Customer Reviews

Sony MDRNC22/PIN Noise Canceling Earbuds

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I've been evaluating different noise cancelling options and I thought I finally got the right one. The sound is very good and the noise-cancelling works better than the other options.

Everything was wonderfull until I try them for a couple of hours.
To get the good sound, one has to fully introduce the device into your ear channel and the problem, at least for me, is that the hard-plastic piece presses my ear so bad that I can feel pain for many hours after using it.

My advice: Try it in your ears before buying it.

Sony MDRNC22/PIN Noise Canceling Earbuds

After losing her brand new $300+ Bose noise canceling headphones on the plane, I got my girlfriend these Sony noise canelling earbuds. She was skeptical at first at how these little earbuds would be at noise canceling. Fortunately, she absolutely loved them and uses them when she flies. She was amazed that they are better at noise canceling than her missing overpriced Bose. She describes these headphones as "Amazing" and thanked me whole heartedly me for getting them for her.

Since these noise canceling earbuds got such a wonderful endorsement from my girlfriend, I have since bought myself two pairs of these exact earbuds - one for the gym and one to keep around so that when my girlfriend complains, I put them on. Yes, they are GREAT noise canceling earbuds.

These were the first "quality" earphones I had ever purchased. I bought them with my first Ipod. Great sound and an amazing fit for my needs. With the "noise cancelling" feature turned OFF, I can listen to music at relatively low levels and not hear much outside noise at all. For example, the noise from my home treadmill and two fans is pretty loud. I can barely hear anything beyond the music with the Sony headphones - a huge improvement over the Ipod factory earphones or the Bose I will discuss below. However, switch on the "noise cancelling" device and there is not much more than a 5% change at best and a small hissing noise you can hear mostly between songs.

I was disappointed in paying the extra money for the "noise cancelling" feature and took the Sony's back for the Bose in ear headphones (also same price I paid at about $99) which have a great sound, but I can only drown outside noise by cranking the volume. I'm returning the Bose for these Sonys (again), which by design, are noise cancelling despite the fact I'll likely not need to turn ON the feature.

I also think it has a lot to do with the fit of the earphones in your particular ears - which means every brand may fit everyone differently. I tried all of the three-sized pads that came with the Bose and none of them fit into your ear like the Sonys. I think a lot of that has to deal with the design of the Sonys to go further into your ear and create a sort of cushioned ...well...ear plug! The Sony's are also much more comfortable overall.

I was dubious about how successful noise cancelling ear buds would be, got to say I'm converted.

I used them on a flight from US to UK. Excellent when listening to inflight entertainment, only complaint was from the wife who nudged me to say "you can't hear me can you"! Then even manged to sleep wearing them with music turned soft they kept out the background noise pretty well.
Point to note; Make sure you select the correct size bud to fit your ear (they come with three sizes) as it does make a huge difference.
Also make sure they are in firmly as this again makes a difference to how much noise is kept out.
I did read a previous review saying about the hiss noise when noise cancelling is on. All I can say is 'read the instructions' this is what they do initially. Once listening to something you don't notice it.
Would recommend. Wife now wants some.

I bought a pair of these for my recent trip to Europe. I acutally bought two pairs. ( one for daughter)

I have to say, I was really impressed by overall sound quality of the earbuds even without the NC feature turned on. I had taken my V-Moda Vibes with me to use in quiet settings, but I found myself not using them because these sounded great.

After reading several reveiws, I didn't expect a lot more functionality on the plane, but I was wrong. I was on an Air France Flight to Paris, and was pleasantly surprised how well the NC functions worked using their IN FLight Entertainment System. I also tested using my SONY MP3 player, and got very good results too.

I saw a couple of people using the BOSE NC systems, but I can't imagine having to pack and keep up with something that bulky an big. The Bose units are almost 3-4 times the price of these earbuds,and I can't imagine that they sound that much better.


I also tested these units on the Eurostar ( Train) from London to Paris, and the NC features worked just as well.

One additional test on the plane and train, and bus was to just use the earbuds with no audio at all, but just turn on the NC feature. The ambient noise dropped significantly, more so than just using ear plugs that the airline issues to all passengers.

All in ALL, I think these are very good phones, and the battery life is great for 1 AAA battery. I used one battery and used the phones for over 30 hours on this trip. 20 hours on plane, 5 hours in train, 5 hours on buses, and a couple of hours just general listening while waiting for my tour group to rendevous.

