I've been wanting to get my hands on these for a listen, but I guess I wasn't wanting it enough to get some sent to Montana. So I was glad to find them in the Harman booth, and doubly glad I could get at the connectors for a listen on my own portable rig. (You'd be surprised at how hard it is to get a listen to headphones at shows sometimes.)
I picked one up off its stand and plunked it on my head. Woah! Everything went eerily silent. Ah, the NC (noise canceling, $299) model. Then I played some familiar music...and it sounded damned good. Then I tried it without the active noise canceling...and it sounded pretty much the same. That's not common with most noise canceling headphones where the NC circuit usually messes with the sound. I was impressed.
Then I tried the Bluetooth headset (BT, $249) passively wired, and it sounded good, too. Hmm. Then the smaller on ear CL (on-ear, passive, $199) version, and it sounded good. Holy smoke, Harmon did a nice job on these headphones. How good these cans are I really can't tell under show conditions, but they're good enough to know I've got to get then here at home for an extended evaluation.
It heartens me to see someone like Harman/Kardon who should be able to make a good headphone actually do so. Nice!
Submitted by Stefraki on January 21, 2013 - 12:26pm.
I've always wondered why exactly these noise cancelling headphones screw up the sound (bloated mid bass and wooly treble) and it looks like the reason was so simple and so obvious...
If all these phones are adjusting to sound OUTSIDE the headphones, they'll be overcompensating, as the headphones passively attenuates a lot of that background noise anyway. By putting the microphone on the INSIDE of the cup, its only working to counteract the background noise that actually gets through...
This makes total sense but I (and I guess the other noise cancelling manufacturers) never thought of it.
Submitted by Username on January 28, 2013 - 10:59pm.
the last time i was in an apple store i saw these sans noise canceling and bluetooth. What i like about them is the construction. Having the option to pop off the headband is a nice feature and while i do recall seeing a 'made in china' badge (correct me if im wrong) they do feel, and look, pretty darn solid. However the plastic the outside of the cup is made from looks dull and it takes away from an otherwise very good looking headphone. I wish There was a ruberised finish on the plastic bits or some metal mesh/leather wrapped over them or heck even an aluminum cup but im sure none of that was in the budget. Its been a while since i heard them but from what i could tell in store they are about on the level of the Bowers and Wilkins offering.
