Noise Canceling; 90% Passive, 10% Active

I am particularly careful how I don’t turn up the music too loud so I could protect my hearing until I am 100.

With my recent purchase of an MP-3 player, I wanted a new set of noise canceling earphones that can be used while walking around shopping malls or other noisy environment. My Bose Quiet Comfort would work great but its size makes it unfeasible to wear it anywhere other than at home or on planes. The new Bose “in-ear” phones looked great but I decided not to get one because it was not “noise canceling” design.

After searching everywhere, I decided on a Sony MDR-NC22 for its small in-ear size. I could not test it, so I had to judge it by the perception it generated from the cleverly designed boxed set. The neatly packaged earphones portrayed a well designed product that appeared to work great. It was not cheap either, adding the perception of how great it was going to work. Its stated frequency response range of 8 to 22,000 Hz also added the perception that it was a great product.

I had read all available reviews prior to buying it, therefore I was prepared to deal with its weaknesses such as the “dangling battery box” and “noise transferring earphone cord” as long as its noise canceling part worked.

The specification does say it blocks out up to 75% of ambient noise, however, I am not sure if the electronic noise canceling actually works. It appears the noise is blocked by its tight rubber fitting rather than its electronic circuitry. Even then, I seemed to hear all the surrounding noise unless I turn up the volume of music, which defeats the purpose of having the unit. (update: well, I just discovered the electronic circuitry works somewhat as I could tell the noticeable difference if I shove the ear buds into my ear tightly enough. But making the ear buds stay in ears are another story.)

It’s slightly more effective when used while driving, but only slightly. But, in car, I could use my Bose that truly blocks out most of unwanted noise.

There were three sets of rubber fittings in the box for me to choose based on my ear canal size. I lost my medium sized fittings in less than a week. Although the small sized fittings work better for my ears, I still don’t like the fit. The rubber pieces are flimsy and it feels like I have stuffed my ears with Q-tips. It might have been better if the ear buds were designed with silicon pieces like Bose had done for their latest in-ear phones.

The unit came with a plug adapter that could be used in planes. And the small battery box that can be clipped on takes one AAA sized battery that seemed to last forever. Unlike Bose, the Sony earphones continue to work even when the battery dies... without noise canceling of course.

The cord does transfer noise up to your ears whenever the cord hits your body. I did not fully understand what that meant when a reviewer said it. The best way I can convey this is that the cord works like a toy phone that connects two cans with a string in between. Slight vibration of a can transfers the sound from one can to the other through the string tightly stretched. Except the fact that the Sony cord does not need to be stretched tightly to transfer noise. Thus, walking around the malls with the cord dangling could get annoying at times.

(update: I am finding out the ineffectiveness of noise cancellation is largely due to the ear bud design, more so than its electronic circuitry. Earbuds won't stay in tightly, and it's not comfortable to push into ears tightly. Sony's ergonomic's division needs to work harder. However, I am giving it 3 stars based on how it improved in noise cancellation when earbuds are tightly fitted, up from 2)