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

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.

Recently purchased and have tried in a plane and car. In-ear type which you either like or don't. Personally I prefer them as they don't get in the way as you rest your head as much as over ear types. There is some noise reduction by them being in ear anyway but the reduction from turning them on is quite dramatic and very impressive. Also, excellent general sound reproduction from the earphones. The only slight drawback I can find is a slight background hum which, to be fair, you can only hear if you use them in quiet surroundings (i.e. not a place you would actually use them). Overall excellent performance for the price and I highly recommend them.

I am in the process of returning these as, although they are good they have a big drawback.

- Noise isolation swtiched off -

The headphones have good sound quality. The plastic covers on the end of the earphone can be swapped to fit different ears as needed but you only get 1 set of each size so don't loose them. Sound isolation is ok, they do let in about 2/3's of external sound (remember, I have left the switch off so far).

- Noise isolation switched on, after fitting AAA battery I had to provide -

WOW, it makes a drastic difference to external sounds. There is one massive drawback that now happens though in that there is a huge ammount of background hiss. Its like sitting next to escaping steam and trying to listen to detailed music is just totally lost. Swapping between on and off you can tell how good the noise cancelling is but when switched on all clarity of the music you are trying to listen to just goes out the window.

I didn't expect that in a quiet room (with some background noise) the headphones when switched on would increase the noise I heard.

The other things is.... There is no volume control on the unit and it is not supplied with a battery either (so you need to have a AAA battery spare).

If these were listed for £15 then they would be worth it but at almost £50 I can't justify the price for the quality.

I recently received as a gift, a 30g I-pod so I treated myself with these earphones.

When I first plugged them in I thought what have I wasted my money on! The sound was extremely tinny and even compensating with the equaliser there was not enough bass and in general the sound quality poor and as far as noise cancelling was concerned I was unaware of any!

I then read the instructions which stated to ensure you use the correct size ear plugs. I inserted the largest flimsy looking plugs and wow! What a difference. I turned the equaliser off straight away, bass was booming, treble was crisp....music to my ears. As for the noise reduction I didn't really notice and that is the key. I was so engrossed in my music the world became distant. So I guess the noise cancelling works a treat.

Why not four star? Well, these plugs you have to insert are flimsy and I can see after some time they will get damaged, Sony sell replacements but they are expensive and you only get a set of three, one of each size. So in effect you only get one replacement as the others are redundant.

These noise cancelling headphones are top notch have no idea how they work but when on the train or bus the background noise often leaves you with 2 choices either turn up the volume and annoy people on the bus or train or listen to your music with the interuption of background noise. with these you dont have to do either the noise cancelling means you can listen to music at lower volumes in public place. If you comute these are the only choice.