JVC HANC250 High-Grade Noise-Cancelling Headphones
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The new JVC HA-NC250 combines outstanding sound quality with advanced noise-canceling and isolation technologies to provide a superior listening experience. The HA-NC250’s noise cancellation circuitry includes feedback technology that constantly monitors the noise cancellation process. As a result, the headphones eliminate up to 85 percent of extraneous background noise. To further block noise, the HA-NC250 offers two JVC innovations that help isolate the listener from outside sounds. First, each earpiece employs a double housing structure for an extra sound insulation layer. Second, JVC developed a new technique for attaching the headphone’s smooth memory foam cushioned ear pads to the housing that helps isolate background noise. The smooth pads also enhance comfort. These sound isolation features, for which patents have been applied, are especially important since the HA-NC250 can be used with the active noise cancellation switched off. For the best possible sound quality, the new headphone uses a 40mm neodymium driver in each earpiece. For comfort and portability, the JVC HA-NC250 is one of the lightest headphones in its class, weighing just 5.3 ounces. It folds flat, and when folded is slimmer than most competing models. Included with the HA-NC250 are a slim carrying case, a four-foot detachable cord, airline dual plug adapter, and ¼-inch plug adapter for use with many home audio and video components. The headphones use a single 1.5-volt AAA battery for powering the noise cancellation circuitry. Battery life is rated at about 50 hours.
Features
- Advanced noise-cancelling design offers 85% noise reduction
- Double-housing design for extra sound insulation
- 40mm Neodymium driver
- Memory Foam cushion earpads
- Only 5.3 ounces
- Dimensions (W x H x L): 8 x 2 x 8 inches
- Weight: 0 pounds
Average at best. You get what you pay for…
I’ve had these headphones for over a year now. I am a frequent traveler with over 100,000 miles of air travel since I purchased this product. Sound quality is good, espcially when you turn the unit on, bass quality is excellent. As for noise cancellation, there is a hissing and humming sound even when there is no background noise. You cannot wear this for more than an hour without adjustment because your ears will start to hurt. On ear headphones feature’s flaw is that it makes your ears hot and painful after a few hours. Due to discomfort, I have not used this during my last 10 trips. Looking to purchase QC 15 as my next choice. If you are looking for average NC headset, this may work for you but stay away if you are looking for quality and comfort.
A good headphones for the long flight to Bangkok
I never wanted to spend $400 for a noise reduction headphones. I think that those Bose are highly priced for no reason. Yes they are good, but how about this JVC HANC250? It is the best for a moderate price, not cheap but under $150. I used it for the first time on my trip to Bangkok, and I was impressed. The noise reduction was almost 100 percent, and I could really listen to and understand what the actors were saying in the movie, something I had not been able to appreciate before with the regular headphones provided by the airline itself.
Don’t buy the recommended extension cord!
Other reviewers have mentioned that the cord that comes with these headphones is too short. The “Maxell HP-20 Headphone Extension Cord with Adapters” looks like a great suggestion, however it cannot replace the cord that comes with the headphones. This is because the Maxell cord has only one male jack, while the headphone cord has two.
Very Happy
This is the only pair of noise reduction headphones that I have bought, so I can not compare them to others. What I can say is that I chose these at $119 over the the Bose at $300-$360 and I am very happy with them. On the plane when I switch the noise reduction on, they put me in my own quiet space. I have flown a lot, and as people go I rate myself as a pretty comfortable flyer. Nevertheless, these headphones have made flying a whole new experience for me. I can’t think of flying without them.
Unreliable noise-canceling function
This headphones set looks very nice and I feel comfortable wearing it. The sound quality is OK. However, the noise-canceling function is very bad and unreliable. When noise-canceling is on, I hear an obvious hissing sound. It doesn’t cancel the sound of my co-workers typing on their keyboards. Worst, it is unreliable. Even a very slight bump would cause it stop working, for example when I change my position. Turning it off then on doesn’t resolve the problem. I have to turn it off, wait for a minute or two, then turn it on. Very annoying! This problem seems common, because many people complained about it. So I decided to not take risk and return it and get a refund.
Better Than Bose QC
This is great product and I found it better than Bose.
