Coby Electronic Noise canceling headphones ( CV192 )

First, I have to say I was very satisfied with the noise reduction. I wear headphones in a call center and it really helped not to have to listen to those around me. But, in less than a month, it broke in half. This was while it was on my head so I was not pulling on it or stretching it. In fact, I did not even care that it folded up and was not something I used.
I definately think it is a great idea to buy a Noise canceling headphones, but stay away from these because it will break way too soon.

I've had these for 9 months now and they've been on 3 trips including a 2 week vacation. I wore them last winter while running the snow thrower to clear the driveway. No problems with reliability so far.

At this price point I expected some compromises, and in this case the audio quality for music isn't as good as a pricier pair, but it's acceptable.

The noise cancellation is NOT what I would consider 'compromised.' It is surprisingly good, call it great even. In fact my wife will wear them with no music playing at all just for the noise cancellation on long flights. The audio cord can be completely disconnected for maximum comfort while doing so.

Runs on one replaceable alkaline battery. If the battery dies you can still listen to music. You can also switch off noise cancellation and continue to listen to music.

Call it $10 audio quality combined with $80 noise cancellation.

For $20 that's easily 4 stars.

I received these headphones second hand, so I compared them with my existing headphones, a Sennheiesr HD-555. The Coby headphones are truly awful in the high-note range, all of the treble is lost. The mid-ranges came in, though it too seemed muffled. Only the bass seemed good.
Even the default earbuds that you get with an iPod are much better in audio quality.

The only redeeming factor in these headphones is that they are great at blocking outside sounds.