INTRODUCTION

   A couple of weeks ago i had to go to the airport near where i live at 7 in the morning in order to welcome a good friend of mine so as always i packed my smartphone along with my wallet and a pair of headphones and made my way there. Well the thing is that i actually managed to get there quite earlier and i was somewhat glad since i was hoping that there wouldn't be too many people at the airport so early in the morning (i rarely travel so early) and thus I’d be able to enjoy my coffee while listening to my favorite tunes. Unfortunately this wasn't the case and so the amount of noise coming from the terminals and from everyone around me made it quite hard for me to enjoy listening to music. Because of this the moment i came back home i started searching online to find a reasonably priced headphone set that offered active noise cancellation and thus could be used in noise intensive environments such as bus terminals, trains and yes even airports. The M10 SE active noise cancelling headphones by BlackBox were amongst the top results of our search and so it didn't take long for us to receive a review sample.

   At Blackbox™ our passion is all about your sound – hearing what you want to hear, and not the background noise. In fact, we’re literally obsessed about fully integrating patented ANR™ Active Noise Rejection™ technology, to push back unwanted noise and let your music through. On the street or in the air, there’s a lot of challenge involved in delivering music without interference. ANR™ takes care of it, giving you un-compromised audio. ANR™ was developed to combat low frequency background noise in passenger aircraft cabins. Passengers can now experience the full audio richness of in-flight movies and music, at a higher quality of listening. That adds up to a better travel experience. That’s Music on the Move.

   There are two types of noise reduction headphones (and headsets) in the market currently, passive ones that keep out unwanted noise by using thick earpads and a completely closed design and active ones which use sophisticated noise reduction technologies. The M10 SE headphones by Blackbox use ANR (active noise reduction) technology by Phitek which basically uses microphones placed on the exterior of each earcup to "measure" incoming sound waves (lower-frequency ones mostly) and then electronically cancel them by producing counter waves (can effectively screen out up to 89% of ambient noise). Unfortunately there are some limitations to this technology since it can't counter mid/high frequency sound waves as effectively but thanks to the reduced pressure of the earpads this technology allows for it comes as no surprise airlines are using it for their passengers. Other specs include two 40mm neodymium magnet drivers that feature a frequency response of 20Hz-20KHz, 32Ohm impedance and 94dB sensitivity.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The active noise cancelling feature is advertised at the front of the box right next to a product picture.

On the right side of the box Blackbox has placed the specifications list.

A detailed explanation of what active noise cancelling is all about is placed on the left side.

At the rear Blackbox talks about the technologies used in the M10 SE and has used several pictures to showcase the product features and bundle contents.

Inside the box you will find the M10 SE headphones, carrying case, two 3.5mm cables, 3.5mm to 6.5mm adapter, 3.5mm to dual 3.5mm airplane adapter, luggage tag, AAA energizer battery and the user manual.

THE M10SE

The bundled carrying case is hard on the exterior but surprisingly soft on the interior (the headphones lay flat inside).

Blackbox is using ABS for the exterior of the headphones and spring steel for the interior frame so these are quite durable.

Size-wise the M10 SE is 80mm thick, 174mm tall and 163mm wide with a weight of 180g (as usual we placed them right next to the REVO Wireless by Jabra).

Both earcups are vented (according to Blackbox this is done in order to relieve total audio volume pressure) and have the company logo printed on them (placed behind the grills are the ANR microphones).

Although the headphones can be used without a battery you will need an AAA one like the one bundled to use the active noise cancelling feature. To do so you just need to reveal the battery compartment by rotating the exterior of the right earcup counter clock-wise as seen above.

The 3.5mm port (which is gold plated) is placed at the base of the right earcup.

On the exterior of the right earcup we also see the on/off power switch and LED.

Blackbox has used medium-sized memory-foam padded earpads and although these are quite comfortable i think that slightly larger would be ideal.

The earcups can flip down flat for easier storing (and to place them inside the case).

Left and right markings are placed on the interior right above the earcups.

Just like the earpads the headpad is filled with memory-foam.

As you can see the earcups can tilt quite a bit to increase user comfort.

The headband extends up to 28mm on each side via 10 increments (visible on the interior).

Every single connector and plug is gold plated so kudos to Blackbox for this.

CONCLUSION

   Blackbox and Phitek for that matter are two companies i had never heard of in the past so as usual we didn't really know what to expect and at first glance the somewhat simplistic/dull design along with the ABS material used for the exterior didn't help. However that's all the more reason as to why I’m glad that we were wrong about the M10SE since it does combine clear and accurate mids and good quality highs while in terms of bass things are also quite good although i can't say it offers the amount we've seen from other similarly sized headphones and headsets in the past. In terms of build quality the ABS material may not look great but at least the strengthened interior spring steel frame is even laboratory tested to withstand 5000 slider extensions on each side so durability shouldn't be an issue. With the bundled AAA battery by Energizer the M10SE went going for well over 30 hours and although some of you may find the swapping of the battery every 30+ hours as something annoying we need to point out once again that you can use the M10SE as a simple headphone set without turning the ANR feature on (although the ANR feature does amplify the sound and makes it richer). As for the active noise reduction technology well it works very well so it blocks every ambient noise you can imagine except voices (tones them down but you can still hear them). Overall the single issue we had during testing was noise isolation since the design of the headphones allows people next to you to listen to what you're listening even at mid volume levels. Now as Blackbox pointed out to us this is not possible in noisy environments and although they are correct (we checked in the subway) i don't think everyone will be using the M10SE in such areas, at least not at all times. This is indeed a small drawback for what this technology offers but still it may interest some of you.

   Price is the only serious drawback the M10SE active noise cancelling headphones really have since currently you can only get a pair directly from the Blackbox online store for a price of no less than USD229.99/180Euros a price tag which is roughly 20% more compared to the previous M10 version. It goes without saying that Blackbox improved the M10 quite a bit since then and they've also thrown in a very durable carrying case (and a luggage tag although that's hardly worth mentioning) but still we think that the price will drive away many potential customers. With this out of the way we all feel that Blackbox has manufactured a very good headphone set that offers very good overall audio quality with active noise cancelling and there aren't really many headsets in the market currently that can claim the same and that's why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Clear/Crisp/Accurate Mids
- Good Highs & Bass Levels
- Active Noise Reduction Technology
- Plenty of Volume (With ANR On)
- Turn/Tilt Earcups
- Gold Plated Connectors

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Noise Isolation (For Some)
- Not Rechargeable