Sony MDR-NC50 Noise Canceling Headphones

by Sony

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 10 x 8 inches ; 10.2 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0007N55OQ
• Item model number: MDRNC50
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (119 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 26, 2005

Product Description

High quality NOISE CANCELING headphones Slim swivel folding style for easy portability Built-in monitor switch to hear surrounding sound Ear conscious design for premium wearing comfort Neodymium magnets are used to deliver powerful sound

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

289 of 298 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars spectacular, October 4, 2005

By 

Muhammad Miguel Ali Hasan "Film Director & Po... (Sunset Beach, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony MDR-NC50 Noise Canceling Headphones (Electronics)

I just tried these 'phones on with my iPod in the Sony store

they are DEFINITELY much better than the $300 Bose

here are the pros -

1. Sound Quality --- terrific sound quality --- I almost forgot I was standing in a store, because I was so wrapped up by how great my tunes were sounding

2. Noise Cancelling --- definitely makes a difference here - there is more pureness and depth within each tune, once cancelling is on ----- however, the headphones still sound great even without Noise Cancelling on

3. Comfort ---- the ear-cups on these things are terrific! I hated how the $300 Bose had a type of 'suction' element to them - these cups wrap around real nicely, closing in on your ear, but making it fine to rest your head upon them, as well

4. MONITOR BUTTON --- this was really cool! These 'phones have a button on the side (a sliver button) that upon being pressed, the music is elimated and all outside noises are allowed in ----- thus, if someone approaches to talk to you, you can just press the monitor button and talk back, without even taking your 'phones off

5. Detachable Cable ---- I liked this --- these 'phones won't get caught up in cable binds

6. Built in battery -- not much to add here

7. Adjustments ---- the 'phones are easy to adjust and manuever

CONS ---- sadly, a few cons

1. Portability ---- the 'phones are small enough to put in a briefcase, backpack, and most laptop bags...... however, they don't fold up ---- rather, they become flat, but the middle doesn't fold in any way ---- so they are not as easy to pack, as most headphones

2. Comfort/FIT ------ personally, I have a BIG head, and one reason I abandoned my $300 Bose is because the snug fit gave me horrible headaches..... sadly, this Sony set seems to do the same ---- if you don't have this problem with other headphones though, then I doubt you'd have it with this one

otherwise though, for $120, these 'phones are a bargain!

Definitely an upgrade in sound quality over Sony's previous models ----- and definitely even BETTER in sound quality, compared to the $300 Bose

HAPPY LISTENING!!!!!

142 of 144 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Noise reduction pretty good, depth of sound questionable, June 8, 2005

By 

Scout130 (Bensalem, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony MDR-NC50 Noise Canceling Headphones (Electronics)

I recently purchased the MDR-NC50 headphones (~$149) as an upgrade for Aiwa HP-CN6 noise canceling headphones purchased in the fall of 2003 (~$65). I've used the HP-CN6 on many flights. I also recently purchased Centrios noise canceling headphones for a family member (~$39). I haven't tried Bose's headphones yet.

Of the three headphones, the new Sony headphones do the best job at noise cancellation and are the most comfortable, while the Centrios doesn't appear to knock out as much noise as the Aiwa. In addition, while you can typically hear some white noise when noise cancellation is in effect, the Sony headphone's white noise sound is definitely much quieter than Aiwa and Centrios. The Aiwa's white noise seems to be the loudest. You can appreciate the difference if you listen to quieter sections of music. For example, with the MDR-NC50 while listening to Mozart's Horn Concerto #1, you definitely are not distracted by the white noise as you are with the HP-CN6.

Regarding a previous reviewer's comments about audio volume being significantly less, I would have to agree. I tested the headphones with an iPod and a Roland electronic piano. The output was disappointing compared to both the Aiwa and Centrios. I also compared them to some old standard Pioneer SE-305 headphones. Even when you crank up the volume to 100% on the iPod while using the MDR-NC50, it still seems you lose out on some of the music. Using the Horn Concerto as an example, there are sections where the bass of the cellos appears muted in comparison to the other headphones. There doesn't seem to be as much depth of sound while using the MDR-NC50s. From this perspective, ranking the headphones for subjective audio quality, from best to worst, I would have to say Pioneer, Aiwa, Sony, then the Centrios. I rank the Sony headphones before the Centrios, because sound seemed more muddled with the Centrios headphones. In addition, the Centrios seems to have trouble voicing the highest octave notes from the Roland electronic piano, while all the others, including the MDR-NC50 had no trouble.

