Sony MDR-NC500D

Summary

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.

Frequency Response (4.21)

The Sony MDR-NC500D’s frequency response has some issues, but performs well enough overall. The bass receives a bit of a boost, but falls within our limits once they start. A set of mid-range tones receives a big boost, jutting outside our limits slightly. After this peak comes a jagged fall to the bottom limit. This means higher-pitched sounds might sound a bit softer than they should, but only by a very, very slight amount. Most won’t notice.

When looking at a frequency response graph, you should always look out for sharp slopes, anything that darts upward or downward suddenly. This represents a sudden, quick change in decibel level without much change in frequency. For example, after the mid-range peak in the graph at right, the graph drops off fairly sharply, spikes up again, then falls again. The top of the second, smaller spike to the subsequent trough represents a 20-decibel drop. This is a noticeable difference; for reference, 65 decibels is like being in a moderately busy restaurant, and 80 decibels is like being in your kitchen when the garbage disposal is running. If you have an instrument that played in this range, the higher notes would be noticeably softer than the lower ones.

Again, the MDR-NC500Ds perform well overall, but the mid-range emphasis is a little erratic and the higher pitches sound slightly muffled.

The average score for this section (as of this review) is 3.72, so comparatively the NC500Ds perform slightly better than average.

In terms of the comparison headphones below, it’s trounced by two units: the SE-A1000 and the ER6i. The SE-A1000s really don’t add much of its own influence to the playback, producing a very smooth line that stays in the limits. The same goes for the ER6i, only they have a slightly weaker bass response.

The HD 555s have the score closest to the NC500D’s, which makes sense if you look at both. Both dip below the bottom limit toward the high end – meaning high-pitched sounds sound a bit muffled – but the HD 555s emphasize them less than the NC500Ds. The NC500Ds over-emphasizes a cluster of mid-range frequencies, but only slightly, whereas the HD 555s come close to underemphasizing them. The NC500Ds also beat the HD 555s in terms of bass response.

The two Bose headphones simply have problems with frequency response. Their emphasis becomes erratic in the mid-range frequencies, and just about everything but bass is under-emphasized. The NC500D performed far better than both.

Headphones	Score	Frequency Response
Sony MDR-NC500D	4.21
Pioneer SE-A1000	7.93
Etymotic Research ER6i	6.7
Sennheiser HD 555	3.44
Bose QuietComfort 3	1.66

Distortion (3.33)

The Sony MDR-NC500D headphones feature a consistent amount of distortion, although at no point did that level ever get above 1 percent. Therefore, most people shouldn’t notice any issues, but stringent audiophiles would find these levels to be less than ideal. There aren’t any real spikes, although around 1 kHz the left channel shows slightly more distortion than the right.

Distortion like this, which is relatively minor but stretches across the whole spectrum, is only really noticeable if you compare it to the original. If you’re a purist, these levels will be unacceptable, but for the average user, the Sony MDR-NC500Ds will be just fine.

The Pioneer SE-A1000 and the Etymotic ER6i also feature continuous, low levels of distortion. Both of the Bose noise-cancelling headphones manage to show less overall distortion, although the QC2 has two small bumps. The Sennheiser HD 555 headphones have some issues with the low end, but are otherwise distortion-free.

Headphones	Score	Distortion
Sony MDR-NC500D	3.33
Pioneer SE-A1000	2.75
Etymotic Research ER6i	4.31
Sennheiser HD 555	13.33
Bose QuietComfort 3	10.0

Tracking (6.25)

The MDR-NC500Ds perform well on this test, for the most part, sticking to even emphasis for a good chunk of the graph. Toward the high end the graph starts looking a bit erratic, but we’ve seen worse. Really, there isn’t much to say about this one since it stays so relatively flat. This is not performance to worry about unless you’re an audiophile.

Just from looking at numbers, you can tell the NC500D is just over the hump of the bell curve. It’s also somewhat easy to tell from just looking at the graphs: a flat horizontal line is ideal, a bunch of squiggles is bad. For a great example of close to perfect, check out the Etymotic ER6i’s tracking graph. For an example of what’s bad, check out either QuietComfort, which look like seismographs.

Headphones	Score	Tracking
Sony MDR-NC500D	6.25
Pioneer SE-A1000	6.54
Etymotic Research ER6i	9.52
Sennheiser HD 555	5.59
Bose QuietComfort 3	2.49

Maximum Usable Volume (7.67)

The Sony MDR-NC500Ds are capable of outputting 110.22 decibels. We typically look for headphones to output 120 decibels, since some like their music loud (any more than that and you’re going deaf). A maximum usable volume of 110 decibels is by no means horrible, however, as it’s always safer to listen at lower levels. This should be loud enough for most, although those who really want to pop their ear drums or those who are hard of hearing might want a bit more.

Typically headphones score between 110 and 125 decibels. While the NC500Ds score toward the bottom of this range, the differences therein really aren’t gigantic.

Isolation (5.19)

Active cancellation helps block out quite a good deal of bass, which otherwise would flow into your head unimpeded. That being said, the active cancellation actually slightly hinders the headphones’ performance in terms of high-mid cancellation.

For the majority of those reading this review, this section is the most important one. Exactly how well does the NC500D’s noise cancellation do, compared to other competitors – or, for that matter, how well does active noise cancellation even work to begin with? If you find yourself asking that question, then we certainly have an exciting array of graphs for you. Again, the blue lines are active cancellation, green lines are passive. No blue line means no active cancellation.

First of all, good ol’ earplugs seem to beat noise cancellation in terms of overall isolation, as evidenced by the ER6is. If you’re looking for some spot reduction on bass, however, then active cancellation is something to look into. In this regard, the MDR-NC500D headphones score between the QuietComfort 2 and 3. The QuietComfort 2s form a poor seal with the head (the padding is fuzzy and about as air-tight as a stuffed bear) so we weren’t surprised to see the NC500D win that match-up. It’s very similar to the QC3s in terms of forming a tight seal with your head (both headphones use similar material on their pads), but the QC3s block out a bit more bass.

While the NC500D and its noise cancellation aren’t the worst out of the headphones we’ve reviewed, they aren’t as good as the Bose QuietComfort 3 headphones, and both underperform versus a pair of in-ear headphones.

Headphones	Score	Isolation
Sony MDR-NC500D	5.19
Pioneer SE-A1000	0.53
Etymotic Research ER6i	10.01
Sennheiser HD 555	1.18
Bose QuietComfort 3	6.28

Leakage (4.46)

The MDR-NC500D aren’t the quietest headphones ever – on the contrary, they actually leak a bit more that you’d think, given their cancellation abilities. This being said, the NC500D has the second-highest score in this category for a non-in-ear headphone (the Sony MDR-DS6000 currently occupies first place). This achievement doesn’t say all that much for the NC500D, but it also doesn’t say much for non-in-ear headphones in general. If you like listening to your music really loud, someone sitting next to you will probably hear it. If you’re in a library or quiet office, everyone will glower at you.