At Maxell, the priority is delivering the highest quality products available in consumer and professional audio and video tapes, computer media, batteries and accessories. To achieve this goal, Maxell has spent the last 30 years focusing all its research and development strengths on creating a long list of innovative solutions for its customers. Today, consumers and professionals all over the world reach for the Maxell name when they want a quality product they can trust.
Maxell's HP-NC1 portable headphones are equipped with Noisebuster, a patented noise-reduction technology that really works, making the HP-NC1 an ideal companion for in-flight (or even on-bus) music lovers.
The Noisebuster technology works via the following process: tiny microphones within each earpiece "listen" for any pervasive environmental noise and send this information to a device called an in-line audio-enhancer pack. This device reads and analyzes the information and then generates a noise-cancellation wave that's out of phase with the noise itself. The audio-enhancer pack feeds this wave back into the headset--when the noise wave goes up, a corresponding cancellation wave goes down, causing the two signals to cancel each other out. This eliminates a good deal of unwanted sonic junk, from airplane engine noise to distant freeway traffic seeping into your living room.
We evaluated our HP-NC1s as a utility crew used jackhammers on the street outside our listening room. Because you can bypass the Noisebuster technology with a switch, it was easy for us to compare the noise-canceled signal to the standard sound. While Noisebuster didn't entirely eliminate the jackhammer's rat-a-tat-tat, it did significantly reduce the sound so that we could listen to quiet music, such as soft jazz and classical.
As for the sound of the headphones themselves, the midrange is clear, but the HP-NC1s are a little sluggish overall, with no deep bass or extended high frequencies. In fairness to the HP-NC1s, noise-canceling headsets often sound restricted in the frequency extremes, as it can be tricky for the noise-canceling devices to differentiate between noise and music. The fit of these headphones is also a little snug for our taste, but you can loosen them a bit by gently bending the headset.
We have heard comparably priced, non-noise-canceling headphones that sound better than Maxell's HP-NC1. However, better sound doesn't matter much if you're having a hard time hearing the music in a noisy environment. At this price, these headphones are a bargain.
Pros:
Noisebuster technology works well
In-flight dual-jack adapter included
In-line volume control
Cons:
Snug fit may be uncomfortable
Average sound quality
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.0 / 5.0
Barely works:
There is a slight reduction in regular, low-frequency noise as in air travel, but these are not nearly as effective as Bose or Audio-Technica.
Consider them "disposables":
I got these headphones in June. By August the sound in one ear was cutting out. I could move the wire and get it back temporarily. Fine, if you don't move your head. Now it's October and the sound in that ear is gone for good. That good price for noise cancelling headphones, isn't so great for only 5 months. Guess they are meant to be disposable. Don't waste your money!
Lasted a matter of weeks:
I had these for only a few weeks and they have quit working entirely. Fiddling with the cord doesn't help. For $50, I expected much better quality. I am sadly disappointed and will not buy any headphone that says "Maxell" again - you can't trust anybody these days, they've all gone for cheap and to heck with quality.
these are awful:
what you can't see from the images is that the battery pack to power the noise cancellation is in the middle of the cord, which is just plain stupid and annoying. you have to stuff the battery pack in your pocket, so if you're taller than 5'7", then every time you reach in to your pocket to grab your ipod or whatever, you run the risk of pulling down the battery pack, which in turn jerks your head down and to the side. if you leave the battery pack out of your pocket, it's heavy enough that it swings around... more info
