Sennheiser is a brand that stands for high quality in sound, and durable design. I still have my old Sennheiser HD212 Pro connected to my Macbook as I write this. They have been with me since ten years now, and have endured quite a lot as I used them in my hobby as a noise musician. I have had lots and lots of other Sennheiser headphones during the last couple of years including the excellent PX 200.
When I started scouting for items to review I immediately spotted the Sennheiser PXC 450 in the US Apple Store. Not only because of being the most expensive headphones at $449.95 but also because they looked so sleek and classy.
The PXC 450 is made for travel, and is really sturdy without being clunky. It folds up easily in a variety of ways without any hassle. What sets it apart from most other headphones is the active noise cancellation filter called NoiseGard™. When active the NoiseGard™ cancels out a lot of the 
surrounding noise by sending out counter sound eliminating the unwanted noise. It is all very technical, and to me the most important thing is that it works. It claims to cancel out up to 90% of all unwanted noise. Sure it cancels a lot but it seems to be a lot depending on the characteristic of the incoming sound. The pitch or frequency determines the success of the NoiseGard™. Darker/lower frequencies are almost gone with the NoiseGard™ active whereas voices, clangs, bells and whistles are clearly audible. Still the NoiseGard™ feels like it eliminates enough to let me focus on the music or audio book I am listening to. The background noise of people typing, computer fans and ventilation is gone completely at work making it much easier to focus on the task at hand.
There is a talk trough function cunningly named TalkThrough. This lets you hear and interact with people around you without removing the headphones. So far most people I have tried this with have been annoyed by me not removing the headphones while talking to them. Those who have seen the power of TalkTrough on the other hand constantly try to talk to me. This is kind of hard since I am often listening to loud music, and of course they can’t talk to me at that time. The red led turns green when you turn on the TalkTrough giving the surrounding a heads up when you are available for some chit chat.
Most of the earphones and headphones I will test come equipped with an iPhone compatible microphone built in. The PXC 450 does not have any microphone, which means that you have to take them off when you need to talk on the iPhone. Furthermore this also means that you aren’t able to pause or change songs using the headphones. The PXC 450 comes with it’s own volume controls letting you adjust volume up and down. Keep in mind the word adjust as you can only make minor adjustments. The volume control in your iPhone/iPod is still the one controlling the majority of volume changes.
The electronics that constitute the NoiseGard™ is sensitive to edge/3G interference. This makes it less ideal for usage with the iPhone if you like to check your email, surf the Internet or actually use it as a phone. This makes the PXC 450 better for iPod users but still you might get interference from phones in the vicinity. For travel by plane it works well as phones should be turned off but if you travel by bus or train you will hear frequent unwanted digital noise in your headphones.
The Sennheiser PXC 450 is a set of impressive high tech headphones that certainly looks the part. With the price asked it should work better in unison with the iPhone and edge/3G users in the vicinity. If you frequently travel by plane or use an iPod this might be a product to consider. As an iPhone user I can’t recommend it as the interference shows up when checking online leaderboards in games, email and when using the Internet.
Even my one-year-old Rut highly appreciates the elegance of the PXC 450.
Image/Style/Design
The PXC 450 is a monster, and a really beautiful monster at that. It could have looked bulky, and probably should have given the size. Sennheiser has managed to make them look quite slender by making the headband and joints larger matching the cups in size. You can tell that these are high technology headphones from a distance. Up close the little red light, buttons and durable design confirms the first impression. The PXC 450 is like a luxury Mercedes that looks sleek and expensive yet the main attraction is the actual inside with a high level of quality and polish. I understand the choice of a business man in first class wearing the PXC 450 in many of the promotional material. It breathes luxury in an understated way. Not the kind a Cadillac Escalade conveys with everything over the top. Any person wearing the PXC 450 gets an air of class, even me.
The design is durable, and I think it can withstand much abuse even though I think those in the market for the PXC 450 are quite careful handling it. Still it is aimed at those travelling and it is important that you can feel confident that your headphones will hold up.
Portability/Comfort
Testing it in really windy conditions. Distant wind disappeas, and only the wind around the actual headphones is audible. Great noise isolation.
When worn the PXC 450 is surprisingly comfortable in spite of the large size. It stays in place even during exercise, both in the gym and out running. It gets warm and sticky quite quickly, but since the cups are big you can adjust them from time to time. This eases off the sticky warm feeling to a great extent.
