If you’ve ever listened to your MP3 player in a plane, train or automobile, then you’ll know how aggravating it is to have your favourite music drowned out by background noise. Increasing the volume to ear-damaging levels is one option, but another is to invest in a pair of headphones that actually block out the extraneous noise in the first place.

Earphones, such as those made by Shure and Etymotic Research, are one solution as they squeeze inside the ear and reduce all outside noise, rather like a pair of earplugs. But if you don’t like the idea of earphones, then why not consider noise-cancelling headphones?

These use a microphone to listen to the noise around you, and then remove it from the sound coming through the headphones. They can’t, as you’d expect, remove every sound — you can still hear muffled chat, for example — but constant drones such as aircraft engines or even the hum of a tube train can be reduced.

As the PXC350s are a sealed-back design that sit over the ear, they actually cut out a lot of noise before you even turn on the noise-cancelling circuit. But when you do, the difference is impressive. The noisy air conditioning unit next to our desk was silenced totally, and wandering around London’s streets was an uncharacteristically peaceful experience.

And the sound quality? Well, the PXC350s might make you look like an off-duty Cyberman, but the reward is oodles of deep, tight bass. High frequencies can be a little over-enthusiastic at times, and consequently poor quality MP3s stand out a mile, but feed the headphones with suitably high-quality music and your ears will thank you.

Sennheiser’s cheaper noise-cancelling ‘phones sit on the ear, rather than round it, and due to their compactness, require a separate cigar-sized cylinder to house the two AAA batteries and the noise-cancelling microphone itself. The PXC350s are far larger and all the electronics are located neatly inside the headphones themselves. Simply pop one AAA battery into each earpiece and that’s it — the only thing hanging off the cable is a volume control.

Despite their size they’re light, comfy and neat hinges on the headphones themselves allow them to be folded flat and stowed away in the protective case. There’s no denying that they’re a pricey option, but you get a lot of headphone for your money and they’re a great sounding alternative for people who find the in-ear options too uncomfortable.

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