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Plane Quiet Platinum Headphones Review

Tested using Methodology v0.9
Reviewed May 25, 2016 at 10:52 am
Plane Quiet Platinum Picture
5.8
Mixed Usage
4.7
Critical Listening
6.3
Commute/Travel
6.1
Sports/Fitness
6.1
Office
6.4
Home Theater

The Plane Quiet Platinum are surprisingly stable on your head and block a good amount of noise for commuting. They also don't leak much and won't be distracting to the people around you. Unfortunately, the poor audio reproduction and somewhat plasticky build quality may be a is a deal breaker for some listeners.

Our Verdict

5.8 Mixed Usage

The Plane Quiet Platinum are decent everyday casual headphones. They perform well in use cases where isolation and low leakage is necessary, like commuting. However, their poor sound quality, comfort, and cheap, plastic frame, means they're not well-rounded enough for all uses.

Pros
  • Stable fit.
  • Low leakage.
Cons
  • Poor and uneven sound reproduction.
  • Inefficient audio controls.
4.7 Critical Listening

Poor for critical listening. They have a closed-back design and a skewed, bass-heavy audio reproduction that sounds too dark and closed for critical listening.

6.3 Commute/Travel

Average for commuting. They provide enough isolation for the ambient noise of a train and bus. However, the noise canceling may not efficient enough for the level of noise on an international or domestic flight.

6.1 Sports/Fitness

Mediocre-at-best for sports use. They're not the most comfortable but they won't easily fall off your head because of their tight, stable fit.

6.1 Office

Mediocre-at-best for office use. They won't be audible to the people around you because of their low leakage. They also block enough ambient noise so that you won't hear the chatter of a busy office. However, they're not the most comfortable so you won't be able to wear them for long listening sessions, which is often the case at the office.

6.4 Home Theater

Average for Home Theater use. They have no latency since they're wired but a have a subpar sound that won't be the best for watching movies. They also have a short audio cable so they won't be the ideal headphones to comfortably watch movies with from you couch unless you have an extension cord for the audio cable.

  • 5.8 Mixed Usage
  • 4.7 Critical Listening
  • 6.3 Commute/Travel
  • 6.1 Sports/Fitness
  • 6.1 Office
  • 6.4 Home Theater
  1. Updated May 25, 2016: Review published.
  2. Updated May 23, 2016: Our testers have started testing this product.
  3. Updated May 02, 2016: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

Test Results

Design
Design
Style
Type Over-ear
Enclosure Closed-Back
Wireless No
Transducer Dynamic
Mic No

The Plane Quiet Platinum look stylish enough but do not impress with their build quality. They seem a little cheap compared to some other over-ear models. The headband is fairly ordinary, relatively thin and moderately padded. On the upside, the ear cups have a distinct style with a two-tone, black and silver color scheme that is somewhat eye catching. They may not be the most premium looking headphones, but their style will work for some.

7.0
Design
Comfort
Weight 0.45 lbs
Clamping Force
1.2 lbs

These headphones are moderately comfortable. They have decently sized ear cups that encompass most listener ears, and the padding is soft although slightly lacking. The ear cups, however, are very shallow and will flatten your ears once you put them on, which can get a little uncomfortable over long listening sessions. Luckily, they exert the right amount of pressure around the ears so that they don't feel too tight.

5.0
Design
Controls
Ease of use Mediocre
Feedback Above-average
Call/Music Control No
Volume Control Yes
Noise Canceling Control No
Talk-Through No
Additional Buttons No

The Plane Quiet Platinum have a limited control scheme. They have no in-line controls and only have a volume dial and the on/off switch on the right ear cup. This means you can't pause or skip tracks and have no direct control over your audio, which is disappointing.

7.5
Design
Stability

The Plane Quiet Platinum are surprisingly stable. They are not designed for sports but apply the right amount of tension on your head, to not fall during physical activity. The ear cups sway a little while running, but these headphones are stable enough to be used in the gym without having to readjust their position often. They easily maintain their stable fit during casual listening sessions and have a detachable cable that disconnects when hooked by something.

