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"Awful sound quality" on by strellj
Pros: Passive NC Works Fine
Cons: Active NC Actually Makes Noise
Summary: Under certain circumstances, and with the appropriate EQ diddling on the source side, these could be OK headphones without the noise cancelling feature. However, my experience with the overalll "canned" sound and the enhanced low frequency "boom" made the headphones much too annoying to consider keeping. I returned them the next day.
Bottom Line: Take CNet's advice to try before you buy, and save yourself the hassle of an extra trip.
Note: In comparison, Sony's MDR-NC20 model, unfortunately discontinued, offered a much richer range of frequency response and noise cancelling circuitry that made listening to music a joy. With luck, you can still find it for sale on the internet and at certain CompUSA locations. -
"Great sounding headphones when they work." on by ccrichter
Pros: Sound great. Excellent noise reduction. Cheaper than Bose.
Cons: Poor quality control. Limited availability.
Summary: I bought a pair of MDR-NC50s to use while working at home. They were perfect when the left ear wasn't shorting out. When I called Sony, they were very helpful. They told me to send them in for a brand new replacement pair. Unfortunately, shortly after I sent them in, I received a call telling me they didn't have any in stock to send me. I just had to take my money back. That's great, but I can't listen to cash. I was very disappointed. I can't give a good review to a defective pair of headphones that I can't even get replaced. If you buy a pair, I wish you better luck than I had.
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"Mechanically flawed - look elsewhere" on by khs37087
Pros: Good sound if your can get it
Cons: No high/low input selector, poor connection design
Summary: I bought a pair at the Sony store in New York for full price and watched one movie using them. I constantly had to push the phone plug connector into the headphones to get a connection. After about an hour of use, the connection was non-existing no matter what I did. The design of the input connection is defective. Rather than jump through the customer service hoops, I just tossed these and bought a pair of Bose Quiet Comfort 2's (for $100 more!).
Sony design is usually good, but these stink. They need to go back to the drawing board or copy the ingenious Bose connection between the headphones and the input plug. Save your money. -
"A very disappointing product" on by kaminst
Pros: Good sound quality
Cons: Uncomfortable, poor sound cancellation
Summary: When my Bose Triport phones broke, I figured I'd get a pair of sound-cancelling phones. I didn't want to pay $300 for the Bose, so I chose the Sony NC50 based on its reviews. After 10 minutes, I packed them up and sent them back. They are very heavy and uncomfortable, in fact painful on the angle of the jaw below the ear. There is a low booming sound when the noise cancellation is working, just at the threshold of audibility, but quite unpleasant. And the sound cancellation is mediocre. I think I'll just buy another pair of Bose Triports (non-sound cancelling), which are light, comfortable, sound good and actually give pretty good sound insulation.
Sony MDR-NC50 user reviews
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