Phiaton PS 210 BTNC

Phiaton is still a relatively new player in the earphone world, but they've impressed us in the recent past with models like the PS 20 NC which manages to combine strong audio performance with a reasonable price. This time around, the PS 210 BTNC?is another solid choice?for $159 (list)?, you get clear audio performance, wireless Bluetooth streaming and phone functionality, and some decent, if not game-changing, noise cancellation. There's nothing about the visual design or overall performance that screams masterpiece, but earphones with both Bluetooth and noise canceling features are not terribly common, especially when the audio is also of better-than-average quality. If you're looking for an all-in-one option, the PS 210 BTNC is worth your attention.

Design
If there's a common complaint about Bluetooth headsets and stereo earphones, it's that they are often ugly, bulky, or both. Phiaton doesn't do much to change this trend with the PS 210 BTNC. The chrome-and-black in-canal earphones are more nondescript than ugly, but the cumbersome shirt-clip compartment that houses both the Bluetooth and noise-canceling circuitry is bound to be a turn-off for some. If you're not wearing a collared shirt, the cable is just long enough to attach to a short sleeve. The convenience of Bluetooth headphones (over or around the ear models) is hard to deny?they almost always include the circuitry within the earcups, so there's no box.

Looking past the obligatory compartment, the PS 210 BTNC is well-designed. A jog switch controls volume, track navigation, and Play/Pause, while a Phone button answers calls and also handles the pairing process. A switch on the left-hand panel turns on the active noise cancellation, or disengages it, and a Power switch also doubles as a Hold button for locking the various functions of the control compartment. The fit of the PS 210 BTNC is secure and generally comfortable.

Along with the earphones, you get four sets of silicon ear tips in various sizes, a set of Comply Foam ear tips, a soft black carrying pouch, a neck strap, USB charging cable (there is no included charger), and a 2.5mm-to-3.5mm audio cable for wired listening.

The actual pairing process is simple?slide the Power button on by holding it in place for a few seconds, then hold down the Pairing button until it blinks blue and red?and as long as your device has Bluetooth on, connecting should be a very quick process. The PS 210 BTNC supports Bluetooth standard 3.0, and A2DP, AVRCP HFP, and HSP profiles, as well as SBC and apt-X codecs.

Performance
The PS 210 BTNC does not suffer from distortion at top volumes?even the deep bass push of the Knife's "Silent Shout" does not distort at maximum volume on both the iPhone and the earphones themselves. At max volume, its drivers sound as if they're on the very cusp of distortion, to be fair, but things never get fuzzy, and no one should be listening at such unsafe volumes anyway. At reasonable levels, there's not even a hint of distortion for any music genre you throw at the PS 210 BTNC.

On instrumental music, like John Adams' classical piece, "The Chairman Dances," the overall response is clean and powerful, but the earphones are lacking a bit in the brightness department, as if they are dialed back in a range most pairs typically receive a healthy boost. Wood blocks and higher register strings seem to be missing a bit of the edge they typically have. The low frequencies are not very exaggerated at all, so the PS 210 BTNC ends up sounding most similar to a flat response earphone pair, like the Etymotic ER-4PT , but even the ER-4PT sounds a tad brighter in comparison.

The modest bass response is most apparent on aforementioned tracks like "Silent Shout," or on Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," in which the kick drum thuds in the loop have far more mid and high frequency presence in their attack than any deep bass resonance. The deeper bass synth lines are also delivered cleanly, without muddiness, but without any serious depth or resonance. This means that the PS 210 BTNC is not a bad option for those who favor flat response, but it's not a good match for anyone looking for a booming bass sound.

There is no difference in audio performance when the noise cancellation is engaged?it sounds the same in passive mode, which is not always true of noise-canceling systems. The noise-cancellation circuitry itself is not mind-blowing. It does manage to cut out a significant swath of ambient room noises like loud AC units or train and plane drones, but it also adds a noticeable hiss to the equation. The high frequency hiss is not unpleasant?think of the hiss of an old cassette tape?but this is often a sign of less-than-superior noise-cancellation circuitry that attempts to mask what it cannot eliminate. The $500 Sony XBA-NC85D ?is a far more expensive example of an earphone pair that has the same problem.

The noise cancellation does work on a basic level, however, and is a nice extra in a pair that's also equipped with the far more useful Bluetooth wireless functionality, and some pretty solid audio performance, all at a reasonable price. If the added bulk of the shirt-clip compartment isn't for you, the aforementioned Sony XBA-NC85D earphone pair uses "boxless" noise cancellation, but it's quite expensive. If you're more interested in the Bluetooth aspect of the PS 210 BTNC, there are other options that eliminate the compartment, more or less, by embedding it in the frame of the headphones (not earphones). Two of these models, the Sennheiser MM 100 and the Outdoor Technology DJ Slims offer quality Bluetooth streams at substantially lower prices.

If you're looking for Bluetooth and noise cancellation in the same pair, however, there are fewer reliable options. We like the Sennheiser MM 550-X , but it's far more expensive than this pair, which is reasonably priced for its features and performance level.

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