Able Planet NC200 Foldable Noise Canceling Headphone

Other products by AblePlanet

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 8.8 x 2 inches ; 14.4 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: B001EYU8FI
• Item model number: NC200
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank

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  Electronics > Accessories & Supplies > Headphones > Noise-Canceling Headphones

• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 28, 2008

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Able Planet NC200: The Power of LINX at an Affordable Price

Able Planet made its mark in the portable audio field at the 2007 International CES trade show, where its LINX Audio technology won the Most Innovative Embedded Technology Award. Since then they have won over 16 Awards and significant praise from consumers and top experts alike, all who rave about the phones' ability to eliminate almost all background noise while offering superior sound quality. Ideal for everything from iPods, home stereos and portable DVD players, with full, rich sound that shuts out such extraneous sounds as airplane engines, bus motors, and background conversations.

The Clear Harmony NC200 is an exciting new entry level product that lets you step up into quality noise-canceling headphones without breaking the bank. Enjoy the latest technology at an affordable price and convenient foldable size. The NC200 features an adjustable headband, superior sound quality and clarity, patented LINX Audio technology, inline volume control for easy adjustment to safe listening levels, and state of the art active noise cancelation.

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What Critics Are Saying

"You can hear the difference up in the higher frequencies of your music. These 'phones are very comfortable, especially for people with big heads." --Josh Quittner, Time Magazine, "Top 25 Must-Have Travel Gadgets"

"…Able Planet’s Sound Clarity unit is a big leap forward in quality. And it won’t break the bank. The lightweight earphones are comfortable, and the stereo sound is good – in fact a lot better than good, providing both clear speech and full rich background sound." --Jay Palmer, Barron's

"We put the Clear Harmony headphones up against the Bose QuietComfort 3 headphones for side-by-side tests, all of which the former handily won." --Russ Fischer, Laptop Magazine

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LINX Audio Technology

Listen to the difference between Able Planet's Linx Audio technology and standard audio sources

Originally developed for a new generation of top-of-the-line hearing aids, LINX Audio technology. This makes it easier to hear words, music, and sounds in the higher frequencies where clarity is often lost, while also ensuring that speech and other high-frequency sounds are not smothered by bass tracks. Able Planet compares the results to the difference between hearing a "C" note on a piano as opposed to a "C" chord. The "C" chord, which sounds richer and more complex, demonstrates the impact of adding harmonics to the audio signal.

LINX Audio technology also fits into Able Planet's mission of creating audio solutions for people with hearing disabilities. By filtering undesirable sounds and noise via the state-of-the-art active noise cancellation (ANC) technology, Able Planet headphones encourage users to listen to music at lower volumes to reduce long-term hearing loss. The phones also provide crisp sound for people already suffering from moderate hearing problems, and even accommodate hearing aids thanks to a new technology that restricts electromagnetic interference.

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Special Features

Clear Harmony headphones also reduce distortion at higher volumes by soft-clipping the sound wave rather than squaring it off, delivering a full-bodied frequency range of 20 Hz to 20. And as a bonus, the phones offer an inline volume control that makes it easy to turn the volume up or down without reaching for your portable audio device. Other features include a 5-foot removable cord with 1/4-inch; a lightweight adjustable headband that provides a superior fit; full-size swiveling ear cups with soft cushions; and a soft carrying pouch with a storage area for iPods and other MP3 players.

The headphones--which can be used at home as well as on the road with TVs, computers, portable DVD players, CD players, MP3 players, and assisted listening devices--fold up easily for easy storage and travel.

Note: The noise cancellation feature requires one AAA battery (included), but can also be turned off should the batteries run down. As a result, users can still listen to music without power, unlike many competing noise-canceling headphones.

What's in the Box

Clear Harmony NC200 headphones, removable cord, and 1/4-inch stereo adapters, and soft carrying pouch.

