Arriving in a cheap-looking box with a smattering of accessories, the MPOW H12 comes with a charging cable, aux cable, and a carrying case.
The headphones themselves feel equally cheap, with copious plastic and just enough aluminum to keep them from falling to pieces. And, thanks to a hinged design, the H12 easily folds into a more portable size.
A rubberized (yet still somehow comfortable) headband provides decent cushioning. The earpads appear to use the same fit and attachment style as Bose headphones, so replacing the earpads shouldn’t be an issue.
Despite my bald head and giant dumbo ears, this headphone still fits pretty well. The earpads do fully cover my ears. And even without the ANC turned on, it does a good job of blocking out my coworkers arguing about the best Mogwai album (it’s Hawk is Howling, dammit).
But once the ANC is turned on, and the music starts, the H12 blocks out practically everything (at least in an office environment). Voices, air vents, the annoying clackety-clack of my keyboard – all gone. And, unlike other, cheaper wireless ANC headphones, there’s no uncomfortable low-frequency exerting pressure on my ears (an infamous problem with some ANC headphone ranging in price all the way up to $200).
With ANC off, battery life stretches out to 30 hours, while ANC and wireless running at the same time will drop battery life down to 15 hours. Charging time comes in at 2-3 hours via the included micro-USB cable.
When used wirelessly, controls on the right earcup adjust volume and playback. A switch on the left earcup turns ANC on and off.
While an aux cable does come included, it’s not very good quality. You can use this headphone wired right out of the box, but moving the cable can result in sound dropping from the left or right earcup.
With that being said, I actually enjoyed using the H12 via a wired connection into a small headphone amp. As a result, the sound did appear a little more robust and enjoyable, sounding comparable with some $100 headphones out there.
Mpow H12 Noise Canceling Headphone
$123
$342
For my listening sessions, though, I did alternate between a wired, amped connection with my iPod and a wireless connection with my iPhone.