Good : Sound quality, NC feature, light weight, detachable cord for ease of use, comfort, good price.
Problems : Small cord, tricky battery insertion.
Thanks for reading
Good comfort in a plane not in a car or train
The noise reduction works well, I can listen to my music without the need to turn up the volume. I tested in a plain, train and car. In the plain it works really well, you will get less tired. In a car or train the noise reduction over compensates for low noise. The over compensation, is annoying after an hour, your ears feel like after a great party but without the ringing.
Nice headphones
These are good headphones for their price. The battery didn’t seem to last long, so I’m switching to rechargeable batteries. Not a big deal. I like being able to unplug the cord from the headphones, but I wish I could put the headphones in the case with the cord still plugged in–it doesn’t fit, though. The case is very nice. The cord is a little short and I often reach its end while listening at my desktop computer. Long enough for a laptop, since it’s closer while being used. I seem to be one those people where the noise cancellation can be uncomfortable (it feels like pressure against my eardrums), but moving the headphones around on my ears often helps quite a bit.
Good purchase that I don’t regret one bit.
So sad….does little to drown out my co-workers
I was looking for headphones that would plug into my Ipod as well and could be used without music to provide noise cancellation. I only wanted to spend around $100. Perhaps I will have to spend more.
I perused several recommendations before settling on this pair of headphones and returned them the same day they arrived. They were comfortable, relatively compact in size, and came with a great carrying case. Unfortunately, they did not work. The music mode was rich. The noise-cancelling mode provided about 50% reduction in voices…not enough.
After 2 sets of Bose I am very impressed.
I had 2 pairs of bose. The QC1 and 2. The headband broke on both. For the money you spend on bose that should not happen-twice. So I decided to give these a try. I was extremely impressed! Did they sound better than the bose?-No. Did they cancel noise better than the bose?-No. but these are less than 100 and the bose are over 250. All I needed them to do was block out the children and engine noise on the plane and it did both. The sound is great! Quite happy!
Review of Headphone JVC HANC250 Noise Cancelling
I purchased this item as refurbished and saved over $120 over the new price. The product works in accordance with manufacturer specifications. I am able to cut the grass with both a push mower and riding lawn mower and still listen to music on my ipod quite well. I like the separate cord attachment rather than it being a fixed component to the earphone set. I broke my previous earplug set because of the fix cord but if I damage the cord on this set, the cord can be replaced without replacing the whole unit. I am quite satisfied with the purchase.
Made International Flights Bearable
I bought these for use on a 20 hrs. Flight to Asia.
I have no experience with noise canceling headphones and had to rely completely on reviews to make a decision. My decision was also based on price, as I didn’t want to spend hundreds.
I was very pleasantly surprised with these, even amazed. They are comfortable (even for long periods) lightweight and come in a hard-shell case that fit right in my laptop carry on bag.
They sounded fine, and when you turn on the noise canceling feature the hiss and hum of the aircraft simply went away. It brought a wonderful calm to the otherwise noisy environment of the aircraft.
I was able to watch movies and listen to music for the first time ever. As I’m a little hard of hearing, I could never quite make out what they were saying on the in-flight movies using the airlines headphones. And, as before I had to turn up my iPod too loud so it just wasn’t worth it.
These really made a difference. My only regret was that I didn’t buy them sooner.
And the battery lasted the whole time. I used them a lot including the return flight. I was able to fit an extra battery in the case just to be on the safe side, but I didn’t need it. And, my small iPod fit in the case too.
Perfect for traveling. There may be brands with better acoustic quality out there, but these were just right for me.
Good sound, noise reduction is nice, cord WAY too short
Picked these up since our company decided to build nice shiny new buildings and do away with our offices. Hearing all the keyboard typing, random conversations, and other background noises was distracting and aggravating. I tried cranking up my existing headset, but I still heard way too much around me, and I don’t think having music blaring that loud was a good long-term solution.