Having the cord from only the left headphone is great as it eliminates the cord getting tangled, and in the way. The cord in itself is quite think making it even less prone to tangle. The angled connector swivels when connected to the iPhone/iPod which bothers me somewhat as it can swivel with the connector forward. This then makes the cord interfere with the screen.
The lack of an iPhone compatible microphone is evident when you get a call, and have to take off the large PXC 450. Not having a microphone is not affecting the rating directly as it is evident before you buy them. Rather the fact that it is hard to find a good place to put the PXC 450 when out walking if you get a call. At times you need to make notes while talking, and it is impossible having your hands full of headphones. For future updates to the travel line I would like to see a microphone built in as it would really enhance the comfort and portability of the headphones.
Sound quality
Sennheiser is known for producing headphones with great quality sound, and the PXC 450 is no exception. The sound is rich and deep with a nice presentation of sounds all over the sound spectra. The large headphones can create background hum due to the acoustic space in combination with a good fit against head and face. When you have them connected to a computer the NoiseGard™ removes most of the common computer hum. It is really evident if I turn the NoiseGard™ off. A good evidence of the NoiseGard™ working.
When you crank up the volume it is easy to immerse yourself fully in the music, and you might feel the urge to move and dance like a fool. Still I look good making my silly moves listening to some Jay-Z, Rammstein or Deadmau5.
Noise isolation
The PXC 450 is all about noise isolation, and it works really well. When walking with the NoiseGard™ system turned on it eliminates a lot but not all of the surrounding sound. It successfully muffles traffic, wind and other low frequency sounds to about 10% of their original volume. Higher frequency sounds such as bells, horns and utensils hitting eachother or plates are only lowered in volume but still clearly audible. I would say it is about 30% lower than without the NoiseGard™. Wind sounds that aren’t removed are those blowing at the actual headphones. I think that the PXC 450 is as close you will get to proper noise isolation with headphones. It is much easier to noise isolate by blocking the ear canal with earphones. If you want to keep your ear canals free from intrusion though, and want to have some room for your ears the PXC 450 is a good choice.
Pressing the talk through button lets you hear the surroundings really clearly. What I noticed though is that I talk much louder when trying to talk to someone. I guess that is part psychological, and with more usage you get used to having these massive headphones on and still be able to have a conversation.
Gaming
The PXC 450 is a mixed experience when it comes to gaming. The great sound quality and noise isolation are definite high points. You will be able to really immerse yourself into the game, and all kinds of gaming sounds are presented well. From bleeps to throbbing bassy sounds. The downside with the PXC 450 is mainly due to size and comfort. It is hard finding positions to play in, the sheer size makes it hard to lean against for example a bus window. In longer sessions the headphones will get warm, and feel sticky. I can also feel somewhat enclosed, bordering on claustrophobia.
Another aspect seriously letting down gaming is the fact that when using the edge or 3G network you will get interference in the headphones when the NoiseGard™ is set to on. This means that online games using edge or 3G will be seriously bothersome to play, even if you only access online leaderboards this interference is clearly audible. Of course you can turn NoiseGard™ off but then you won’t get the noise isolation, and basically you can save $400 by buying headphones without the high tech noise isolation.
Final rating
Promo picture showing the perfect use of the PXC 450, and certainly confirming my Mercedes comparison.
Sennheiser PXC 450 has a lot of great qualities especially when it comes to the sound quality and noise isolation. The design that convey quality, and a sense of class helps to in some little way to justify the hefty price tag. What is unforgivable, and turns great headphones into merely good is the problem with interference from edge and 3G when the NoiseGard™ is active. The electronics is too sensitive in this regards, and spoils the experience when gaming online games. It is also disturbing when you walk around listening to music among cell phones to get this digital noise. Whether this is an issue that other headphones with active noise isolation also have I intend to find out. As it stands now I am not too keen to recommend the Sennheiser PXC 450 as a good option for gaming if you intend to play games with online functionality.
If you are looking for a really good set of headphones for your air travel I can recommend it though. It is durable, light weight and packs some really good sound.
Sennheiser PXC 450 at Apple Store $449.95
Sennheiser PXC 450 at Sennheiser USA
