Customer Reviews

Philips HN 110 Folding Noise-Canceling Headphones

5 star:		(97)
4 star:		(108)
3 star:		(60)
2 star:		(57)
1 star:		(37)

 

 

I basically live on airplanes. I fly somewhere over 250,000 miles a year every year. I'm also an amateur audiophile and have a really cool 2 channel stereo system, as well as lots of other high end audio gear. I've owned nearly every brand of noise cancelling headset, as well as used ones I haven't owned. These are by far the best value out there for Around the Ear headphones, bar none. Its true that if you have large ears, these may cramp your style, but this is true of ALL around the ear headphones worn over a long period of time. Thats why most major manufacturers have also introduced OVER THE EAR units as well.

As far as noise cancelling and sound quality, these headphones are at the top of the class. I've worn the ridiculously expensive Bose QCs for years, and the price is downright scandalous. I always am amazed at how many suckers pay for these, when they are no better or worse than all the other ones I have.

At the moment, I have Sennhieser PC300, Philips HN110, Sony HC6 (I think) and have sold my Bose QC2s to pay for ALL of these. So I have both an over the ear (sennheiser,sony) and around the ear (philips). I travel with either the Sennhieser (90% of the time) and the Philips (10%) of the time, but I use the Philips 100% of the time for at home game playing and music listening when I don't want to wake the family. I travel with the Sennheisers more often simply because they take up much less space in my carry on bag. But on long flights (asia, etc), I bring the philips

The Sennhiesers are over the ear and probably have the nicest sound quality, but these Philips are a nearly close second. The Philips also have very very good noise cancelling. The Sony's are generally decent, and are basically balanced overall, not excelling at any one thing. I tend not to use them that much, as they don't have great audio quality.

My ears are not that huge I guess, and these Philips are nice to wear for me. The Bose hurt quite a bit over time, just like any around the ear. I recently wore a pair of Bose QC3 over the ears on a flight from London to New York, and they hurt quite a bit as well (they were complimentary on a American Airlines business class flight). And the sound quality was lousy, as well as the noise cancelling was sub par.

But Bose spends lots O' money on marketing. Philips is basically inept at everything but making things. So you would have to search for these to discover them as a value.

A couple of rules of thumb.

1) ALL around the ear headphones will hurt if you have large ears.
2) NO noise cancelling headphones cancel all noise....they all work the same way, there is no magic (if you are into reading technical specs, you can see this for yourself, don't take my word for it)
3) Bose are priced 5-6 times what they could be priced
4) Most NC headsets between $35-$100 have decent sound quality and around the same NC characteristics
5) ALL over the ear headsets have marginally less NC characteristics than around the ear due to the physical design

Conclusion. Don't be fooled by fancy TV ads, billboards, and other seductive marketing. The product cost the same as all the others inside. Noise Cancelling has been around for 30 odd years, and hasn't changed that much, beyond miniaturization of the silicon chips that cancel the noise, and huge improvement is small speaker quality. But these are not exclusive to one manufacturer. Anyone can make decent NC headphones.

From someone who has worn them all, and has a taste for music and lives on airplanes, I can recommend these units. You could buy 10 pair of these for the functionally equivalent bose QCs, and not really experience any difference.

Overall I rate these phones as a very good value for the money, and think anyone considering noise-canceling headphones should consider them.

Also, I think I can clear up some confusion about some reported problems with these phones.

There are indeed two revisions of the Philips HN110 phones, as was briefly mentioned in a prior review.

The older version (which I spotted at Walmart) has a very different earcup mounting arrangement with a silver tinted plastic part between the headband and earcups. I think this older style is responsible for most of the negative comments about parts breaking (because one individual's review specifically complained about the "silver portion that connects the muff" breaking).

I have the [presumably newer] type that is shown in the Amazon picture above that has a crosswise black plastic hinge piece that holds upside-down U-shaped adjustable chromed wire earpiece supports, and I have had no problems with parts breaking with this model.

Some have complained that the `noise cancelation' is not very effective, but I think it works quite well, easily on a par with some of the 300+ dollar offerings from the likes of BOSE.

Some may not fully understand the limitations that apply to ALL phones of this type, and may have unrealistic expectations.

To cancel noise, the phones sample the outside noise with microphones on the outside of each earcup, then guess how much of this noise will leak inside to the listeners ear, so they can create a cancellation signal.

