At the time of the review, the Cleer NC noise canceling headphones were for sale on Amazon's website. Here is a link for information and purchase:
http://www.amazon.com/Cleer-NC-Noise-Cancelling-Headphone/dp/B010SR24BW?ie=UTF8&keywords=cleer%20nc&qid=1464664814&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1
Introduction
Anyone who travels understands the convenience of a good pair of noise canceling headphones. There’s nothing worse than the sound of crying babies, loud engines and chatterboxes during a commute. Whether it’s on a bus, train or airplane, being able block out a majority of unwanted ambient noises can be a tremendous convenience.
There are several options for noise canceling headphones. Sony, Audio Technica and a few other brands offer some affordable options, but can’t cancel noise and offer a level of fidelity that Bose has been able to accomplish for the last few years with their QC series headphones. I’ll be honest, a pair of QC25 has been on my radar for some time.
Although Bose has essentially cornered the market, they aren’t what I would consider to be a perfect product. They have the stigma of being “No lows Bose” because although they have respectable bass, for the most part they don’t offer incredible soundstage depth and low end extension. Newer models have improved on this, but they still don’t have the deep visceral bass some people would hope for. Also, Bose’s QC series of headphones offer decent build quality, but they are not as sturdy as I would hope for in a commuting headphone. Sit on a pair of QC series headphones and they’re probably going to break.
When Tom at Cleer Audio was showing me a pair of their noise canceling cans called the NC, I had some initial impressions that made me wonder if these could rival or best the Bose flagship. Tom was kind enough to loan me a pair, giving me an opportunity to put them to the test. Let’s see what the NC is capable of, and go over them with a comprehensive review.
Disclaimer
I was given an opportunity to review the NC noise canceling headphones in exchange for my honest opinion and review. I am in no way affiliated with Cleer. I would like to take this time to personally thank Tom for the opportunity.
My Background
I AM NOT a numbers and graphs audiophile or sound engineer. Personal audio enthusiast? Absolutely! Headphone junkie? Possibly…
There’s something about quality DAPs, DACs, Amplifiers and Earphones that intrigues me. I want to hear any earphone that looks promising, in hopes that I can share my impressions with enthusiasts and help them find the audio product they’re looking for. My Head-Fi profile has a list of audio products ranked from favorite to least favorite. For me, this hobby is more about getting great price to performance ratio from a product, and having a variety of different gear to mix and match. With personal audio gear, we tend to pay a lot of money for minor upgrades. One thing I’ve learned over the last few years is that just because a headphone has a higher price tag, it doesn’t mean that it has superior build and sound quality.
I’m always looking for great audio at a great price. I’m after headphones and IEMs that give me the “WOW” factor. I can appreciate different builds and sound signatures as long as they are solidly built, with ergonomics and sound that is pleasing to my ears. It’s my pleasure to share my experiences with audio products and make recommendations based on gear I have owned and used.
REVIEW
The Cleer NC comes in a white box with red and black accents and lettering. A nice side view picture of the Cleer NC can be seen on the front, along with brief description of the product. A logo noting their CES innovation award is also displayed.
The back of the box has another picture of the product, along with notable features in three different languages. The sides of the box lists the NC’s accessories and some other key features.
Specifications and Accessories
Specifications
Frequency Response: 20 Hz to 20,000Hz
Sensitivity: 110dB
Impedance: 16Ohm
Speaker Diver: 40mm
Magnet Type: Neodymium
Distortion: <1%THD IEC3181mW at1KHz
Audio Connection: 3.5mm stereo jack socket
Music Playback Time: 22 hours
Battery Charging Time: 3 hours
Battery Type: Lithium ion polymer
Accessories
1X Hard carrying case
1X USB charging cable
1X Flight adaptor
2X Audio cables with inline remote (1.2m)
1X USB charger
The NC case makes them a great travel companion. The inner net allows users to store cables, chargers and other goodies. The headphones fold so a DAP or smartphone can be stored in the case as well.
