Goldring NS1000

03. Mar, 2010 0 Comments

We’ve heard a lot of people raving about these new noise cancelling headphones from the guys at Goldring, so we thought we’d better get a pair to try out and of course bring you a full review, here’s the lowdown:

The Good

For a start the NS1000’s come with their own case, which is a sturdy oval design with a matt black nylon finish with the usual smart “Goldring” badge on the front. Inside is a soft velvet interior with a snug support to hold the headphones securely and on the other side is a compartment that contains the supplied AAA Energizer battery, gold plated 6.35mm stereo adaptor, gold plated airline stereo adaptor and a gold plated 3.5mm cable.

The NS1000 itself is finished in black and are a classy, understated design. The headband is nicely padded with a “Goldring NS-1000″ emblem emblazened on it, looking further down and the headphone cups, that can be rotated through 90 degrees from the headband, have a “G” emblem finished in shiny silver on them. It is also possible to adjust both sides by movng them up notches, allowing you to find that perfect fit.

Placed on the left ear is a switch to turn on and off the noise cancelling with a small blue LED to indicate which state it’s in, also on the left is the attachment for the 3.5mm cable. While the right hand cup houses the battery, which is much better than having a seperate battery compartment such as those you find on cheap headphones. The whole ensemble including the case it comes in screams of quality.

We tested the sound quality of these headphones in a variety of different circumstances, just normally in the office, in the car and even on the tube and in short they where excellent, easily on par with the pricier Bose QC3’s.

Even without the noise cancelling feature turned on they managed to cut down background noise significantly thanks to the design of the cups that fit over the ear and not on it. But once it is activated it’s like slipping into another world where background noise is elegantly brushed aside, traffic noise, the rumble of a train and air conditioning units are instantly a forgotten memory.

Voices and mid-range frequencies are crisp and clear and music is dynamic and balanced having none of the down sides usually associated with noise cancelling. Bass and treble are both excellent whether the noise cancelling is activated or not.

Comfort is another factor that Goldring have got spot on, both cups are heavily padded and extremely comfortable to wear, as mentioned before they fit over the ear as opposed to on it and because of this there’s no discomfort when wearing for extended periods, we tested them for a good 7 hours straight and they were a joy.

The battery life is also fantastic, working for a good 40 hours before it needs changing, which is more than enough for anyone.

The Bad

In all honesty the Goldring NS1000’s were so good and so comfortable to wear that we have had a hard time trying to see any bad side to them, their overall look may not be to everyones tastes but their performance far outweighs this.

Conclusion

For the money you will not find a better pair of noise cancelling headphones, performance is easily on par with the Bose QC3’s. The represent outstanding value for money and we whole heartedly recommend them, even if you only have a passing interest in noise cancelling headphones then these babys should be at the top of the list.