This cancellation signal is flipped around to be 180 degrees out of phase so that when it is applied to the speakers inside each earpiece, it will cancel out the outside noise that has leaked inside.

This process can only work well for a limited range of frequencies in the lower range, because at higher frequencies the audio waves become so short that the phones can not accurately predict the `phase' of sounds leaking in from different angles (which makes it impossible to accurately create an `out of phase' signal to cancel out the noise).

These limitations are essentially based on physics, and apply to ALL phones whether they cost 35 dollars or 350 dollars.

So to test this type of phone, we need to use lower frequency sounds like road noise, or engine drone, NOT higher frequency sounds like speech.

In their favor, the Philips HN110's are `around the ear' type headphones, which do provide some `passive' higher frequency blocking (by acting like earmuffs) to complement the `active' lower frequency cancellation done by the electronics. Also, the 'around-the-ear' design makes it much easier for the phones to accurately predict the noise leakage (and therefore to more accurately cancel it) which allows the low cost HN110's to actually out perform some other non-around-the-ear offerings which cost hundreds more.

The only down side is that some folks (particularly those with larger ears) have reported that the HN110's may become uncomfortable during extended listening sessions (though I have found them to be extremely comfortable).

I also find the audio performance of the HN110 phones to be very pleasing, but I am not one of those folks that like to listen to their music at ear splitting dB levels (or that confuses `thumpa-bump-bump' overdriven bass with music).

A good friend of mine let me listen to his pair of the expensive Bose noise-canceling headphones. I was blown away with the technology and capability of the headphones. I began searching for a pair of noise-canceling headphones, but I didn't want to spend a small mint on a Bose pair. My search led me to three choices, one of which was the Philips HN-110, which happened to be the most expensive of the three. I generally trust the Philips name, so I had reasonably high hopes for this product.

The folding design of the headphones is quite nice and compact, making for easy storing and carrying. This is impressive considering the actual weight and bulkiness of the headphones. The noise canceling feature can be turned off and on using a power switch that is embedded on the right ear-piece. The switch is quite "flush" with the rest of the surface, so finding the switch blindly (while wearing the headphones) is somewhat difficult until you get a real natural feel for the placement. The earpieces have a soft foam cushion that completely covers your ears, which I'm sure aids in reducing ambient noise.

The noise canceling ability of this set is good. I went for a car ride to test them out and noticed a significant loss of road noise (caused by tires on a rough road), which is the lower frequency. Higher frequency ambient noise does not get canceled, but that is the case for all the other headphones in this price range that I've found.

The biggest negative in my opinion was the "tightness" of the headphones. The band is arched tightly over the head, so the earpieces press firmly against the side of your head. Because of this tightness, any adjustments to the length of the headband revert to the tightest fit possible, as if the headphones are springloaded. This causes quite a bit of pressure against the sides of your head as well as the top of your head. For extended wear, this was extremely uncomfortable.

While the performance of this pair of headphones is admirable, the price and discomfort (due to tightness) led me to try another pair (Sony MDR-NC6) instead.

I have purchased several noise-cancelling headphones to try in the $30 - $80 range, with varied results. The Philips are my latest purchase, and after trying the others, these are the ones I am keeping. I find them incredibly comfortable, they sound great, and the noise-cancelling is commendable.

I was a bit afraid of the purchase of the Philips because of people mentioning that they are tight, but I find that not to be the case at all. The fit is really quite ideal for myself. The earcups surround the ears and rest on your head, not on your ears, which means very real long-wearing comfort. (Perfect for my frequent 7-8 hour flights.) When I first tried them, I thought they might even be too loose, but after wearing them a few hours, I realised that the fit was just right. The sound, as most seem to agree, is very good; clear with plenty of expression in the bass. The noise cancelling is by fat the best all all mid-priced `phones. (see below...) The noise cancelling is particularly effective - effectively wiping out all hint of wind-shear noise while flying. What's more, it is the only set of headphones I tested that can do so without an audible hiss if there is no music playing. (most cheap headphones kill some noise, but you can hear the white-noise hiss that is doing it...)

What's more, these headphones are actually pretty classy. The headband is sturdy metal wrapped in stitched (p)leather, with metal adjustable bits for the earcups - nice! As for the breakage problem - I have not had any trouble, although that "y" part is made from plastic, and I suppose could break if handled improperly - or indeed if defective.