Regarding a previous reviewer's comments on "howling", the Aiwa's user instructions also stated the same thing. I haven't heard any howling from either Aiwa's or Sony's headphones. I have tried putting on the heaphones backwards, skewed, etc., and haven't had any problems.

In conclusion, I think for an airplane environment and at a reasonable price point, the Sony headphones are probably a good trade-off between noise cancellation and audio reproduction. For pop and rock music it's OK. However, the depth of sound and volume issues are disappointing, in particular for classical music. The MDR-NC50 is as comfortable as my standard Pioneer set. Price wise, the MDR-NC50 is probably reasonable between $125 to $150.

99 of 104 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Geez ... what's all the whining about?, February 13, 2006

By 

Mark R. Wietstock - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony MDR-NC50 Noise Canceling Headphones (Electronics)

About a month ago, I had my Bose QC2 headset (along with my MP3 player and 1GB CF card) stolen from among other personal belongings at a western states airport. Devastated, I dreaded the prospect of shelling out ANOTHER $300 to "Dr. Bose" for a replacement set of his mystical noise-canceling cans.

As luck would have it, however, both the Bose headset and the Sony headset are available as redemption "rewards" under a popular credit card that I typically use when I travel. At that time, I had accumulated enough "points" on my account to get the Sony headset, but I needed another 8,000 or so to get the Bose headset. At the rate I accumulate "points," waiting to get enough points for the Bose set would have taken many months, and I just couldn't wait that long to replace my noise-canceling cans. So ... I decided to take a chance and get the Sony cans instead. Now that I have received the Sony headset and put them through their paces, I don't regret my decision at all. I found the Sony headset to be a perfectly acceptable alternate to the Bose cans, and here's why.

I used the Bose cans for about two years, and they were, in a word, EXCELLENT. Until now, because I was so supremely satisfied with the Bose cans, I never compared them to other noise-canceling headphones, but I absolutely loved their sound quality, particularly at the bottom end. I don't think anyone has ever even matched Bose's patented bass emulation technology, much less beaten it. In terms of bass response alone, the Bose cans flat-out kicked butt on my new Sony cans. From bottom to top, the dynamic spectrum also seemed a little better integrated in the Bose cans than in the Sonys.

However, that's about it. The construction of the Sonys is FAR superior to that of the Bose. More meaty and solid head support, extenders, and earcups; firmer, thicker ear and head cushions; a little bit heavier than the Bose set, but not much. I'm a pretty big guy, so all these features are "money" to me. I like my audio stuff big, strong and solid.

In fact, about a year after I got my first set of Bose cans, one of the plastic brackets at the point where the extender comes out of the headrest broke. To their credit, when I complained to Bose, they gave me an RMA and replaced my entire headset, no questions asked. Bose standing up for their product like that was definitely cool, but let's face it ... a headset as expensive as the QC2's should never have broken like that in the first place. Bose is making a KILLING on these headphones by having them manufactured with cheap labor in China, but they are not passing on one cent of their profits/savings to their customers in the form of reduced price. All the more reason to try the Sonys, and to tell Dr. Bose to take his overpriced cans and shove 'em.

The Sony cans are operable with the noise-canceling feature turned on, or off. There is no such option with the Bose cans. However, there is a DRAMATIC difference in performance between the active (noise-canceling on) and the passive (noise-canceling off) modes in the Sony cans. For example, in active mode, the resistance level of the Sony cans is 40 ohms. Since Bose doesn't publish specifications for its headphones, it's impossible to know for sure if this level of resistance is comparable to the Bose set. However, judging from the volume levels I became used to in listening to my MP3 player, I would guess that if the resistance level of the Bose headset isn't exactly 40 ohms, it's somewhere pretty close to that, because I found the sound levels and dynamic range pretty near equal in both headsets, at every volume level on my audio player.

The noise-canceling function in the Sony set is every bit as good as the Bose set, if not better. I often found quite a bit of ambient noise audible through the Bose set. With the Sonys, a greater spectrum of ambient noise seemed to be effectively eliminated.

