Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony MDRNC22 In Ear Noise Cancelling Headphones With Monitor Switch To Hear Surround Sound

These Sony headphones replace a similar set that I had for about two years that were in almost daily use. Sadly they failed recently and I looked for a replacement. Without hesitation I order up these new noise cancelling headphones and they are very bit as good as the old one.

Overall the sound quality is excellent and the mute button allows you to listen to announcements on `planes and trains without having to fiddle around looking for a volume control.

The treble is sweet and the bass deep.

Why only four stars and not five. There are two drawbacks. Firstly the fit on inside of your ear is good, maybe too good, that they do become a bit sweaty after a while. Secondly, woe betide you is you lose one of the rubber ends (you get three sets, small, medium and large) and need to order a replacement pair. Even Sony admits that, at a price of in excess of £12 (yes, that's right, twelve quid) for two tiny bits of rubber, is a total ripoff. However, they know that you can't get them elsewhere and they can make money on the spare parts.

So the message is: These are excellent headphones, but be sure to look after them carefully to ensure that they will give years of service.

I am a bit of an audiophile, and sound quality is important to me, as is style, performance, and of course price. These phones manage to brilliantly balance all of these factors, in a stylish design.

The sound quality is wonderfuly open, balanced, detailed and clear. Used with my iPod touch with equalizer set to 'Flat' the bass is perfect in a product like this, ie detailed and not too thick and deep, and the treble is open and sweet!

The noise reduction is very effective, though not as good as say the Bose QC3's, which I have owned. There is a noticeable hiss (significantly more than with the Bose phones) but it is the case that you would only turn on the circuitry in a noisy environment, when the hiss 'effect' seems to dissappear, and you truly benefit from significant reduction in low level ambient and annoying noise. You would hear some hiss in a quiet environment (which you hardly do with the Bose phones) but in this circumstance you can just turn of the noise cancelling, and they operate as a normal pair of good quality headphones (which the Bose phones don't).

So, if you want top notch noise reduction but thick and woolly bass reproduction (and don't mind paying over £300 pounds!!) go for the Bose QC3's. But, if you want top quality sound, smart design, portability, along with very good noise reduction (when used in appropriate situations), and want all of this for about £60 pounds only, definitely get the Sony's!!

A perfect balance of all factors in my view. Highly recommended!!

I've no base for comparison but this is a very good product. I do sony products because of their build, innovative ideas, performance and quality, this product is no exception. It was always going to be sony but I duly read up on them anyway and compared them to rivals brands just in case.

First time I tried them I couldn't believe it, all that background low frequency racket you get in a public place, a telly on through the house etc it practically eliminated, the exception being higher pitch and people speaking to you - i.e. this product is not a solution to the other half nagging at you!

I'm using them through my K810 sony ericsson, sound is far from shabby, I'd say better than the conventional rubber earphones found on sony walkman phones. Best thing is that you won't need to destroy the old ears by cranking up the volume to overcome surrounding noise.

My one gripe - and it's one which even sony won't be able to engineer a solution to - is that when on a plane and there's a brat making a squealing noise (which in my opinion is the worst kind) they won't be able to counteract it, you've been warned. In a nutshell top technology, impressive, no regrets.

These headphones are by far the best I have ever owned. They do an incredible job of cancelling atmospheric noise allowing me to sit in lectures completely oblivious to what's going on. I have used them on the bus, the train and in an aeroplane where they did a great job of removing the dull drone that aeroplanes make. I have reservations about losing the rubber grommets as the previous reviewer describes and the rubber protector has split around the outside of the headphone after a day in my pocket. All in all though, these really are quality pieces, the bass response is back to its best after the previous, non-noise cancelling, incarnations were rather tinny. I've heard things in albums that I'm familiar with that I have never heard before and I also find that I don't have to deafen myself anymore to enjoy my music on the bus.

I bought these after reading the previous reviews. These are my first noise cancelling headphones so I can not really compare them to any other. But I am quite satisfied, I use them everyday, when commuting by trains. The sound is great...as long as there are no windows opened in the trains (and you are not entering a tunnel). I mostly listen to podcasts and with these earphones, it is really enjoyable. One drawback I noticed, they picked up mobile phone signals and will then buzz annoyingly.
Except this, I think they are great. I even use them without listening to anything, just to reduce the train background noise (old noisy trains...)