The Bottom Line: I'm going the long road with the MDR-NC11s, but only as a second-set of headphones exclusively for use in-flight. Sound quality isn't up to par as compared to traditional earbuds.
ctwp's Full Review: Sony MDR-NC11 Consumer Headphones
I bought the new Sony MDR-NC11 earbuds in Hong Kong the day they were released without checking any research or reviews. I've always been nothing than impressed with Sony's design and quality standards, so didn't think twice about buying these without doing a little reading first. Sony has let me down for the first time...
These are the second set of noise-cancelling earphones I've owned, with my Panasonic RP-HC70s getting some excellent and long-term use until being stolen from a bag during a particularly long trip.
At first glance, the MDR-NC11s look impressive. Sony has thrown in a neat little carrying pouch (something that was missing with the Panasonics), an adapter for the ubiquitous two-plug airline headset jacks and a moulded plastic "anti-tangle device". The positive experience continued as I inserted the plugs into my ears. Unlike most earbud headphones that sit at the entrance to the ear, these are much more elongated and insert more deeply. Surprisingly, I found this design much more comfortable than conventional earbuds for two main reasons. Firstly, the buds are covered with an incredibly soft rubber that almost feels that it's creating a seal with the ear canal itself, as opposed to the rough foam covers of typical earbuds that tend to give me "foam burn" after prolonged use. Secondly, due to their deeper insertion, they tend to stay in place much more securely than typical earbuds, especially when moving about.
However, the satisfaction ended as soon as I turned on the sound. While general sound quality was good, the bass output was terrible. After trying several different music genres, I found that without exception in a quiet environment I got far better sound from my $10 Sony MDR-E818 earbuds than the $110 MDR-NC11s. OK, in a quiet environment I didn't expect the noise-cancelling headphones to make a positive difference over the el-cheapo ones, but I certainly didn't expect them to be significantly worse, even with the noise-cancelling circuitry turned off!
Moving to a more noisy location (Hong Kong's KCRC trains), The MDR-NC11s certainly made a difference, but this definitely appeared to be primarily due to the earbud design rather than the noise-cancelling electronics. The earbuds' unique seal with the ear canal certainly seems to be the key to the noise cancellation. Turning on the noise-cancel circuit resulted in only a minor further reduction, and some very noticible hiss. My guess is that the earplug design is responsible for around 85% of the noise reduction in this environment. The sound overall quality was still substandard to the aforementioned $10 earbuds, even in a noisier environment.
The one place I managed to coax an appreciable performance out of the noise-cancelling electonics was airborne. In-flight, I'd estimate that the earphone design was responsible for about 40% of the noise cancellation and the remainder being due to the circuitry. Nevertheless, it means that I'll be carrying around two sets of headphones for the forseeable future - the MDR-NC11s for airplanes and the MDR-E818s for everywhere else.
The other departure from the incredible standard of Sony design and workmanship I've become used to was the "anti-tangle device". In reality, this is a moulded plastic clip that the earbuds rest in keeping them close to gether with the cord dangling below. Problem is that the earbuds do just that - the "rest" in the holder. There's nothing clipping them in, so the slightest jiggle knocks them out. Even trying to put them into their Sony-provided pouch without them falling out of the holder was near impossible. The clip is useless - I ended up throwing it away. How did this design flaw get past Sony QA?
Overall, I'd be happier if the SOB that stole my Panasonic RP-HC70s would send them back (no qustions asked - promised!) so I could return the Sony model, but short of a miracle, I'm going the long road with the MDR-NC11s, but only as a second-set of headphones exclusively for use in-flight.
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