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