Noise cancelling headphones test

Lounge

Katie Melua - The Closest Thing To Crazy
We thought we'd get into a schmoozing mood with the sultry tones of the utterly gorgeous Katie Melua. The Sonys produced a very intimate smoking lounge kind of feel - very jazz club. The violin was rich and the beat-defining rimshot was appropriately stark. However, we found that the voice felt a little echoey in places and the intricate guitar picking got a little lost.

The A9900s were OK here, although the vocals were far too boomy and there was a general lack of clarity across the track, with the guitar almost completely inaudible.

The PXC 250s did an absolutely insanely good job on this track, to the point where we were entranced by the vocals and utterly immersed in the magnificent sense of space created by this set of headphones. The violin and guitar were balanced perfectly and there was a far greater dynamic range, with individual accents suddenly noticeable. Sublime.

Dance

Rob Dougan: Clubbed To Death
Rob is surely best known for his work on the Matrix films, with several of his pumping-rhythm tracks accompanying the action on screen. Clubbed to Death features a string introduction, with the introduction of a kicking bassline to really test the bass response of these headphones.

On the NC6 front, the string intro sounded a little bit ropey, but the cans soon redeemed themselves with a fantastic bassnote that set off the rest of the track. However, the actual drum kick sounded a bit muted and the cymbals were fairly horrendous. A nice mix overall, but a little disappointing.

The Sennheisers had a nice clear introduction. The kick of the bass drum is actually pretty strong and clear, but the overall background note was far less immersive than the Sonys. However, we were able to pick out more detail in the track than we even knew was there previously. The overall sound we felt was less intense and more academic.

Producing the best bass kick out of any of the headphones, the A9900s proved themselves capable of carrying a hardcore beat. However, the rest of the track sounded muddled together, rather like listening to the track from another room. Since the track is really carried on the beat though, this wasn't so bad at all.