Sennheiser PXC 210 BT wireless headphones

The Sennheiser PXC 210 BT is a set of Bluetooth wireless headphones with integrated playback and volume buttons — allowing complete hands-free control of your music on your iPhone, iPod Touch or other Bluetooth-capable media player or phone.

The Sennheiser PXC 210 BT headphones look similar to the more expensive MM 450 Travel — they both use the same slightly bulging headband with foldable on-ear cups — but the PXC 210 BT lacks active noise-cancellation and an integrated microphone for taking hands-free telephone calls. As a result, however, the PXC 210 BT has a longer battery life of 12 hours. A wall charger is supplied but the headphones can also be charged via your computer's USB port.

We tested the Sennheiser PXC 210 BT headphones in a noisy office and while commuting, and found the fit to be almost spot-on. At 105g the headphones are almost twice as heavy as the MM 450 Travel, but this doesn't significantly affect comfort and we didn't notice any fatigue after continued listening. Sennheiser quotes the maximum range of the Bluetooth connection as being less than 10 metres but we found there were a few metres of leeway.

Sound quality is great when using Bluetooth: there's a pleasing amount of bass versatility from the small drivers, detailed mid-range and slightly recessed treble (which is nevertheless clean and clear). After loving the noise-cancellation of the MM 450 Travel we were slightly disappointed to find that the cheaper PXC 210 BT's passive noise-cancellation wasn't nearly as competent. If you work in a loud office or commute on a crowded train, you'll need to crank the volume to drown out external noise.

You pay a premium for the Sennheiser PXC 210 BT's Bluetooth connectivity and portability, but in our opinion they're worth the outline.

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