Philips SHN2500 Consumer Headphones

*This review is based on initial impressions. Long term review will be added later.*

I was looking for a good pair of noise cancelling headphones that wouldn't leave me in the poorhouse. I'd used a pair of Bose at the Apple store, but they were as expensive as my iPod. Then I went to a Sony store. Used a $50 pair of noise cancelling headphones. They were pretty good but still let a lot of noise leak in. Plus they had a headband and that was a no no unless I wanted messed up hair.

So I turned to Philips. I had tried their SBC-HN060 headphones a year ago, but they were horrible. They only lowered the noise a bit and they slipped out if I moved even the slightest bit. Their SBC-HN050s where very uncomfortable and skipped while in a car or train; not desirable. So I was a bit hesitant to get these Philips, given my past experiences. But I'm glad I did.

They are the in-ear champs, noise cancelling or not, under $100. Seriously, they are that good. The sound quality is very balanced; bass extends very low and doesn't sound boomy like many Sonys, despite the seemingly mediocre 40-20,000 Hz range on the box. But they sound like they go much lower than that. And the treble, extends very high, yet doesn't overpower the sound. Unlike the Sony NC11As, which fry your ears with their extremely shrill treble (no kidding). The noise cancellation isn't stellar, but it does a good job with voices, air conditioners in the background. As long as the sound isn't right next to you, it'll cancel it well; provided you are listening to music. It doesn't work as well with no music, but it's still very good.The rubber in-ear inserts are very comfortable. And considering I only paid $27 for them, I'm very pleased.

My only gripes; the box is really hard to open, and if you walk around with them on, the noise cancelling box hits you in the stomach. Not cool if you have to run with them.