Customer Rating:  
Summary: Why buy the more expensive models?
Comment: For a fraction of the cost than the expensive brands, these headphones deliver more than a fraction in performance. These headphones are a great value. They are comfortable, compact, stylish, and effective at canceling low-frequency noise. Even with the active noise canceling feature turned off, the padded ear-cup design attenuates ambient noise. The more expensive models may be a little better, but the huge price difference doesn't seem justifiable.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good for Travel
Comment: The main reason I like these headphones is that the cord winds up. I often use these simply to have peace and quiet on a long flight. In those cases, I don't want the cord dangling around.
This is my first pair of noise cancelling headphones so I can't speak to the quality of noise reduction but they seem to work pretty well.
On long flights (5+ hours), they can become uncomfortable. The headband isn't padded and the ear pads made my ears a bit hot after a while.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not perfect, but very good -- and the price is right
Comment: I bought these initially for a long plane flight, and have also used them in a somewhat noisy office. They won't eliminate all the noise of a plane, or even an office environment, but they reduce the drone quite noticeably.
On the plane I found it helped to wear them with the noise-cancelling function turned on even without listening to anything else. I watched DVDs with these on my flights, and it was easy to hear the dialog without cranking up the volume very high. You could still hear people speaking (like the stewardess offering you a drink), but the plane itself wasn't that loud. In my office it minimizes the drone of two computers, the air conditioning, and the microwave that's outside my cubicle (though I still clearly hear the microwave's beep at the end of the cycle).
I found them to be mostly comfortable, though my ears do sometimes get a bit warm. They cut off any air circulation to your ears, but then that helps stifle the background noise.
You do hear a small electronic whine when the noise-cancelling is turned on, but it's quieter than the background noise and is completely unnoticable if you're playing a DVD or music through the headphones. The sound quality is very good -- better than many regular headphones I've used in the same price range. I didn't notice any issues with the balance being different as some have complained about -- perhaps making sure the bar that goes over your head is centered helps.
The cord is very thin, which probably helps it wind into the headphone easier. I worry slightly that it might be less durable, but I haven't had any issues yet. I had no trouble rewinding it as some have had -- the owner's manual does warn that the headphones have to be in their "compact" position for the rewind function to work (it's hard to reach the button otherwise, and it's disabled even if you manage to reach it unless the headphones are folded up).
I've seen some headphones at 4X the price or more, that probably do a better job cancelling noise than these do, but these are great for those on a budget.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Just delightful - Great for travel
Comment: I wanted earphones for travel on an airplane - something with noise cancellation, full ear coverage, and reasonably priced. Bingo! These fold fairly small for full sized phones. My only complaint is the head strap could have used some padding.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Unimpressive
Comment: Someone gave me a cheap pair of noise canceling headphones from Radio Shack, and I figured I could do better, so I bought these JVC headphones. The retractable cord was a big selling point, and I do like that feature a lot, although it's very hard to find the switch when you're ready to retract the cord. I also wanted smaller earphones, and several people mentioned these were good for smaller ears (which mine are). I found these to be very uncomfortable. They're bigger and clunkier than the Radio Shack headset I have, and they're really tight. They really pin my outer ear down -- I couldn't find a way to adjust them that made them feel any better. The noise reduction feature does work pretty well. No complaints about that. I played a DVD on the plane and could hear even the softest dialogue just fine (with the volume turned all the way up). However, they're not significantly better than my cheaper headphones in that regard. Because of the discomfort and overall "clunkiness," I'm returning these headphones.
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