Review: Sony MDR-NC60 Headphones

A review of Sony’s new noise-canceling MDR-NC60 headphones

March 2008 By Stephen Krasowski

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My experiences with headphones, especially on long or even short flights around the country, have never been very facilitating. Many times, I’d hear the person sitting next to me talking to a friend across the aisle or the flight attendant asking those individuals sitting around me what beverages they wanted to drink. I recently had the opportunity to review Sony’s MDR-NC60 Noise Canceling Headphones on a flight across this great country of ours and can quite possibly say that it was the most enjoyable flight I’ve been on in a very long time. I didn’t hear the person sitting next to me, nor did I hear the pilot telling us that we were next in line to take off. These noise canceling headphones were exceptional and rocking out to the Dave Matthews Band never felt so good!

In case some of you haven’t had any experience with noise canceling, here’s a short tutorial. Noise canceling is a feature where the noise canceling circuit senses unwanted ambient noise with built-in microphones and sends an equal-but-opposite canceling signal to the headphones. At first glance, when taken out of the packaging, the headphones looked like they’d fit very comfortably around the ear. They undoubtedly were extremely comfortable as the pads affixed securely around the ears. At times during the flight, it didn’t even feel like I had them on. There are times, however, when you need to hear the pilot or flight attendant, but don’t want to take off the headphones. No problem. There is a Monitor switch on the bottom of the left headphone. If the Monitor switch is pressed and held while the Power switch is set to ON, you’re able to hear the surrounding environment. Try to refrain from covering the microphone with your fingers or the surrounding environmental sound might not be heard. Along with the headphones comes a neat carrying case when the headphones are not in use. The housings for the headphones rotate easily to make them flat for storage in the carrying case or even in a seat pocket.

Without a doubt, these noise canceling headphones will be an experience you’ll never forget, even if you do find yourself on a long flight stuck between a rock and a hard place.