The pxc 450 belongs to Sennheisers active noise cancellation series. The PXC 450 is very well builf, and looks nearly identical to the PXC 35Q-which we reviewed some time ago. The head¬band has been given a slight boost in padding material, once again the ear cup mate¬rial is pure leather-making its pedigree evident. The steel headband makes for a really fit tight over ones head. Due to this sound iso¬lation is very good even with the noise cancellation (NC hereon) switched off. There's a neat talk through button that momentarily disables NC, (till you press the button again).

This allows one to hear outside sounds like someone calling you, without actually removing the headphones. The earcups can also be rotated and folded inward, to allow packing and transportation without risk of damage. The NC part of the headphone is powered by a single cell AAA battery, although the head¬phone functions normally without the battery since only the active NC circuitry requires juice.

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We tried these headphones with our test PC on an X-Fi Platinum soundcard, and on an x-Fi platinum soundcard, and on iPod Touch for a portable set up. To be quite honest the PXC 450 sounds nowhere near its best on a system without proper amplification. We tried them with a headphone amplifierand the difference was startling. Without amplification bass sounds rather boomy and unfocussed while the mids are completely recessed, although detailing is present.

The highs are absolutely muddled, and instrument separation is guess work at best. Amping these headphones does the trick-bass becomes clear, hard hitting and much more precise. The mids are more revealing, and the highs lose that muddy effect. Instrument detailing is accurate. However these aren't in the league of Sennheisers own HD600 and HD650, AKGs K701, or BeyerDynamics DT880, which are true audiophile cans.