Mutant MIG-NC102 Noise Canceling Headphones, Black

I bought these because they had a thicker headband and I am tired of breaking my headphones (I put them through a fair amount of abuse at work). After spending over $300 on Bose, then over $200 on Beats, then $40 twice on Sony, I decided to go with something a little more heavy duty, and these appeared to be it. They retail for about $70 (a little more than Sony), but I found them on Amazon for less than $40 including shipping, so I expected about the same quality as Sony. Well, I believe they're far superior to any of my previous headphones, including the outrageously expensive Bose QuietComfort 15 Noise-Cancelling headphones. Here's my review:Sound quality: 10/10The sound quality is the best I have ever heard with Bose being a close 2nd. Clean highs, rich lows, overall crisp sound. They have an especially amazing bass output with excellent thumps (you can feel the headphones vibrate a little when they're turned all the way up). The sound quality does degrade a little when the noise cancelling is turned off.Noise cancelling: 9/10The noise cancelling works very well. The headphones cup the hear and make good suction to the head, so they reduce outside noise pretty well even with the noise cancelling apparatus turned off - to the point that I can't hear someone talking to me right in front of me. They electronically reduce 18 dB, which is 6 dB less than 3M and Sperian Medium Safety Ear Muffs (which are intended for Industrial hearing protection).Battery life: 7/10Takes 2 AAA batteries, and lasts about 8 or 9 days (8 hours a day of steady use)Comfort: 8/10They're quite comfortable. They are adjustable for different sizes of craniums, and they have soft padding around the top of the headband and on the earmuffs. They could stand to be a little more snug, but that's my preference. However, if you wear them in a hot environment (like a forge), they can get a little uncomfortable because your ears can't breathe and they get sweaty. Not a big deal, but noteworthy.Other things to mention:The cord is permanent - that is, it cannot be detached. I would prefer it be detached because I keep my mp3 player in my shirt pocket and would rather have a shorter cord, but it's not a huge deal.They have a volume control knob on the right side, and the noise cancelling still works even if the volume is all the way down.They're tough. This is what compelled me to write the review... I work in a machine shop attached to a forge, and I commit a fair amount of abuse to my headphones (the reason I have gone through so many). I have had these for about 2 months, and had 2 major bumps that would most likely have destroyed any other pair of headphones - one, a 90 lbs lathe chuck slipped lose from a transport crane and landed square on them sitting on a tool box, right on the headband, about a 2 foot drop. No damage except for a little scrape. The other, they got pulled clean off my head when the (as I mentioned, too long) cord got caught on cabinet door handle; they hit the floor, but took no damage.All in all, I am highly impressed with these, and would happily recommend them to anybody. 5 stars.

When I bought these headphones, I considered the other reviews already posted - they stated, for the most part, that although the sound cancellation feature was not very good, the headphones were durable, well made, and all-around good value.Here's my take on them:Pros:- At ~$35 (I think the "non-sale" price is some sort of strange joke) you will not find cheaper noise canceling headphones anywhere. To be honest though, it is difficult for me to tell whether the noise cancellation is real, or just an illusion caused by the fact that whatever you're listening to gets much louder when you activate the feature. At best, the change is very, very slight.- Passable sound quality for the price.- Easily adjustable for a variety of adult human head sizes.- They look pretty darn cool.Cons:- Quality assurance may have messed up on this one - when it arrived, one ear played noticeably louder than the other. While I was able to adjust my computer settings to compensate, this means they couldn't really be used with my phone. Besides, it's a hassle to change the sound settings every time I unplug the headphones or want to use a different set.- The cord began to fray almost immediately where it connects to the headphones, exposing the 2nd layer of insulation. While this isn't a major problem yet, it definitely is going to be a limiting factor on the lifespan of the headphones. Another indication of poor quality.- My other gripe about the cord is its length - it's only around 2 feet from jack to earpiece. This sounds like more than it is - it's just barely long enough to let my phone sit in my pocket comfortably. Anybody taller is going to have trouble.- While other reviews talked about durability, one of the earpieces of mine snapped after falling, around a month after I bought them. I wasn't even being particularly careless - I stood up from my computer too quickly which, due to the short cord, was enough to pull them from my head to the table. I've glued the earpiece back on anyway (the wires stayed connected, somehow), but it's still frustrating. It has made them far stiffer and less comfortable.On the whole, I suggest that you refrain from purchasing this product - tempting though that cheap (and pathetic) sound cancellation may be, these headphones are a rip-off at $35, and an insult at $70.EDIT: The audio cord has snapped completely from the headphones! Waste of money.

I needed some sort of Noise Cancelling headphones and have used Sony's version for a few years. I preferred the "over the ears" version to cover my ears instead of the other versions out there and came across this one from Mutant. I got the item quick enough and did try it out already. It looks good, easy to use and once you get the battery compartment opened up to insert the 2 "AA" batteries in it, place the headphones on your head and turn this unit on....you can tell a nice difference immediately. It took awhile to get the battery compartment opened up....very small tab and very hard to get opened. Otherwise, a fine set of noise cancelling headphones these Mutants are. Music quality is quite good...as good as my regular headphones. The cord is very short, but I have a 12 foot extension cord for headphones already, so no biggie. You get this item and want to listen to music from your home music system, you will need a 6 to 12 foot headphone extension cord for sure. If you use it on your computer or MP3 player, this will work just fine. You can just use it as "noise cancelling" headphones as I do usually and keep the cord coiled up so it does not get in your way. I gave this item 4 stars only because of the rather short cord on this headphone. Still a nice item and I intend to use mine a lot and not a bad price for noise-cancelling headphones that does a pretty good job with music too.