Rating: 
Summary: Doesn't stay in and doesn't cancel noise
Review: I purchased these and awaited their delivery with great anticipation. I have used noise cancelling headphones and had been very pleased, but wanted something smaller to lug onto airplanes with me. These headphones are not what I was expecting. First, in spite of having three different size ear pieces for various ears I can't keep these things in my ears to save my life. On a recent flight from LA to Dallas I must have reinserted the left ear piece about 50 times. The cable lengths to the two ear pieces are poorly designed and place a fair amount of pressure on the left ear piece pulling it out at the slightest movement of the user. One way to fix that is to use a paper clip to clip the wire to your shirt to take the weight off the ear piece, but that lacks style. Additionally the noise cancelling feature is less than useless. Noise cancelling headphones I have used before would clearly provide a noise reduction as they were turned on - the MRDNC11 does not. But it does successfully add hiss to background noise - essentially these are noise adding headphones. Koss makes some earbuds with foam that are available for less than $10 that stay in and reduce noise more than the MRDNC11 does. I'm going back to them and throwing the MRDNC11 into the trash - I don't have the heart to try to sell them on ebay - I would feel like I was ripping someone off.
Rating: 
Summary: Frequent Flyer Recommended
Review: The one thing I have enjoyed about the NC11s over any other brands/models is the silicon plugs that fit well in my ears and block most of the other ambient sound while the noise canceling takes care of the drone of an airplane or nearby air conditioner. The Sennheisers have been touted by other reviewers for their increased range of frequency (noise) canceling but in airplanes and hotel rooms I have used the low frequency cancellation to my advantage. I am able to listen to my music uninterrupted or mute my music and am able to actually hear a flight attendant talking to me over airplane noise and/or hear a TV over a hotel air conditioner.Some reviews mention not being able to tell if the noise canceling actually works or if the noise is just blocked by the earplug-like earbuds. I occasionally check my batteries by turning off the music and switching the noise cancellation on/off and can definitely tell the difference. I can understand how some users may be disappointed by the noise canceling feature upon first use but I have owned various noise canceling headphones since inception and I have never expected miracles so I have not been disappointed by the technology. Will these headphones cancel out banging and tapping noises of an industrial environment? No. Will they help you arrive at your destination more relaxed than if you had been listening to the constant drone of an airplane? Definitely!
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money
Review: These earphone are useless, they didn't work with my Zen NX Jukebox at all, they look cheap, and actually are cheap, they don't stay plugged in your ears, so walking with them are not an option. I suspect that, if anything, the noise-cancelling component is the rubber plugs that come with them, but then again, they don't stay put, oh well, don't bother.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic noise cancelling and comfort
Review: I'm not sure what prompted such a poor rating for these headphones from other people, but I love them. I work in a large software lab all day, where one could go crazy from the humming and beeping of the multitude of machines. I put these headphones in, put on a cd in my computer, and I can't hear anything except for the music. It's wonderfully quiet... to the point that my co-workers have to tap on my shoulder or send me an instant message if they want to get my attention! I guess I could see how the whole in-ear rubber gasket thing could take some getting used to, but I don't notice them there, even after a whole workday of use - they are very comfortable. In addition, the sound that these headphones put out is very dynamic - lots of good bass, clear highs and mids. Now that the price has come down on them some, I'd jump on them if you want a great set of noise cancellers to help you filter out the noise (and maybe your boss?) at work. :)
Rating: 
Summary: Great for What It Does!
