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: Geat headphones for the price
Summary: 5 Stars
I have listened to the Bose CQ2s and went with these because of the price and added features of being able to listen to music without battery power and the button on the side that lets year hear the outside world again. It does take a good music source to drive these, my 4th gen iPod was decent. I could definitly hear a difference when I got a 5G iPod. Most people that have let listen to these have really liked them, better than most had heard before.Digital camera Review: Geez ... what's all the whining about?
Summary: 4 Stars
About a month ago, I had my Bose QC2 headset (along with my MP3 player and 1GB CF card) stolen from among other personal belongings at a western states airport. Devastated, I dreaded the prospect of shelling out ANOTHER $300 to "Dr. Bose" for a replacement set of his mystical noise-canceling cans.
As luck would have it, however, both the Bose headset and the Sony headset are available as redemption "rewards" under a popular credit card that I typically use when I travel. At that time, I had accumulated enough "points" on my account to get the Sony headset, but I needed another 8,000 or so to get the Bose headset. At the rate I accumulate "points," waiting to get enough points for the Bose set would have taken many months, and I just couldn't wait that long to replace my noise-canceling cans. So ... I decided to take a chance and get the Sony cans instead. Now that I have received the Sony headset and put them through their paces, I don't regret my decision at all. I found the Sony headset to be a perfectly acceptable alternate to the Bose cans, and here's why.
I used the Bose cans for about two years, and they were, in a word, EXCELLENT. Until now, because I was so supremely satisfied with the Bose cans, I never compared them to other noise-canceling headphones, but I absolutely loved their sound quality, particularly at the bottom end. I don't think anyone has ever even matched Bose's patented bass emulation technology, much less beaten it. In terms of bass response alone, the Bose cans flat-out kicked butt on my new Sony cans. From bottom to top, the dynamic spectrum also seemed a little better integrated in the Bose cans than in the Sonys.
However, that's about it. The construction of the Sonys is FAR superior to that of the Bose. More meaty and solid head support, extenders, and earcups; firmer, thicker ear and head cushions; a little bit heavier than the Bose set, but not much. I'm a pretty big guy, so all these features are "money" to me. I like my audio stuff big, strong and solid.
In fact, about a year after I got my first set of Bose cans, one of the plastic brackets at the point where the extender comes out of the headrest broke. To their credit, when I complained to Bose, they gave me an RMA and replaced my entire headset, no questions asked. Bose standing up for their product like that was definitely cool, but let's face it ... a headset as expensive as the QC2's should never have broken like that in the first place. Bose is making a KILLING on these headphones by having them manufactured with cheap labor in China, but they are not passing on one cent of their profits/savings to their customers in the form of reduced price. All the more reason to try the Sonys, and to tell Dr. Bose to take his overpriced cans and shove 'em.
The Sony cans are operable with the noise-canceling feature turned on, or off. There is no such option with the Bose cans. However, there is a DRAMATIC difference in performance between the active (noise-canceling on) and the passive (noise-canceling off) modes in the Sony cans. For example, in active mode, the resistance level of the Sony cans is 40 ohms. Since Bose doesn't publish specifications for its headphones, it's impossible to know for sure if this level of resistance is comparable to the Bose set. However, judging from the volume levels I became used to in listening to my MP3 player, I would guess that if the resistance level of the Bose headset isn't exactly 40 ohms, it's somewhere pretty close to that, because I found the sound levels and dynamic range pretty near equal in both headsets, at every volume level on my audio player.
The noise-canceling function in the Sony set is every bit as good as the Bose set, if not better. I often found quite a bit of ambient noise audible through the Bose set. With the Sonys, a greater spectrum of ambient noise seemed to be effectively eliminated.
In terms of music playback, in active mode, the highs were crystalline and transparent, the mids, solid and well-defined. The bass response was warm and full, but not as punchy and tight as I would have preferred, or to be more accurate, as I had become accustomed to with the Bose. However, I was able to substantially tighten it up with a few simple EQ adjustments in my player, and I then found myself completely satisfied with the bass response in the Sonys.
In passive mode, however, the bass practically disappears, and the rest of the dynamics thin out considerably. That is due to the fact that in passive mode, the resistance level in the Sony cans jumps up to 100 ohms. For most portable audio players, pushing sound through 100 ohms resistance is something like pushing a golf ball through a garden hose. That doesn't mean the headphones are somehow "defective," or that they stop working! It just means that if you intend to use these headphones in passive mode, you need to make sure you have enough power coming out of your audio source to drive the headphones properly, or you will not be happy with the result.
Anticipating this problem before I even received the Sony cans, I researched and bought myself a portable headphone amplifier, to put between my MP3 player output and the headphones, just in case I ever wanted to use the Sony headset in passive mode. In addition to a butt-kicking signal boost that would undoubtedly be exciting news for ANY portable audio nut, the good headphone amps include a vast number of other benefits, such as advanced signal processing/enhancement. I won't go into detail on these benefits in this review, but let's just say that if you listen to a lot of music through headphones, you REALLY owe it to yourself to try one of these things. What they add to your enjoyment of your music is simply immeasurable.
