Rating: 
Summary: think twice
Review: Think more than twice before you decide to buy this product, unless the shape of your head is square.
I wonder if the design engineer of this product knew the word "ergonoimcs". Your head and ears will start hurting right after you use the headphone.
Don't buy this product. Buy anything else(Brookstone or Koss).
I really with I had seen this kind of advice before I made a fatal mistake.
Rating: 
Summary: The finest in audio discomfort
Review: I've been a fan of Aiwa since I worked at an electronics store in High School. I'd tell people that Aiwa was pretty much the same as Sony but cheaper. That still holds true -- a co-worker of mine has the exact same headphones with the Sony label and they cost him exactly twice as much. So these are a good value.Unfortunately, they're painful to use. I simply love the idea of having a battery strapped to my head but couldn't they at least put it on the outside of the band? The compartment juts out on the inside, as you can see in the picture. The padding on the ear pieces is also quite thin and doesn't provide much comfort. I won't comment on the audio quality since I haven't had the opportunity to use them on a plane yet. It doesn't cancel out the background noise of my co-workers but it probably would if they started talking at a lower frequency. I'll try to get them to do that.
Rating: 
Summary: great buy for the price
Review: This is definitely a good buy - I think "noise canceling" = "amplified" more than anything else. The little monitor microphones work, but the headphones were just as good with the power "off" than with the power "on" (other than being a little quieter w/o the amplification). If you want the best, go with the Bose QuietComfort headphones (free trial for 30 days, too)...
Rating: 
Summary: Great until they get broken
Review: I had really been enjoying them and taking them on my business trip flights all the time until they got broken. I think that this model has a design flaw, and the plastic piece(s), which go over your head, cannot hold the tension over time. It looks that, due to the folding design, the tension does not get distributed well to the loop (constructed with two plastic pieces instead of one), and they eventually get broken off. One side of my set got completely broken off, and another side has cracks. I do not particularly have a small head, but....... I had been recommending the set to other people, but not anymore.
Rating: 
Summary: You get what you pay for
Review: There are generally three classes of NC headphones...the $50 class, the $100-200 class and the BOSE Quite Comfort, in a class of their own. These are in the $50 NC headphone class and they work great. I had mine for a little less than two years before I lost them. I travel 100% for business and I use them with my laptop DVD player. The open-air design may not block out a lot of noise, but that is a characteristic of the design. Open air designs are also the most comfortable...they do not crush your ears or "plug them up" like earbuds (Sony MDR-NC10). Anyway, if you do not want $50 open-air NC head phones, please do not buy these then complain; i.e. don't go to the rainforest and complain about rain. Understand what you are purchasing. The NC circuit works great for $50. These are a great NC headphone value. Probably best for use on aircraft. My only advise is be an informed consumer and understand that $50 NC haedphones will probably not work as well as a $200 or $300 pair. With these, you get your $50 worth and more. Oh, and don't forget them in the seat back pocket of the airplane! PS - Don't bother with the Sony MDR-NC5, they are the same as these. Save yourself $50 and get the Aiwas.
Rating:
Summary: A Godsend
Review: Love these! They work best with music or other audio source, rather than by themselves because they cancel the low dronong noise of the airplane but leave annoying human voices and other sounds as is. When paired with the inflight audio or an MP3 player (I use the Intel Audio Player 3000), the sound is clear and the drone of the plane is greatly reduced. They come with converters for use on planes, but I haven't had to use them since most planes have a standard jack in the armrest these days. Also comes with a carrying bag, which is fine. They fold up pretty small and are a good size for a laptop bag, etc. The only downside is that the earpieces aren't form fitted to the ear, and after about 3 hours of use the rims of my ears get sore. But you get used to it and it's better than the alternative for the price. $50 is hard to beat! I would definitely buy them again.
Rating:
Summary: Good Audio, Works Without Battery, Folds Nicely, BUT...