Review: Been playing with it for a couple of weeks, and finally got it to work great. It _doesn't_ filter out fan, A/C, computer noises at work, but seems optimized to filter out airplane engine noise. Took it on a cross-country 5-hr flight, and it was like I wasn't even on an airplane! Using the earbuds needs some experience. Don't jam them all the way into your ear canal; they work best by having the silicone flanges create a bit of suction in your ear canal to keep them in. That gives the proper amount of physical noise reduction for the circuitry to cancel the rest of the low frequency noise. I had to re-seat them every 30 minutes, though. If you're working-out, sweating and shaking your head alot, they won't stay in place; but then, they're not designed to. The big Bose $300 N/C earmuffs work better, but these and an MP3 player are both small and light enough to fit in a shirt pocket, and really make airplane travel enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Great deal and worth every penny
Review: These gems are worth the 99.00 especially since they are sold for 149.00 everywhere alse (including sonystyle). I use them with my Ipod becasue I travel quite a bit and like to travel light...therefore the bose models were too big and a bit too expensive to be potentially lost in another country (I loose things quite a bit). The naysayers that have posted here are a bunch of whiners... Sont listen to thier reviews, go to a electronics store and try them out for yourself (bring along an alcohol swab you never knwo who put them in their ear bbefore you) and you;ll be amazed. I think people see ot hear "noise cancelling" and thing that it simulates deafness...nope that would be deafness. Noise cancelling means a supression of noise, ambient noise so dont expect to put these babies in while working on the tarmak of JFK airport and expect complete silence. A great buy and a great deal at 99.00
Rating: 
Summary: works well on subway
Review: they do fall out easily and is slightly uncomfortable at times. but once you can get it in correctly it's ok. they do a good job at canceling out all the subway noises,(i mean even loud people on he subway). so i give it a 2 for fit and a 5 for noise cancelling but a 2 for looks and feel ( very cheap feeling plastic and the cord could be better material for cost) so it's average. i got mine on ebay for slightly less.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Waste Your Money
Review: The "Noise Canceling" feature of the phones I bought simply does not do anything. When I switch the phones on, I can tell no difference whatsoever, even in noisy environments. Before I bought these phones, I read another review which said the same thing. I wish I had listened. I bought these phones for use in the gym where it is quite noisy. I didn't want "over the ear" phones because I assumed that they would be hot and sweaty. It is true that the ear buds themselves do an excellent job of blocking noise (once I installed the correct insert for my big ears; the phones come with three sizes). But, the same effect could be achieved, without the "Noise Cancelling" that doesn't do anything, for $100 less. And, there'd be no need for the extra cable and battery. CNET gave these turkeys an "Editor's Choice" award for reasons I'll never understand. Either the model CNET reviewed is not the same as the model I bought, or Sony does a lot of advertising with CNET. I've never been truly disappointed with a Sony product before. Before I consider another pair of "Noise Cancelling" headphones, I'm going to try before I buy!!!
Rating:
Summary: they fall out and don't cancel sound very well
Review: My experience with these has been terrible -- they're going back to the store. Lying on my back doing situps or running, one of them always falls out of my ear -- even with the largest size of the three rubber ear pieces jammed all the way in my ear. And I wasn't impressed by the so-called noise canceling feature. Asside from the obvious boost in volume you get when you turn on the noise-canceling function, it only slightly lowered the volume of fans, treadmills and other ambient noises at the gym.
Rating:
Summary: Great set of small NC headphones! Plays well with iPods!
Review: I am quite pleased with these little 'phones. I was given an iPod and since the included buds were just abysmal and since I travel a lot....well, it was a prudent purchase :-) I have three sets of Noise Cancelling headphones (the others are sennheiser and panasonic) and these little MDRNC11's have a very similar ability to dim ambient noise in a MUCH smaller package - perfect for my dawn and midnight runs and they are great on the airplane, the bus and the office. After a great deal of futzing with the included (and VERY comfortable) silicone ear moulds the sound is now fantastic on my iPod. I am still listenint to MP3's (or MP4's) so the sound is not audiophile quality but I am quite happy with what I hear. In other reviews some of the folks has mentioned the bass-heavy nature of these drivers - yes, they are a tad bass heavy, but on the iPod the "acoustic" setting rounds them out very well. The vast majoriety of music I listen to is classical and jazz. The opening track of "Jazz at the Pawnshop" is littered with lovely ambient noises that come through very well. As this is a pretty standard track for demoing audiophile sound systems, I would say that for $100 I got a heck of a bang for my buck :-) Again, MP3's (even the ones from apple.com) still sound like MP3's, but these little buds reproduce the music with elan. If you need a personal Oasis in your daily life I can think of many worse purchases in the headphone market. FInal tip, shop around :-) -J
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