Overall Build
Every single component of the NC is made of premium materials. If it's not coated in padded in high quality synthetic leather, it's polished metal. I thoroughly inspected to build of every part of these things and there's no corners cut. The only plastic used in their build is in areas where it is a benefit over using metal parts. It's exquisitely built from top to bottom. Weighing in at around four hundred grams it isn’t light, but this is due to the fact that Cleer has gone the extra mile with every single part used in the production process.
The headband is constructed of bendable metal and wrapped in a padded synthetic protein material. The band is very flexible and strong. Each side of the headband ends in a polished metal clasp with the Cleer logo, and desgnated left and right markings on the inside of each of these pieces.
The slides are made of the same polished aluminum. They slide in and out of the headband smoothly. There are markings on the inside to measure how far out each slide is extended.
The slide and arms are connected by two cleverly placed hinges that allow the NC cups to fold up for storage and transport, and also articulates to fit the user’s ear.
NC’s arms are made of the same polished metal and connect to the cups via another hinge that allows the cups to oscillate up and down a bit, making it easy to get an ideal fit.
A flat round cup is used, and displays the Cleer “C” on each side. A switch is located on the bottom of the right cup. Flip this switch and the letters will light up with a red tint. Even more importantly, the back and bottom side of the right cup displays a battery indicator, showing you how much charge is left in the headphone’s battery. NC’s battery is used when you are in PASC mode (more on this in a bit), Noise cancellation mode, or to illuminate the letters on the side of the cups and battery indicator. While many feel the LED lights is a cosmetic feature that isn’t necessary, I think the luxury to flip a switch to see where your battery at is an awesome concept. Simply put, you aren’t wasting battery to see how much juice is left. The NC earpads are removable. They are attached to a plastic plate that twists off. Doing so reveals the Driver overlay, and a microphone used in its noise canceling technology.
Cable, Cable Jacks, Strain Reliefs
Two removable 3.5 mm cables come with the NC. Both are equipped with microphones and remotes. One is a three button variant that works with Iphone. The other is a single button remote that works with Android. They are a flat noodle style cable that is about four feet in length. Their microphone quality is pretty standard. When talking to friends and family, most of them reported my voice coming through at a four on a scale from one to five.
Functionality
Depending on how much charge is remaining, the NC needs about three to four hours to charge from an empty/almost empty battery. Their running time based off of a fully charged battery comes in a whopping twenty-two hours. I was able to use the NC with the noise canceling feature for three to four days with regular use before needing to charge them back up. Even still, with a depleted battery the NC can be used for music playback and still block a considerable amount of noise.
PASC
Before we begin, let me quote the Cleer website. Their definition trumps anything I could say about them:
“
PASC (Psycho-Acoustic Spectral Compensation)”
“Human ears hear less bass frequency at low sound levels than at high sound levels. Bottom-end bass frequencies usually get lost when the volume is set at a low level.
To counteract this deficit, PASC™ (Psycho-Acoustic Spectral Compensation) sound technology inside the digital signal processor can boost the bass levels by emphasizing the bass content of the music. So Cleer headphones recall the true bass sound at low and high volume levels enabling you to enjoy consistent sound, regardless of the volume setting.”
My Take
To my ears, this is not too much more than a bass boost feature that is built into the headphones. Although it doesn’t make a sloppy mess of things, lower tones do flirt with being boomy in this setting. If I had to choose between listening to the NC in the PASC mode or in their stock tuning, I would probably save my battery for when noise cancellation is needed and listen with no low end boost. I will say however, there is an added benefit from PASC when listening at lower volumes.
Noise Cancellation
Again, let me quote Cleer with their explanation before I add any comment on this:
“Hybrid Noise-cancelling Solution”
“Silence is essential to a great music experience. However, when on the move background noise leads to a poor music reproduction, in particular in the bass range.
Having reasonable isolation of the environmental noise is essential to achieving the best user experience, both when listening to music and making a telephone call. In these circumstances, active noise control is designed to circumvent this issue by actively attenuating the external noise at a low frequency.