If there is one downside to these, it is that there is no in-line volume control, which is a bummer. Particularly on fights having your own volume control is great, so you don't have to rely on those mushy buttons in the seats.


NOTE ON NOISE-CANCELLING
To the other posters - PLEASE - noise-canceling headphones are not designed to wipe out all outside noise - such as office noise. ALL noise-canceling `phones ONLY counteract constant low-pitched droning - which is the type that tires you out. Yes you will still hear screaming babies, people talking, etc. This is true with all - BOSE included. Jeepers the number of people complaining that they can still hear things when they put these on... please!


The others noise-cancelers that I have bought and tested extensively in brief: The JVC (with the wind-up headphone cord in the earpiece) are very innovative and cool, but dreadfully uncomfortable because they are not truly over-ear phones. Although they look like the are big, the earcups are small and shallow, resting on the ears. They sounded okay, but the bass was a bit hollow, and the noise cancelling hiss was clearly audible. Maxell - were cheap and acted cheap. The noise cancelling made the music a bunch louder, which made it a pain to switch it on and off, and the quality was clearly below that of others. I tried a pair from Koss which sounded great, but the noise cancelling was too hissy for me, and also one from Targus as well, which was actually the same as the Maxell with a different brand painted on the side - although they somehow sounded a bit worse. I have not extensively tested the bose (in that I have not bought a pair for a few weeks) but I have tried my friends, and they're nice, but I find the new Philips very comparable surprisingly - considering the limitations of the Bose - no music without batteries! The Bose sounded better when using them in a quiet setting, but c'mon now - who needs noise-cancelling phones in a quiet setting?

Contrary to what other reviewers say, these Philips headphones are remarkably cheap. I bought my pair "reconditioned" for less than $25.00 and I see nothing "used" about them. Contrary to another reviewer below, I find them as comfortable as any headphones I've ever tried, and I put them to the test, wearing them chiefly while exercising strenuously. They've never fallen off or fouled up from sweat. The noise canceling is excellent in those conditions, blocking the sounds of treadmills and ellipticals. The overall sound production is probably a little weak on treble frequencies but robust on bass, so that a harpsichord sounds a bit more like a piano than it really should. On the other hand, a bassoon sounds like a bassoon and not a scratchy cello. I've tried out Bose and Leading Edge headphones that offered a more realistic sound palette, but at six to ten times the price. Your choice has to depend on the use you'll make of them.

I work in radio, and I have had the occasion to use a large variety of headphones, everything from the Bose Quiet Comfort's to the more practical Sennheiser brand name to my all-time favorite Sony's and believe it or not, the Phillips Noise Cancelling HN 110's are fantastic--especially for the money!

I work with digital audio all the time. Depending upon what kind of audio I work with, the headphones can either enhance the experience or make it pure misery. If I had an unlimited budget, I would probably buy a pair of Sony's--specifically because I know they are VERY durable, and using them the way I do on a daily basis, I go through headphones at a much higher rate than I would imagine the average consumer does, and my Sony's gave me 10 YEARS of reliable performance...and while I haven't had my Phillips for quite THAT long, I could tell up front that they were built well--much better than my previous pair of Phillips that broke rather soon after purchase--but sounded exceptional (they were a much cheaper & different version made by Phillips).

At first the noice cancelling characteristic wasn't all that obvious, which isn't to say that it didn't work well...you see since I wear headphones for roughly 5 hours EVERY weekday, I have become rather aware of the ambient sound in my studios (the background of the computers etc.) and at first I was concentrating 100% on how the sound was while I was talking on the air. The next day I put them on and turned on the noice cancelling in between a couple of songs and instantly I could tell the difference. It almost filtered ALL outside sound. I was profoundly impressed, and again, I use headphones literally all the time, so for a pair to make my eyebrows raise up in surprise is quite an impressive feat (not that my opinion is any better than anyone elses...).

If I had ONE gripe it would be the on-off switch for the noice cancelling is not so simple to activate while wearing. I found that I needed to take the headphones off in order to accurately turn them on and off regularly. Since they are battery powered, I like to save that power whenever I wasn't talking on the air. Other than that, in my personal opinion--and I understand that opinions DO vary--I find that spending the outrageous price for Bose and some other so-called technically advanced noice cancelling headphones to literally be akin to flushing money down the drain. IF you happen to have buckets of money and need ways to spend it, well go ahead and get whatever you wish--but for MY income and from my experience using headphones for going on 18 years in broadcasting, I would be hard-pressed to find a pair that gave me better performance--especially for the money.

