- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 12 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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6 out of 7 people found this review helpful
1.5 stars
"Huge disappointment from Sony"
Pros: Pretty good noise cancelling
Cons: Very uncomfortable, Huge carrying case, poor battery life
Summary: I have been waiting to hear these ever since I read about them in January. When I finally received them last week I was very disappointed. Things that were very important to me were
Noise cancelling ability
Sound Quality
Comfort
Travel Size
Battery life
I have been using Bose QC1, QC2 and QC3. I was looking for something better. Well did Sony succeed? Absolutely not. I would not buy these for $100. Let me start with all the negatives. While the actual headphones are only slighly larger than the Qc2 the carry case is about 70% larger. You almost need a seperate suitcase just to carry the huge case. Sony states the battery life is 16 hours and 12 hours with the 2 AA batteries. Well according to the manual you only get 15 hours and 10 on the AA. I also found the headphones to be very uncomfortable. The cushion pads are very firm and they squeeze your head. At home I found the noisecancelling to be useless but I was still somewhat optimistic that they would be great on the airplane. Sony says they block out 99% of the noise. Well they did not do that. I could not tell any difference between the noise cancelation between the QC2 and these. The sound quality is pretty good but I could not listen to them for more than 5 minutes beacuse it was hurting my jaw. SO they cannot compete with the QC2 because the Bose are so much more comfortable, are smaller to travel with and the battery lasts 3 times as long.
- 4 replies to this review
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You might adjusting the headphones to a smaller size (if possible on your head) Pressure on the jaw means they are adjusted to large. The weight should be borne by the headband, not the cups. If found them extremely comfortable when adjusted, and the jaw pressure when too large.
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Ignorance doesn't help - 99% is something like 15 to 18 db of noise cancellation. It sounds like noise cancellation is more on the order of 21 to 24 db, which would be superior. The tight fit helps seal out mid-range frequencies, which are just as much a nuisance as low frequency rumble.
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Thanks! I thought 99% sounded a bit too good to be true. I wonder if that's even possible...
Nevertheless, I would strongly recommend the Creative Aurvana X-Fi headphones which deliver Bose-like sound quality, and have built-in X-Fi effects too ;) I am now listening to Muse - Knights of Cydonia, and it sounds beyond realistic! -
Good comparative review, Sharlover2. Thanks for saving me $399!
BTW, another point I would make to others reading this: the convenience of being able to use a single AAA battery to power the QC2 should not be underestimated versus the built in rechargeable battery on the QC3 and the NC500D. Yes, the NC500D has an external battery pack but why bother and this and the AC charger seems to impact the size of the carrying case severely.
In an age of alkeline batteries that cost next to nothing in bulk packs, and the trivial weight of an AAA, I keep 2-3 in my Bose QC2 case at all times and have never run out of power nor needed to worry about it. And with each battery lasting 16 or more hours, the QC2 is for me perfect. I personally felt, like many reviewers, that the QC3 is by comparison less comfortable.
Where to buy
Sony MDR-NC500D Digital Noise Canceling Headphones:
$257.24 - $399.99
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