Fontopia Ear-Buds

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Airports and Jet Airplanes Aren't Nice Places From the indignities suffered at security checkpoints to the cramped and noisy cabin, air travel is an extremely unpleasant means of travel. If I could reach my destination my any other means, I would never patronize another air carrier. Why pay good money to be felt up, x-rayed, searched, insulted, fed bad food, squeezed into a sorry excuse for a chair and suffer ringing ears for hours? On the continental USA, I used to take commuter flights from city to city to save a few hours. Now I rent a car or take Amtrak and enjoy the journey. Unfortunately, there aren't many travel options in Hawaii: fly or swim. However, there is a way to take the edge off your next flight: 500 mg of St. John's Wort every 3 hours (to enhance your mood) and the Sony MDR-NC10 Noise Canceling Headphones piping music into your head. Sony MDR-NC10 Noise Canceling Stereo Headphones • The black box contains the noise canceling circuits and an AAA battery good for about 60 hours. If the battery dies, you can still use the MDR-NC10 as standard headphones. Construction and Feel The MDR-NC10 is the most burly set of Ear-Bubs I have seen. The cables are like ropes compared to the thread-like wires of most portable headphones. Besides being tough, the fit and finish of these made-in-Japan cans are excellent. Plus, the MDR-NC10 are stylin' if you dig the Dark Vader look. At least you'll bend in with the herd of cell phone nuts on city streets! Although husky for Ear-Bubs, they're small and petite compared to typical open air headphones. Moreover, the soft silicon earplug-style design allow them to be worn comfortably for hours. I suffered no ear fatigue after five hours of listening on a flight between Honolulu and Portland. Only my butt, legs and stomach were sore. While riding Amtrak from Portland to San Francisco, I wore them for nearly 20 hours! That was a bit too much, but my ears felt all right. In contrast, my Sony MDR-7506 cans make my ears hurt after an hour. The headphone cord and noise reduction unit entail about five feet of cord. That's plenty 'o crapola tangling as you walk around. If you plug these puppies directly into your audio player it's not too bad. However, if you use a wired remote the resulting eight feet of cords is a real mess for trekkers but, I suppose, a blessing for TV viewers. Too bad it doesn't ship with shorter detachable cords for maximum flexibility. Noise Canceling Headphones Are a Traveler's Friend • Trains, airplanes, buses and cars are perfect environments to kickback and listen to music. Don't let the bump and grind of the road or air travel spoil your ride. Noise Reduction These headphones reduce ambient noise levels to enhance audio fidelity and, hence, enjoyment. Microphones in the Ear-Buds monitor ambient noise and feed into noise canceling circuits. This signal is sent to the drivers out of phase and, thus, cancels out a big slice of noise. Unfortunately, this phase reversal technique can't be applied to the entire audio spectrum. Instead, it is applied from 40 (lowest string on a bass guitar) to 1500 Hz, with the maximum 10 dB reduction at 300 Hz. What this means is that the rumble and grinding of motors, air conditioners, traffic, etc., is reduced considerably, but higher pitched noise is still audible. Nevertheless, the reduction is sufficient to make listening to music on an airplane a high fidelity experience rather than an exercise in irritation. Sony claims an additional 3 dB in noise reduction is due to the earplug-like design. It does get quieter by simply putting on the Ear-Buds. I detected no degradation of audio quality with the noise canceling circuits engaged. In fact, the reduction of ambient noise always improves the listening experience, even if the background noise is moderate. You can engage the noise canceling circuits and benefit from reduced noise without playing music if you like. Unfortunately, there is a slight "pop" audible when you engage or disengage the NR switch. Venetian Ceiling Detail • Las Vegas Sound Quality The sound quality of these headphones is nothing short of fantastic: smooth, detailed, and neutral across the audible frequencies. I listened to the MDR-NC10 through a Sony D-EJ01 Discman (15th Anniversary Model), Sony Walkman WMEX20 (20th Anniversary Model) and Sony WM-EX7 Walkman and was stunned by the full, smooth and detailed soundstage. The sonic character is reminisce of my Sennheiser HD580 cans. My impression of smoothness comes from Sony's frequency tuning: a slight midrange "hump," slightly rolled off lower highs and delicate and airy highs. This performance was surprising as Sony headphones normally lean towards the bright side. A few words about bass. These cans have a perfectly balanced tonal response for my listening taste, e.g., classical, jazz and classic rock. Bass starved jazz and rock mixes of the 60s and 70s benefit from the Mega Bass EQ in the Walkman, but that's a problem with the original recording, not the headphones. I like the bass full and taut but natural sounding. If you want huge, booming, kick 'em in the head bass, these are not the cans for you. Does the MDR-NC10 sound as good as my Sennheiser 580 headphones and Musical Fidelity headphone amp? Of course not. However, it sounded better than any open air or Ear-Bud 'phones I have owned. In other words, they're dad burn fine. Warranty These cans don't inspire consumer confidence with a farty 90-day warranty. A set of $200 headphones merit at least a one year warranty. Well, at least Sony maintains its own repair facilities here in Honolulu. Final Comments This is one pair of fine sounding and comfortable cans at a good price. However, they're not for everyone. They don't crank out head-crackin' bass that will satisfy Rap or Hip-Hop lovers. What it does well is serve up music that is smooth, detailed and neutral across the audible frequencies. Plus, the noise reduction really works and helps makes long flights and train rides bearable. That's all I need. Score Sound Quality: A- • Construction: A • Noise Reduction: B- • Bang for Buck: B Update (July 2006) After using the Shure and Ultimate Ears on a few flights I realized the Sony MDR-NC10 could be more effective with sealed earplugs. Combining the best of both worlds--electronic noise reduction and earplugs--is a nobrainer. Why didn't Sony think of this? The Sony supplied earpieces don't work worth a damn as earplugs. However, I have a pair of Shure E2c earphones with an assortment of rubber and foam earplug replacements that fit the Sony (the Ulitmate Ears and Shure E4c were too small). The foam earplugs provided the best seal and comfort. The foam is similar to industrial foam earplugs: squeeze and roll the the foam, insert in ear and hold about 15 seconds or until it expands. I tried this combo on a recent flight to Las Vegas and enjoyed every musical nuance possible from my iPod Nano. Upgrade to the tighter fitting Shure E2 series rubber or foam earpieces and the MDR-NC10 is the ultimate airplane cans. And, yes, Shure, will sell replacement E2c earpiece foams to anyone. Specs Type: Lateral, In-the-ear, Closed, Dynamic (with Noise Cancellation) Driver Unit: 13.5mm with neodymium magnets Power Source: "AAA" x 1 Battery Battery Life: Approx. 60 hrs (alkaline) Power Switch: Manual, on battery box Noise Reduction: >10dB at 300Hz Impedance: NC Power On: 27 ohms NC Power Off: 16 ohms Sensitivity: NC Power On: 106dB/mW NC Power Off: 104dB/mW Power Handling Capacity: 100mW Frequency Response: NC Power On: 10 - 22,000Hz Cord and Plug: 2.5 ft (0.8m) cord to battery box Approx. 1.6 oz (46g) Included Accessories 0.6m cord to connect battery box to audio source, with gold-plated stereo micro plug, L-shaped stereo mini-plug to the audio source Plug adapter for use on airplane Soft carrying case Where to buy B&H Photo • $135 ($200 List) 6/18/2002 • Updated 7/18/2006 ©Copyright 2002 by Peter Kun Frary • All Rights Reserved

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