Customer Reviews

Sennheiser PXC 350 Active Noise Cancellation Headphone with Vol Control (Black)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I bought these headphones without actually holding them or testing them first, so I had no idea what to expect. I took them on a trip to Africa and was completely satisfied with them. So, here are my oppinions:
Sound: 5 stars. Could use a little more bass, but that can be changed with your equalizer. Noise Canceling: 5 stars. Took out all the engine noises and most of the talking around me. Comfort: 5 stars. They took a bit of getting used to, but after wearingthem for 10 hours stait, they are very comfortable. They also work without the noise canceling which is very nice. There is alittle white noise with the NC on, but all NC's have that. VERY sturdy feel, and nice case. Love them.

Almost perfect. I have been using noise canceling headphones since their commercial inception, mostly for air travel, and the Sennheiser PXC350 are the best sounding NC (noise canceling) headphones I personally have ever used. I have been carrying Bose NC over the ear headphones from product introduction, and prior to that Sony and others, logging many hours with different devices. Here's the difference; the Bose have slightly more cancelation of airplane engine noise, but they cannot compare to the clarity of the Sennheiser. To put it another way, the PXC350's have the flattest response, similar to my Etymotic canal phones, which I consider an excellent reference point. The difference was significant and noticeable to not only myself, but companion business travelers as well. One small issue; the earcups on the PXC350 are quite large. This permits a very comfortable fit but this may have also contributed the noise leakage due to the earcup not completly sealing against my head. I was able to adjust them so that they were fairly snug, but after time and subtle movements, I could feel that they were not making tight contact at the bottom below my ear. Therefore you may want to try them for fit, especially at this price point. But either way, I would not trade them for other models.

Review of the Sennheiser PXC 350 Noise Cancelling headphones.
These sound just like Sennheiser high-end headphones, very clear detailed sound. The only problem with that is, this unique "Sennheiser " sound is different than typical closed-ear headphones and not something that everyone may like. Before you buy these, make sure you like the "Sennheiser " sound. See if you can at least try out a high end pair of Sennheisers, even if they're not noise-cancelling, just to hear the sound. Sennheisers have really large cans with lots of air between the speakers and your ears. This might be preferable for classical music where you want an open airy soundstage, but personally, I didn't like this at all. To me, this ends up making the upper mid range sound just slightly wrong and distant sounding. I had the strange sensation that I was hearing music outside of the headphones. Typical close-ear headphones have the drivers closer to you ear and the sound is much clearer and directly injected into your head without any airy distance. This to me gives the most accurate transfer of music into your brain without any discoloration.

Another point about the Sennheiser is that the can diameter is very large, referring to the pad ovals that go over your ears. I might have smaller than average ears, and it was hard to get them to seal evenly over them. If I turned my head left or right a tiny bit, the pads would open a little, letting in noise.

I ended up getting the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7, which sound much better to my ears. The ATH-ANC7s sound very much like the Bose QC2's but better in fact with a clearer high end. This search started because my old Bose QC2s broke. They are just too flimsy. I didn't want to get another set of QC2s because they had a slightly muted high-end. The ATN-ANC7s have a much clearer high end and sound really balanced.

If you know you like Sennheiser headphones, like that more open sound and are used to the larger cans, then by all means get these. They are built super high quality and have heavy duty parts and cable. I'd have no concerns about reliability, these things are rock solid. They do cancel noise very well, on equal par with the Audio-Technicas.

Hope this helps!
Jim

It is hard to be disappointed by the Sennheiser PXC 300 headphones. You hear music like a professional does with tremendous detail, clarity and across the whole sound spectrum. Bass is precise and effortlessly well defined, mid range is rich and treble is crystal clear. These are easily the Porsche of headphones. Not everyone's cup of tea, though everyone simply respects and admires their performance, design and quality.

PROS + :
Sound clear and well defined with a variety of music, and are very comfortable to wear for long periods. Outstanding ergonomics mean the cups can effortlessly fit a wide variety of head shapes. However, people with very small heads may find them too large. The protective carry case has gold plated airplane and larger socket adapters, good for travel. My iPods work very well, though you start to notice imperfections of MP3 encoding in your favourite tracks recorded in lower resolution. Build quality is absolutely outstanding, headband, critical hinges drivers and the cord are built to last. They feel and look good when wearing them, avoiding the exaggeration of the "aircraft-marshaler-ear-muffler" look and feel of other brands.

CONS - :
Expensive (but easily worth it). Don't suit smaller heads/ears.

In conclusion, I would challenge anyone in the market for this type of headphone to be anything less than truly delighted with the PXC 350. I don't do the audiophile BS, but I will say the sound is "brilliant". For the price you are getting standard setting technology, solid build quality and fresh enjoyment of your music, as well as comfort in noisy environments (aircraft, bus, trains...etc.). Which all equals very good value for money.

Background to my buying criteria priorities: 1) over-ear, 2) noise cancellation, 3) iPod friendly, 4) Audition Quality, 5) portability. I would recommend the PXC 350 to anyone who wants to hear music professionally, on the move as well as at home or in the studio too.

When I first got these and tried them for the first time I was so disappointed that I wanted to sell them straight away.

Hopefully, I read about the so called "burn-in" period and I decided to give them a second chance.
I was very skeptical about the whole process since the "science" that backs it up isn't very solid, however, I had nothing to loose so I went on with it.

I connected them to my hifi, set it to mid-high volume, and played some heavy bass, mainly acoustical songs for about 100-200 hours(about a week and a half) following some "experts" instructions ( I gave them a rest every now and then).

