How well do these compare with the Sennheiser PXC-250?

well, to be honest, i've never used that model of sennheiser headphones. i did test a pair of sennheiser noise canceling headphones at CES in january. the sennheisers canceled noise very well, slightly better than the altec's, i thought. but the nice thing about the sennheiser's was that they are considerably smaller and lighter.

hey there
an absolutely fab review! detailed and useful!
have you tried the KOSS QZPro or the Maxell HP/NCII ?
i am about to get a set and was wondering how the AHP712i stand up against the above-mentioned. they will be mostly for use with my IPOD (plus i do air travel frequently) and was wondering what should be my choice. i dont want to spend much because eventually i want to purchase the Bose Quiteomfort (what's your view on them?). Till then, i would like a set below 100USD and effective at giving good sound and ANR. i am very tempted by your skullcrusher review but i dont think i should go for them over the other options (viz. AHP712i, KOss QZPro or Maxell HP/NCII). please revert, your expert guidance will be most useful.
cheers!

I would say for your needs (being a frequent air traveler) the 712s are a better choice over the skullcrushers. I haven't tested the maxell or the koss, but the bose work wonderfully on long airliner flights. if i had to choose a definite winner, the bose probably edge out the altecs...but not by much. depending on the price difference, i'd probably go with the altecs if they were significantly cheaper. on the other hand, if you just want to blare out every other sound and listen to loud music...get the skullcrushers. hope that helps!

brad.

Terrific review! Is there any real difference between the AHP712s and the newer AHP712i? I use an IPOD when traveling, is the sound acceptable using the AHP712i?

Hi everybody.I do not speek english very good.So sorry.I have this headphones and i have a question.When I turn on ANR I can hear sssssssssssssssssssss.Is it normal.It is not very loud but I can hear it as long as I turn up the sound.Thank you

Having owned and tried several types of ANR headphones, and being familiar with the technology, I can comment on your static/clipping issue when tapping the earcups. ANR operates by sampling the ambient noise with a small microphone exposed to the outside of the earcup. When you tap the earcup, it sends a shock through the system that is relatively massive compared to the vibrations of normal external sounds. The clipping or static you hear has to do with the system briefly "amping out" for lack of a better term. You've maxed out the input capacity of the mic, and the ANR circuitry will freak out a little bit as a result.

This may not be a problem on all ANR headphones, as each has a slightly different circuitry, and some may be more resistant to large-amplitude vibrations than others. I have tried on the Bose QuietComforts and they sound great, but I never tried tapping on the chassis, so I couldn't tell you if spending $300 cures the amp-out problem.

Hope this helps!