I read as many reviews as I could on noise-cancelling headphones, and went with these. The price was right, and it’s accumulated enough reviews that I felt confident in purchasing them. I’m not a huge audiophile; as long as I can hear a decent range of frequencies I’m happy. The big thing I was looking for was reducing or eliminating all the background garbage I’m subjected to now. They do an OK job, although speech pretty much cuts right through if you only turn on the noise cancellation. Computer fan noises and spinning hard drives are almost completely absent, which is nice. They really shine when you’re playing music – that’s when the all the chattering people who won’t shut the hell up no longer matter, because you can barely hear them. It allows me to play my music at a much lower volume which will save my hearing in the long run.
My only gripe is the cord. It’s WAY too freakin’ short. To compound the issue the 1/8th inch jack the cord plugs into has such a narrow opening it won’t be easy to find a cord that fits it. Really the only solution is a stereo 1/8th inch male to female extension cord. Not *that* big a deal, but it would have been nice to have a longer cord included in the first place.
Poorly made
I purchased these after much deliberation. Once I received them, I was fairly satisfied. After using them for just over a month, there started to be a loud warbling/popping sound with the NC turned on. This made the phones basically useless. I’m glad that I got a full refund for them.
Design flaw ruins an otherwise great headset
I love these things except the slightest vibration when the noise reduction is on causes the sound to click in and out. I thought my pair was just broken and exchanged them with Amazon — next pair has the same problem right out of the box. I’m looking at the reviews here and a bunch of people have complained of the same in different terms.
I’m so bummed. These are a great price and nice in every other way. Now I have to buy a more expensive headset to block out my noisy coworkers, arg!
good value for the money but you get what you pay for
Pros -
NC works well. Drowned out neighbor lawn mowing almost completely with NC on. With NC off, I could hear muffled
comfortable to wear
nice pouch to carry
has several input adapters
not very expensive so you don’t feel ripped off
you don’t need a $400 Bose for like 10-15% more NC. In a relatively quiet zone, this works well enough
Cons -
doesn’t block 100% noise.
weird battery placement ( right ear piece )
need to yank out right ear piece to insert battery
doesn’t put you in a total noise block zone
Update: 05/28/10 — My friend brought his Bose QC3 into to work and I checked them out. I must say, Bose felt far superior to JVC. The headphone is over the ear evenly ( like a tightly held pillow to the ear instead of the hollow fit ) and so sound suppression is a lot more. NC worked just as well as JVC, albeit Bose felt slightly better here because I could actually feel more NC with Bose.
The JVC is still a superb purchase considering the cost ( $110 v/s $350 ), so no doubt, you will be happy with the JVC. If the JVC were like $250-$275, then I would’ve surely put the extra money and bought the Bose.
Again, like I said, you get what you pay for.
comfortable
pros
comfort was great
portable
Case
Detachable cables
great separation of instruments
Build quality
ANC works well when playing music
nice design
Cons
somewhat difficult to get a good fit but when you do it is very comfortable
ANC work ok when it is not playing anything
feel like there is a current of air moving in your ears. makes them feel cool but weird.
the bottom line is dont buy the bose qc3 they are overpriced crap get these are a better value also if you would like ear buds get the Q-jays there super comfy amazing sound and isolation
Makes repetitive popping noises when bumped
I bought this based on the overall great reviews. After having used these on various plane rides over the last few weeks, here are my observations:
PROS:
– Relatively inexpensive
– Noise canceling works pretty well, especially for the money
– Includes a nice case and airplane adapter
CONS:
– Makes a constant popping noise when the headset is bumped
– Wearing it for hours on end starts to make the ears sore
– Noise canceling not as good as Bose QC2 over the ear headphones
I think that I may have a defective unit, and will exchange this headset. When the headset is bumped, say while wearing on an airplane seat, the headphones tend to start having a popping noise, that’s almost like the noise cancelling is stuttering. It doesn’t go away until the unit is turned off and on.
Otherwise, for the price, I’m happy with the product. It’s less than half the price of the Bose, which makes up for the poorer noise cancelling capability.
Great audio and noise cancelling – until you hit a bump
Overall: The item is very comfortable, its noise canceling (NC) abilities are superb, the audio is pretty good. The flaws: Battery access is awkward, and running into bumps causes an annoying thump. Its high-quality NC and low price ($110 at purchase) makes it a low-cost alternative to expensive ones like Bose.
