[mickd1337]

I bought some Sony MDR-NC20's from Singapore at the beginning of the year. I thought they would be good for travelling, i travel in the bus a lot and occasionally on long drives and airplane trips. I was utterly disappointed, thinking the money i paid would buy me some good phones, but mine don't work! I don't know if it's just my ears, my phones or that's the way their supposed to be, but my phones amplify outside noises when i turn the NC on. What noise it does cut out, it lets out a hissing noise on the right hand side louder than the left. I am

but i am going to get some decent headphones when i get some cash, i have learnt properly about headphones now (a bit). Is there some way i can alter them or get them fixed? i lost my warranty, i am angry at myself

 

[Eagle_Driver]

I'm sorry to say this, but none of the active "noise-cancelling" headphones from any brand are worth anywhere near their high prices. You see, active noise-cancellation only cancels out the lower frequencies, such as the rumble from the bus motors or a jet engine - but leaves the higher-pitched sounds relatively untouched (so you can still hear some teenagers shout out the F-word loud and clear). Worse, many of the *battery-powered* circuits that such noise-cancelling 'phones use actually add high-frequency hiss that's detrimental to music listening. Add to that the fact that most noise-cancelling 'phones (yes, even the expensive Bose model) use the innards of a cheap, sub-$30 pair of mediocre-sounding conventional headphones, and you'll end up with headphones that deliver the greatest amount of crap per dollar anywhere.

 

[dohminator]

they etymonic cannal phones are highly regarded for both the ability to block out noise, and the sound they produce.

 

[AngusMcToon]

Do a lot of flying these days...and I sold my NC20's and bought Ety ER-4P and haven't looked back. Took a few weeks to get used to wearing them, but now they're quite second nature.

They work great on the plane at blocking out noise. My last 6 hour flight happened to put me right in the middle of about 8 screaming infants. All I remember is that open mouthed look and this faint, faint sound of crying which went away as soon as the phones were plugged into a sound source.

Delightful. I'd tried a friend's Bose NC phones as was similarly disappointed.

 

[akar]

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