Sony MDR-NC50 Noise Canceling Headphones by Sony
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Digital camera reviews of Sony MDR-NC50 Noise Canceling Headphones
Digital camera Review: I bought $30 headphones that are much better
Summary: 2 Stars
I was really excited to use these. They are nearly as well reviewed as the Bose. Unfortunately, they don't work so well. They just collect dust on my shelf. The noise cancelling works well BUT if you are in an environment where the noise fluctuates, you'll notice that. For example, a window seat on an airplane. Which is pretty much what I bought them for. Not acceptable. Bass distortion makes them unlistenable. For a while I just assumed that's the way it goes. Then I tried my girlfriend's $30 in-ear fontopia headphones and I couldn't put them down. MUCH better. No bass distortion and I don't miss the noise cancelling AT ALL.Digital camera Review: I bought it because it is a SONY, but it isn't that great
Summary: 3 Stars
OK, I'll keep this short and sweet.
- A little too tight around my ears / head
- Left ear has some vibration to it ... not the same as the right ear. (I know that doesn't make sense ... but if you try these out, and tap on the left hear, you will here some echo or vibration that is not heard on the right ear) ... this makes it very annoying.
Thats it ... those are my 2 complaints. I did try many other brands, and they all have their flaws ... these are the flaws of the sony.
If money wasn't an issue, I would have bought the bose, and only bought this because I thought it was the next best thing.
Digital camera Review: I thought I was crazy, but no!
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought these headphones for use during flights. Sound was good, noise reduction worked quite well, but if the left earpiece moves slightly out of place, a horrible howling noise rattles your head. Reading other reviews, it turns out this is quite common for this model. I can't figure out why, but it seems it somehow generates its own feedback loop and goes out of control unless they're really snug against the ear. Why only the left ear? Who knows! Sony engineers should really show their face and explain why this happens. I don't have much of an issue with comfort as other reviewers do; I still haven't found a pair of headphones one can wear for hours straight without discomfort, noise cancelling or not.
My recommendation: If you can dish out an extra $150 or so, go with the more proven Bose headphones. If you're on the cheap side, go for the basic JVC $50 set. This middleground Sony product is really hard to recommend - not cheap, yet with a major failure that most less-expensive sets don't have.
Digital camera Review: I wouldn't say I love them, but they are good
Summary: 4 Stars
I just got these headphones for use on a long trip. Here is my 2 cents...
I used these headphones during an 11 hour flight to Europe, plus a 2 hour flight within Europe - and then again on my return trip - flying the same route in reverse. My 11 hour flights were on a 747 and my 2 hour flights were on a small jet.
I must say that I'm glad I got noise-canceling headphones. And for the price, I'm happy with these Sony ones. I did have a chance to try the Bose QC2 before deciding to go with Sony due to price. I tried the Bose and Sony's in various noisy places at work, and my opinion is that the Bose were noticeably quieter. Since I didn't try the Bose on a plane, I guess I can't say without a doubt that the Bose would be better in that environment. Still, I find it hard to believe some of the reviews that say the Sonys are just as good as the Bose.
I found that the Sony's eliminated a good amount of noise. For comparison, I took them off and plugged my ears with my fingers and thought it was about the same. That is, I could definitely still hear background noise. It's not like I was sitting in silence (like I hoped). I was actually a little disappointed at first by this, but eventually I came around. I realized it's probably unrealistic to expect all the noise to be eliminated. And after a few hours of flying, when I took the headphones off for a minute, that's when I noticed how loud the plane actually was. Also, probably the most convincing thing was that I was able to comfortably watch the in-flight movie with the arm rest control set to the absolute lowest volume. At times, I really did forget about the background hum of the plane.
Some more things worth mentioning:
-on the first 11 hour flight, after about 7 hours, my head started hurting due to the pressure in front of my ear and I needed to take a break. I later realized that I could pivot the ear cups such that they fit better. It's hard to describe except to say that long term comfort definitely depends on getting the right position. On my return flight, with a little diligence, I was able to wear them the whole 11 hours without irritation.
-I did find it annoying at times, the space they took up in my carry on bag. They definitely aren't compact.
-I found the monitor button pretty useless
-I used them in passive mode just as regular headphones and I thought the sound quality was pretty good. I would use these as regular headphones.
-I never had any of the wailing that some people complain about
-one battery lasted my whole trip
In conclusion, I'm now a definite believer in combating noise on planes. Whether you like noise canceling, noise isolating, etc, etc can be debated. But I'm convinced that I felt better after an 11 hour flight than I have after a 7 hour flight without any ear protection. Even though you get accustomed to the noise without protection, I really think it takes its toll on you after a few hours.
Digital camera Review: I've had good experiences with these
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought these headphones refurbished, and feel that it was a really worthwhile purchase. Everyone else has provided a lot of good reviews and information, so I'll only add a couple of things.
Yes, the maximum output level of these headphones isn't super loud. However, how loud do they really need to be? I'm not interested in damaging my hearing--I just want to be able to hear the music clearly. These headphones are definitely loud enough for that without being cranked all the way. Plus, with the noise canceling feature you don't really need high volume, since the background noise is lessened. I don't think the volume level is a problem. Also, I'd like to add that I think the sound quality is excellent.
Batteries are great--I didn't time exactly how long the single AAA battery lasts in listening hours, because I lost count. It's really not inconvenient that they are battery powered--plus, I got rechargeable batteries so it's even less of an issue.
One thing I'd like to add is that if you wear these headphones walking or, like I did, on a train, if you step hard or the train hits any bumpy rails the phones may cut out with the bump. Not really an issue here, since I don't plan to wear mine running and the train wasn't too bumpy, but if this is a foreseeable issue for you, you might want to try something else.
All in all, these are great headphones for me--the noise canceling works well and is not obtrusive (i.e. no annoyingly loud hiss), the sound quality is quite good, they are very comfortable, and I got them at a very reasonable price. I'd recommend getting them refurbished--you can save a lot of money, and they've been dialed in by the manufacturer, so they'll work well (and if they don't you've got the warranty too!). I've had mine 6 months and no problems!