Jabra C820s Active Noise Cancellation Headphones Review: Very Impressed

For nearly two years now I have owned a secret weapon in my Treo accessory arsenal: the Bose Quiet Comfort 2 (QC2) Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones (see my review).  I absolutely and categorically will not travel anywhere without them as they help me to make a flight or train journey a more relaxed experience by almost completely shielding me from unwanted external noise (one of the principal causes of “travel stress” for me).

The audio quality, noise cancellation capabilities and wearing comfort of the QC2’s are all superb and pretty much the only mildly negative comment that I can make about them is the fact that priced at $299.00 they’re certainly not cheap (even though I’ll always happily pay a premium for this level of craftsmanship). 

At last now however, those Treonauts who have been put off by the QC2’s price will be particularly happy to learn about the newly released Jabra C820s Active Noise Cancellation Headphones which I have been _extremely_ impressed by and that come closest to matching the QC2’s audio, build and comfort of any of the noise cancellation headsets that I have tested to date – all at a fraction of the cost.  It would certainly be an understatement on my part to say that the Jabra C820s offer absolutely incredible value.

The fact is that it is almost immediately obvious that Jabra have blatantly copied Bose’s QC2 (pictured below left) as both the shape, build materials and many details of the C820s are almost identical – even down to the storage case and included accessories.

With a full “over-the-ear” design and soft leather covered cushioned earpieces (below right) as well as cushioned head band and “fold-flat” structure the Jabra C820s offers an extremely comfortable (essential for long haul flights and trips) and practical (I always want to minimize the clutter when I travel) noise cancelling solution.

As I mentioned earlier, even the carrying case of the C820s (below) is nearly identical (albeit slightly wider and thicker) to that offered by the QC2’s.  Additionally, the included accessories kit offers a long headphone cable (about 1.5m), a short cable (about 0.2m), aircraft adapter, large 6.5mm audio adapter and finally also a 2.5mm adapter [NOTE: for some reason this adapter does not work with the Treo and you’ll need to get the SPE Stereo Adapter instead].

The main differences between the Bose QC2’s and Jabra C820s for me are that the QC2’s still have an edge when it comes to overall sound quality (for example they offer a built-in Hi/Lo switch for better sound attenuation depending on whether you listen to music via your Treo or an aircraft’s audio port) as well as overall comfort.  Having said this, the Jabra C820s comes awfully close to matching all of the QC2’s features and also adds the capability to listen to music or movies when the noise cancellation is switched off which the QC2 doesn’t allow.

Overall, if you are a budget-conscious Treonaut who has been yearning to get the (nearly) same performance as the Bose Quiet Comfort 2 (QC2) Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones at a fraction of the cost then I have no doubt that you will be absolutely delighted by these new Jabra C820s Active Noise Cancellation Headphones which I very highly recommend and that offer stunning value.  If I didn’t already own the QC2’s I might actually have a hard time justifying my purchase…

Treonauts always cancel out the distracting noise…