Sony MDR-NC6 Consumer Headphones

This was my first set of noise canceling headphones.  I received these as part of a “rewards program” and didn’t really know what to expect.

General info on noise canceling headphones:

Keep in mind that no set of noise canceling (NC) headphones will cancel all noises or create a “zone of silence” like some of the advertisements would like for you to imagine.  But they can work at various levels of success at reducing some of the unwanted sound in a noisy environment. They provide more reduction of steady, low frequency sounds, like the drone of the plane engine.  You can forget about any ideas of never hearing a crying baby or noisy outburst.  But they sure do create a more relaxing environment and they definitely make it easier to hear your music or the in-flight movie.  Voices of other passengers are muffled and less sharp.

The most common use for NC headphones is airline flights where the drone of the engines and cabin noise can leave a passenger feeling tired and worn out after a long flight.  They can also be used in other noisy environments though, such as in the workplace or on a subway commute.  They can be used as stand-alone devices, simply to reduce noise, or with a sound source like a music player.

Noise canceling headphones have two ways in which they cancel (or more accurately, “reduce”) unwanted noise: passive and active.  Passive reduction simply refers to the amount of noise blocked due to having the foam, padding, etc. covering your ears, just like putting in ear plugs.  Active noise reduction is electronic.  The headphones have a microphone on the outside that samples the surrounding sound, then generate an opposite wavelength frequency that is played back inside to your ears.  The two opposite sound waves cancel each other out.

First impressions of Sony MDR-NC6:

The Sony MDR-NC6 headphones come with the headphones, a soft carry pouch, and a 2-prong airline adapter.  The headphones are fairly heavy and have thin foam pads over a hard, flat earpiece.  There’s a small compartment for the single AAA battery on the headband just above one of the earpieces.  I like the idea of a cheap and easy-to-replace standard battery rather than a rechargeable battery like some of the high priced headphones like Bose.  Who wants to carry and keep track of a charger for your headphones!

When I received the headphones I first tested them out at my office.  The first thing I noticed after putting them on is that they clamp pretty tightly, and the earpieces were hard and flat, with little help from the thin foam.  They were not very comfortable. When I switched them on, I heard a distinctive reduction in the amount of noise I could hear from the computer fan, almost to the point of making it sound like it had been turned off.  Trying them at home, I noticed a substantial reduction in the noise of the refrigerator.  Other noises, like voices, TV, or even footsteps on the hardwood floor were reduced a little.  Conversation is not affected very much at all.  Well, this was promising, so I was ready to see how they’d do on a plane flight.

I only had to use the Sony MDR-NC6 headphones on only a single plane flight to come to the conclusion that either NC headphones are not really worth the trouble, or else this Sony model is just not up to par.  But I was intrigued by the technology and travel a few times a year to know how true it is that it’s difficult to end up relaxed after anything except a short flight, so I decided to purchase some higher end headphones and compare.  If acceptable headphones could be found, I’d keep the best couple for me and my family to use for travel.

Comparing MDR-NC6 to others:

I compared the Sony MDR-NC6 ($40 or so) to three others:
1) Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 at $150 - reviewed here
2) JVC HANC250 at $110 - reviewed here
3) Panasonic RP-HC500 at $116 - reviewed here

Without a doubt, all three of the others outperformed the Sony MDR-NC6 by a BIG margin in all areas.  True, it may not seem a fair comparison given that this is an entry-level set for Sony, which does offer others that are more in the range of the ones I'm comparing to.  But I didn't get a higher-end Sony model to compare to, and part of my goal is to show that the entry-level models are not worth it and that it IS worth it to buy a NC headset in the $100 to $140 range.  I've not tried anything in the $200 to $400 range (like the Bose).

Passive noise reduction:

First the MDR-NC6 provides almost NO passive noise reduction.  So they start off at a disadvantage right from the beginning.  Surprisingly, they do make up SOME of the difference once switched on, but definitely not enough to put them in the same class as the others.