I should point out that not once did I listen to them, just to make sure I wasn't getting used to them.
When I tried them again I was amazed by the change! The bass was now powerful (maybe not like Bose's, less artificial to my taste), the detail in every song was just what the favorable reviews were talking about. Even mp3s's sound was rich.

I really don't understand why this is is not stated right on the box, or at least somewhere in the instructions.

There is one more issue that hasn't been clearly stated in any review before which is that, although you can listen to music with the noise canceling off, the sound is entirely different, and by different I mean worse imo. The sound just isn't as crisp as with NC on, though still great (just slightly muffled).

Bare in mind that the sound in these is the same as in the PXC 450, so any sound quality reference made on any 450's reviews can be applied to these too.

I've had these cans for maybe a month now and to tell you the truth, when I first got them I was very dissapointed. I have a pair of Sennheiser HD212 Pro's that I've been using for almost 9 years and I love them. I thought it was time to upgrade, so after much research I bought these. I listened for 10 minutes after opening and I started to get sick. They didn't sound near as good as my HD212's.....
With the Noise Canceling on, they sounded way too bright with very little bass. The bass sounded like it said "boom" instead of feeling the boom. With NC off, the bass was super deep and you could feel it but the mid's and highs sounded distant, cold, and uncrisp... I was in a bad way.

So I started the burn in process which is simply leaving my headphones on at my office desk every night and weekends at louder than normal listening levels religiously weeks with NC on (went through a couple of batteries)..
Finally, today (a few weeks later) I did a sound test using my old 212's and the new PXC-350's...Night and day. The 350's have the 212 sound but much much fuller with richer deeper bass. All the sounds that i was looking for are there but much better. They are now warm and crisp and you get the full spectrum of sound with a good soundstage.
***I don't use the NC because I find the sound still too bright and cold. Also, i use iTunes on the computer and made my own equalizer setting to fine tune.
PS. some people don't believe in the burn-in process, but you can test it for yourself if you're patient. I love my headphones now :}

Just to provide some context, so that you can decide if my opinion is valuable to you:

1. I've owned three sets of sub-$500 noise canceling headphones, most recently the Bose QC3s.
2. None of them were over the ear headphones, because I used to think they were uncomfortable.
3. This is my first pair of Sennheisers.

First, it seems to me like people who call themselves audiophiles love hating Bose. Honestly, I don't think Bose deserves all the criticism it gets. My QC3s were an incredible pair of headphones. Bose screwed up on the customer service side. So that's why I'm switching sides.

Ok, with all that said, here's what I think: I love them.

I'm young, 25 years old. I like listening to my music LOUDLY. I'm one of those people who listens to all types of music, from Tupac to Pearl Jam to AR Rahman to Chopin to, I'll admit it, Justin Timberlake.

Wow, I'm a little surprised that I'm getting a misspelling red squiggly line under "Tupac", "Rahman", and "Timberlake" I thought those guys were all big enough to be added to the official word dictionary of life. But I digress.

One way that I judge headphones is if I can hear a part of a song that I've never heard before. For example, for bass, one of my favorite testing songs is Dangerous by Busta Rhymes. It has some of the deepest bass of any song out there.

Hearing some of my favorite songs through these headphones was like hearing them for the first time. That means that in my book, these headphones rock.

Pun absolutely intended.

A few more things:

1. As someone else mentioned here, it's true that it takes some time for these headphones to "open up." The very first time I heard them, I was a little disappointed. I've now had them for a few weeks, and man have they opened up.

2. Consider purchasing a headphone amplifier. Recently, I bought the Fios E5 for $20 from Amazon. It makes a solid difference, especially with the thing I like most (finding highs/lows/words you've never heard before in songs you've been listening to for years.)

3. These cans are HUGE. I mean HUGE. Just keep that in mind.

4. I travel a lot, so when considering other Sennheisers, I had to opt for a pair of noise canceling ones. They have some "open-air" ones, which are actually supposed to sound better. But if you travel a lot like I do, or listen to them at work, you need noise-canceling ones.

5. If you're buying your first pair of premium headphones and are debating between these and Bose headphones, go with these. The QC2s, the QC3s, and the QC15s are solid headphones, but Bose's post warranty customer service is horrible. I promise you'll be frustrated when it ends. And more importantly, the sound quality of these is fan-damn-tastic.

6 Meanwhile, if you already have good Bose headphones and want to buy these simply because you think they'll be far superior, don't.

Enjoy!

Got these for use on the lawn tractor, as well as travel. I wear glasses so wanted an ear pod that was large to wrap around well. The 350 does this comfortably. Spent 3 hours mowing with no discomfort. Noise canceling feature turned on makes listening to my iPod clearer than with noise canceling off. You will still hear your lawn tractor (don't expect perfect silence), but these headphones take the edge off better than a simple pair a safety headset for noise protection.

I also plan to use them traveling by airplane. These headsets will pick up radio interference from laptop computers. I tested by wearing the headset with my laptop in front of me. The left hear pod made a low buzzing sound that went away when I turned my head away from the computer. So I give this product a 4 instead of 5. Better RF shielding is needed if you plan on traveling and using a laptop.

Glad I got them.

I've used several brands of noise cancelling. This is the first time I paid over $150 for a pair, but I heard/read nothing but good things about this product.
I finally decided to 'bite the bullet' and get me a pair.
My expectations were exceeded. They are not small so don't expect a small package or something that can be easily put in a purse or small bag. They do work really well and the sound quality is amazing.

Great quality .Little to no hiss I compared the bose, they hissed more or felt like a negative pressure. These were larger and around the ear Very nice. Very happy with my purchase! Had to cll around for this particular model-it was worth it