Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4315 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Sennheiser
• Model: PXC450
• Released on: 2007-11-01
• Dimensions: .39" h x .39" w x .39" l, .53 pounds

Manufacturer's Description
The PXC 450 is a circumaural high-end travel headphone set with NoiseGard 2.0 technology and TalkThrough function for the best possible attenuation of ambient noise. The PXC 450 enables an unprecedented sound experience for people on the move, thanks to its adaptive baffle damping in combination with the patented Duofol diaphragms, which prevent unwanted partial oscillation and thus guarantee a highly natural, lifelike sound quality. NoiseGard is an active noise compensation system which Sennheiser originally developed for use by pilots, who have to rely on good sound quality and efficient protection against ambient noise even in high-noise environments. NoiseGard actively compensates the noise, based on the physics principle of sound and counter-sound.

NoiseGard 2.0 has perfected the NoiseGard principle thanks to the use of optimised circuitry design and even more efficient processors. It also uses better quality microphones, which enable more sophisticated pick-up of unwanted noise. Specially developed filter algorithms enable improved active noise compensation of up to 90% (23 dB). It is of course also possible to use these headphones passively, i.e. without NoiseGard and without batteries. Users of a PXC 450 who wish to communicate with their neighbours can do so without taking off the headphones: when the TalkThrough function is activated, professional quality microphones mounted on the outside of the headphones pick up all acoustic signals in the immediate vicinity. Unwanted background noise, such as the sound of the engines on a plane, is filtered out electronically to a great extent, so that only the neighbour's voice is passed on through the headphones into the user's ear in top audio quality.

The PXC 450 is foldable and is supplied complete with practical transport case, 2 AAA batteries and audio adaptors (double mono and 6.3mm). Volume control integrated in the headphones and a single-sided detachable and replaceable cable.

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Customer Reviews

The ESSENTIAL flying accessory - absolutely outstanding!
I am writing this review in Australia, two days after flying here from the UK with my Sennheiser PXC450s. I've added some more notes to this review back in the UK following my return from Oz.

I can confirm that they performed brilliantly and were an absolute lifesaver. Engine and cabin noise was reduced to a distant and quite soporific whoosh, while the sound quality from the on-board entertainment system and my own SanDisk MP3 player was excellent.

I wore the headphones more or less continuously for 7 hours from Gatwick to Dubai and a further 12.5 hours from Dubai to Melbourne and they were extremely comfortable. No headache from the close fit, slight sweatiness around the ears from wearing them for so long, but a price *well* worth paying. Also wore them 4 hours Melbourne to Perth then a further 11.5 Perth to Dubai and 7.5 Dubai to Gatwick.

Sound quality is slightly richer with the noisegard function off, but more than acceptable with it on, especially for the trade-off of wonderful peace and quiet. It is startling to switch them off and be hit by the roar roar of the engines and general cabin hubbub. I suspect any reviewer suggesting otherwise is either an unrealistic hi-fi nut or had a dud pair. Having returned from Oz and listened to a lot more music en route, I think the frequency range was actually excellent in noise-cancelling mode - full, rich bass and plenty of strength across the range - quite remarkable, considering the difficult job they were doing of cancelling noise without killing the music. The noisegard works best on lower frequency sounds, so you can still hear crying babies through the phones, unfortunately (unless one of them is yours), but knocked far enough back that they don't drive you crazy.

The talk-through feature is simply brilliant and well worth the extra cost over the cheaper model PXC350, as it means you don't have to take the phones off to talk to other passengers or the trolley dollies. You really can almost forget you've got them on.

Build quality is excellent - the phones feel very strong, with key structural components made of metal, not plastic, yet they are light and compact. The flat storage case is semi-rigid and includes an airline socket adaptor for the twin mono sockets you find on some planes. You can unplug the short connecting lead if you only want to use the phones for noise reduction.

Battery life: what can I say - 1 AAA battery lasted the whole journey and was still going strong as we came into land at Melbourne - that's amazing. And yes, I did switch them off as asked before we started our descent, although I think it's highly unlikely they could interfere with the plane's avionics - pilots have been using similar phones for years. The first battery only gave out during a subsequent flight from Melbourne to Perth and the second was still going after I got back to the UK.

I don't think I would want to fly anywhere without my PXC450s now - they are an essential flying accessory if you want to keep your sanity, especially in cattle class! These phones are also much more effective and comfortable than on-ear models as they shield your ears from more of the ambient noise by surrounding your ears. Some sound reaches your ears by conduction through your skull and no phones can compensate for that, but the PXC450s are undoubtedly the state of the art. Make the investment - you will be glad you did!

Sennheiser PCX450 Headphones
I bought these very recently having used the Sennheiser small on-ear noise-cancelling headphones as well as similar products from Bose and Sony. I cannot recommend these enough. They are extremely comfortable, have strong top end and base capability and the noise cancellation worked exceptionally well on a recent air journey to and from the Far East. Battery life is better than the PCX250's, needing only one AAA and lasting just as long as the two AAAs needed with the smaller units. There are no separate battery compartments to clip onto your clothing and these being "over ear", more intrusive sound is cut out. I now wish I hadn't bought the PCX 250 headphones because they are now gathering dust!

Utterly superb!
Let's get one thing clear straight off: you'll never get perfect "audiophile" sound reproduction from noise-cancelling 'phones because of the signal processing that noice-cancelling requires. There's always going to be a trade-off between the level of noise-cancelling and the sound quality. But these top-of-the-range Sennheisers get the balance absolutely spot on! Though quite heavy in the hand, they are gorgeously designed and supremely comfortable (you truly don't notice the weight when wearing them). Teamed with an iPod Nano 2nd Gen, the sound is sumptuous and detailed; listening to speech radio recorded and played back on a Sony MiniDisc, Radio 4 sounds richer and "fuller" than on your radio at home. I bought these 'phones for use on long-haul flights and can't believe I've survived for so long without them. Background noise is not eliminated entirely - but it's dramatically reduced to a barely audible murmur that is so unobtrusive you quickly forget about it (in fact, taking them off after ten hours of constant use, I was shocked at just how LOUD the noise is inside an aeroplane!). With these 'phones it's easy relax into your own private world. I can't make any comparison with the equivalent model from Bose as I've never tried the Bose 'phones, but what I DO know is that after careful shopping around online, I was able to buy the Sennheisers for approximately £120 LESS than the equivalent Bose 'phones - and that HAS to be a bargain by anyone's standards, doesn't it? Don't bother buying them to plug into your home Hifi, but if you take a lot of flights or have to listen to music in a particularly noisy environment, you'll never EVER regret buying these headphones.