Active noise reduction:

For active noise reduction, the Sony came in last place.  They do reduce SOME of the low frequencies of engine noise in the plane.  I’d estimate it to be something like a 40% reduction.  I have to admit though, that given the fact that they have almost NO passive noise reduction, I'm surprised that the active noise reduction circuitry did as much as it did -- a farily respectable job in that regard. This makes me think that the higher-end Sony NR headphones are probably worth a look. 

The JVC HANC250 came in 2nd place.  I’d put them at about 60% reduction of low frequency noicse if I had to guess. 

The Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 and Panasonic RP-HC500 sets tie for the top spot, providing the best reduction, perhaps at 70% or so.  They probably do better than the JVC because they are bigger and heavier, providing more passive reduction even before the NC circuit is used.  I will post reviews on each of those units as well.

Note that with any of the sets it’s difficult to say exactly how much noise they reduce since it’s only specific frequencies.

Music:

Again, the NC6 come in last.  Audio-Technica is slightly better than the Panasonic set, but only in that the upper mid-ranges and higher sounds, like cymbals, are a bit brighter and sharper.  This might be more preference though because there were a few times when there were almost a bit TOO bright, almost to the point of being “biting”.   JVC probably takes the top spot, only because they have a little better bass sound.  However, since they don’t block as much noise, this is only noticeable when using them has regular headphones outside of the noisy airplane environment.  Otherwise, they are on par with Audio-Technica.  In ALL cases you're far better off than with the cheap airline $2 headphones and probably most non-NC earbuds too, where you generally have to BLAST the music or movie to hear it over the engine...I've gone that headache-creating route before and won't do it again.

Note that all four of these headphones will work even without the noise cancellation being turned on, so at least they are usable if the battery dies.  I've read that this is not true of some of the high end ($300 and up) headphones.  In all four cases, they sound MUCH better with NC turned on.  They all seemed muddy and dull without the NC circuit.  I suspect that in addition to just canceling noise that they also provide a good bit of amplification because they really brighten up the sound, from low, through midrange and high.  None of them have very much bass though, either with or without the NC.

Comfort:

NC6 is last again…heavy, clamped tight, not much padding, thin foam covers, all contribute.  The headband doesn’t have any padding like the others either, although that part doesn’t bother me.  The JVC headphones take the top spot because they are so light, and the Audio-Technica and Panasonic sets are both in the middle.  More details on those in their own reviews.

Other observations and comments:

The cord on the NC6 is not detachable as the better sets are.  It’s not a big deal, but if being used for noise reduction alone, without an audio source, I suppose it’s nice to not have the cord attached.

The earpieces are not too bulky and they do turn flat, making them easier to store.  The soft pouch is okay.  I’ve heard some people like hard cases so they can hang them outside their luggage and not damage the headphones, but I don’t think I’d do that anyhow…too easy for someone to swipe.

As with other NC headphones, there is a distinctive “hiss” that can be heard when the NC circuit is turned on.  But this is only noticed when testing in a quiet environment, which is probably not where you’ll be using this type of headphone anyhow!

I’ve found that all four headsets I tested produced a rather loud buzz when hooked to a laptop that was on AC power and the headphones were switched on.  In all cases, the buzz went away when the laptop was unplugged, or the NC circuit turned off.  The buzz was also present when the headphones were plugged into the headphone jack on the external speakers of my desktop computer.  I assume this is some sort of grounding issue.  Since it happens with all of them, I assume this is not a defect.

Overall:

Overall, I would not recommend these headphones, even though they are about half the price of the others I tried.  Lacking much in the way of comfort and only doing a fair amount of noise reduction, I just don’t think they are worth the hassle of dragging along on a trip.  And for home use, where NC is not an issue, other non-NC headphones sound better. 

Look, if you are buying these to use on plane flights, think about how much you spend on the airline tickets, food, and parking for a trip in the first place.  Now compare that to the $100 to $150 you could spend on a much better set of headphones that you can use for years to make the flight more relaxing, whether listening to music or a movie or not.