Sony MDRNC10 Noise Cancelling Headphones

Rating:
Summary: Nice but not what I expected.
Review: First of all, this noise cancelling headphone works its job. When I put it on my ears without turning on the power switch, it probably reduces the sound up to 50%. When the power switch is turned on, then I would say the sound is probably dampened to 65-70% from the outside noise.

The main reason why I bought this headphone was that I wanted to be free from the noise environment in the usual college dorm. I really should have listened to those early reviewers for this product. Why? It does not dampen the human voices and like other people say, the high pitch sounds are not dampened. I have to agree though that it does kill the low pitch sound. Anyway, this headphone is good for listening to music because it really works for that. What I want to warn you guys is that if you want a complete silence or tranquility, this is not the right product you are looking for.

Rating:
Summary: good technology, interesting potential
Review: I bought these earphones because I am a huge fan of Minidiscs and portable Minidisc players. I like to take my music with me everywhere: walking around downtown, running, working out, on airplanes, etc... The problem I was having was that while doing all these things, I was finding that even with the volume jacked up all the way I was still not able to hear the music that well over outside noise.

Since the Amazon site does not (yet) give a good description of what these things do, I will try. Noise Cancelling earphones (or earbuds) have tiny microphones built into them that listen to OUTSIDE noise around you. The circuitry in the microphones attempts to get an approximate measure for the outside noise frequencies and then the earphone attempts to generate the approximate OPPOSITE frequency signal for your ear. This serves to "cancel out" most outside noise, and the effect is that outside noise is muted while the actual music you are listening to is not. I used the word "approximate" a lot because the circuitry cannot exactly measure the outside noise nor can it generate exactly the opposite signal. The result is that there is some (albeit a very slight) effect on the music you're listening to, meaning parts of it can be inadvertently fuzzed out a little.

So I'll get right to it. These Noise Cancelling earbuds aren't perfect, but they certainly have a lot of potential. The day I got them, I popped in a AAA battery and put them on and went for a walk down the street (no music playing) and the effect was very noticeable! As soon as you press the "ON" button all outside noise just dulls as if you're wearing earplugs. Low frequencies especially (like bass or low grumblings) are cut out well, whereas higher frequency noises (like people talking or a jackhammer) are not cut out as much, but are still muted somewhat. So far, the effect I have noticed on the music itself has not been too noticeable. My friend and I got in my car and were listening to some Arab Strap (very low, bassy music) on my car CD player. We put these on and all the bass from the car speakers and sub-woofer was almost cancelled out completely, but the singer's voice was not muted much at all. I used them walking around downtown and they were very effective in that I was able to hear my music much better without having to jack up the volume. I haven't had the opportunity to try them on an airplane yet but I think they would help out a lot considering the nature of the noise on an airplane.

If I were in my office or an otherwise quiet room, I would NOT use these earphones because their effect on the sound quality is negative compared to a regular pair of good earbuds. However, I would highly recommend them for listening to music in public places or for just giving yourself some peace and quiet from the world. I for one am very interested in seeing where this technology heads in the next couple years..

Rating:
Summary: good technology, interesting potential
Review: I bought these earphones because I am a huge fan of Minidiscs and portable Minidisc players. I like to take my music with me everywhere: walking around downtown, running, working out, on airplanes, etc... The problem I was having was that while doing all these things, I was finding that even with the volume jacked up all the way I was still not able to hear the music that well over outside noise.

Since the Amazon site does not (yet) give a good description of what these things do, I will try. Noise Cancelling earphones (or earbuds) have tiny microphones built into them that listen to OUTSIDE noise around you. The circuitry in the microphones attempts to get an approximate measure for the outside noise frequencies and then the earphone attempts to generate the approximate OPPOSITE frequency signal for your ear. This serves to "cancel out" most outside noise, and the effect is that outside noise is muted while the actual music you are listening to is not. I used the word "approximate" a lot because the circuitry cannot exactly measure the outside noise nor can it generate exactly the opposite signal. The result is that there is some (albeit a very slight) effect on the music you're listening to, meaning parts of it can be inadvertently fuzzed out a little.

So I'll get right to it. These Noise Cancelling earbuds aren't perfect, but they certainly have a lot of potential. The day I got them, I popped in a AAA battery and put them on and went for a walk down the street (no music playing) and the effect was very noticeable! As soon as you press the "ON" button all outside noise just dulls as if you're wearing earplugs. Low frequencies especially (like bass or low grumblings) are cut out well, whereas higher frequency noises (like people talking or a jackhammer) are not cut out as much, but are still muted somewhat. So far, the effect I have noticed on the music itself has not been too noticeable. My friend and I got in my car and were listening to some Arab Strap (very low, bassy music) on my car CD player. We put these on and all the bass from the car speakers and sub-woofer was almost cancelled out completely, but the singer's voice was not muted much at all. I used them walking around downtown and they were very effective in that I was able to hear my music much better without having to jack up the volume. I haven't had the opportunity to try them on an airplane yet but I think they would help out a lot considering the nature of the noise on an airplane.

If I were in my office or an otherwise quiet room, I would NOT use these earphones because their effect on the sound quality is negative compared to a regular pair of good earbuds. However, I would highly recommend them for listening to music in public places or for just giving yourself some peace and quiet from the world. I for one am very interested in seeing where this technology heads in the next couple years..

