Sony MDR-NC40 Noise Cancelling Headphone (Black)

by Sony

Product Features

• Lightweight, Noise-Canceling Headphones For Long Flights
• Passive Operation Even When Power Is Off
• Pressure-Relieving Urethane Cushion For Comfortable Fitting
• High quality noise canceling
• Compact Folding

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.7 x 4.1 inches ; 12 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002T3UQ0
• Item model number: MDRNC40
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (156 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 3, 2008

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

179 of 184 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fine product November 10, 2008

By Ronald K. Goodenow VINE™ VOICE

I travel a great deal and have a drawer full of noise canceling headphones by Panasonic, Kensington, JVC and Sony. Each had limitations -- not enough high end, poor construction, poor noise reduction, or in the case of lesser Sony's I bought several months ago, pretty good sound, but rather inadequate ear cups and poor portability (they wouldn't fold up to occupy as little as possible space in my briefcase.)Always worried about losing or damaging something while traveling I did not go for the full kahuna and buy Bose.

So, having seen these around some local shops and taken a listen I bought the NC40 and immediately took them on a trip.

By and large they are fine. When turned on (don't even try to listen to them when off) the sound is rich and clean; lovely base and good high end, which is important to my tired ole ears. Plenty of mid-range. Nice volume. I'm not sure they are world beaters in terms of overall noise reduction, but they certainly take the edge off and from my same old seat near the rear of a Southwest jet, they provide a relaxing and easy to take listening experience. One WANTS to use this extremely comfortable headset, whether noise reduction is needed or not. I hear things I didn't know my MP3 decoder put in a file. Oh, I listen mainly to jazz and classical music.

Oh yes, they fold up neatly and I like the on-off switch/battery holder, which lives by itself on the connecting line and has an override button that works beautifully.

82 of 82 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Performance, Nice price September 30, 2008

By John Hook

As a frequent business traveler, I was looking for some noise canceling headphones but did not want to spend the chunk of change on Bose. After reading some of the reviews on these Sony's here and other places, I decided to give them a shot. I'm glad I did! Now, I'm no audiophile, nor do I have much to compare these to from a noise canceling perspective, but they do their job well. Yes, you have to have them turned on for them to sound decent, but the battery life seems very good. I've made 3 trips to China and a few domestic trips with the original battery still in them. Probably 60 hours conservatively (I only use them on the planes). I can keep them on for a 13 hour flight with out any discomfort, and I am very pleased with the degree of noise canceling.

78 of 79 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Item for the price, Just know what you are buying it for September 7, 2008

By Irv Miller

Amazon Verified Purchase

I find it funny when I read other people's reviews and they complain about the sound of these units with the power turned off. These units are noise canceling headphones. They were not meant to be "hi-end listen to all your music all the time type of headphones." There are tons of other headphones to choose from that will surpass the performance of the Sony MDR-NC40 for everyday use and for a lot less money.

The NC40 are a noise canceling headphones. They were meant to cut the constant drone of airplane noise or the constant sound you get when riding in a bus or a train... and they do work.
I guess what I can honestly say is if you travel 5 or 6 times a year on a plane then this is a great choice. I have not listened to the Bose models, but I can tell you this, no matter what I can afford, there is no way I could justify 3.5X the price for the Bose headphones to travel with a few times a year.

The NC20 sits on the ear, it does not cup the ear. You can still hear when people talk to you at normal levels. If you are dealing with a screaming baby behind you just crank up the volume of whatever you are listening to and it will drown out the unwanted sounds.

These are great if you use them for what they are intended. You can buy the NC40 here on Amazon and then get a set of Bose TriPort Headphones for regular every day listening and still be at less than 1/2 the price of the Quiet comfort headphones.

The bottom line is I would recommend the NC40 to anyone who travels, but not to some one who just wants headphones to use at home.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't know what I'd do without them January 23, 2009

By pro-metheus

I've had these headphones for about 9 months. I wanted to wait to review them, because headphones sometimes fall apart and this is obviously relevant to their value. And while this set isn't on the high end price-wise, it isn't cheap either. But I can say that I have had no problems with them so far.

I've always had a love/hate relationship with headphones. Yes, I love them for the music, but there's always something about them that is uncomfortable or obnoxious. I listen to music while in transit, so I need a pair that is comfortable, but most headphones don't seem to be designed for comfort! Comfort means: doesn't hurt your ears to wear, and doesn't slip off. But this is usually a tradeoff; it's so difficult to find headphones that aren't a nuisance to wear in one respect or the other.

In fact, for a while I wore earbuds because they tend to hurt less than headphones for long periods of listening, and they don't slip off if you have them in securely. But the problem is I found that although they wouldn't slip, they'd get yanked off easily if my arm or another object brushed the cord. I also tried a pair of "in the ear" headphones and the problem was any movement of the cord transmitted up into my ear, which was very distracting.

I have none of these problems with Sony MDR-NC40. Actually they are very comfortable, so comfortable that at work I couldn't wait for a break to put them back on. The padding feels great, does not put painful pressure on the ears, but is snug enough that the set stays on if you lean forward or back. And while I won't say that they're the coolest option in the summer, they are very light so they are cooler than larger alternatives that can make you hot.

The sound is really great.... I cannot compare to high end headphones, but I can certainly say that the sound is richer and clearer with these than with the Sony MDR-NC6 I wore before them. Another reviewer mentioned that one can hear singers more clearly, which is the first thing I noticed. Being outdoors, it's difficult to understand lyrics, but I can actually listen to audio podcasts now at a bus stop with cars rushing by - without cranking up the sound. This is in part due to the noise cancellation, which is excellent, and to the sound quality. I could make out not only words, but instruments that couldn't be distinguished with other headphones.

Others have mentioned that music does not sound good with the noise cancellation off. My only complaint is not so much about the lower base with it off, but the tunnel quality of the music. And with the cancellation on, wind is made very loud. Indoors this is obviously not a problem, but if you wear them outside as I do this means you sometimes have the tradeoff of music quality or wind noise. Maybe there's nothing they can do about this, and in any case I consider it a minor complaint.

I'll say this much about the noise cancellation, though. Even in the quiet of my apartment I love to retreat into the music with these. I can listen without even the minor distractions of the hum of the refrigerator or the low conversations just barely heard in other apartments. And while it won't let you completely tune out obnoxious people, I've worn them on the bus, the train and the plane and the cancellation eliminates much of the engine noise, making the ride a lot more pleasant. There may be better out there if money is not a limitation. But for the price, these headphones are a real gem. Read more ›