CES 2015: Philips NC1L are battery-free noise-cancelling headphones

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It's hard to walk for 10 paces without seeing a "world's first" claim at CES, but this one from Philips is impressive – the NC1L earphones are noise-cancelling cans to make do without a battery.

That's because they connect via the Apple Lightning port to draw power from your phone or tablet - and to take a digital audio signal in order to take care of the digital-to-analogue conversion inside the earphones.

Yes, the Philips Fidelio NC1L noise-cancelling headphones also have an integrated 24-bit DAC alongside "a full chain of audiophile-grade components" and neodymium drivers.

There are three sound modes: active noise-cancelling, open-ear listening (allows you to hear ambient noise) and natural voice (aimed at making voice calls using the in-line mic).

MORE: Read all our Philips reviews and news

They are the second pair of headphones from Philips to connect via Lightning - following in the footsteps of the M2L headphones, which were the first pair on the market to do so.

Memory foam earpads certainly sound comfortable; the headphones are also "fully foldable", which should make them nice and portable - they're certainly going to prove more portable than carrying a DAC.

The Philips Fidelio NCL1 headphones are due to go on sale this Spring and have a price tag of 299 euros. We will confirm UK details ASAP.

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Joe Cox
Joe Cox
Content Director

Joe is the Content Director for What Hi-Fi? and Future’s Product Testing, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for almost 20 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff, and the Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).