Just my .02. Hope this helps.

When reading the four other reviews on these headphones you might be thinking that you'd rather stick with the iPod's standard earbuds than buy these, but that's not the case at all.

I bought these headphones from Circuit City way back in late June, and they're all but satisfying in my opinion. The other users complained that the headphones' cost was way too high, but most other quality headphones with noise-cancelling cost $100+. The Bose set, in particular, is highly regarded as the best quality you can get (along with Sennheiser), yet their noise-cancelling headphones cost upwards of $300! The Philips headphones, on the other hand, cost a mere $50. $30 or less according to the Amazon ad at the top of this page.

I bought these headphones before going on a trip to Seattle with a friend of mine because I needed a decent pair to block out the jet engine noise. During the flight, my friend listened to his iPod with a pair of Bose Triport headphones that he bought for the standard $150. I had been listening to my iPod with the Philips headphones for about 10 minutes, so I asked for his opinion on my headphones while I listened to my music using his. Of course, the Bose headphones sounded great, but I noticed that they produced very spacious-sounding music, the kind that you would hear at an outdoor concert. The Philips headphones did not have this strange effect, yet they sounded almost, if not as good as the Bose's! To summarize, I'll give a list of Pros and Cons:

Pros:
-Portable
-Great look
-Noise-cancellation works decently
-Exceptional sound quality:
-Deep and vibrant bass, not inaudible or over-produced
-Clearly defined highs and lows of bass, guitars, and vocals
-Pristine, defined guitaring, even when distorted (hard rock, heavy metal, etc.)
-Clear drums and cymbals, no hissing or distortion

Cons:
-Not very comfortable when wearing for long periods of time
-Flimsy; the cushions can fall off, bars might snap if handled roughly
-Battery life for noise cancellation is low, affects sound quality when batteries are low and noise cancellation is in use
-Ear-cups can be slimmer


If you're a person who absolutely loves music, won't settle for anything less than the best, and/or you want the very best sound quality available, these aren't the headphones for you. Try a pair of Bose Triports or the likes, maybe Sennheiser. If you're a budget-spender who wants the most bang for the buck, then you've found your ideal pair of headphones. Great sound quality at a decent price. If you find $50 to be past your budget, however, try Sennheiser's HD 202 headphones. No noise cancellation and sub-decent comfort, but Amazon reviewers say the sound quality is great for the affordable price of $20.

Well as far as sound goes, they are awesome. Good bass and sounded very clear to me. The problem though is that everything around the great speakers is defective. First I will clarify what kind of a user I am. I used these headphones at my desk job, they were maybe used 3-4 hours a week and were stored in a cabinet.... So I'm not a heavy user and they did not see any abuse.

Like other people have noted, they are very tight on my head and get painful quickly. I cannot wear them for extended periods of time. The noise cancelling feature works ok, but I can still hear stuff around me, which is not too loud in a corporate office.

Here is what really made me mad.... If you look at the picture you notice the silver y-shaped fork that hinges the speakers, well the top of this(where it meets the black piece) cracked and fell apart on both sides! That just seems insanely defective to me with such light use and no abuse. Someone else also noted the cracking so that shows you it is defective. I returned them to best buy and luckily they let me exchange them for something else because I am a good customer. Stay away from these!

I liked these at first. They were pretty comfortable and had decent noise cancelling. Then about 3-4 months after I bought them, a piece of plastic on the left side cracked off one day and that side of the headphones was no longer adjustable and didn't fit right. I superglued it back together and it worked okay. A month later, both metal loops that go over the top of the head snapped off at the base. They were still held to the phones by the leather, but were totally uncomfortable to wear. Random pieces of plastic started dropping off randomly. I use these headphones at WORK. That means they sit at my desk when not wearing them in front of my computer. I couldn't use them more gently, they just totally fell apart within six months of purchase.

I got these for Christmas (not from Amazon) and they broke after my second use. The folding hinges are poorly designed and crack very easily. I tried to return them to Philips but they didn't believe my problem. I strongly discourage you from buying these headphones! Anything that breaks so quickly with normal wear is not worth the money.