The Headroom Airhead is a pricey and typical example of this technology ... a bit too pricey for me, at $150. I went instead with a largely unknown amp, designed, built and direct-marketed by a Canadian sound engineer named Gary Ali. If you're interested you can see his PA2V2 amp at www.electric-avenues.com. Gary is a great and completely trustworthy guy, and his amp is a little sonic marvel, that he will sell direct to you for only $60.00.
Without the headphone amp, in passive mode, my MP3 player (which uses 2 AA batteries, or 3 volts, to put out about 20 mW per side from the headphone output) had just enough power at full volume to drive the Sony cans to the point where I would consider the sound "full" or, just reaching the point one might call "hot." Any smaller, lower-powered player (e.g., one that runs on 1.5 volts or one AA battery) would probably not be able to do much at all with the Sony cans in passive mode.
Because the bass response is significantly reduced in passive mode, I had to reset the EQ on the player to get some of the bass back, which I did. When I added the headphone amp, however, I was able to get pretty much the same dynamic range and frequency response out of the headphones in passive mode as I was getting with the headset in active mode, without the amp ... proof positive that performance of a headset like this has a lot more to do with power and efficiency than it has to do with any particular design or component differences.
The Sony cans also have a "monitor" button on the exterior that allows you to instantly cut the sound off completely when someone is trying to talk to you, or if you want to hear something that going on outside your headset, another feature not found in the Bose headset.
The Sony cans come with a fairly firm black nylon mesh carrying case, an airline adapter plug, and a 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch stereo adapter plug. The primary plug on the headset is a 1/8 inch mini-stereo plug. The earcups fold over, just like the Bose cans, for storage in the case. Inside the case, there's a little velcro fold over compartment for storing the adapters and cable. The exterior strap for the Sony cans is only big enough for hand-carrying.
The Bose case, on the other hand, is made of a custom-molded plastic polymer, covered with a nylon mesh material, and includes an adjustable shoulder strap, an elastic pocket on the outside, and another removable mesh zippered pocket on the inside. Between the two cases, I confess that I preferred the Bose design.
The bottom line here is this: when one considers the cost of what one is getting in the Sony headset (around $125.00), compared with the $300 Dr. Bose is forcing us to cough up for HIS noise-canceling cans, there is absolutely no question that the Sonys are the better value.
I don't know why so many people have panned the Sonys, but I suspect most of them simply didn't understand what they were getting in the first place, and thus never bothered to figure out how to use them properly.
I say, buy the Sony MDR-NC50's with confidence that you're getting a great value, but if you can, try them out before you buy them, and recognize that you'll probably have to tinker with your input sources a bit to get these Sony headphones to perform in a way that suits your individual tastes.
Digital camera Review: Getting the feeback noise too
Summary: 1 Stars
At first, I liked these and agreed with all the other positive reviews. Unfortunately, I am getting the annoying high-pitched feedback sound that another reviewer indicated. I do not know if I have a defective unit or if this is a bad design. The feedback is intermittent and changes pitch and is only on the right side. Sometimes I can force it to happen by applying moderate pressure to the right side of the unit but it will occur on its own as well. It happens with and without music attached but only when the noise cancel is activated. They are going back to Amazon today and I get to evaluate their return policy!
I do really like the ability to remove the cable and the monitor button is a very nice feature. I wish the rest of the unit worked as well.
Digital camera Review: Good and reasonably priced
Summary: 4 Stars
These noise canceling headphones do the job: they are not too heavy, have a good sound and fit well on small/average size heads. The case is functional though not sure it can still be part of a carry-on. It is probably not as good as the newer Bose system, but at less than 1/3rd of the price, it is for sure a better deal especially if you are just using them to travel.Digital camera Review: Good for the price
Summary: 4 Stars
I've used both the Bose QuietComfort 2 headphones and I just bought a pair of Sony's flagship noise-cancelling headphones, the NC50. I would say that for the price, I would recommend the Sony's over the QC2's. For one, I found that the Bose tended to create some sort of negative pressure which made me want to pop my ears (like in an airplane). Also, the QC2's will not play music without noise-cancellation turned on so if your battery dies, you're out of luck. Not so with the Sony headphones. The NC50 has better passive noise blocking (the padding is stiffer than the Bose to create a better seal). However, this makes them a little bit less comfortable over long periods. I am really liking this monitor button on the side of the Sony's that not only turns off noise-cancellation, but it also mutes your music so you can hear people talking to you (or about you) even though you still have the headphones on. I bought these on eBay for $70 , which makes them less than a quarter of what the Bose QC2's sell for. In all, I'm satisfied and think that they are well worth the price if you can get them for less than retail.
Edit: I've had these for a few months now and I can attest to the fact that they do indeed have a feedback design flaw that makes using them with the NC feature turned on unbearable. I can no longer recommend this product. It's surprising that Sony let these out the door without properly testing them. It's a shame because they work great otherwise. Also, after a year or so the pleather on the ear pads starts to crumble and flake giving you the appearance of small bugs in your hair or black dandruff.