JVC HA-NC250 Noise Canceling Headphones

9 out of 10 - Spectacular
Outstanding Compromise to the Bose Q3's
I was going to purchase the Bose Q-3's until I discovered that they too were manufactured in China. Call ...
I was going to purchase the Bose Q-3's until I discovered that they too were manufactured in China. Call me a sentimental fool but I still think that it is important to purchase goods made in the U.S. I then read CNET's review of the JVC's and had the opportunity to A/B the Q-3's and the NC250's. I really couldn't hear much of a difference between the two although the Q-3's did have a tiny bit tighter mid-range than the 250's. However, for $97.00 delivered (Quack Quack Distributors) vs. $350.00, I'll take them over the Bose anyday. Read more
by psmilnes (see profile) - December 7, 2007

9 out of 9 users found this user opinion helpful.

9 out of 10 - Spectacular
Peace Among The Bustle
I requested these headphones for Christmas to help alleviate the slurping, loud talking, and general obnoxiousness of a cubicle neighbor ...
I requested these headphones for Christmas to help alleviate the slurping, loud talking, and general obnoxiousness of a cubicle neighbor at work. After trying them the first time, I discovered they did something even better: they completely eliminated the loud hum of my building's A/C system, leaving me able to hear myself think and actually enjoy my music.

With a flick of the switch all low frequency ambient noise disappeared. I was truly left in a quiet environment. Of course, high-frequency sounds are not eliminated, so you'll still hear voices (though muffled) or equipment beeps, etc., but since I use them at work I still need to hear my phone ring!

Not only does the noise-canceling feature work well, but the quality of the signal coming through is very high quality as well. The mids and highs are clear and crisp, and the bass is solid without being overpowering.

The headphones are very comfortable. I wear mine the entire 7-9 hours I'm working and barely know they're on. The only thing to be careful of, though, is that you place them directly on the ear, without any of the cup extending beyond the back of the ear's outside 'lip'. If you do, you'll get a slight cycling hiss, which I presume is from the noise-canceling mechanism. But place them carefully and correctly directly on the ear and you'll get high quality sound in a silent environment you only dreamt was possible. Read more
by waldodio (see profile) - December 27, 2007

3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.

9 out of 10 - Spectacular
Great investment for frequent traveller
By way of preface, I have been a professional classical musician, as well as student sound engineer and would love ...
By way of preface, I have been a professional classical musician, as well as student sound engineer and would love to be an audiophile but can simply not afford it. I am pretty picky about the quality of my sound. I tried many different sound canceling headphones in this price range before buying these ones. Previously I owned a set of Sony 'in ear' sound canceling headphones which I used for about a year before they broke down.

I have owned these for about 2 weeks, and 10 hours of use in travel environments. I paid about $125 US for them including shipping from an ebay retailer.

Overall impression: Good sound, pretty comfortable to wear, good build quality and feel, and the noise canceling works as well or better than others I have tried, with the right expectations for what it can and can not do.

I have seen reviews of these headphones on other sites that bash the sound quality, and I just don't get it. Granted they are not studio quality reference headphones, but if you need studio quality sound, you probably won't be wearing them on an airplane. The whole point of the noise canceling headphones is that you are using them in a noisy environment where sound quality will be poor in the first place.

In the two weeks since I bought these I have tried them on inter-city bus service and on several 4 hour+ flights. They are great. The noise canceling is great at cutting out the mid-low frequency rumbles, and the sound quality is just fine... admittedly when you use them in a silent environment there is a (very) slight bit of induced hiss when you power on the sound canceling, but in an aircraft or bus that artifact fades in comparison to all the background noise. Keep in mind that the noise canceling works best if the cups are sealed well to your ears.

I found I could cut the volume of the aircraft entertainment system in half with the noise canceling on, compared to listening with it off, and checked several times during the flights to compare my listening experience with the headphones powered on or off. It is actually surprising how quickly you get used to the sound suppression... it is shocking to turn it off and hear how loud a commercial airliner is. I find I am less stressed at the end of a flight with noise canceling headphones on, and this purchase was spurred on by the demise of my last pair of Sonys.

I did have the opportunity to try these against my Dad's three year old Bose QCs. We just ducked into the furnace room to get a feel for them in a moderately loud environment, and then tried them side by side in a quiet place for sound quality. Both of us came to the conclusion that there was nothing to choose between them, both in sound quality (from my basic MP3 player) and in the noise reduction... nothing but the price, as I paid less than 1/3 of what he did.

Overall great purchase for me, and I would recommend them to any frequent traveller or someone who has a cubicle next to the server room or air conditioner compressor. Read more
by smclarino (see profile) - April 2, 2008

1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.