IT Blog Today

After reading many reviews and owning the Sony MDR-NC60's for 6 months there seems to be some things people miss. Yes Sony makes great headphones at a reasonable price, but these are really more then headphones. I have 3 uses for the headphones, First is listening to music on the lawn tractor. Second is listening to music while running the snow blower. Third is listening to music while flying on a commercial airline. All three are very noise environments.

The MDR-NC60's where purchased to "replace" a pair of Sony MDR-V7 that I still own and use to this day, just not in the three aforementioned environments. As I have been getting older just blasting music over the noise just became unacceptable. The sound quality of the NC-60 is not as good as the V7 in a quite areas as the NC60's are a closed headphone and can not reproduce as accurately. However get in constant noise and the NC-60 really take out the background, not totally thus the 85% rating, but listening to music while snow blowing or lawn mowing is very enjoyable.

Noisy environment does not equal office talking and people walking about. I found that the noise cancellation works best on engine noise, that lower frequency constant hum. I have read bad reviews based on office environments however the frequencies in office noise is usually a higher pitch then that of engine noise. If they did cancel those frequencies you may hear it affect the music too, something to keep in mind.

I too have run into the background noise issue that has been mentioned in other reviews with no audio in only. If the headset is turned on and the headphones are not plugged in I have heard and felt the loop back noise mentioned by others, however plug the headphones into a device and turn the device on and it stops. The device does not have to be putting music out just powered on. I am sorry but I can not fault the active electronics down to a one star rating for this and fail to mention there really is a work around. Maybe some people just don't experiment or they really did get bum headphones, can only tell you what I have found.

True test = flight from New York to Hawaii, 11 hours of air time and used the headphones the whole time. I hate flying due to the earaches caused by the jet engine noise. Previous flights have been with nothing or with other headphones and drowning out the engine noise. These trips have been from New York to Florida or Texas, shorter flights and miserable results. I got off the plane in Hawaii and felt great these headphones really saved me this time.

I can not compare to other Noise Cancellation headphones as yes I admit I am a Sony headphone fan and just could not find any demos to work with. I bought the headphones on spec alone and have not been sorry.

Comparing headphones to headphones. I have 4 pairs of Sony's I can use and the following.

QUIET ROOM.
Sony MDR-V7 = 5 Stars
Sony MDR -NC60 = 4 Stars
Sony MDR-E828LP=4 Stars
Sony MDR-V150=3 Stars

NOISY ENVIROMENT
Sony MDR-V7 = 3.5 Stars
Sony MDR -NC60 = 5 Stars
Sony MDR-E828LP=2 Stars
Sony MDR-V150=2.5 Stars

I've used Bose's over the ear noise canceling headphones for a couple of years while traveling across country. On an overnight flight from LA with my wife along, I loaned them to her to watch the movie and never got them back. To make a long story short, I cast about and came across a review (here) that favorably compared this Sony model to Bose's, so I ordered a pair to have for those occasions my wife is along on trips. Guess what, I'm now using the Sony headphones and the Bose's are the ones sitting at home waiting for those occasions when she's along for the trip.

For those new to noise reduction headphones, don't expect miracles. They reduce noise, not eliminate it. Moreover, they react best to sound waves that are long; i.e., low tones. This means they take out a substantial portion of the noise on an airplane, which is a consistent roar, but will not remove intermittent sounds. It's still startles me to be able to hear the conversation going on in the seat behind me since the parties are talking loudly to overcome the airplane noise. You can still communicate with the stewardess or your seat partner, although somewhat muffled since your ears are encased. There is a mic switch you can press to activate the earphone mic if you actually want to make conversation. That may be the source of some of the problems encountered by negative reviewers. Myself, I've found these phones to be superb, especially in contrasting them to the Bose model, which is generally acknowledged to be the top of the heap. I doubt any headphones of this sort would pass audiophile muster, but that's not what they're designed for. What they do is make very long flights bearable, providing much less intrusive sound levels, and permitting actually hearing the plane's sound system effectively. The other crucial factor is comfort and these easily match the Bose's in that regard (try my 9 hour flight to Honolulu during which they were hardly ever off of my head).

The package includes things like an airplane jack and a protective carrying case. The case may not be quite as crush resistant as Bose's but it's plenty tough. I strap it across my lap top handle and it has yet to show any wear and tear, even with all the shoving under airline seats or in overhead compartments.

I just purchased two pairs of these prior to going on a long trip with my wife. They sound great, the noise cancelling feature is nice on the airplane, and they're comfortable enough to sleep with them on your ears.

I'm very picky about the products I purchase and especially high priced purchases. This was a very good investment and I encourage anyone looking for a $300 set of headphones to buy these for half the price.