Noise canceling: Merely putting the headphones on blocks out a decent amount of sound. Turning on NC makes a HUGE difference. I work in a lab with lots of noisy, mid-range instruments that cause a constant hum. Turning on NC immediately caused those sounds to become much less noticeable. It’s easy to forget that there was a lot of noise in the room to begin with – until you take them off! The morning commute was much more silent with these on. Their low and midrange NC abilities are pretty good. There’s definitely an obvious upper limit, however. Constant sounds get blocked well.
Now for the problems. My biggest gripe is that, with NC on, you can’t be moving too much. Walking caused a mild low-pitch thumping sound, as did going over a bump on the bus. These thumps started to get annoying after a while. Also, if you turn NC on in an otherwise quiet room, you can hear mild static from the headphones. This could get annoying, but why use it then anyways? If there is a really high-frequency sound (in my case: train screeching by overhead), the headphones won’t work as well, and produce a crackling sound instead. It also won’t block varying sounds (like conversations) as well as constant ones.
Audio: I’ll admit; I’m not an audiophile, but I do what I can. Overall, pretty good quality, but my baseline is $20 headphones from Logitech and audio testers off of Youtube. Good bass response, down to ~8 Hz with NC on (~20 Hz NC off). Good quality to ~30 Hz. Upper limit of at least 20 kHz. Bass response is sharp too (Sonne – Rammstein). Good mids; very high-pitched sounds can be a little squeaky (Pie Jesu – Phantom of the Opera). The volume has to be moderate; if you blast music, the quality of the sound goes down quickly. That might be due to low-power audio jacks rather than the headphones. Audio sounds clear and sharp at reasonable levels, though.
Comfort: Really good. I am particularly sensitive to discomfort. To make matters worse, I have glasses, and most headphones are so uncomfortable I will be uncomfortable in 30 minutes, and remove them after 1 hr. Despite my glasses and sensitivity, these headphones are still comfortable. The leatherette headphones combined with really squishy material, are really comfortable. They didn’t feel like they were pressing too hard against my ears either. The part that rests on your head is also padded, making these headphones really comfortable to use. My only complaint is that, you have to mess around with the cups and length adjustment a little to get them to fit on your head.
Design: Pretty good overall. I like the removable cord, useful for when you want to use the headphones for NC alone. The carrying case looks like it’d withstand a little abuse in your carry-on luggage, and has a pouch for storing the accessories (airplane jack is a plus) and an additional battery. Aesthetically, these headphones are very elegant, and have a nice finish.
The cord is really too short for anything besides personal use (MP3 in pocket, laptop in front of you); not much else. I recommend an extender should you need it. Changing the battery requires removal of the ear pads. I’d imagine that the plastic tabs holding the ear pad on would eventually break. The NC button looks nice, but is placed awkwardly on the face of the ear cup, and doesn’t have enough grip to easily turn it on, but this is a relatively minor problem.
Pleased with quality for price I paid
During a recent flight a fellow passenger had a pair of over the ear headphones. In conversation I asked about them. She let me try them and energized the noise reduction. I was amazed at the difference in ambient sound level. When I was researching them I found I could not afford the brand she was using. The reviews led me to this JVC model and I deemed these could be an acceptable substitute. I have been using them for several weeks and am very pleased with the results. The case protects them well, is easy to use, light weight and has storage for an extra battery and a Koss VC 20 Volume Control. Reviewers commenented on the short cord for the headphones, so I bought the volume control to provide an extension cord and the luxury of not having to reach for my media player to control volume. So far I have used the volume control only a few times. The cord is not too short for me. I will fly soon with the headphones; to date I have used them on my commuter bus and ferry where I found they worked marvelously to reduced the engine and wheel noise. I have also used them on a couple of car trips where they masked the sound of the tires and wind quite effectively. Part of my commute involves an urban walk and I have found them to be useful there. I don’t use the noise cancelling feature when walking so it is good to have the ability to switch it on and off as desired. The sound quality is very good and the comfort is fine for me. The ear pieces swivel to align with headshapes and the headband is adjustable. I have recommended these to other people.