Record labels, hit by ever decreasing album sales, actually see a ray of light in the recent discrete renaissance in vynil records, whose production and sales continue to slowly increase. The reason for that 33 1/3 RPM nostalgia? The growing of a desire coming from a growing community of music geeks who have been complaining about the cold sound of digital reproduction since the first CD was produced. (And also don’t even get them started about the audio quality of MP3s.) Vinyl records, these people claim, have warmer, more natural audio. Sony headphones? Alright, so what’s this has to do with Sony’s Digital Noise Canceling Headphones? That all depends on the way you prefer the sound reproduction of the music you listen to: analogue warm or digital cool.
Until now, the Bose QuietComfort headphones have established the standard for top-notch noise-cancellation. Could the Sony headphones out-Bose Bose with its whole new digital headsets? Right after comparing both on a flight, a noisy commuter bus as well as a quiet living room, we observed that indeed, Sony has beaten Bose… yet not necessarily for the better.
Noise-Cancelation: Sony’s analogue-digital conversion actually minimize the uniquitous frustrating drone of a jet motor, yelling kids and surrounding sounds. The headsets actually put you in your own cocoon of silence. Bose does the same, but Sony let us enhance the noise-cancelling mode to three different surroundings: plane, bus/train and office environment. By merely pressing an artificial intelligence press button on the right ear piece, it was possible to eliminate external noises efficiently. Sony additionally added a useful monitor push button that lets you listen to exterior noises like an airline flight attendant inquiring if you would like a drink. With Bose, you must power down or take out the headphones entirely to listen to noises coming from the outside.
Portability and Comfort: Check this out: Bose QuietComfort fit within its 2-inch-thick carrying bag weighs in at just one lb, Sony’s MRD-NC500D check in at simply just over 1.5 lbs. The bag is 3 inches thick with bulk that surpasses the Bose package by slightly more than an inch. Of course, there’s more packed in the Sony bag: an AC-power charging cable with a mini-brick plug and an alternate two-AAA electric battery bag to power the headsets whenever the built-in rechargeable batteries have absolutely no power remaining. The Bose QuietComfort headphones includes a gentle foam that fits on top of the ears although the Sony set around your ears, not adding any kind of pressure on any of them. Comfort needless to say is very subjective, however immediately after wearing each for more than 1 hour, all of us preferred the softness and materials of the Bose a lot more.
Does electronic digital make a big difference? Sure it makes it possible for customizing noise-canceling based on the “noise” all around you, but the analog Bose still does the job well, too. Of course, in the end it’s whether you want your sound digital cool or analogue warm. Make sure you check out the Sony wireless headphones range too!