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Able Planet NC200 Foldable Noise Canceling Headphone
ABLE PLANET, INC. Product Details - Ratings and reviews for able planet nc200 foldable noise canceling headphone. |
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$49.99
$49.99 |
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ABLE PLANET, INC.
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Avg. Customer Review: 
Media: Electronics
Color: Black
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| Price: $49.99 |
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| Price: $49.99 |
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Able Planet NC200 Foldable Noise Canceling Headphone
- Patented LINX Audio technology
- In-line volume control for easy adjustment to safe listening levels
- State-of-the-art active noise cancellation
- Small, compact, foldable
Product Description
AblePlanet's Clear Harmony Active Noise Canceling Headphones features the latest technology at an affordable price and convenient foldable size. The NC200 features an adjustable headband, superior sound quality and clarity, patented LINX AUDIO technology, in-line volume control for easy adjustment to safe listening levels (no more hunting for the volume control), and state-of-the-art active noise cancelation (ANC). With over 16 International CES and CTIA awards, the sound quality will delight even the most discernable ear. Ideal for the traveler, student or music lover.
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Able Planet NC200 Foldable Noise Canceling Headphone
- Electronics: 0 pages
- Publisher: ABLE PLANET, INC.
- Label: ABLE PLANET, INC.
- Studio: ABLE PLANET, INC.
- Average Customer Review: based on 10 reviews
Avg. Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Quality at a Great Price 2008-12-01
Comment: This is an outstanding set of headphones that is equal to the best Bose & better than the best Sony noise canceling headphones - at less than half the price.
Included in the box:
* Headphones
* Connection cable
* Jack adapter (if your sound source doesn't use the standard mini-jack)
* Carry bag
Benefits:
* Outstanding, full-bodied sound
* Excellent noise reduction - I was wearing them at my computer listening to music, and my wife was standing behind me talking away - I didn't even hear her, so I got in a bit of trouble
* A nice rubberized, grippy, flat black surface
* Lots of flexible (but firm - not floppy) joints for finding the perfect fit
* Light weight
* Soft padding around the ears and across the head rest
* Being so light and comfortable, you hardly notice them once they are on
* Full, around the ear seal
* Internal volume control, located on the connection cable
* The connection cable disconnects from the headphones for easy and safe storage - with less pulling and stretching
I highly recommend these headphones.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Good design negated by bad electronics 2008-11-29
Comment: I tested the Able Planet NC200 headphones on a home CD player with a headphones jack, on an iPod Touch, and on a desktop computer using iTunes with music stored in AAC format. On each device, I listened to rock, jazz, and classical music.
In each case, the source was set to produce sound without any equalization or use of bass, treble, or midrange tone controls. I also tried out the noise cancelling without connecting the headphones to a sound source.
Pros:
*The noise cancelling function is effective in reducing the intensity of the kinds of noise typically masked by noise cancelling headphones.
*The cord can be disconnected from the headphones, making it easier to avoid "cord spaghetti" when taking the headphones in or out of a carrying case.
*The headphones can be folded fairly flat or into a compact shape even though they are as large as traditional home-use headphones.
*The earpieces and headband are well padded and comfortable to wear for extended periods. I find that earbuds and small earpiece headphones become tiring to wear after a couple of hours.
*Big, soft ear cups block noises and augment the electronic noise cancelling.
*The cord has a clip, midway along its length, which contains a volume control.
*Integrated, one-piece design--no separate wand holding the noise cancelling circuitry or external battery pack to bother with.
Cons:
*Travelers will find the headphones to be quite large, even when folded up.
*If the noise cancelling is not turned on, the headphones sound terrible. This is another disadvantage for travelers because replacement batteries are not always readily available.
*The on/off switch is inconveniently located. When the headphones are worn, the switch ends up behind your ear and you have to reach around your neck to operate it.
*BIG PROBLEM: when the noise cancelling is running, a very noticeable crackling static sound--similar to the sound waxed paper makes when it is crumpled--is generated. It is not the usual background white noise that is generated by all noise cancelling headphones.
Bottom line:
The crackling static sound produced by the NC200 is a major flaw. The headphones are completely unsuitable for listening to music with quiet passages or a spacious soundscape. However, somebody who only listens to loud and busy music (ideally with lots of fuzz bass and distorted guitars) and/or uses the headphones in very noisy areas might not notice the crackling sound.
If the NC200 did not make extraneous noise, I would give it 4 stars. Able Planet has produced a pair of headphones that is comfortable to wear for long periods and is physically well designed. Unfortunately, the NOISY noise cancellation function makes it impossible for me to recommend these headphones.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Comfortable to wear and decent sound, but the noise canceling is minimal 2008-11-28
Comment: This is a very comfortable-to-wear headset, and the sound is very good (to a listener of classical music). It requires a triple-A battery to turn on the noise-canceling effect, which is very negligible as I can observe.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: OK FOR CASUAL USE BUT THERE ARE CLEAR ISSUES 2008-11-28
Comment: The Good:
1. Sturdy construction
2. Not so expensive
3. Overall body rubber-armoring
4. Extreme foldable design
5. Powered by a single AAA battery but can be used as a regular headphone
without the battery.
The bad:
Sound quality is severely degraded once you put the volume up.
The NC200 should have gotten 5-stars if it were not for the degraded sound reproduction if you set the volume all the way up. It has everything you want in a headphone except for that crucial sound factor. I mean its not that I will always be using it in full volume but I think this is one way to measure a headphone's performance--using it at full volume without any distortion. I own a pair of Bose Quiet Comfort 2 noise-cancelling headphones and there is no comparison in performance. The sound quality you get from Bose is the same at all volume levels. With the NC200, it sounds great at the lower volume levels but when you raise it up, you can clearly notice the distortion. If it were not for this, it would have warranted 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good headphones but not great; I appreciated them on the airplane 2008-11-28
Comment: These headphones are okay; they aren't great but they aren't bad. When you turn the noise cancellation on, you hear a slight crackle in the white noise but it was very faint for me. When I listened to music with the noise cancellation on and the volume turned up a little, it sounded pretty good but my 18 year old son said he could still the crackle. If you listen to music with the noise canceling feature turned off, the music sounds weak and distant.
When switching between the Able Planet Headphones and the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 QuietPoint Active Noise-Cancelling Headphones there's just no comparison. The Audio-Technica have much better sound quality with and without the noise canceling feature turned on. If you just want to block the noise around you, both headphones work well but the Audio-Technica do a better job.
There are some features of the Able planet NC200 headphones that are nice. They fold up very small so they travel well. I plan to use them on my flight this weekend. They are comfortable and less expensive than similar quality headphones. Again, with the noise canceling feature turned on and the volume up (comfortably, not LOUD), they sound good. Not great - but good enough for my middle age ears that don't like heavy bass.
***UPDATE: Today I tried out these headphones on a three hour flight. I turned on the noise canceling feature as the plane was taking off and plugged in to the plane's music/TV. I was able to enjoy the TV shows and music and didn't realize just how much noise was blocked until I took them off to talk to the flight attendant. There was a huge difference in the noise level and how I felt. To be honest, I couldn't wait to put them back on.
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Able Planet NC200 Foldable Noise Canceling Headphone
