Phiaton PS210 BTNC headphones

(December 2012)

Looking for an inexpensive headphone that does pretty much everything, and does it all unexpectedly well? Phiaton's turned out a number of appealing models lately, but none of them have struck our fancy here at S+V as much as the PS 210 BTNC ($159), a wireless, Bluetooth-enabled, in-ear noise canceler. You can even use it wired if you like (and noise canceling still works in that mode), and it's got a mic/control pod for smartphone use. Got all that?

Now, more often than not pulling off even one of those tricks is all we can ask from a headphone, but Phiaton has really done a fine job of supplying immense bang for the buck. They've thought through every one of the PS 210 BTNC's features - not something that we can take for granted in today's wild and wooly headphone market.

An ideal traveling companion, the PS 210 BTNC offers not just great isolation performance, but it's noise cancelation effective frees you from airplane engine noise. And luckily, the headphones not only make the sounds of the outside world disappear, but give you natural, neutral-sounding reproduction of your favorite tracks.

The PS 210 BTNC impressed us so much with its performance and feature set, the fact that it's priced within the reach of most is just a bonus.

phiaton.com