Sony MDR-NC50 Noise Cancelling Headphones

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2007-05-30 rating:
Great purchase
I am very impressed with these headphones. I have used them on two flights, each lasting about 6 or 7 hours. They do just what you would expect them to - significantly reduce the flight noise, and allow you to listen to your music. The noise cancellation feature does noticeably reduce the aircraft noise still further. You can allow outside sounds in temporarily by pressing a button on one headset. I can't imagine flying without them now - I felt so much more calm and relaxed with the aircraft noise reduced. The headphones are able to give a good reproduction of both treble and bass sounds. I can't comment on why someone else wrote that they have a problem with the bass sounds - it's fine as far as I'm concerned. There are adaptors supplied to fit into the aircraft headphone sockets. The headphones, cable, and plugs fit neatly inside the supplied carrying case.

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review by: date: 2007-05-16 rating:
Don't punish your ears!
Noise cancellation is a neat enough novelty that, in these headphones at least, does genuinely work at mid-to-low frequencies. The headphones themselves are also comfortably furnished, and it would certainly be possible to wear them for hours in this respect. They also seem structurally sound, and unlikely to crack apart in the same manner as the Icemats they replaced. These are the last kind words I will say about these headphones. Now, for the bile.

According to the manual: "When you use the headphones in a train or a car, noise may occur depending on street conditions. In such a case, turn the POWER switch off." The "noise" appears to consist of a very low frequency shudder, which is at best distracting and at worst nauseating, and it occurs almost constantly as I sit next to a traffic-heavy road. Certain noises, such as that of a door closing, heighten this to near-unbearable levels.

Even this, though, might have been ultimately forgiveable if the sound quality was up to scratch, but, sadly, it genuinely isn't. With the noise reduction on, the low frequencies are muddy and indistinct, and gave an experience that I instantly related to wearing a £3 pair of in-ear headphones. Obviously, the problem isn't quite as pronounced, but cheaper contemporaries can wipe the floor with this, and even Sony's own in-ear headphones give a far richer sound, making you wonder where they went wrong. With the noise reduction off, the sound is airy to the point of tinniness. It's difficult to make your mind up which is worse: intractable muddiness or heartless airiness.

In summary: These are an attractive pair of earmuffs that may be able to reduce in-flight noise, but keep them away from roads and, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD IN THE WORLD, don't let them near your music.

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review by: date: 2007-03-14 rating:
Don't waste your time ... move along and buy something else ...
I bought these headphones with high hopes. However, upon finding a new AAA battery (none is included in the box), my hopes were shattered -a headache inducing very low frequency rumble coming from both earpieces. The volume of the rumble seems to be highly dependent on how the headphones sit on your head, whether you're moving, which direction you're facing and, in over two hours of trying, I only got a comfortable noise-free fit for 2 minutes.

I'm returning these as faulty. I was going to ask for a replacement but, reading numerous other poor reviews, I can only conclude they are not fit for purpose as they suffer from a severe design flaw.

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review by: date: 2006-12-14 rating:
Excellent performance, cheaper than an upgrade
I've been using these for over a year now and mainly on long haul flights. I'm sure I managed more than the stated 30 hrs battery life as I've only just had to replace the first one. But the splendid carry case and slot for a spare battery means I'm not going to worry about batteries running out.

Sitting in the back of the plane on 10 hr + flights (company policy unfortunately) a pair of these with or without an iPod definitely makes travel more bearable. Low frequency noise (engine drone) is much reduced but high frequency (babies etc) is not.

The quality of the noise reduction is such that IFE volume only needs to be on lowest setting. The downside is that crew announcements come through very loud. It would have been nice to have a button to turn off sound rather than having to pull the plug from the armrest. (There is a button to switch off the iPod signal and amplify external sound, but not one to block both sounds.)

Get a pair of these, put your iPod, eye shades, wallet and passport in the carry case, and you can travel any distance, any flight, anywhere - even stuck in the last row of the plane next to the toilets!




review by: Steve Mitchell date: 2006-10-08 rating:
Very Satisfied!
I was a little disappointed to see Amazon didn't sell Bose Headphones, so I decided to purchase the Sony MDF-NC50 Noise Cancelling Headphones which are a great cost effective alternative without the compromise in quality. I bought these for a flight lasting 6 hours - easily the most comfortable headphones I've tried on with great adjustable head band to fit all head sizes! A decent sized cable length and the very useful plane adapter included.

As for the noise cancelling technology - I was very impressed, having tried the new Bose Quiet Comfort v3 I feel Sony's version is strong competition for Bose, granted there is a slight difference between the Sony and Bose Noise Cancelling Technology but your paying an extra £150 or so. When turning this feature on you could immediately notice the difference as the plane droning was reduced dramatically. I did at first experience the problem with only hearing the headphones through 1 ear but this was easily resolved as I hadn't pushed the cable in fully!

Comes with a good rugged case too! - Overall I rated this 5 stars as it had no floors for my usage. - I'd highly recommend this if you don't want to spend the extra money for Bose equipment.

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