Cleer's Hybrid noise cancellation technology is a total solution featuring a noise-cancellation processor. With four microphones, the Hybrid noise cancellation system captures unwanted noise and then produces an inverted phase of identical sound which cancels them both out. Together with the full circumaural design employing superior passive noise isolation to block out almost 99.5% of environment noise, the Cleer NC creates the best listening experience around.”
My Take
The noise cancellation on the Cleer NC is awesome. I can turn these on with some music playing, and in order to hear myself I have to literally be yelling to so much as faintly hear my own voice. They don’t block out SOME noise like other noise cancelling headphones, they block out almost ALL ambient noise. The NC noise cancelling feature isn’t a gimmick like many others, it’s a useful tool that takes you out of the environment you’re in and submerges you in whatever music you’re listening to.
NOTE: Something I have to mention about this pair of headphones is the pressure sensitivity. The driver doesn’t seem to be vented and has occasional driver flex when there are air pressure changes inside the cups. When air pressure is applied to the driver by pressing on the cups, there is a slight popping/clicking noise and the sound will be somewhat muted until the pressure evens out inside the cup. Avoid putting pressure on the cups, and this can be avoided.
Comfort
Cleer has manufactured a solidly built and somewhat heavy pair of headphones. I have a fairly average sized head, and I’ll say that for me these have a considerable amount of clamping force, but not to the point that it would be a dealbreaker. Their squeeze might be an issue for someone with a watermelon size cranium. NC’s synthetic protein pads and headband have nice cushioning. They aren’t the hottest things I’ve ever worn, but they will get warm. I was able to wear them for long listening sessions without things overheating. Still, they will make you sweat a little bit wherever they are in contact with your skin for an extended period of time.
The NC pads have a slightly smaller than average diameter. My ears fit inside of them just fine, but people with large ears might have an issue with how the pads make contact with their ears.
Sound Review
I did my demo with my usual gear. I used an LG-V10 for smartphone use, and either my Shanling H3 or iBasso DX80 DAP for high fidelity portable use. For desktop use, I used my Toshiba Satellite Laptop in combination with a ifi micro iDSD playing at 32/192 kHz. I tested them with several other sources as well. I used Google Music in its highest download quality (320 KBPS), and also streamed FLAC via Tidal streaming service. I also used purchased and downloaded tracks in MP3, FLAC, WAV and DSD. I make sure that any gear I test has sufficient playtime before writing a review.
I used my usual same songs for testing gear:
“Limit to your love” by James Blake (bass speed, punch, response)
“Doin’ it Right” by Daft Punk (sub bass)
“Get lucky” by Daft Punk (bass to midrange transition resolution, male vocals)
“Madness” by Muse (soundstage, separation)
“Some nights” by Fun (soundstage and male vocals)
“The soundmaker” by Rodrigo y Gabriela (texture and imaging)
“Bassically” by Tei Shi (bass to midrange resolution, female vocals)
“Skinny Love” performed by Birdie (female vocals, acoustic playback)
“One” by Ed Sheeran (male vocals, acoustic playback)
“Outlands” from the Tron Legacy Soundtrack (symphonic presentation, imaging)
“Sultans of swing” by Dire Straits (detail, separation, balance)
“And Justic for All” by Metallica (driver distortion, treble response, rock playback)
“Ten thousand fists” by Disturbed (driver distortion, treble response, rock playback)
Note: Other tracks were used, but the listed songs were primarily used to assess and break down the gear’s response.
Source Selection
At sixteen ohms, the NC is very easy to drive and will sound great through a cell phone. They will also sound very well with dedicated DAPs and portable rigs. High power desktop rigs are overkill.
NC is forgiving with poorly recorded music and high bitrate files, but has a level of fidelity that scales up well with better quality and higher bit rate music files.
As far as source is concerned, I found that a neutral source sounds best. The NC sounds great with my Iphone 4, and LG V10. For best results, listen to your best music files through your best neutral portable music sources.
Sound Signature
The NC is three sound signatures in one headphone. Rather than break them down into single categories of bass, mids, treble, soundstage and imaging, I will explain each one based on their setting.
