jo.com's Full Review: Maxell NB-900 Consumer Headphones
My husband bought me the Maxell Digital Stereo Neckband Headphones NB 900. He heard me say that I would like a neckband headphone instead of the Sony headphones that came with my Sony D-FJ210 Personal CD Player
About the headphones:
I had never used neckband headphones before and thought they would be more comfortable and less prominent than regular one. If you’ve never owned any, they are designed with a curve close to the earcup, which sits around your ear. In a way I could compare them to the type of glasses that have the piece that curves around your ear to keep them on.
These are very attractive. The band is black but the earpieces or ear cups as they are called are a gold color. The earcups are actually a little larger than my Sony’s. The are about 1/4 of an inch wider at 2 1/4". Perhaps earbuds will be the way to go for me next time. I know these are inexpensive. Some gasp at the use of “cheap” headphones but they work for me. I love music but as long as I can hear it I’m happy.
The Maxell happen to sound really good. The quality is a little better than the Sony’s that came with my player. The sound is a litter crisper or sharper perhaps is a better way of putting it.
They advertise themselves as having swivel earcups. I got them in January and have used them many, many times. I don’t want to break the earcup off but swivel is a bit of an overstatement. The earcups move some portion of a micromillimeter. If anyone owns these and yours swivel more, please let me know. Obviously this feature is so the earcup sits on your ear in a place that is both comfortable and where you can hear the player the best.
They are lightweight coming in at 1.9 pounds. They feel about the same weight as my Sony’s.
What I like about them and don’t:
I like the fact that they have a single entry cord. What that means is that there is what’s called a gold-plated mini L-plug that fits into my CD player. There is a 1/4" adapter that fits over that to accommodate different kinds of players. There are pros and cons to this. The pro is that I don’t have an extra cord. My Sony has a cord into which the larger adapter fits. I guess the larger adapter could come loose or it could get caught and I’d be plugging and unplugging it into the cord that houses the small plug. The con is that this adapter is so easy to loose. It is a tiny little piece that I screw on to the small piece when I’m not using it but now that I’m reviewing these I realize I should just take it off and put it somewhere safe since I never use it.
There are pros and cons to the volume control unit as well. On my Maxell it is small, which is nice. It has a mono/stereo switch and a volume control button which slides. This is very easy to use. Rather than fiddling with my CD player I can adjust the volume right on the cord. The Sony’s though has more features. I can control the radio band and preset channels. Although it is bigger and heavier it has a clip so you can clip it to your clothes to keep it out of the way.
There are pros and cons to the comfort as well. I like the Maxell’s behind the neck headphones because they don’t slip so they are great if I’m walking fast on the treadmill for example. They feel lighter on my head than the Sony headphones. I like the fact the cord is on the left side of the unit coming off the left earcup rather than hanging down in front of my neck which is so annoying. Nothing is really comfortable though. After 20 minutes I feel the Maxell just as I feel any other type of headphone and after an hour I have to take it off because the feeling behind my ear starts giving me a headache.
They feel really solid. The earcup would certainly break if I swiveled it too much but it feels secure. I tote them around quite recklessly and there's not a scratch or dent in them. The neckband is quite flexible so it seems less likely to break than regular headphones.
Specs for those interested (from the package):
Type: Dynamic, Open Air
Driver: 40mm
Impedance: 32 ohmn (at 1K Hz)
Magnet: Neodymium
Film: 0.016mm
Coil: 13.6mm
Sensitivity: 100dB _ 3dB
Rated Input: 40 mW
Maximum Input 100 MW
Frequency Response 14-20,000 Hz
Plug: Gold Plated 35mm L-plug 16Hz㪬kHz
Maxell warrants this product to be free from all defects for the lifetime of the product.
Jo’s Final Thoughts:
The sound coming from my Maxell headphones is excellent for the price range. ($15.00) There are pros and cons and I have no idea how to rate this. There is no reason not to recommend them if you are looking for inexpensive headphones. If I did not own them and someone were to show them to me out of the package next to the Sony headphones I wouldn’t bother buying them and would stick with the Sony. That doesn’t mean I would buy the Sony over the Maxwell. I just wouldn’t go out of my way to buy them if I already owned the Sony.
I’ll take the conservative way out and rate these average and recommend them. There are enough pros to do so and you can’t beat the price.
Feel free to leave me a question or comment. This isn’t my area of expertise (nor is anything but certainly not electronics) so if I’ve left out anything please tell me and I’ll try to accommodate you.
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