Philips Noise Canceling Neckband Headphones - HN050

Rating:
Summary: Don't Buy, Don't Make My Mistake
Review: As most people have pointed out, these headphones are unbearably uncomfortable, and I do mean COMPLETELY unbearable. I couldn't stand to wear them for any longer then 5 minutes. It's just awful that these were even allowed to be produced. The sound reduction (when I could focus on anything other then the pain) wasn't hardly noticeable at all. Plus, the cord was just short enough that you can almost always be sure you're going to have your head jerked or your C.D player pulled into the floor when you move. These headphones have really turned me off from ever wanting to buy anything made by Philips ever again. It's sad because they actually sounded pretty good. But, who cares what they sound like if you can't even wear them because they're so uncomfortable!!??

Rating:
Summary: Don't Buy, Don't Make My Mistake
Review: As most people have pointed out, these headphones are unbearably uncomfortable, and I do mean COMPLETELY unbearable. I couldn't stand to wear them for any longer then 5 minutes. It's just awful that these were even allowed to be produced. The sound reduction (when I could focus on anything other then the pain) wasn't hardly noticeable at all. Plus, the cord was just short enough that you can almost always be sure you're going to have your head jerked or your C.D player pulled into the floor when you move. These headphones have really turned me off from ever wanting to buy anything made by Philips ever again. It's sad because they actually sounded pretty good. But, who cares what they sound like if you can't even wear them because they're so uncomfortable!!??

Rating:
Summary: The HN050
Review: First I'll address the most oft discussed issue with these headphones, which seems to be the comfort factor. Personally, I find the HN050 pretty comfortable, if a little snug. It's not that my head is too big for em', they are just designed to "squeeze" onto your ears to ensure that the ear cups are firmly in place. As mentioned in a previous review, this creates a "passive" noise canceling effect, which is actually very effective. If you wear a fitted hat size above 7 1/2, ( I wear a 7-7 1/4), then I would suggest you look for a different style, as these phones' may prove too tight.

...On to the highly touted noise cancelling feature. I haven't tried any other products on the market with this component, so this is my first experience with any noise canceling technology. Let me be blunt...it doesn't work. It basically just creates the sound you'd hear from a tape that is still playing but needs to be flipped. It's not overwhelming loud, and you don't notice it when music is playing over it, but it's a far cry from the "low frequency sound that cancels out ambient noise." I figured that it'd be some magical inaudible sound that canceled out surrounding sounds. Not so. All I noticed was the aforementioned "hum" and a slight increase in the treble and bass, which leads me to my biggest issue. With the noise cancelling turned on, and the volume turned up, the base distorts horribly. I don't want to be forced to adjust an equalizer for every song that comes on just to avoid distorted bass. Miraculously, if you turn off the noise canceling function the problem dissappears...even with the volume turned ALL the way up. Weird. Ah well, overall this is a decent set of headphones. I feel a little ripped off by the $50 price tag, and I'll probably be in the market for a higher quality set in the near future but for now these will get the job done.

Rating:
Summary: I'm Pleased
Review: I bought these for use on a long airplane flight. They seem to do a great job on the wind and higher frequency engine noise and enabled me to hear my music without turning the volume way up. They don't cancel all noise by any means but are a definite improvement over my regular headphones.

Unlike some of the other reviewers I found them to be quite comfortable (I suppose this depends on the shape of your head). If you rotate the band down so that it almost touches your neck you can sit back in the seat and rest your head without difficulty.

If you are in a very quiet area the headphones may sound better with the noise reduction switched off (the electronics generate a slight hiss). On an airplane the improvement with the noise reduction switched on is quite dramatic though. In other noise situations the effect of the noise reduction can be much less noticeable.

The headphones are pretty neutral sounding without a lot of bass boost. I don't hear any bass distortion but I don't listen at particularly high volume levels either.