In terms of music playback, in active mode, the highs were crystalline and transparent, the mids, solid and well-defined. The bass response was warm and full, but not as punchy and tight as I would have preferred, or to be more accurate, as I had become accustomed to with the Bose. However, I was able to substantially tighten it up with a few simple EQ adjustments in my player, and I then found myself completely satisfied with the bass response in the Sonys.

In passive mode, however, the bass practically disappears, and the rest of the dynamics thin out considerably. That is due to the fact that in passive mode, the resistance level in the Sony cans jumps up to 100 ohms. For most portable audio players, pushing sound through 100 ohms resistance is something like pushing a golf ball through a garden hose. That doesn't mean the headphones are somehow "defective," or that they stop working! It just means that if you intend to use these headphones in passive mode, you need to make sure you have enough power coming out of your audio source to drive the headphones properly, or you will not be happy with the result.

Anticipating this problem before I even received the Sony cans, I researched and bought myself a portable headphone amplifier, to put between my MP3 player output and the headphones, just in case I ever wanted to use the Sony headset in passive mode. In addition to a butt-kicking signal boost that would undoubtedly be exciting news for ANY portable audio nut, the good headphone amps include a vast number of other benefits, such as advanced signal processing/enhancement. I won't go into detail on these benefits in this review, but let's just say that if you listen to a lot of music through headphones, you REALLY owe it to yourself to try one of these things. What they add to your enjoyment of your music is simply immeasurable.

The Headroom Airhead is a pricey and typical example of this technology ... a bit too pricey for me, at $150. I went instead with a largely unknown amp, designed, built and direct-marketed by a Canadian sound engineer named Gary Ali. If you're interested you can see his PA2V2 amp at www.electric-avenues.com. Gary is a great and completely trustworthy guy, and his amp is a little sonic marvel, that he will sell direct to you for only $60.00.

Without the headphone amp, in passive mode, my MP3 player (which uses 2 AA batteries, or 3 volts, to put out about 20 mW per side from the headphone output) had just enough power at full volume to drive the Sony cans to the point where I would consider the sound "full" or, just reaching the point one might call "hot." Any smaller, lower-powered player (e.g., one that runs on 1.5 volts or one AA battery) would probably not be able to do much at all with the Sony cans in passive mode.

Because the bass response is significantly reduced in passive mode, I had to reset the EQ on the player to get some of the bass back, which I did. When I added the headphone amp, however, I was able to get pretty much the same dynamic range and frequency response out of the headphones in passive mode as I was getting with the headset in active mode, without the amp ... proof positive that performance of a headset like this has a lot more to do with power and efficiency than it has to do with any particular design or component differences.

The Sony cans also have a "monitor" button on the exterior that allows you to instantly cut the sound off completely when someone is trying to talk to you, or if you want to hear something that going on outside your headset, another feature not found in the Bose headset.

The Sony cans come with a fairly firm black nylon mesh carrying case, an airline adapter plug, and a 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch stereo adapter plug. The primary plug on the headset is a 1/8 inch mini-stereo plug. The earcups fold over, just like the Bose cans, for storage in the case. Inside the case, there's a little velcro fold over compartment for storing the adapters and cable. The exterior strap for the Sony cans is only big enough for hand-carrying.

The Bose case, on the other hand, is made of a custom-molded plastic polymer, covered with a nylon mesh material, and includes an adjustable shoulder strap, an elastic pocket on the outside, and another removable mesh zippered pocket on the inside. Between the two cases, I confess that I preferred the Bose design.

The bottom line here is this: when one considers the cost of what one is getting in the Sony headset (around $125.00), compared with the $300 Dr. Bose is forcing us to cough up for HIS noise-canceling cans, there is absolutely no question that the Sonys are the better value.

I don't know why so many people have panned the Sonys, but I suspect most of them simply didn't understand what they were getting in the first place, and thus never bothered to figure out how to use them properly.

I say, buy the Sony MDR-NC50's with confidence that you're getting a great value, but if you can, try them out before you buy them, and recognize that you'll probably have to tinker with your input sources a bit to get these Sony headphones to perform in a way that suits your individual tastes.