switch that lets me kick up the puny volume output from my 2 listener DVD player so I can actually hear while on airplanes. Non-NC equipment just didn't let me enjoy movies or CDs. I can hear the actors lines and many of the more subtitle sound effects.

I had a pair of Maxell MAX190400 noise canceling headphones that broke. Instead of replacing them I thought I would try other noise canceling headphones. I bought (and returned) the following: Shure SE210, Sony MDR-NC60, and the Phillips NC headphones from Best Buy. I almost decided to get the Bose headphones, but after reading the reviews I wasn't impressed especially for the price. After much frustration I decided to try the Maxell's again only this time I would upgrade to the Maxell HP/NCIV. These are the best noise canceling headphones. I work in an office that plays music that I don't like. With these headphones I don't even hear the music plus they are comfortable. In my opinion they are much more comfortable and easier to maintain that the "in ear" designs. Great product, don't waste your money and time like I did on investigating other products.

I purchased these at a local retail store for about $60 or $70 (lol Amazons $120 with a slash through it as if they are giving you a great deal makes me laugh). It has a great accessory kit, complete with a semi-hard travel case with detachable Velcro sleeves inside, airplane adapter, 6' extension cord, and . The cords on this product are neat since the outer lining is not plastic but sort of a black fabric type material. I love the case and accessories.

As for the sound itself, the phones sound pretty good and are comfy. Not really any complaints there, but I haven't ever used super high end phones and these are a step above anything else I've had. I primarily got them to use at work to block out other background sounds. With that said, I cannot seem to figure out how to get the battery cover off. The instructions show it just sliding straight down but there is nothing for your fingers to grip and they slight right off. I even resorted to duct taping it to give me something to grip/pull on (note: this was AFTER the headphones broke, NOT the cause of them breaking as I will describe below). I am half tempted to just break the battery cover so I can actually use the sound reducing feature. I am rather annoyed it is this difficult to just put in batteries. Also, I doesn't come with them just fyi.

Lastly, after seeing other reviews and my personal experience, the design/plastic on the headband is a total piece of crap. Mine broke on the left side after about two months. I had only transported it once since the trip home from the store and never dropped it or otherwise put unreasonable forces on it. It just snapped off when I put it on my head (lol and I'm pretty sure I have an average sized head). It wasn't even on a moving part. This kind of quality is appalling. I would fully recommend these headphones if it were not for that major flaw. I attempted to fix it using superglue (bad idea since it isn't good for plastic I later realized) which broke again. Then I tried again with a glue called E-6000 I got from Wal-Mart. So far it seems to have held and unless I'm mistaken that glue has made a fantastic bond. I was pleased that I could save my $60 headphones with a $3 bottle of glue (so I recommend that to others who bought this poorly manufactured product and it broke on them too).E6000 Industrial Strength Glue Adhesive (2 Ounce)

This is an update to my previous review. It has now been 5 months and the ear-piece has snapped just above the swivel just like everyone else states here. Now the price tag is even more than it was before and so not worth replacing with the same ones.

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I'm thinking most of these people aren't putting batteries in when they go to use the Noise Cancellation. In fact, the battery compartment is SO WELL HIDDEN that you pretty much have to use the directions. But if you're like me and you toss the directions in the trash the minute you get them -- well then you'll have to look online to see how to open them.

Hint for those of you that like these headphones and want to actually GIVE THEM A TRY with batteries here's how to open the battery compartment:

Put both thumbs in the indentations on the LEFT headphone cup and pull down hard or get a screw driver and shimmy the compartment open. The silver "Maxell" oval (along with the lower third of the headphone cup cover) will come off, revealing where to put the two AAA batteries.

I recently bought these headphones at an airport kiosk. I knew that the prices would be inflated there, but I was already en route on a frequently-repeated set of connecting flights, and I desperately wanted noise-cancelling headphones. The fellow at the kiosk misinformed me, claiming that the batteries were included, but that was the only disappointment I've had with this product. I find them comfortable, even with my large ears. The sound quality is far and away better than any in-ear product I've tried. To listen to my iPod using these headphones is deliciously self-indulgent. At this point my only regret is that I spent over $200 on them, when I could have saved so much by planning ahead and shopping Amazon.

I gave these as a gift. The recipient answered the questions. I think the $400.00 brand would rate 5 stars for sound quality but this headset easily gets 4-4.5.

I bought these headphones at a local electronics store for about $80. I liked them at first, despite the fact that they weren't too comfortable on my head-- they started hurting my ears after having them on for more than an hour. The headphones did a good job of cancelling light background noise. I used them primarily on airplanes, and the noise from the engine was pretty much entirely gone (although it was replaced with the faint sound of the vacuum or whatever from inside the headphones, which cancels the outside noise). I could definitely still hear other people's conversations, though. I would call these noise reducing headphones instead of cancelling. But for the price, they did OK.

What really bugged me about these headphones was that after a couple of months, the cord that goes from your iPod to the headphones started acting up. It only plays music into the left ear (the side that the cord plugs into), and I need to fiddle with it to get any music into the right ear. After a while, no matter how much I messed with the cord, it stopped connecting to the right ear entirely. I'm not sure if this problem is due to the cord or the actual headphones themselves. Regardless, Maxell wouldn't replace it (I could have sworn there was a lifetime warantee...) and I get too frustrated with these headphones to use them anymore.

Just as a number of other users have stated, these headphones are not made to last.. even a few months. The left earpiece broke just above where the swivel phones meet the band. The sound quality was fine but since I can't wear them they're pretty useless to me now. With such a high rate of breaking I would not recommend anyone buy these - its just not worth the risk.

My first pair of NR headphones. Bought them last week in a hurry since I was starting work in a lab / machine shop the next day.
Pros: comfortable, decent reduction of low-frequency noise. Can hear people talking in the lab pretty well without taking them off. Takes the edge off a Skilsaw.
Cons: not a huge noise reduction. Mostly removes low-frequency noise. Periodic hum / buzzing when I have my iPhone nearby; could use better shielding. Hum when I tried plugging them into my laptop. Doubt they'll handle riveting.
Neutral: has a sort of windy masking noise, not unpleasant.
They help, but I'll be looking for something that's a better match for my needs.

Later: apparently what noise-canceling headphones can best handle is repetetive lower-frequency noise. For my situation in a shop a pair of hearing protectors should do better. The protectors attenuate all frequencies 18-26dB (depending on make and model), then some have speakers and/or electronics to add external sounds back in at a controlled level.

Used these headphones moderately for about four months, last time I took them off, CRACK, the left yoke snapped off the earpiece at the joint. They are not durable considering their hefty price tag. And I used them very gently.