6.3
Design
Portability
L 4.72"
W 5.51"
H 2.95"
Volume 76.88 in³
Stand required N/A

The PlaneQuitet Platinum are above-average portable headphones. They are about mid-sized over-ear headphones and fold up into a more compact format for easy transportation. They will fit comfortably in backpack or handbag and do not take up much space once folded.

5.5
Design
Case
Type Pouch

Comes with a soft pouch, that does not add extra bulk and will protect the headphones from scratches but not from falls.

6.5
Design
Build Quality

Build quality is average at best. These headphones have a typical build quality and can withstand a few drops without getting damaged but do not feel very durable. The headband has a thin metal frame that reinforces the design. However, the ear cups are made of cheap plastic and do not feel dense enough to handle a lot of physical stress. The joints are also very plasticky and could break easily under moderate pressure. On the upside, the cable is relatively thick and looks capable of withstanding everyday wear and tear for a decent amount time.

6.3
Design
Breathability
Avg.Temp.Difference 6.3 °C

Design
Cable
Detachable Yes
Length 5.11 ft
Connection 1/8" TRS

Comes with a 1/8" TRS-TRS audio cable with no in-line controls.

Design
Front

Design
Angled

Design
Side

Design
Rear

Design
Top

Design
In The Box

  • Plane Quiet Platinum Headphones
  • Audio cable
  • Carrying pouch
  • Manual
  • 1/8' to 1/4' adapter
  • Airline adapter
  • AAA batteries (x2)

Sound
5.7
Sound
Bass
Std. Err.
6.45 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
14.77 Hz
Low-Bass
7.6 dB
Bass
5.99 dB
High-Bass
6.5 dB

5.5
Sound
Mid
Std. Err.
5.99 dB
Low-Mid
4.73 dB
Mid
4.39 dB
High-Mid
-3.83 dB

1.1
Sound
Treble
Std. Err.
11.81 dB
Low-Treble
-14.08 dB
Treble
-8.91 dB
High-Treble
-8.73 dB

3.6
Sound
Soundstage
Openness
3.7
Acoustic Space Excitation
2.3
Correlated Crosstalk
-0.04 dB

3.7
Sound
Imaging
Driver Mismatch (Amplitude)
1.25 dB
Driver Mismatch (Frequency)
3.38 dB

9.8
Sound
Total Harmonic Distortion
Weighted THD @ 90
0.023
Weighted THD @ 100
0.06

Isolation
7.6
Isolation
Noise Isolation
Overall Attenuation
-18.86 dB
Noise-Cancelling Yes
Bass
-16.03 dB
Mid
-10.14 dB
Treble
-31.49 dB
Self-Noise
13.97 dB

Average isolation. The passive isolation provided by the earcups is decent and typical of most closed-back over-ear headphones. They start to become effective around 600Hz and achieve the maximum isolation of 40dB at 15KHz. The active noise cancellation is effective between 20Hz and 2KHz, and performs quite well for the most part. It consistently provides a minimum of 10dB of isolation over the most of its operative range, reaching the maximum of 26dB at around 120Hz.

7.7
Isolation
Leakage
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
35.36 dB

Decent leakage. The significant portion of the leakage is between 500Hz and 2KHz, which is about average. The overall level of the leakage is relatively low too, making these headphones relatively quiet.

Active Features
0
Active Features
Wireless
Type
N/A
Obstructed Range
N/A
Line of Sight Range
N/A
NFC
No

10
Active Features
Latency
Base Latency
0 ms
aptX Latency
N/A
aptX(LL) Latency
N/A

Wired design with negligible latency.

7.7
Active Features
Battery
Battery Type
AAA
Battery Life
24 hrs
Charge Time
N/A
Auto-off
No
Audio while charging
N/A
Passive Playback
No

The Plane Quiet Platinum have a decent battery life that will last about 24 hrs of continuous playback. They can continue streaming audio passively when the battery is dead, by turning off the noise-canceling feature. They're decent headphones to use on a road trip or on a long flight. However, they don't have an auto-off timer, so your battery will keep being drained even when you're not using them.

0
Active Features
App Support

No compatible app.