Product Description

Ideal for the traveler, student or music lover. The latest technology at an affordable price and convenient foldable size. The NC200 features an adjustable headband, superior sound quality and clarity, patented LINX Audio technology, In line volume control for easy adjustment to safe listening levels (no more hunting for the volume control) and state of the art active noise cancellation (ANC). With over 16 International CES and CTIA awards, the sound quality will delight even the most discernible ear.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointed. I returned mine, November 20, 2008

By	D. Cobb - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The biggest reason I got these was for the noise canceling feature, and hopefully good sound to go with it. Unfortunately I learned real quick that activating the noise cancelation didn't cancel much of anything, in fact there was very little positive change noticed. But even more shocking was this constant low frequency noise or rumble like sound that was only there when the noise cancelation was activated. Adjusting the volume did not affect this one way or another. You couldn't notice it when music was playing, but when there was silence it was very noticeable and quite annoying. I thought they were either broken or just really bad quality. Only positive thing I can say about them is the look and feel is decent.

A coworker of mine has the Panasonic RP-HC500 and we compared the two and OMG what a night and day difference. With the Panasonic, when you activated the noise cancelation it kind of did a vacuum effect which canceled out most of the outside noise and made you feel like you were in a room lined with Styrofoam with dead silence. When I put back on the Able Planet, there was no similar feeling and again just this low frequency noise coming through. As far as the music quality I found them to be just mediocre and nothing special. Clearly the cons outweighed the pros in this case. Not worth the $50 I paid. Even if they were free I would not use them given the issues. It's possible I suppose they were just a lemon set, but again I could feel that when activating the noise cancelation they did try to do something, but the results were just very poor. Given the cost of my coworkers Panny's were just a few dollars more than these, I might just go for that route

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good design negated by bad electronics, November 29, 2008

By	korova (Varosha) - See all my reviews

I tested the Able Planet NC200 headphones on a home CD player with a headphones jack, on an iPod Touch, and on a desktop computer using iTunes with music stored in AAC format. On each device, I listened to rock, jazz, and classical music.

In each case, the source was set to produce sound without any equalization or use of bass, treble, or midrange tone controls. I also tried out the noise cancelling without connecting the headphones to a sound source.


Pros:
*The noise cancelling function is effective in reducing the intensity of the kinds of noise typically masked by noise cancelling headphones.

*The cord can be disconnected from the headphones, making it easier to avoid "cord spaghetti" when taking the headphones in or out of a carrying case.

*The headphones can be folded fairly flat or into a compact shape even though they are as large as traditional home-use headphones.

*The earpieces and headband are well padded and comfortable to wear for extended periods. I find that earbuds and small earpiece headphones become tiring to wear after a couple of hours.

*Big, soft ear cups block noises and augment the electronic noise cancelling.

*The cord has a clip, midway along its length, which contains a volume control.

*Integrated, one-piece design--no separate wand holding the noise cancelling circuitry or external battery pack to bother with.


Cons:
*Travelers will find the headphones to be quite large, even when folded up.

*If the noise cancelling is not turned on, the headphones sound terrible. This is another disadvantage for travelers because replacement batteries are not always readily available.

*The on/off switch is inconveniently located. When the headphones are worn, the switch ends up behind your ear and you have to reach around your neck to operate it.

*BIG PROBLEM: when the noise cancelling is running, a very noticeable crackling static sound--similar to the sound waxed paper makes when it is crumpled--is generated. It is not the usual background white noise that is generated by all noise cancelling headphones.


Bottom line:
The crackling static sound produced by the NC200 is a major flaw. The headphones are completely unsuitable for listening to music with quiet passages or a spacious soundscape. However, somebody who only listens to loud and busy music (ideally with lots of fuzz bass and distorted guitars) and/or uses the headphones in very noisy areas might not notice the crackling sound.

If the NC200 did not make extraneous noise, I would give it 4 stars. Able Planet has produced a pair of headphones that is comfortable to wear for long periods and is physically well designed. Unfortunately, the NOISY noise cancellation function makes it impossible for me to recommend these headphones.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Great until it breaks., February 20, 2009

By	Benjamin A. Grose (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Me and my family have owned about three pairs of these. While they did work wonderfully while they worked, all three of them eventually stopped working. One pair was dead on arrival, it didn't work at all the moment I got it, the noise cancelling simply created a clicking sound in the headphones. The second pair worked for quite some time, a month or two, and then it began emitting a terrible clicking sound every time a loud noise in the outside environment came about--an utterly terrible sound, not acceptable by any means. The third pair also worked for a while, but gave out after a ride on a plane--it began emitting the same terrible clicking sounds. Don't buy these headphones, we bought three, and three turned out to be defective. If this company wants to survive, they will fix their manufacturing problems. Until then, their products cant be trusted.