The market for noise-canceling headphones was once dominated by a single company, but over the past few years, other manufacturers have caused a stir in that monopoly by producing exceptional products of their own. One stellar example is Sennheiser's active noise-canceling PXC 300 headphones, which use electronics to reduce apparent ambient noise instead of passively blocking it as earplugs do.

The PXC 300 headphones use Sennheiser's NoiseGard Advance circuitry, which improves upon the technology employed in Sennheiser's older PXC 250 headphones. A pair of AAA batteries (included) housed in a slender inline battery pack powers the noise-canceling components. The PXC 300 headphones are collapsible, and the included carrying case provides protection against breakage.

For frequent travelers, the PXC 300 phones come with an adapter to connect to an airplane's sound system, and they also include a mini plug and a 1/4-inch adapter. The cable is 6 feet long. The PXC 300 headphones will provide up to 80 hours of noise-canceling use with a pair of fresh batteries, and they operate as normal headphones without batteries. The headphone frequency response is 8Hz to 21,500Hz, which more than covers the entire human hearing range. The Sennheiser PXC 300 headphones are a very good contender in the noise-canceling arena.

Warranty
2 years