Philips is bringing two new active noise cancelling headphones to Australia, with its and SHB8850NC models going on sale at Officeworks, Harvey Norman and JR Duty Free stores.
The headphones’ active noise cancelation is powered by its ActiveShield technology – like other ANC systems, this uses microphones on the device to listen for and cancel out ambient noise. Philips says it’s reducing 97% of ambient noise by about 20db.
Both sets feature 32nm neodymium drivers and soft ergonomic cushions and share a striking, bold design on the earpieces.
Of the two, the bigger and bolder is the SHB8850NC, and that’s where Philips seems to be putting most of its focus. The Bluetooth wireless headphones are on sale at Harvey Norman, Officeworks and JR Duty Free shops for $200.
The SHB8850NC uses 4 microphones to power its active noise cancelling and can connect to two Bluetooth devices simultaneously with NFC tap-to-pair. There’s some decent battery life on offer too, with Philips claiming 16 hours of noise-cancelling listening over Bluetooth, 28 hours on Bluetooth alone, and if you plug in a wire and use noise cancelling you’ll get 33 hours.
The little brother is the SHL3850NC, a compact, wired, foldable set that’s powered by AAA batteries. It claims 40 hours of noise cancelling playback, but you should note that it only uses two microphones for its noise cancelling system to its big brother’s four.
Philips had these headphones on display at CES, and they’ve brought them to market pretty quickly in Australia. It’s good to see active noise cancelling technology – previously the domain of pricier headphones – come down market at these prices.
Will you be checking out Philips’ new noise cancelling headphones? Tell us in the comments!
They are on sale at Harvey Norman? I’ve contacted them a few times and each time they don’t have those items showing on their system. Can you confirm?