Sony MDR-NC6 Consumer Headphones

I purchased a set of Sony Noise Canceling Headphones about a year-and-a-half ago, when I was looking to replace an old pair of multimedia headphones that I'd been using for years.  As a transcriptionist, I needed something reliable, with good sound quality, a noise-canceling feature, and a design that would be comfortable to wear for long periods of time.  I also had a limited budget to spend on headphones.  So after shopping around and some advice from a Radio Shack salesperson, I decided on the Sony headphones.  They seemed to be a good compromise between price and quality, and they had the Sony name behind them.

The headphones have a sturdy design, with a wide band that fits across the top of the head, and side panels that adjust in length for proper sizing.  The ear pieces themselves are not fixed in place, but rather pivot, making them easy to adjust, and they are just slightly larger than ear-size, so they fit snugly against your ear.  You should note when wearing them that there is a designated right and left side of the unit, as labeled directly on the headphones.

My one quarrel with comfort is that the padding on the earphones themselves fairly thin, and they are not nearly as comfortable as I'd like for extended wear.  After perhaps an hour, I find myself adjusting them constantly, and after several hours, my ears are quite sore. 

These headphones are not USB headphones but instead plug directly into the headphone-in port on your computer speakers.  They would also work with an iPod or stereo or television. 

This unit comes with a nice, drawstring case for storage when not in use.  It might seem like a small thing, but it makes it convenient to tuck the headphones away without worry over wires tangling, or the unit getting caught on something and broken.

The sound quality of the headphones is decent.  Honestly, the quality is unremarkable.  For regular, everyday use it's satisfactory.  They don't garble sound, even at fairly high volumes.  For someone looking for exceptional quality, however, these headphones are not for you.

As a transcriptionist, one of the most important features for me is noise cancellation.  Particularly living in an apartment complex, you never know when the environment is going to be noisy: roof work, lawn mowers, neighbors using power tools, even the air conditioner in the summer.  The noise cancelling feature on the Sony Noise Canceling Headphones is battery-operated, requiring a single AAA battery.  This feature can be turned on and off manually.  There's a small "Power On" light to make it easier to see when the feature is in use and to remember to turn it off. 

The noise cancellation feature in this unit worked very well for me when I first purchased the unit.  It nearly completely filtered out the sound of my loud, wall-unit air conditioner and made it much easier to hear the audio.  Be warned though: there is a slight vibration to the headset when the noise cancellation feature is in use, which I found distracting and uncomfortable. 

The downside to these headphones is this.  My noise cancellation feature ceased to work after I'd had the headphones a little over a year (just past the store warrantee).  Although I used my headphones often, the use was not excessive, and they were stored safely when not in use, so the feature did not break through abnormal wear and tear.  Whether this is simply a fluke thing, or a standard occurrence on the design, I'm afraid I can't say, but it is something to consider if you're thinking of purchasing this unit.  For me, this was a fatal flaw and I would not purchase another set of these headphones.

If it weren't for the breakdown of the noise cancellation feature, I'd say that this is a decent mid-range set of headphones, good for general use.  Unfortunately, when you lay out money for a decent product, you expect to get more than a year of use from it, so I cannot recommend this unit.