floppy-ear ted
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2004
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I'm pleased,... but also a bit disappointed
I received a new pair of Sennheiser PXC 250 noise cancelling headphones just the other day, and while I'm mostly happy with them, I'm hugely disappointed with one aspect, and that is the noise cancellation at low frequencies. It doesn't compare well at all with my old NoiseBuster cans, which could even attenuate the subsonic frequencies of a slamming door.
To be fair, I'm really pleased that the passive noise reduction is quite good from midrange to high frequencies, and the ANR works well throughout the midrange (even at whistling frequencies). Unlike the NoiseBusters the Sennheisers fully eliminate the harsh "squawkiness" of ambient sound that's characteristic of closed cans (crying babies won't be bothering me on a plane!). They are very good for mowing the lawn, and with various power tools. I'm also pleased about the sound quality of music (with the NC switched on). The treble sounds clear and smooth, and it got even better when I used a graphic equalizer to approximately compensate for the frequency response shown on Headroom's website. The bass is good, and goes quite low. However, it's the noise cancellation at low bass frequencies that I don't like. I've found that they're not particularly good at eliminating the rumble from inside a car, and I'm worried that on an aeroplane they will be even less effective. This doesn't seem right at all, what have other people's experiences been with the PXC 250?
With the NoiseBusters I would get a sensation of "increased pressure" on the eardrums, similar to a "deaf" sensation when music is suddenly muted on one side of a pair of headphones. I would get that sensation even if the environment seemed quiet already. With the Senns I don't get that sensation, at least not to the same extent. That was the thing that I liked about the NoiseBuster headphones. They seemed to "over-cancel" low frequencies: optimum cancellation was achieved when the foam earcups were very gently pressing on the ears, and it actually got worse if I tried to press the earcups against my ears.
Tomorrow I'll do a few tests with a subwoofer and some low frequency sine waves to see what is really happening with the PXC 250. The electronic circuitry of the PXC 250 generates some white noise, which could be causing a masking effect too.
FET
I received a new pair of Sennheiser PXC 250 noise cancelling headphones just the other day, and while I'm mostly happy with them, I'm hugely disappointed with one aspect, and that is the noise cancellation at low frequencies. It doesn't compare well at all with my old NoiseBuster cans, which could even attenuate the subsonic frequencies of a slamming door.
To be fair, I'm really pleased that the passive noise reduction is quite good from midrange to high frequencies, and the ANR works well throughout the midrange (even at whistling frequencies). Unlike the NoiseBusters the Sennheisers fully eliminate the harsh "squawkiness" of ambient sound that's characteristic of closed cans (crying babies won't be bothering me on a plane!). They are very good for mowing the lawn, and with various power tools. I'm also pleased about the sound quality of music (with the NC switched on). The treble sounds clear and smooth, and it got even better when I used a graphic equalizer to approximately compensate for the frequency response shown on Headroom's website. The bass is good, and goes quite low. However, it's the noise cancellation at low bass frequencies that I don't like. I've found that they're not particularly good at eliminating the rumble from inside a car, and I'm worried that on an aeroplane they will be even less effective. This doesn't seem right at all, what have other people's experiences been with the PXC 250?
With the NoiseBusters I would get a sensation of "increased pressure" on the eardrums, similar to a "deaf" sensation when music is suddenly muted on one side of a pair of headphones. I would get that sensation even if the environment seemed quiet already. With the Senns I don't get that sensation, at least not to the same extent. That was the thing that I liked about the NoiseBuster headphones. They seemed to "over-cancel" low frequencies: optimum cancellation was achieved when the foam earcups were very gently pressing on the ears, and it actually got worse if I tried to press the earcups against my ears.
Tomorrow I'll do a few tests with a subwoofer and some low frequency sine waves to see what is really happening with the PXC 250. The electronic circuitry of the PXC 250 generates some white noise, which could be causing a masking effect too.
FET
