Harman Kardon NC

price range: $299.95

• Reviewed by: David Carnoy
• Edited by: John Falcone
• Reviewed on: 03/12/2013
• Released on: 09/14/2012

The good: Unique design; excellent fit and finish; impressive sound quality for a noise-canceling headphones; built-in rechargeable battery to power the noise cancellation; fold flat (a nice carrying case is included); work without the noise cancellation on (when the battery dies, they keep playing); include Apple-friendly inline remote and microphone.

The bad: Fairly pricey; the inline remote and microphone won't work with many non-Apple smartphones and tablets; the battery charging cable is not a standard Micro-USB cable.

The bottom line: While they may not be quite as comfortable as Bose's ultrapopular QC 15 headphones, the Harman Kardon NCs offer slightly better sound and have a built-in rechargeable battery to power the active noise-cancellation circuitry.

Read CNET's full review