PXC 300

Good Gear Guide

The Sennheiser PXC 300 is a foldable set of noise-cancelling headphones with excellent sound quality, but a lack of bass and a chunky battery pack detract from this otherwise excellent model.

Pros

  • Foldable, very comfortable, good quality sound, noise reduction

Cons

  • Ears become hot after prolonged use, lacks bass, battery pack bulky and heavy

Bottom Line

An excellent choice for those who like the noise reduction feature, but the bulky battery pack is a major disadvantage.

Would you buy this?

  • Price

    $ 399.95 (AUD)

The PXC 300 is an over-the-head design with adjustable aluminum side pieces and leather cups surrounding the earphones. We were impressed with the leather padding, which creates a better seal around the ears to minimise outside noise. However, we were disappointed to learn that after wearing the headphones for a little while, our ears became very warm, enough to make it a problem during hot weather.

Weighing 100g, we found the PXC 300 very comfortable for a vast variety of uses, including train and bus travel. The leather padding on the top of the over-the-ear frame sits well on the head and overall, the headphones feel light. They're also easily foldable. Simply turn over the earphones, and fold the side pieces and the PXC 300 can easily be slipped into the supplied protection case.

The PXC 300 can be used as an ordinary set of headphones, via a switch on the battery pack. This means the noise reduction feature can be turned off and on, depending on the situation and surroundings. However, the sound quality is decreased when the noise cancellation feature is deactivated and this isn't recommended--although it does conserve battery life.

During testing, the NoiseGard feature reduced the background noise to a bare minimum. This was especially evident on a crowded peak hour train and only very loud sounds could be heard. In terms of sound quality, the treble and mid-tones were significantly impressive, although we felt the unit lacked a little in terms of bass.

The most disappointing aspect of the PXC 300 is its battery pack, which is very large and heavy. Measuring 134mm in length and running on two standard AAA batteries, the pack feels too heavy to be attached to a shirt or belt and may be difficult to place in a bag unless it is very close to the headphones.

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