With so many headphone options available in the market, choosing one that fits your lifestyle has become tricky. We probably make our decision based on sound quality, looks, features, and value for money...or any combination of these criterion. We’re here with a pair of Harman / Kardon noise canceling headphones to help you decide whether or not this headphone fits your lifestyle.
Design and Features
You can’t escape the rectangular design of the earpiece. And despite the unconventional departure from a round shape, the rectangle actually worked well for me. It can even be argued that the rectangular shape actually cover the ears better. That’s because the shape follows the length of an ear more naturally and trims off the excess curve that could risk a poor sound seal depending on the shape of your head.
The ear pads looks like it’s made of memory foam and covered with really soft leatherette that follows the memory foams creases. The leatherette might peel off over a long time and it doesn’t seem like a replacement ear pad is available. The softness of the ear pads ensure a good sound seal which also means that our ears can get warm...specially in the summer heat.
The headband feels industrial grade as it is made from a sturdy steel that’s thin enough to flex. The sandblasted finish of the steel parts on the headphone is also a nice touch...and oddly enough, it matches a black iPhone really well.
Another striking design choice is the departure by Harman / Kardon from incorporating an adjustable headband. Instead, they’ve included an extra headband for those with a large noggin. The headbands are labelled S and L for small and large and the small headband is the one that’s attached by default. I think this approach on headbands make it feel personalized, although it can make sharing a little tricky.
Switching headbands looked intimidating at first, but I actually managed to figure it out without looking at the instructions. Just make sure to unlatch the inner headband first before removing the earpieces from the headband. The individual earpiece can be removed by turning it around 360 degrees before pulling them apart from the headband. Putting on the earpieces on the new headband is simpler because it works just like a plug...just push it in. The left and right pegs on the headband also has a different shape to ensure that we don't mix the left and right earpieces. Returning the inner headband is as challenging as removing it.
In this process of changing the headband, it’s rather disconcerting to find that the earpieces are basically connected by a single wire...though this is typical, the wires feel extra vulnerable because a detached earpiece can easily slip and dangle around and tug the wire if you’re not careful. And if you’re feeling adventurous, while the steel headband is detached, try lifting everything by holding on to the inner headband and feel the earpieces dangle!
The left earpiece is where we can find all of the critical controls. We have a 2.5mm jack for the cables and the noise canceling toggle switch that lights up if it’s on. The 2.5mm jack works as our audio input and charging port for the built-in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Yup, another unconventional choice by Harman / Kardon to use a 2.5mm jack for the charging cable instead of the more commonly used micro USB port. Managing cables can be a headache, adding another cable to keep in mind can be a pain...I’d hate to lose it because it means we can’t use noise cancelling once the batteries run out of juice. Speaking of batteries, charging it will light up an led beside the 2.5mm port. A red color indicates charging. You’ll also notice that the cables are round...not those anti-tangle flat ones. Maybe the folks at Harman / Kardon didn’t think that people would have problems with tangled cables as long as we stored it in the travel case.
Aside from the extra headband, charging cable, and the swanky travel case, the package also comes with another cable - the audio cable with a remote and mic, and an airplane adapter. The remote and mic work really well on Apple iOS devices. Very nice finish, no rough edges with a nice tactile feel on the buttons. The buttons all work as they should and the mic receives very well. For Android users aspiring to use these Harman / Kardon NC headphones, the remote function is basically a hit or miss deal...so it might be best to test it on your Android device before making the purchase.
The noise canceling toggle lights up while it is on, and it works well as an indicator even from afar. I forgot to turn it off once and noticed the light on the toggle a couple of meters away and that prompted me to turn it off to conserve battery juice. Speaking of batteries, Harman / Kardon claims that the batteries last up to 40 hours of play time...although I haven’t used noise cancelling for that long, I still haven’t had the need to charge the batteries in the week that I was using it. And as an added bonus, the headphones will work even if the battery for noise canceling dies out...unlike other designs that I’ve heard about. When the batteries die, just switch off the noise canceling toggle and use the headphones like normal.
The headband feels industrial grade as it is made from a sturdy steel that’s thin enough to flex. The sandblasted finish of the steel parts on the headphone is also a nice touch...and oddly enough, it matches a black iPhone really well.
Another striking design choice is the departure by Harman / Kardon from incorporating an adjustable headband. Instead, they’ve included an extra headband for those with a large noggin. The headbands are labelled S and L for small and large and the small headband is the one that’s attached by default. I think this approach on headbands make it feel personalized, although it can make sharing a little tricky.
The left earpiece is where we can find all of the critical controls. We have a 2.5mm jack for the cables and the noise canceling toggle switch that lights up if it’s on. The 2.5mm jack works as our audio input and charging port for the built-in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Yup, another unconventional choice by Harman / Kardon to use a 2.5mm jack for the charging cable instead of the more commonly used micro USB port. Managing cables can be a headache, adding another cable to keep in mind can be a pain...I’d hate to lose it because it means we can’t use noise cancelling once the batteries run out of juice. Speaking of batteries, charging it will light up an led beside the 2.5mm port. A red color indicates charging. You’ll also notice that the cables are round...not those anti-tangle flat ones. Maybe the folks at Harman / Kardon didn’t think that people would have problems with tangled cables as long as we stored it in the travel case.
