I've said it before and I'll say it again: Nobody has made a better pair of noise-cancellation headphones than Bose's Quiet Comfort 3. That said, the QC3 is ridiculously expensive, at $350. JVC recently unveiled the HA-NC80-J/-C (NC80), a pair of noise-canceling headphones with a street price that hovers around $40. Naturally, I wasn't expecting much. But to my surprise, I found the NC80 is far more capable than it should be for the price.

My main argument for buying the NC80? It sounds good. No, these are not audiophile-quality headphones, but they do offer a crisp high end and enough bass for you to appreciate rap and hard rock. Even if noise cancellation didn't enter into the equation, I'd still give these guys a thumbs-up. Achieving decent sound for $40 is no small feat.

If you're reading this, however, you probably also want to know if the NC80 can cancel out the annoying din that accompanies modern life. Nothing puts a stop to ambient noise like the Quiet Comforts, but the NC80 is capable and versatile in its own right. There are two modes of noise cancellation: "low" and "wide." "Low" works on eliminating deeper ambient noise, such as train rumble, and "wide" focuses more on the entire frequency range, specifically in the higher realm where noises such as air conditioner hiss live. Though the noise in both modes is never completely eliminated, there is definitely a noticeable drop-off that I wasn't expecting from such a cheap set, and the ability to choose a frequency range to focus on is a nice touch.