Noise Cancellation Travel H/P

Rating:
Summary: Beware, they work, but they are made from cheap materials...
Review: I bought a pair of these about two years ago. During use at work and flying they worked great. They even include an airplane headphone jack adapter.
However, the ear enclosures are hinged so they can flip and fold into the head band, and fit into an included vinyl bag for storage. After approximately one year of use the plastic hinges became brittle and broke off one of the ear enclosures making the headset useless.
Beware, you get what you pay for.

Rating:
Summary: Not the best NR phones on the market, but at this price WOW!
Review: OK, there are two questions to be answered here:

1) How good are these noise reduction headphones on an absolute scale?

and

2) How good are these noise reduction headphones for the price?

First question (1). I have a pair of these headphones. They are sold both as Targus PA605U headphones, and as Brookstone Noise Reduction Headphones. Same item, different labeling. I also have, or have used extensively, the following noise reduction headphones: Sennheiser PXC-250, Bose (both the $300 ones you find in stores or by mail order and the >$1000 ones they sell for airline pilots); Aiwa HP-CN6, Panasonic RP-HC100.

Noise reduction ability: Very good. These headphones do an excellent job of reducing the type of noise that noise reduction headphones can address, namely low frequency white noise. (For example, the rumble of the engines on an airplane, the sound of the engine in a lawn mower, etc.). I'd say the noise reducing ability of these headphones is competitive with any of the headphones I've tried except for the Pro (>$1000) Bose phones. It's much better than some (e.g. the Pansonic NR headphone).

Sound quality: OK, let's get something straight: There are no noise reduction headphones that sound as good as a good pair of non-noise-reduction headphones. NONE. No matter what brand or what you pay. If you don't need noise reduction, don't get noise reduction headphones, because you'll pay in sound quality to have them. That said, I'd rate the sound quality of these headphones as good minus. They're OK, and in an environment where you should be using them (e.g. a plane), they'll sound fine. The highs are somewhat attenuated, and I find the midrange to be a bit smeared. But again, for their intended purpose, they'll be fine. If you want the best sound quality in noise reduction headphones, get the Sennheiser PXC-250. But that'll cost you a lot more.

Comfort: Average. Not uncomfortable, but I can imagine people getting ear fatigue after a few hours with these on. For the most comfortable NR headphones, get either the Bose or the Sennheiser PXC-250.

Construction: Average. Plastic-y, but seem to hold up as long as some care is taken.

Other features: A BIG plus is that the battery compartment is attached to the headphones themselves. (Same as the Aiwa and Sony NR headphones). This means you don't have a secondary in-line battery pack to deal with. Also, these headphones have a "volume" control on the headphones. This does NOT control the volume of the music, but rather controls the amount of noise reduction applied. I'm not sure how often you'll want to turn the noise reduction DOWN, but it's a nice little feature.

Battery life: Excellent. A pair of batteries will seemingly last "forever" with these headphones. (Forever is actually around 40-100 hours).

Price: Well, at normal selling price, I would say there are other alternatives. At Amazon's current blow-out price, however, these are a NO BRAINER. You won't find a better deal on noise reduction headphones anywhere else in the world, not even the dreaded eB*y!

Summing up: At the price, you'd be a fool to not get these headphones. They are capable, and certainly competitive with all the best noise reduction consumer headphones available. If having the best quality is your single criterion, I suggest the Sennheiser PXC-250 headphones or the Bose NR headphones.

Rating:
Summary: Almost comparable to Bose, but much cheaper!
Review: When I decided to purchase these headphones (I paid 6x as much in a store last year), I was choosing between the Bose QuietComfort 2 and various Sony and Sennheiser models.
***Here's what I like about the Targus headphones:
- the price, of course! WAY cheaper than the next model up.
- the folding and storage. These get SMALL! I easily fit them in my computer bag for flying. They're really easy to fit into the supplied bag.
- I like that when you turn them on, the noise reduction is instant. The Bose reduction "faded in" when you turned them on, and for some reason I didn't like that.
- Makes for some great amplified headphones! I plugged the included cable into my Mp3 player and they reduced noise and provided really nice, full, loud, music.
- Lasts a really long time on 2 AA batteries. I used NiMh batteries with no problem.
***What could be improved
- I normally used these on full volume (for flying) and during quiet times I could notice an ever-so-slight hiss from the noise reduction. Turning down the knob about 20% elimiated this, but also reduced the reduction capabilities.
- I would wear these flying so I could sleep, and wouldn't notice when we were landing, until the noise of the cabin rattling upon landing really seemed to "overload" the circuitry in the headphones and cause "peaks" - loud clips. Same happens when riding in a car if a window is down (seems sudden air pressure fluctuations have an effect) or if it's loud and rattling like in a taxi.
Nevertheless, great headphones. I could have bought the Bose, but after trying out the Bose for 30 days and these for 2 days, I was sold because of the great value.