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| The NC500D headphones are a comfortable set of headphones - no real issues with wearability. They come with a 1/4-inch adapter and a 5-foot cable, so they also make good home theater headphones. There's also a shorter cable for those who like keeping their media players in arm bands. Overall, we thought the NC500D has a good wear experience. |
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Comfort (8.00)
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| The NC500D has soft padding on its ear cups and head band. |
In order to test comfort, we unfortunately have to default to our own subjectivity. While this is great news for anyone with our exact head specifications, for others this section will serve as a mere guide. Please, harass the store to let you try on headphones before purchasing. Uncomfortable headphones are only slightly better than broken headphones.
If nothing else, the Sony MDR-NC500D headphones are comfortable. They don't grip the head too tightly, but they also don't shake around. The pads have a soft covering, and gently rest against the sides and top of your head (since the band is thoughtfully padded as well). While the headphones are a bit bulky, they never feel heavy. The buttons are easy to reach, although they could have more diverse shapes to aid in finding them by touch.
We took the headphones for a jog, and they tended to stay put while we moved, although we wouldn't recommend getting all sweaty with these headphones: there's just a thin cloth between your ears and the sound element.
The only caveat we have is for those who aren't used to noise cancellation: chances are it'll make your head feel funny for the first few hours. We've heard it described as feeling like one's head was under water, like the person was adrift in space, like the person had to pop their ears, etc. We recommend wearing the headphones for at least a few hours to get used to the sensation before making any judgments in regards to comfort.
Extended Use (8.00)
After a wear session of six hours, we felt exactly the same. The pressure didn't seem to grow with time, in fact, as we got used to them the pressure actually seemed to lessen slightly. Conversely, wearing these headphones can make your ears a bit hot since they're basically ear muffs with a good seal. Overall, however, the MDR-NC500D headphones are very comfortable, even during extended use.
Cable Connectivity (6.67)
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| From left to right: long cable, short cable, and battery charger. |
The main cable for the MDR-NC500D headphones is 60 and 5/8 inches long, which is just a bit over 5 feet, and also 1.53 meters. There's a second, shorter cable as well, which measures about 20 inches/1.67 feet/0.51 meters. Unfortunately, there isn't a 1/8-to-1/8 plug adapter included in the box. Unless you have one lying around, you'll have to abandon your dreams of the cables joining forces to create a single, longer cable.
The main cord should be long enough for most home theater setups, although larger rooms might require the purchase of an extension cord. The shorter cord should accommodate those with arm band media players.
The MDR-NC500D package also comes with two adapters: 1/4-inch and airplane. The second prong on the airplane adapter can actually fold back, just in case you find an 1/8-inch port that only accepts bulky adapters.
The 1/4-inch adapter and the airplane adapter.
Portability (2.50)
These headphones aren't especially portable. Over-headphones are large by design. It's not like you can just shove the NC500D into your pocket when you're done listening.
The NC500Ds come with a case that looks almost identical to the Bose cases in shape, size, and useless little pouch on the backside. This case has more internal pouches and nooks and crannies for things to hide in, however. Once you've stowed away all your junk, you can conceal everything with a cloth flap before putting your headphones inside. This keeps all the metal bits away from the scratchable plastic and tearable padding. Though this is an absolutely great case, it still displaces a lot of volume. A strap is included, so you can brandish your NC500D like a quiver of arrows or a purse, but both these options are lame.
There is also the issue of needing to charge your headphones every 16 hours or so, plus or minus about 30 minutes (kudos to Sony for not lying on their spec page). This isn't the biggest deal, but if you forget to keep it charged your portability drops to zero.
Customizability (3.50)
There aren't really customization options included in the packaging. You can tilt the ear cups and the band extends slightly. There is also the short cord for exercisers with arm-mounted music players. There aren't any extra cup pads included, or anything else to help you customize. If you want to customize your MDR-NC500D further, you'll just have to break into your collection of Lisa Frank stickers. Nothing says "awesome headphones" like a sparkling, neon pink unicorn.
Maintenance (3.00)
Most headphones get just a handful of points here for being so inaccessible. The MDR-NC500D almost has the opposite problem. First of all, the cups are removable, which is always appreciated. Under the cups, however, you'll find the sound element is just barely draped with a piece of cloth. This means if you're getting sweaty, your sound element is also getting a bit balmy. The cloth is also held on by glue, which means you can't just remove the cloth and replace it without some sort of adhesive in your cupboard. The cloth is a prime candidate for velcro, and will probably hold the cloth better than a few dabs of rubber cement.
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The ear cup with the cloth covering pulled away.
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A close-up of the sound element, mere millimeters of cloth separating it from the dangers of the outside world.
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In any case, other than a nearly-nude sound element, you really can't disassemble the headphones. If something breaks, it's up to you to home brew a duct-tape-and-popsicle-stick splint.
Other Features (2.00)
Battery Dependency
These headphones are battery dependent, which is annoying. They have a battery life of 16 hours, which is pretty good, but it's still annoying to not be able to use them as normal headphones when the battery's dead.
Battery Pack
The battery pack allows the headphones to play for 12 hours on two AA batteries. It's certainly a nice option to bring with you on a long trip, but it's a bit too bulky to be particularly wieldy. Still, we appreciate the option.
Battery packs aren't particularly sexy.
Noise Cancellation
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The noise cancellation controls.
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We'll begin this section by letting the Sony MDR-NC500D's instruction booklet describe the headphones, with regard to their noise-cancelling abilities: "It is the very realization of 'smart headphones' which can follow man's feeling. With the AI Noise Canceling function only made possible by digital, please enjoy its comfortable cancelling effect." We will enjoy its comfortable cancelling effect, Sony. Thank you.
In addition to the feature itself, which mainly gets its points from our isolation test, the MDR-NC500D headphones have three modes to choose from. There's an AI NC MODE button on the ear cup, which lets the headphones decide which of its three noise cancellation frequency arcs is the most appropriate. If you'd rather not leave your fate in the cold, unfeeling hands of a machine, you can also cycle through these modes manually: hold the AI NC MODE button until you hear a tone, then press that button to cycle through the modes.
Though a minor feature, you can hit a button on the ear cup to turn off playback and noise cancellation. It's useful for listening to people if you're too lazy to take off the headphones, or turn off the power. Overall, though, it isn't that useful.
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