ABLE PLANET NC200B True Fidelity Foldable Active Noise Canceling Headphones (Black)

by AblePlanet

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 6 x 4 x 7 inches ; 13.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B002PHM0V8
• Item model number: NC200B
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 15, 2009

Product Description

True Fidelity Active Noise Cancelling Headphones. Ideal for creating your own personal space filled with clear sound or nothing at all. True Fidelity Active Noise Cancelling Headphones feature award-winning noise cancellation and sound clarity technology in a basic design that folds down for taking outstanding audio quality wherever you go. They filter out background noise and reduce distortion so you always hear what s in the headphones, not what s going on around you. Enhanced sound quality and speech clarity. True Fidelity s LINX AUDIO technology creates high-frequency harmonics that enhance sound quality and speech clarity of difficult-to-hear words or notes, which increases the perception of loudness without increasing volume. This means you get full, rich sound and better speech clarity even at lower volumes. The right fit for your listening style and your budget. With industry-leading noise cancellation and sound clarity technology, True Fidelity headphones are an excellent value for the price. A lightweight, adjustable headband plus full-size ear cups with soft, swiveling cushions provide hours of comfortable wear. Great for travel, compact True Fidelity headphones fold down into a protective carrying case and come with a 1/8-inch, +-inch, and dual-pin airline adapters, plus a 5-ft. removable cord with in-line volume control for easy adjustment to safe listening levels. Requires 2 AAA batteries (included). Great sound. Comfortable fit. Order True Fidelity Active Noise Cancelling Headphones from Brookstone today!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Reasonable, but not great, July 11, 2010

By 

Timothy L. Obriant (Cypress, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ABLE PLANET NC200B True Fidelity Foldable Active Noise Canceling Headphones (Black) (Electronics)

I'm an international traveler addicted to noise-canceling headphones. My most frequent travel these days is Houston-Los Angeles-somewhere in Australia. That's a lot of hours with the roar of jet engines. Recently I left my phones at home and couldn't bear the thought of not having them on the 14-hour ride to Sydney, so I visited the airport shop. (I know, not recommended.) I found these Able Planet NC200B phones for the MSRP of $99.99, which is as much as I was willing to pay. They definitely did not make me forget my Sony MDR-NC60's. Here are my pros and cons:

Pros:
1. When the battery was on, they canceled noise...a lot of it. At the end of the day, that was what I wanted and they did a reasonable job of it. On this trip I sat on the 71st of 74 rows. The roar back there is incredible and these phones really made a difference.
2. With the battery on, the sound quality is acceptable. Not great, but decent enough. It won't make an audiophile happy at all, but at 37,000 ft, it is ok. I didn't notice the hiss that some others have reported. The bass is good enough. At home without the noise, the clarity is not great, but on the plane you don't notice it so much.
2. These things are pretty solidly built. They feel and look like they will hold up for a lot of use.
3. The cord is detachable. This is nice on the plane because I can get up, keep them on my head but leave the cord behind.
4. The cord includes a volume control. This was a very nice surprise. (Wish my Sony's had it.)
5. Accessories include carrying bag, double-pronged "airplane" jack and 1/4" "home" jack. I wasn't going to buy something that didn't include a way to keep all the bits together, and this does.

Cons:
1. Like some other NC phones (but not all), you have to turn the battery on to get reasonable sound. I tried them in the gate lounge before the flight without battery. Urk! It was terrible. The worst, least expensive phones you can find would sound better. Don't plan to use these without battery.
2. The carrying bag is a thin, fabric bag. Yes, it keeps the bits together, but provides very little protection. My phones are carried in my backpack along with a lot of other stuff. If something were to get on it hard, the bag would not help.
3. I don't prefer the way these fold up for storage. The headband folds in the middle and the phones rotate to face each other. So instead of lying flat in a case, they make into a block with the headband protruding out a bit. This wouldn't be so bad if you were storing them on your shelf, but it doesn't work very well in the seat-back pocket on the plane. It is too thick and unwieldy.

As mentioned, these phones don't make me forget my Sony MDR-NC60's. They may not even be the state of the art these days for the money, but I will stick with mine and let the NC200B's be my backup.
Sony MDR-NC60 Noise Canceling Headphone

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty nice quality, March 22, 2010

By 

Videogeek86 (Grand Rapids, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: ABLE PLANET NC200B True Fidelity Foldable Active Noise Canceling Headphones (Black) (Electronics)

I got these as a Christmas gift last year and I noticed right away that the noise canceling was pretty loud - hissing/buzzing. Later the right ear went out completely. I finally sent these back to Able Planet recently and they sent me a brand new pair free (lifetime warranty)! I think they improved the design a bit since the first pair. The folding action is much smoother now, and the place where the cord connects is now a standard port where before it was a custom-shaped plug that fit into the earpiece. The best improvement, however, is the noise canceling. I don't know if I had a defective pair before, but I think it's much better than the other pair I had. There is only the very slightest buzz/hiss when you have NC on, which is inaudible when you have any music playing. Unlike a lot of headphones I've tried, they are pretty comfortable - and I have a big head and extremely sensitive ears. I can wear them for a couple hours without much of a problem.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, would recommend, March 19, 2010

By 

T. Luecke "The one, the only" (Msp, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: ABLE PLANET NC200B True Fidelity Foldable Active Noise Canceling Headphones (Black) (Electronics)

I appreciate reading user reviews whenever I purchase a product like this, so I felt the responsiblity to also leave some feedback. If you're looking for a solid noice cancelling headphones, these certainly meet the criteria. They will not be of the quality you'll get from Bose, or some other $250+ headphones, but they are worth the money. I would recommend for sure. They fold up nicely, but only downfall (if you can even knock it for this) is the case for carrying. I would prefer a little bit harder case, but it's a soft fabric bag. It works, but not ideal. Overall, the headphones are great for the money!