Sony MDR-NC40 Noise Canceling Headphone (Black)
- Lightweight head-band NC headphones
- Pressure relieving urethane cushion
- Passive operation when power is off
- Battery life: Up to 40 hours
- High quality noise canceling
Amazon.com Product Description
Tired of taking your CD or MP3 player onto a plane only to hear the guy next to you better than the music itself? Do away with the problem for good with the MDR-NC40 noise-canceling headphones, which reduce ambient sound by a dramatic 10 dB so you can enjoy your favorite music distraction-free. The headphones work by synthesizing ambient sound with the noise-canceling circuit, thus reducing the commotion before it reaches your ears. In the meantime, the MDR-NC40's neodymium magnets deliver a wide-ranging frequency response and clear, rich tones whether you're listening to delicate arias or ear-busting metal. The headphones serve other purposes as well, such as blocking at sound while you're trying to nap or honing in on hard-to-understand passages of a voice recording. Appropriately for a travel unit, the headphones fold compactly for easy storage in a carry-on or backpack. They also fit comfortably over the ears thanks to the soft ear pads, which listeners can wear for hours with no ill effects. The MDR-NC40 also includes a plug adapter for connecting to a stereo or, alternatively, an airline dual jack for enjoying in-flight music services. What's in the Box
MDR-NC40 headphones, carrying pouch, plug adapter, user's manual.
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Sony MDR-NC40 Noise Canceling Headphone (Black)
- Electronics: 0 pages
- Publisher: Sony
- Label: Sony
- Studio: Sony
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 11 reviews
Avg. Customer Review:
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Fine product 2008-11-10
Comment: I travel a great deal and have a drawer full of noise canceling headphones by Panasonic, Kensington, JVC and Sony. Each had limitations -- not enough high end, poor construction, poor noise reduction, or in the case of lesser Sony's I bought several months ago, pretty good sound, but rather inadequate ear cups and poor portability (they wouldn't fold up to occupy as little as possible space in my briefcase.)Always worried about losing or damaging something while traveling I did not go for the full kahuna and buy Bose.
So, having seen these around some local shops and taken a listen I bought the NC40 and immediately took them on a trip.
By and large they are fine. When turned on (don't even try to listen to them when off) the sound is rich and clean; lovely base and good high end, which is important to my tired ole ears. Plenty of mid-range. Nice volume. I'm not sure they are world beaters in terms of overall noise reduction, but they certainly take the edge off and from my same old seat near the rear of a Southwest jet, they provide a relaxing and easy to take listening experience. One WANTS to use this extremely comfortable headset, whether noise reduction is needed or not. I hear things I didn't know my MP3 decoder put in a file. Oh, I listen mainly to jazz and classical music.
Oh yes, they fold up neatly and I like the on-off switch/battery holder, which lives by itself on the connecting line and has an override button that works beautifully.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Good Performance, Nice price 2008-09-30
Comment: As a frequent business traveler, I was looking for some noise canceling headphones but did not want to spend the chunk of change on Bose. After reading some of the reviews on these Sony's here and other places, I decided to give them a shot. I'm glad I did! Now, I'm no audiophile, nor do I have much to compare these to from a noise canceling perspective, but they do their job well. Yes, you have to have them turned on for them to sound decent, but the battery life seems very good. I've made 3 trips to China and a few domestic trips with the original battery still in them. Probably 60 hours conservatively (I only use them on the planes). I can keep them on for a 13 hour flight with out any discomfort, and I am very pleased with the degree of noise canceling.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Item for the price, Just know what you are buying it for 2008-09-07
Comment: I find it funny when I read other people's reviews and they complain about the sound of these units with the power turned off. These units are noise canceling headphones. They were not meant to be "hi-end listen to all your music all the time type of headphones." There are tons of other headphones to choose from that will surpass the performance of the Sony MDR-NC40 for everyday use and for a lot less money.
The NC40 are a noise canceling headphones. They were meant to cut the constant drone of airplane noise or the constant sound you get when riding in a bus or a train... and they do work.
I guess what I can honestly say is if you travel 5 or 6 times a year on a plane then this is a great choice. I have not listened to the Bose models, but I can tell you this, no matter what I can afford, there is no way I could justify 3.5X the price for the Bose headphones to travel with a few times a year.
The NC20 sits on the ear, it does not cup the ear. You can still hear when people talk to you at normal levels. If you are dealing with a screaming baby behind you just crank up the volume of whatever you are listening to and it will drown out the unwanted sounds.
These are great if you use them for what they are intended. You can buy the NC40 here on Amazon and then get a set of Bose TriPort Headphones for regular every day listening and still be at less than 1/2 the price of the Quiet comfort headphones.
The bottom line is I would recommend the NC40 to anyone who travels, but not to some one who just wants headphones to use at home.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Quiet & Comfortable 2008-09-07
Comment: I recently purchased these for a trip to Europe. I tested them out on a flight to California. I found them to be quiet and comfortable. I wear glasses, so some earphones grind the earpieces into my head. These did not. I am extremeley happy with my purchase.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Don't even consider them. 2008-09-03
Comment: Just bought these headphones from Circuit City last week for a trip to Mexico. I tried them out at my house, and they did a good job canceling out part of the noise created by the A/C unit and the fan in my bedroom. On the airplane they work fine... while it's still on the ground, where I would say they cancel about 50% of the noise of the airplane engines. Once the plane took off, the headphones failed miserably, I'd say the only canceled around 10% of the noise of the engines, and they let most of the high-pitch sound usually made by jet engines.
I'm writing this review from the very noisy server room of my work place, and just tried the NC40 against the Sennheiser PXC250's that my coworker owns. The PXC250's work a lot better, I'd say they block between 50% and 60% of the noise in the server room, while the NC40's miserably block 5% of the noise in here (tops).
I'm heading to CC after work to return the NC40's, and will consider trying the AudioTecnica ANC7, of which I've seen have somewhat better reviews.
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Sony MDR-NC40 Noise Canceling Headphone (Black)
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