Rating:
Summary: Mediocre and Broken after 2 months
Review: I don't know why everyone is hating on these head phones... I purchased these last night, and was amazed at the quality of sound. Comparing to the amazing Bose Triport headphones costing 150 bucks... these sounded just as good. Also... concerning the incomfortable feeling the headphones leave... not a problem for me. I slept with them all night last night and no pain... and don't get me wrong- i don't have some freakishly out of the ordinary ears. I consider them to be quite normal... Finally, the noise cancelling. I have yet to use them in an appropriate situation for it's purpose, but my friend said they work just like his, and he has no problems with his noise cancelling.

So if you want some good quality Philips... I'd take a second look here.

Rating:
Summary: Better than nothing
Review: I just returned from a repeat air trip to England, and was hoping for a more restful (read that more sleep with fewer distractions from crying children and the coughing lady in the next seat) trip through the use of these Philips headphones. I found that the noise cancelling feature did decrease the droning ambient sounds to a somewhat helpful extent. Other cabin sounds were still intrusive. The sound quality did not seem much better than the airline-supplied headset and the product seems to be quite cheaply made.

My biggest concerns were:

1) That the headphone pads had to be positioned carefully to derive any benefit from the noise canceling feature, which meant that I had to keep my head straight to not push on the neckband. Also, my neck pillow tended to push on the neckband and degrade performance. Bother.

2) My (admittedly generous) auricles just plain hurt after a few hours of use, and I had to take the headset off.

I am considering buying a pair of noise-cancelling earbuds to address these two issues, and to perhaps get better sound quality.

Rating:
Summary: Cool Headphones
Review: I must say these are ok headphones. Mine were damaged though. The sound is good, a bit big on the head.

Rating:
Summary: Room 4 Improvement
Review: I picked these up because I fly every couple of months and I got sick of turning the volume on my iBook all the way up to watch dvd's and listen to my iTunes in flight. Because the impedence is relatively low, these headphones deliver plenty of power and I don't have to turn the volume all the way up from my notebook anymore.

The passive noise canceling (when you just cover your ears with 'em) is actually pretty effective. The active noise canceling, on the other hand, does a moderate to fair job. I can still hear plenty of high pitched engine noise, but I guess that's what you get when you don't have $100-$300 in your budget for headphones.

I haven't experienced the distortion that a previous reviewer had mentioned, maybe because using an equalizer is simple enough and it's not necessary to blast the volume on your devices, but I have fallen victim to the pressure these place on my ears. Perhaps they'll stretch over time and not squeeze so tightly; and maybe they need to fit as such to assure sufficient passive noise canceling; I could just have a large skull ...

Bottom line ... they aren't the most comfy headphones out there, the noise canceling feature is adequate, the sound quality is better than expected, they deliver the power, they look better in person than in the image above, and for the price they're practically worth it.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing at best
Review: My advice to those considering buying these headphones is to BUY SOMETHING ELSE! I have owned both the Bose Quiet 1's and the Quiet 2's so I know what a noise-canceling headphone is supposed to deliver.

CONS:
1. The noise cancellation seems to be a function of the padded earphones only. The battery-powered box only seems to work as a low power amplifier. In my opinion, these just don't qualify as "noise canceling".
2. The cords are WAY too short. You can't clip the battery box to your player and have any room for movement. Clipping it to your pocket, if you have one, also limits where you can put your player. Cord wire is CHEAP, come on guys. The only thing they did right was to run it to one earphone rather than two.
3. Don't switch to or from noise cancellation when you have the phones on. The switch POP is unpleasant at best.
4. It seems that in order to keep the padded earphones compressed, they made these things really tight. It is uncomfortable and makes my ears really hot. I have a number of other "over" and "behind" the headphones over the years and none of them has tried to fuse to my ears.
5. The battery box is cheaply made and I wouldn't expect the battery cover to last very long.

PROS:
1. The sound is decent.
2. It is cheaper than the Bose, but if you fly, save up.

These headphones are disappointing. I have a bunch of the Philips HS500's that I think are great and I expected a lot more for my money from the HN050 headphones. .



Rating:
Summary: too tight
Review: There's no adjustment to the headphone itself. The design will fit people with big heads. But the ear piece press against my ears too tight. Hurts after a while. The Noise Canceling work well. Sound quality is OK. More on the high side. I think for about the same price you can get one with better sound quality.