The monitor button feature is also a nice touch because you can push that button and hear the flight attendants or your seatmate when necessary without removing the earbuds from your ears.

I would highly recommend these earphones for any traveler or person that works around constant low level noise.

Below you will find the review I wrote on Feb. 18, 2008, a year ago. Now that I have had the good luck of finding JBuds J2 Premium Hi-FI Noise Isolating Earbuds, the Sony earbuds just don't compare. The JBuds are much better at actually canceling external noise - even on a bus - and does so without the annoying battery and battery compartment. Further the JBuds are about 60% cheaper. The bass isn't quite as good UNTIL you try the bass equalizer if you have it (on my Sony mp3 player).

I complained about the hype that Bose gets, and I know that I also fall into the trap of thinking that "more expensive" means "better." Well, in this case (and in the case of iPods and Bose), that isn't the case.

After using the Sony earbuds for six months, the weight of the battery compartment created too much discomfort, and diddling around for a place to clip it to a shirt without pockets and then leaving enough cord so that I could move my head etc. etc. etc., and I started looking for replacements. That is not to say that there aren't better earbuds than the JBuds, but right now (March 2009), the Sony's sit in a drawer with all my other attempts at comfort and noise canceling. Btw, the Sony open air buds are even better than the JBuds for comfort and bass, so this is not a diatribe against all Sony earbuds.

Previous review: Any review of noise canceling earbuds or headphones should include what the individual expected noise canceling to do. Well, I have found that this pair does indeed cancel noise on a plane, but it does not on a train or some buses(city transit systems). On the other hand, you could always pump up the volume and bust an eardrum and that will cancel all noises except the tinnitus you'll have.

The bass on these earbuds is remarkable. In fact, except for one feature, I think I like these better than the other three pair of noise canceling headphones and three just plain Sony earbuds I have. The sound is actually very good throughout the spectrum.

Is it possible to have sound that is too good? Yes. I've found that these will pick up imperfections in the engineering/recording of some of the CDs that I've loaded onto my MP3 players. I've actually started to take some of the selections off the player because of the "static" I hear, especially in the higher range. Whether this is good or bad is up to you.

The one negative: This really bugs me, and it's why it gets four stars. The battery compartment is almost midpoint between the earbuds and the jack to the player or computer. Though it has a clip on it, the clip doesn't hold and when it does, it makes the battery to jack line too short. I'm constantly dropping the player on the floor when I turn. When walking the dog, it's okay, but make sure you have a pocket in your shirt. It may not reach to a belt loop. I don't know how else to describe it, but you can't say I didn't try to warn you.

Overall, the sound is just too good to pass up getting these. As for the noise canceling, I noticed that sitting next to the engines is better than sitting four or five rows back, and the type of plane also plays a role. For $65 that's over-analyzing. For $120 retail, it's not.

P.S. I sort of disagree with the comparison between these and the Bose. Bose is often more fantastic psychological hype (after all these years) and a matter of an individual's hearing: in other words,it's still subjective. I found that the sound may be a tad better, but the noise canceling is about the same. For this price, I'll take the Sonys.

The Sony noise cancelling earbuds are very effective and comfortable. I walk by a busy traffic area and with ordinary earbuds it was always difficult to hear the music. Even without the noise cancelling feature the earbuds work very well. I find the product well worth the price.

The sound is excellent although too bulky to carry around with an ipod or mp3player on the go

I had an older model that worked very well. They had a different shape that sealed well in the ears. I wouldn't take a flight without them. I lost them on my last flight and bought this new version to replace them. I was very dissappointed. I have small ear canals, and the body impedes the earbud's insertion and seal in the ear. The headphones do not work properly without an effective seal. If I try to push them in far enough to get a seal, then the hard part of the earphone body hits the ear and will become painful.

I read the product description and specs. I expected well designed quality noise cancelling earphones. What I got was poorly designed earphones that were not as good as the ones that came with my Ipod. Wire was a very strange fixed arrangement that was uncomfortable, and the biggest complaint was even with the earbuds firmly seated in my ears, I could not tell the difference when the noise cancellation feature was on or off. The only way to cancel out the sound of the clothes dryer or airconditioner was to turn up the volume. I would not recommend this product. Sony failed!