Noise-cancelling headphones head-to-head test

Review Now we're in the season of the long winter break, with its long train, car and plane journeys, we thought a comparison of some noise-cancelling headphones from Denon and Sennheiser would be timely.

Sennheiser's PXC-350: NoiseGuard technology well established

Noise-cancelling technology has come a long way and despite a still considerable price premium, both these products deliver some real benefits to the regular traveler. Denon's new to the market, launching its AH-NC732 set just recently. Sennheiser's an old hand, so we put the new guy up against the well established PXC-350 set.

Accessory-wise both units are on a largely level playing field. Sennheiser's PXC-350 pair has a standard 3.5mm stereo jack and comes with adaptors for 6.3mm stereo and double-mono aircraft sockets. It also has an independent volume control.

The Denon AHNC732 pair also comes with said adaptors but has no independent volume control. However, it does have a choice of long or short cable connections - 0.7m and 1.5m.

Denon's AH-NC732: new kid on the noise-cancellation block

Which one of these equipment sets suits the most is going to come down to your personal needs and priorities. An extra bit of oomph in the volume stakes from Sennheiser, or more flexibility in cable choice from Denon? We give the Denon set the slight edge here as, if we're talking about true travel cans, the option not to have loads of spaghetti stuffed into you pocket, particular when the conditions are warm and cavernous jacket pockets are perhaps not handy, was a genuinely useful one.