Sony noise-cancellation headphones: MDR-NC100D / NC200D

 8 Sep 2011 - By Omar Mariño+
 omar@myddnetwork.com


We all like to listen to music when doing some tasks  either in our homes or elsewhere (or just for pleasure). For this purpose, we use our MP3 or MP4 players (or our mobile phones) and, of course, we often need comfortable and quality headphones to enjoy it properly because  we don’t want to bother anyone else around us who doesn’t need to listen to our favorite songs and artists.

For that reason, it’s a great choice if you enjoy the music by using good headphones such as those introduced by Sony at  the IFA trade fair for consumer electronics that took place in Germany.  We are talking about the MDR-NC100D and the MDR-NC200D headphones.

Sony Noise Cancelling Headphones

The MDR-NC100D are  small  in-ear headphones. Many people prefer these kind of devices because they are discreet and easy to carry but, of course, they are not for everyone.

sony MDR-nc200d

So, if you don’t want to have this type of gadget invading your ears, then you can opt for the MDR-NC200D  ones, which are bigger (and not “in-ear”); they have good noise-cancelling capabilities and the emitted sound transports us to a sort of  isolated and personal world; as a drawback, they could be a little uncomfortable to carry.

Silent high-quality sound

As  the world is becoming more and more noisy, silence is a very valuable thing. You need to avoid uncomfortable noise while working,  or when you are in the middle of a relaxing moment, or when traveling, or just when you need to rest. Thanks to a digital technology specifically designed for this purpose, Sony has created these new products that allow us to get “silence on demand”.

For example, with these type of headphones, traveling by train or plane could be a different thing instead of being an endurance test. Music won’t have to compete with background noise, so you can reduce the volume, giving a rest to your ears and, even so, you can still listen to each note.  From now on, a noisy office or the noise of a departure lounge won’t be annoying distractions when you need to focus on a particular task.

Both models work with the Sony S-Master digital amplifier that is a guarantee of excellent high-quality sound. They also include the Sony Digital Noise Cancelling (DNC) technology that features very superior sampling precision and anti-phase when compared with analogic systems.

As result, we get an extremely efficacious noise cancellation that is reinforced by signal processing through a Sony digital equalizer. This way, we can make sure we’ll get a quality sound matching the features of the original signal.

Another remarkable feature is the suppression of extreme bass that is normally associated with noise-cancelling systems.

The best thing is that the noise-cancelling algorithm is smart, flexible, and sensitive to changes in the environment. Just by touching a button, you can enable the Artificial Intelligence Noise Cancelling (AINC) function that take samples of the noise in the current environment and automatically select the best mode to get an optimum noise cancellation.

As said before, the two models have big differences regarding design. The MDR-NC100D are in-ears headphones that you can carry in your pocket. It uses 13.5mm drivers in the ear-bud cases with dynamic range and wide frequency in order to get a very high-quality musical sound. The vertical, in-ear design provides increased comfort and a fitting safer than more conventional alternatives.

On the other hand, the MDR-NC200D uses 40mm drivers in order to get an exceptional high fidelity sound. These headphones are equipped with a pressure-relieving urethane cushion in the ear pad in order to alleviate the pressure on our ears. Also, they have a lightweight design, so you can use them during several hours in a comfortable way. They can be folded under the joining structure (diadem) , so you will be able to keep them in a bag or cabinet with reduced space (see picture below).

quality sound headphones

Which of them is better? Well, the users should pick out the model that better fits their needs… and each person is different. However, both products feature a very sophisticated noise cancellation, an exceptional quality sound, and a high-end design.

At  the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide which type fits you best.

For the moment, these headphones have not been released officially for public sale yet, but hopefully they will shortly.

Specs table

Model MDR-NC200D MDR-NC100D
Type Dynamic, closed Dynamic, closed
Driver units 40mm, dome type (CCAW adopted 13.5mm, dome type (CCAW adopted
Power handling capacity 50mW 50mW
Impedance 68Ω at 1 kHz (when power is on)35 Ω at 1kHz (when power is off) 70Ω at 1 kHz (when power is on)16 Ω at 1kHz (when power is off)
Sensitivity 103 dB/mW (when power is on)102 dB/mW (when power is off) 110 dB/mW (when power is on)103 dB/mW (when power is off)
Frequency response 8 Hz – 23 kHz 8 Hz – 23 kHz
Total noise suppression ratio1 Approx 17.5 dB Approx 17.5 dB
Power source DC 1.5V 1 x LR03 (AAA) battery DC 1.5V 1 x LR03 (AAA) battery
Cord Approx. 1.5 m OFC Litz cord, neck-chain (including control box)
Mass Approx 180g Approx 9 g headphones (not including cord)Approx. 26 g control box (including battery, not including cord)
Included items Headphones (1)Plug adaptor for in-flight use(single/dual) (1)Connecting cord (1.5 m, gold plated L type stereo mini plug) (1)Carrying case (1)Sony LR03 (size AAA) battery (1)Operating Instructions (1)Warranty card (1) Headphones (1)Plug adaptor for in-flight use (single/dual) (1)Noise Isolation Earbuds (S x 2, M x 2, L x 2)Cord adjuster (1)Carrying pouch (1)Sony LR03 (size AAA) battery (1)Operating Instructions (1)Warranty card (1)





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