Home > Reviews > Sony > Over-Ear

Sony MDR-NC500D Headphones Review - Intro

By Mark Brezinski
Published on June 25, 2008
Comment on this

Intro	Tour & Design
Performance	In Use
Value & Comparisons	Conclusion
Ratings & Specs

The Sony MDR-NC500D headphones are a set of noise-cancelling over-ears. With the noise-cancelling feature and premium price ($400), it certainly appears the NC500Ds are Sony's answer to Bose's QuietComfort series. Even the carrying case looks identical to the one Bose offers. Like the Bose headphones, the NC500Ds are comfortable, don't move around much when your head does, and come with some good cable and adapter options. Unlike the QuietComfort headphones, however, the NC500Ds offer multiple levels of noise cancellation, which are catered to three different environments: airplane, public transportation, and office.

The NC500Ds are lacking a bit in audio quality. There are minor but consistent levels of distortion at every frequency and the noise cancellation feature isn't great. The headphones generally underperform in other areas; there aren't any areas it's particularly bad at, but it doesn't have any above average performances, either.

Overall, the MDR-NC500Ds are a solid pair of mid-range headphones that, through some unfortunate circumstance, have the $400 price tag of a higher-end product.

Section	The Good	The Bad
Tour & Design	The headphones look good and seem durable.	Thin cloth doesn't do all that much to protect the sound element. Headphones squeal when squeezed gently.
Performance	Performs well enough for a mainstream audience.	Average and below-average audio scores do not make good headphones.
In Use	Comfortable, more portable than most over-ears, has multiple noise cancellation options.	The battery and size hinder portability.
Value & Comparisons	If these headphones cost half what they do, they'd be a great option. They're not a bad set.	They don't, in fact, cost half what they do, making them overpriced underachievers.

Next ->