Rating:
Summary: I love them!
Review: I compared these to the Panasonic over ear ones and although I like them, I like these "in ear" ones better. Because they fit in the ears like ear plugs, they blocked out a lot of noise without turning on the noise cancelling device. I tried turning on the device without plugging it into my iPod/airplane seat and with it turned on, even more sound was muffled. It doesn't make it so that you cannot hear the airplane noise, but it is so muffled and reduced that you really don't notice it and you do not have to have your volume blasting to hear it over the surrounding flight noise. I thought my 3yr old would prefer them to the overear Panasonic ones to watch his video, because I thought it would be less cumbersome, but he didn't like the "in ear" feeling. I think you need to adjust them yourself to get the right fit, it is difficult to get the fit/feel right for someone else e.g. child.

Rating:
Summary: I love them!
Review: I compared these to the Panasonic over ear ones and although I like them, I like these "in ear" ones better. Because they fit in the ears like ear plugs, they blocked out a lot of noise without turning on the noise cancelling device. I tried turning on the device without plugging it into my iPod/airplane seat and with it turned on, even more sound was muffled. It doesn't make it so that you cannot hear the airplane noise, but it is so muffled and reduced that you really don't notice it and you do not have to have your volume blasting to hear it over the surrounding flight noise. I thought my 3yr old would prefer them to the overear Panasonic ones to watch his video, because I thought it would be less cumbersome, but he didn't like the "in ear" feeling. I think you need to adjust them yourself to get the right fit, it is difficult to get the fit/feel right for someone else e.g. child.

Rating:
Summary: Try them on an airplane
Review: I have used these headphones for a couple of years on six or more long flights. They do a very good job of significantly reducing the ambient plane noise, while providing good listening. They are also quite comfortable and pack well in the little drawstring sack they come in.

The true test? After I arrive I do not have the temporary hearing impairment I used to have after a long flight.

Pricey, but highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I originally bought these ear phones before a plane trip with the sole intent of *SNICKER* returning them when I returned home. However, they worked SO effectively I kept them. I thought anyone would be crazy to shell out [the price] for ear phones. But after using these little guys, I was blown away.

I used them on a plane and they did an incredible job of blocking out the droaning roar of the engines. That was before turning on the noise cancelling. The noise cancelling circuitry made a slight difference. It was noticeable enough for me to keep it on. But the majority of the noise cancelling came from the ear plug type design. Watching the inflight movies with these guys was an absolute pleasure. With the engine noise significantly cut down I could clearly hear the voices in the movie.

I didn't have the slightest problem with the ear buds slipping out of my ear. The default size fit me perfectly, I didn't need to even bother trying the smaller or larger size.

If the idea of ear plugs is foreign to you, you may or may not find some discomfort with these. However, I frequently use the soft, roll up type ear plugs to help me concentrate and as a comparison, the Sony's were much more comfortable.

I can't give an honest opinion about sound quality. I am not a audiophile and my main purpose in trying these out was to block out side noise. However, they sounded great to me and I had no complaints to sound quality what so ever.

Rating:
Summary: Makes me forget I am in Milan's subway
Review: The subway here in Milan (Italy) is very noisy, especially in the Summer when windows are opened. Before getting these headphones, I just could not listen to my Audible audiobooks even with my hands on my ears. They proved to be very effective in this environment.

Do not have the wrong expectations, this device does not "create" silence. It lowers the level of ambient noise, allowing the sounds you wish to listen to from your player to come out better. Some noise remains of course.

If it was not for the quality of the rubber (the two pieces actually entering your ears), I would have given this product 5 stars. After a year of daily use, my left earplug unglued itself from its support and was difficult to glue back. It would be great if the rubber pieces were available as spare parts.

Sony could also consider making the cable shorter, or allow you to customize its lenght by adding/removing a middle cable extension.

This is thus a good product, smaller physically than others on the market. The battery life (1 AAA) is excellent.

Rating:
Summary: Makes me forget I am in Milan's subway
Review: The subway here in Milan (Italy) is very noisy, especially in the Summer when windows are opened. Before getting these headphones, I just could not listen to my Audible audiobooks even with my hands on my ears. They proved to be very effective in this environment.

Do not have the wrong expectations, this device does not "create" silence. It lowers the level of ambient noise, allowing the sounds you wish to listen to from your player to come out better. Some noise remains of course.

If it was not for the quality of the rubber (the two pieces actually entering your ears), I would have given this product 5 stars. After a year of daily use, my left earplug unglued itself from its support and was difficult to glue back. It would be great if the rubber pieces were available as spare parts.

Sony could also consider making the cable shorter, or allow you to customize its lenght by adding/removing a middle cable extension.

This is thus a good product, smaller physically than others on the market. The battery life (1 AAA) is excellent.

Rating:
Summary: No noise reduction whatsoever
Review: These headphones provide no noise reduction whatsoever beyond the fact that they are like earplugs. The noise reduction circuit appears to do nothing. This is very surprising since I have a $50 model from Aiwa that works very well -- it's just uncomfortable.

UPDATE: Sent the original set in for repair, Sony replaced it. Second set has the same problem -- no noise reduction. The concept is great - but this model doesn't do it.