We go into any review of budget-friendly noise-cancelling headphones with an open mind, but the reality is that the number of affordable models that deliver quality noise cancellation is pretty low. And so we are pleasantly surprised by the House of Marley Positive Vibration XL’s active noise cancellation (ANC) performance, which is better than expected for $149.99. As for audio quality, the drivers deliver a nice balance of rich bass and bright highs. Ultimately, everything this pair of headphones offers is either decent or surprisingly good, which is enough to help them stand out as a solid option in the thin category of budget-friendly over-ear ANC headphones.
A Cool, Green Design
The Positive Vibration XL ANC headphones have recyclable aluminum with FSC-certified wood details on the outer panels of their circumaural (over-ear) earcups. The earpads are amply cushioned with memory foam, as is the underside of the headband, all of which makes for an exceptionally comfortable fit, even over long listening sessions. Like most House of Marley products, the materials here, including the fabric on the headband, have a sustainable/eco-friendly focus. The headband adjuster has detents so that it’s possible to get a precisely balanced ear-to-ear fit.
The left earcup’s side panel houses ANC on/off and Ambient on/off buttons. On the right earcup’s side panel, there’s a central multifunction button responsible for playback and call management, while plus and minus buttons control volume (with a short press) and track navigation (with a longer press)—we’re never fans of combining these two functions on the same buttons, as it becomes very easy to accidentally skip a track. The included USB-C-to-USB-A charging cable connects to the USB-C port on the left earcup. The headphones also ship with a 3.5mm cable that has inline controls for playback, track navigation, call management, and a built-in mic. Both cables have a braided fabric sleeve.
Internally, 40mm dynamic drivers deliver the audio. The headphones support the SBC Bluetooth codec, but not AAC nor AptX.
What’s missing? Many ANC headphones we test have apps, but there’s none here. This means no adjustable EQ, and no ANC controls beyond on/off.
House of Marley estimates battery life to be roughly 26 hours with ANC, or 35 hours without. Your results will vary with your volume levels as well as your ANC usage. If you run out of battery, you can use the included cable for passive, wired listening.
Positive Vibration XL Noise Cancellation and Audio Performance
The Positive Vibration XL ANC headphones deliver decent noise cancellation. In testing, the circuitry did solid work of dialing back deep low-frequency rumble like you hear on an airplane. It is also did a laudable job with a recording of a busy restaurant with clanging dishes and loud conversations (played through near-field monitors at a high volume).
When compared with a category leader like the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, it’s clear that House of Marley’s headphones add a little bit of high-frequency hiss to mix—it’s a common aspect of budget-friendly ANC, and tends to help mask frequencies the circuitry can’t quite eliminate. In addition to the added hiss, the ANC is less effective across the frequency range than the Bose model, which isn’t surprising, considering these headphones cost less than half the price.
The sound signature is affected slightly when the ANC is engaged. It doesn’t sound bad, mind you, but with the ANC on, things get a little louder and brighter, while the bass response stays more or less the same. The Ambient listening mode that lets you hear your surroundings works well and is easy to quickly turn on or off.
For audio performance, on tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the headphones deliver powerful low-frequency response. At top volumes, the drivers don’t distort on this challenging track, and at moderate volumes, the lows still sound robust and full.
Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the Positive Vibration XL ANC’s general sound signature. The drums here get a little extra bass presence—they sound rich, but not overly thunderous. The same can be said of Callahan’s baritone vocals—they have a rich low-mid presence, nicely balanced with some crisp treble edge. The acoustic strums and higher-register percussive hits also have a strong presence—this is a dialed-up mix, with rich lows and bright highs, but the balance between both ends of the frequency range is well done. It may not be the accurate sound signature purists are looking for, but the drivers do a good job of avoiding muddy territory, or overly boosting the bass.
See How We Test Noise-Cancelling HeadphonesSee How We Test Noise-Cancelling Headphones
On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the kick drum loop receives enough high-mid presence for its attack to retain some of its punchiness, but the vinyl crackle and hiss, usually relegated to the background, sound a little more prominent. The higher frequencies are quite sculpted, not uniformly boosted. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are presented with solid presence, but it’s actually the bass-boosted sustain of the drum loop that seems to carry the most low-frequency punch here. The vocals are delivered cleanly, with perhaps a bit of added sibilance.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, sound a little more bass-boosted than necessary—it’s not a bad sound, but the lower-register instrumentation can sound a little bass-heavy and resonant, while the higher-register instruments sound bright and crisp, but a little pinched and sculpted in spots.
The headphone’s built-in mic offers solid intelligibility. Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone, we could understand every word we recorded. There was a small amount of Bluetooth distortion in the mix, as is usually the case with wireless headphone mics, but the signal was strong, and even picked up a decent amount of low-frequency response.
Budget-Friendly Noise Cancellation
For $150, House of Marley’s Positive Vibration XL ANC headphones sound about as good as they should and the ANC is better than expected. If noise cancellation is your top priority and you must have the best, this isn’t it. But if $150 is your budget and ANC is a feature you’d enjoy, these headphones deliver better-than-average performance for a sub-$200 model. That said, the best ANC in this price range can be found in true wireless models, like the $130 Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro. As for over-ear headphones under $200, the Sennheiser HD 450BT are an excellent option when you can find them on sale. If you’re looking to spend less and can skip the ANC, meanwhile, the $100 Jabra Elite 45h headphones are a terrific alternative.