Passive Mode
Without the PASC or noise cancelling settings applied, they are a pretty balanced signature with a warm tilt. Bass seems to lean more towards mid bass tones, and low end extension is average at best. They are much more neutral and bland without any added settings applied. Some are going to find them very enjoyable in this setting, while others will find them a bit bland and lacking definition, extension and sparkle. I personally liked them in this setting, and especially enjoyed them when paired with a portable DAC/amplifier in this setting.
Lower frequencies are a little slow in decay and linger a fraction of a second longer than I would like, making them have a slightly closed in and intimate sound. It isn’t significant and still provides a level of fidelity that avoids being overly stuffy or congested sounding. At loud volumes and long listening sessions, the mid bass and lower midrange was a bit much for my preference, but not to the point that they were unlistenable.
Midrange definitely has a warm tilt. Some male vocals will have added weight, especially deeper sounding male voices. Female voices have a warm tilt, but not to the point that they sound sloppy. Guitars, lower piano notes and bass guitars will all have added dynamics. Things begin to smooth out around the range of female vocals. There is a dip in the middle of the midrange frequencies, then a lift at upper midrange tones, adding a nice sense of energy and preventing it from being overly warm and smooth.
Treble is somewhat smooth and nice balance with the rest of the tuning. Their upper frequency tuning doesn’t extend very far, but NC still offers enough top end to keep me from wanting to fault them for it.
All-in-all, the NC isn’t perfectly tuned in its passive setting, but it’s good enough for me to say that it’s very formidable and I am able to enjoy them quite a bit.
PASC
PASC is basically the the noise cancellation mode without the noise canceling feature. Please read the next section and apply everything I said to this category. Subtract the noise canceling features and you have the PASC mode.
Noise Cancellation Mode
Flipping the switch over to noise cancellation, the NC seems to not only have more bass, they are more of an all around entertainer. Bass tones seems to extend much more into sub bass ranges. Midrange and upper frequencies seem to be more defined and extended as well. Soundstage also improves.
Bass on the NC goes from mid bass focused in passive mode to a sub bass focused headphone with a deep rumble that I thoroughly enjoy. Decay is still a bit on the slow side, but it takes place at a low enough tone to make room for lower midrange sounds to be much more responsive and natural. Kick drums and deep bass lines come through with tremendous depth. Midbass is much more controlled, leaving room for the rest of the sound frequencies to perform at a level that is superior to passive mode.
Lower midrange still carries a warm tilt, but is much more controlled. Male vocals (especially deeper male vocals) sound much cleaner in this setting. Guitar chugs and piano notes come through with plenty of timbre and dynamics. Female vocals are a little more distant than men’s but still very adequate. Both male and female vocals finish with a nice bite thanks to what sounds like a lift at 4-5 kHz.
Treble has some decent extension and there is a crisper feel as compared to passive mode. The letters S and T are slightly more emphasized, and cymbal crashes have more shimmer. All in all the added sparkle is a nice and welcomed touch. Combined with the impressive amount of depth, the NC soundstage is great, and imaging is well above average.
NOTE: The NC works fantastically for movies. Their dynamic presentation and ability to render voices naturally and block ambient noises in this mode makes them a great option for watching movies.
Conclusion
The NC is a superbly built pair of headphones that offers noise cancellation features and two distinct tunings (both of which I enjoy). They have excellent battery life and come with all the accessories needed to make them a great travel companion.
In all honesty, I’ve lost the urge to pick up a pair of Bose QC series headphones. The Cleer NC not only blocks out ambient noise just as good as any noise cancelling headphones I’ve heard, their soundstage depth and build quality is superior to any Bose headphone I’ve experienced. Bose is a great product don’t get me wrong, but the Cleer NC needs to be a part of the conversation for the best noise cancelling headphones you can buy.
I used to grab a few pairs of in-ear monitors and a closed pair of headphones before a flight or long road trip. Those days are behind me. I now have one pair that meets my traveling needs.
Thanks for reading and happy listening!
R version (my video with comparisons, DJ JMo impressions and full review is located in the review thread):
