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To me, this is the ultimate noise cancelling headphone design. I don't know of any other which has ONLY internal microphones to detect background noise - the external ones are misled by wind noise and will roar a false corrective noise in your ear. Even Sony has retreated from this windproof feature in newer models. It has a builtin rechargeable battery so it is not going to eat batteries if you accidentally leave it on as occasionally happens. Some won't like this because if it dies mid-flight you can't stick in a fresh battery unless you use it's ungainly external battery pack. It is digital which is good except when the battery is out you get NO sound at all. So it may not be best for long airplane rides, but is the ultimate for outside windy use.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I am an acoustical engineer by profession specializing in environmental noise control and electro-acoustics for over 25 years. These headphones are good but not great. I have heard others review that they are just as good, maybe a little better than the Bose QC15s, while others say the QC15s are better. I have not reviewed the QC15s but I own a pair of Sony MDR-NC60s and the NC500s are only marginally better in terms of noise cancellation. On the decibel scale, a 3dB improvement is just barely noticeable to human ears so I would estimate the NC500s to be only about 4 to 5 dB better than the NC60s in cancelling the noise. The three modes (1 airplane, 2 bus/train, and 3 office) of the NC500s are somewhat gimmicky and only change the cancellation spectrum slightly. I think where the NC500s really shine is when I am sitting at my computer which has somewhat noisy cooling fans. When I turn on the NC circuit of the headphones, the fan noise is almost completely eliminated. My biggest complaint is that they do not work at all as a passive headphone when the power is off (unlike the NC60s, which will work when the power is off). This means that you can’t use them at all on a long trip once the battery runs out until you recharge them or use alkaline batts in the included adapter pack. The headphone construction is decent, not too heavy or bulky, very comfortable, and not fatiguing after hours of constant use (my opinion). One other thing: I read several other complaints about the NC500s having a low-frequency, self-generated artifact noise, which is like a repetitive thump and seems to come and go. I have not encountered this at all which makes me wonder if it is a defect that only occurs in certain pairs, or could it be human heartbeat noise? If I go out and run and get my heart rate up, then put the NC500s on, I can hear my heart a little which sounds like a low thump… After all is said, my real rating would probably be more like 3-1/2 stars due to the price tag which is almost three times that of the NC60s but the NC performance does not provide three times the cancellation, or even double in my opinion based on my professional experience in this field. UPDATE: After owning these for a couple years with normal wear and tear (not just at home but travel as well) they broke; not the electronics, but the connecting band that's between the two ear cups. Not very well made in my opinion and not repairable. Probably going to look at the Bose unit for my next purchase but definitely not these again.Read full review
Being a man who collect good headphones, I could not pass away this model. Sony claims this phones as first digital noise cancelling phones, so I'd decided to buy it here, by the way, very inexpensively. I'll compare its with others headphone I own now. Contenders are : Sony NC500d, Philips SHN9500, Denon NC732, Audio-Technica ANC7, Sennheiser PXC450, Bose QC3, Sony NC50 Max score is 10 points. The table is similar one I'd published earlier and reflects my feelings only! Comfort: 9, 10, 8, 9, 9, 7, 8 (supraaural NC732 and QC3 got less) Portability: 8, 8, 10, 9, 7, 9, 8 (lesser the case the better) Durability: 8?,10, 7, 8,10, 8, 9 (I had to use epoxid resin to repair 732) Active noise cancel: 10, 7, 9, 8, 9, 8, 8 (limited to low frequences in 9500) Passive noise cancel: 9, 9, 9, 7,10, 9, 9 Sound leakage: 8, 9,10, 5,10, 8, 9 (the bigger the lesser sound leak) Sound:bass quantity: 9, 9, 8, 7, 8, 9, 9 Sound:bass quality: 10, 8, 8, 7, 9, 8, 8 Sound:middle 10, 8, 8, 9, 9, 7, 8 Sound:highs 9, 8, 9, 7, 9, 7, 8 Sound:scene 9, 7, 7, 9, 9, 8, 8 Sound:details 9, 9, 8, 8, 9, 8, 8 (how much details remain in the sound) Battery: 9,10,10,10,10, 7,10 (I sure prefer AAA for $.5 instead LiON for $40; Sony NC500 has LiON+2AA, both Bose and NC500D can't work without active noise canceling) Price: $300, $40, $170, $130, $249, $249 Yes, suggested price is higher then Bose and PXC450, but superior isolation, superior noise canceling and superior sound make the choice: NC500D is the best sounding noise canceling headphones I own and I'd heard. If you can found it cheeper - it'd be a good bargain!Read full review
Great Headphones for travel. They are the most comfortable headphones i've purchased so far. Plenty of room for your ear to fit inside the ear cup without pressing down, which is a big bummer when you are traveling for long hours! The best part about it is that it is rechargeable and it comes with a set of batteries that you can connect if the charge runs out on you mid flight! Good sound and very good noise cancelling capability. I would probably not pay $399 which is what it retails for but it would be worth it if you travel a lot and are looking for comfort and great noise reduction. I would say they are better than the Bose but the retail price is steep.
Fantastic sound, and liked the technology used by sony as DNC (Digital Noise Cancelling). One of the advantage and a the same time disadvantage is the size of the cups. They are not as big as those from Bose, that is good, but because of that I believe the noise cancelling is not as strong as with Bose. It does a nice job, but if you are more interested on more noise cancelling probably you have to opt for the aviator model or the bose version NC15.
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