Aside from the extra headband, charging cable, and the swanky travel case, the package also comes with another cable - the audio cable with a remote and mic, and an airplane adapter. The remote and mic work really well on Apple iOS devices. Very nice finish, no rough edges with a nice tactile feel on the buttons. The buttons all work as they should and the mic receives very well. For Android users aspiring to use these Harman / Kardon NC headphones, the remote function is basically a hit or miss deal...so it might be best to test it on your Android device before making the purchase.
Noise Canceling
I’ve mentioned that these headphones have noise cancelling, but haven’t described how it performs and how effective it is, so here it goes. Harman / Kardon implements a proprietary noise canceling technology on these headphones and is actually the same technology implemented on some luxury cars. Noise cancelling is activated by toggling the switch that you can find at the bottom of the left ear piece. If you’re wearing the Harman / Kardon NC upon activation, your audio feed will drop out for half a second and as your audio feed resumes, you’ll get that vacuum like sensation a little bit akin to the one you get while ascending or descending on a plane. This didn’t bother me much but might be uncomfortable for others...if you don’t like the sensation, just switch noise cancelling on while the headphones are off your head.The noise canceling toggle lights up while it is on, and it works well as an indicator even from afar. I forgot to turn it off once and noticed the light on the toggle a couple of meters away and that prompted me to turn it off to conserve battery juice. Speaking of batteries, Harman / Kardon claims that the batteries last up to 40 hours of play time...although I haven’t used noise cancelling for that long, I still haven’t had the need to charge the batteries in the week that I was using it. And as an added bonus, the headphones will work even if the battery for noise canceling dies out...unlike other designs that I’ve heard about. When the batteries die, just switch off the noise canceling toggle and use the headphones like normal.
I can’t say that my experience with noise cancelling is extensive, but this one works well to significantly reduce or cancel out certain ambient noises...for instance, the humming of the air conditioner disappeared after activating noise canceling. It’s also an interesting experience to see my fingers tapping the table and not hear the tapping sound. For those who aren't familiar with how noise canceling works, the headphones emits a certain frequency that negates the sounds emitted by things around us. So while we don't have anything playing and have noise canceling on, you can actually sense a humming sensation that's not clearly audible...you can just feel it. Needless to say, I find Harman / Kardon’s noise canceling technology very effective. Moreover, it seems like the sound quality becomes deeper and richer while noise canceling is turned on because it really brings the audio to the forefront.
Sound Quality
I am not an audiophile but I can say that this headphones is definitely one of the better headphones out in the market today as far as sound quality is concern. Generally these headphones reproduce a balanced and close to accurate sound reproduction. The sound profile for the Harman / Kardon also has two sides to it because the sound quality changes while noise canceling is on.Without noise canceling, the headphones deliver a solid and generally balanced and fairly accurate sound profile with a slight leaning for bass. While in this 'mode', the Harman / Kardon NC headphones delivered good bass output heavy tracks like Holy Grail. For a more balanced track like Treasure, these headphones didn't skip a beat and reproduced crisp sounds from the drums and cymbals. The twang of the guitar sounded just as it should and Bruno Mars' voice was clear and strong. Another solid track that you can try listening to is System of a Down's Aerials...the strings at the beginning sound great on these headphones.
While noise canceling is on, every song sort of gets a clarity boost. This gives an impression of getting a bass boost...a bit of a downer for sound accuracy but the highs and mids are not muddied by this bass boost effect. This is great if you love bass. I know I enjoyed a richer experience while listening to tracks like Losing You (Cyril Hahn Remix) by Solange or Latch by Disclosure.
Comparison
I’ll be comparing bass performance to my own pair of Sony MDR-XB400. My extra bass Sony headphones beats the Harman / Kardon NC handily. However, the bass reproduction on the Harman / Kardon NC do not muddy the other sound range unlike my Sony pair.For balance and accuracy, I’m using my memory of the Sennheiser On-ear Momentum for comparison. Both deliver a great balanced sound but the Sennheiser pair seems to have a stronger bass profile. Stronger just by a little bit.
As far as design and build quality is concerned, based on the headphones that I’ve previously reviewed the only pair that can really match the Harman / Kardon NC is also the Sennheiser On-ear Momentum. Both give a really sturdy and luxurious vibe but both of them approach luxury differently. So it really boils down to our individual preferences.
Unfortunately, this is my first chance to try a noise canceling headphone that works. So I can’t really compare it with any other headphone with a working noise canceling feature. The Harman / Kardon NC will serve an excellent baseline for noise canceling comparison moving forward.
No comments:
Post a Comment