Based on the price, I took the plunge. The construction is pretty solid and look good on the head. The pads are very comfortable with a soft "vinyl" type material. The "arms" of the headphones wrap around the head really well because of the hinge at the top of the headphones.
But to the most important feature: the noise cancelling function was not dramatic during flights - it worked well for a semi-quiet office environment, but my primary need for this is flying. And during flying I noticed only a slight change. Good for the price, but not if you are looking to use this while flying or similar environments investigate other options. Sony MDRNC7/BLK Noise Canceling on-ear headphones (Black)
Pros: Fairly good sound, smaller profile, great price point, comfortable, foldable, stylish
Cons: Non-detachable mini-plug, soft pouch (no hard case)
There are better noise cancelling headphones out there, but not for less than $50. At $49.99, these are great headphones for the traveler on a budget. I previously bought the MDR-NC6s and they worked pretty well for me. I originally got them to use while flying, but I also use them at work to remove the annoying hum from our company computers. The NC7 is a great upgrade from the older model. They noticeably cancel more of the ambient noise than the NC6. Also, there is virtually no lag time between when the noise cancelling is switched on and when it actually kicks in. The NC6 took a few seconds to begin actually cancelling ambient noise. Also, a common complaint that I've had (and read about) with the NC6 is that there's a faint, yet audible hiss while the noise cancelling is on. This has been greatly reduced to a hardly noticeable, faint background static with the NC7, which will probably annoy the audiophile, but doesn't bother me. These headphones are much more comfortable than the previous model. I must note that these headphones don't cancel out all of the noise, just the constant background noise, like the engines of an airplane or the hum of loud equipment. You can still hear people talking or the keyboard while you're typing (faintly), but they're not meant to drown out these noises, so keep that in mind when trying out headphones.
These are far from the perfect headphones, however. The mini plug is not detachable as with other, more expensive models. Also, they use a double cable design (one leading into each ear pad) as opposed the single line design of its predecessor. This might cause the headphone cable to get more tangled. Also, the case that it comes with is just a soft nylon drawstring pouch, as opposed the molded cases of more expensive headphones.
Bottom line, with only minor flaws, these are great headphones for an unbeatable price. I only wish they came in a wireless behind-the-neck "street style" version.
I waited to take a couple flights before I put in a review for these headphones. If I could give an extra half star I would because of the price.
Looking at other reviews for various models, I was surprised how many people think Active Noise Canceling will handle things like voices, phones, assuming they will encase you in a cone of silence (see Get Smart). This is not what they are for. They cancel out (but not NEARLY all the way) low frequency constant tones - car noise, aircraft noise, lawn mowers, etc. This made looking at reviews difficult because people who could hear their fingers snap while wearing the headphones gave a poor rating.
The overall sound quality is poor. My fifteen dollar Koss over-the-ear KSC75s sound worlds better than these. Strangely, they sound a bit better when they are switched on (some bass response compared to almost nothing while off). Since I bought them for use in noisy environments, I wasn't too worried about this. I won't be listening to any delicate sonatas on them.
Highway noise especially, as well as aircraft noise are reduced by an acceptable amount. Aircraft noise could do a little better. Some have complained in reviews that these phones squeeze your ears too much. If they squeezed MORE, their passive noise blocking would do better. Larger ear cups might be nice.
I bought these for flights, and my daughter ended up using them most of the time to watch cartoons on the plane with an iPod Touch. I wanted to be sure the audio didn't have to be turned up to dangerous levels to be audible on the flight.
They will make your ears warm and maybe a bit sore if you wear them for too long but they aren't uncomfortable. The battery lasts a long time, as long as you don't accidentally leave them on. They fold up to a nice small package that fit nicely in my DSLR/laptop bag.
If you need something more than a quick and dirty set for an annual family vacation, go with something more but for special use (lawn mowing?) secondary set where sound quality isn't a big issue these work well. - Noise Cancelling Headphone - Noise Canceling - Headphones - Sony'
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