Review: I simultaneously compared these headphones at home with the QuietComfort Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headset QC-1 from Bose and with the Noisebuster Extreme! NB-EX from Noise Cancellation Technologies. The Bose is comfortable on the ears, reduces a lot of external sound, has earcushions that completely cover the ears (i.e., reduce noise passively, unlike the other two products), has a padded carrying case, and has very good audio quality ignoring the active noise reduction. But the Bose does not work when no batteries are installed, is bulky (e.g., does not fold), and is VERY expensive. The Noisebuster reduces almost as much external sound as the Bose Quiet Comfort, works (without noise reduction) when no batteries are installed, and is relatively inexpensive. I am neutral on the Noise Buster's folding (although it is small to begin with) and comfort on the ears. Minuses for the Noisebuster: it is difficult to find, there is no carrying case, and its audio quality was only fair compared with the other two products (e.g., the bass was weak). The Aiwa has good audio quality, works (without noise reduction) when no battery is installed, folds nicely, and is relatively inexpensive. I am neutral on its basic carrying pouch, the location of the battery on the headband (unlike the external battery packs of the other two products), and the fact that it applied a lot of pressure on my ears (since I do have a big head). But the Aiwa's plastic head band appeared easy to break, and it did not reduce as much external sound as the Bose and Noisebuster.
Rating:
Summary: A complete disappointment
Review: I was hesitating whether I should be giving one or two stars. I chose one, because I failed to actually pick up a single good feature in these headphones. First, the noise cancelation, which most likely is the main feature of these headphones. It is poor. The open-air design does let too much ambient noise in, and the noise canceling mechanism is not effective enough in decreasing it to a bearable level. It does attenuate the ambient noise, yes; but don't even dream of using the noise canceling to block out anything else than the sound of low, humming sounds or motor noises. It won't help too much with music, speech, or high-pitched noise. In addition, the noise canceling feature adds a considerable amount of hissing. So much in fact, that listening to music in a silent environment with these headphones is almost equal to listening to music on normal headphones on a bus or local train. If you are listening to something else than death metal or trance, or you are using the headphones anywhere else than on a plane (which has a very high ambient noise level), you will notice the hissing. Aiwa's distributor was contacted about this issue and they admitted that this is a known feature of the product. The construction of the phones is flimsy. When putting them on, I was constantly afraid that I would snap the plastic. There is no metal to back up the plastic. The folding design of these phones is average, but at the same time, it does not feel too solid. The size of the headphones was too small for my head. They squeezed my ears so much that it almost hurt. All in all, not recommended. I brought the phones back to where I bought them. If you are looking for noise-cancelling headphones, be sure to try them out in a store before buying, or make sure you have a money-back guarantee.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I ordered this product after testing a set of noise-canceling headphones in a local gadget store. The headphones I tested in the store (not by this manufacturer) were quite effective in canceling out the ambient noise of the retail environment. I dreamed of what a set could do in my too-noisy office. I've got motor noise from the ventilation system, conversations of passers-by, and key clicking from nearby offices. I received the Aiwa HP-CN5 today eagerly. However, I find that they do nothing to attenuate the motor noise - but make it seem as if the noise is within my head. I still hear the conversations in my neighbor's office just as loud, and just as much key-clicking. Audio quality for music is no better than my old, cheap headphones that came with my CD player. These may go back. I don't know if this set is defective or this design is poor, but I'm unlikely to buy another set without testing in advance.
Update: I didn't return these. After more use, I learned that I had to place the right speaker very precisely over my ear to get the cancellation effect rather than a reinforcement of sound. This requires a calibration step where I have to turn the volume down and move the headphones to minimize the ambient, before turning volume back up. Not impressive, but better than my initial opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Change of Heart
Review: It has been a little while since I originally purchased these pair of headphones, since that time I've come into contact with other headphones which made me wonder about the rating I put on this (4 stars "Almost a 5"). Even though that reviewed did help people, I figured that I'd help more people with my new outlook on these headphones. When I originally bought them I wanted great bass and sound. It is true that this is provided, but so do a lot of other headphones that are considerably cheaper than these. Just check out Koss. Speaking of Koss, these Aiwa's don't come close to the comfort of my new Koss UR-20's, which are about 1/2 the price. Heaven. :) Aiwa didn't focus much on comfort, and you'll notice it, but they did spend more money into their noise cancelling program, so it is a trade off. The reason I got these headphones was impracticle, and they were really a waste of money. I saw a high price tag and figured that I was getting something that would open up a new realm of sound to me, instead of just using them to hear my music better. Again: If you are on planes a lot, or have other slight sounds that you want to get rid of, these are for you...
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