Sony MDR-NC500D

The Pioneer SE-A1000 headphones don’t have active noise cancellation. In fact, they scored quite poorly on our isolation test. If you were checking out the NC500D headphones for their noise cancellation abilities, the Pioneer SE-A1000 won’t be a good alternative. If you’re looking for a set of home theater cans, however, the A1000 headphones are a much better option. They have better audio quality overall, although they tend to leak that audio quality into the area surrounding you. This match-up comes down to how you’re planning on using your headphones. The NC500D is a lot more portable, especially since the noise cancellation blocks out ambient street noise or the cacophony of public transportation. The A1000s feel more at home in a quiet room where the lack of isolation won’t matter much, and the cord is free to stretch out across your floor.

The NC500D headphones beat the 6isolators in terms of versatility. You can take them to the gym or hook them into your home theater setup. The 6isolators win in terms of audio performance, portability, and, strangely enough, overall sound isolation. Yes, even with its fancy active cancellation, the MDR-NC500D headphones can’t compete with good ol’ double-flanged earplugs. The 6isolators are also less than half the price. Unless you’re looking for a home theater set of cans (which could also theoretically be taken out for a walk) or just plain dislike in-ears, the 6isolators are a better option all around.

The HD 555 headphones are a great pair of home theater headphones. They have good audio quality and come at a reasonable price. They aren’t as portable as the NC500D headphones, and they certainly don’t isolate well. The bottom line: the HD 555s win on their home turf (home theater), but they don’t even show up to the away game (away from the home theater). Also, if you’re looking for isolation – and it’s reasonable since the NC500D has active cancellation – the HD 555s are a bad choice.

Now we start to get into some meaty comparisons. Who will win, Bose or Sony? Well, in the case of QuietComfort 3s versus MDR-NC500Ds, the QC3s take it, but not by much. The QC3s have the NC500Ds beat in terms of usability and overall audio quality (although the NC500Ds have better frequency response, tracking, and leak slightly less sound). Again, while the QC3s don’t win by a gigantic margin, they do offer more than the NC500Ds. Additionally, the QC3s costs $50 less. We recommend the QC3s over the NC500Ds.