Video: Sony's MDR-NC300D noise-canceling canal earbuds
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted Jun 17th 2009 11:00AM
posted Jun 17th 2009 11:00AM
We know you haven't slept in the week since we first got wind of Sony's MDR-NC300D heaphones and while, sadly, there is (as of yet) still no domestic street date, we do have some more details and a fun little video to tide you over. Billed as the "world's first" digital noise canceling canal earphones (and we're inclined to agree) these guys boast 98.4% noise reduction, an integrated S-Master amplifier, 16mm diameter drivers for each bud, and three separate noise canceling modes. For those of you with a more technical bent, you'll be pleased to know that the 'phones sport a playback frequency of 6Hz ~ 24kHz, a sensitivity of 103dB/mW, and a 16Ω impedence. And it runs on AAA batteries -- meaning these aren't the iPod killers that we've seen in similar devices. This bad boy will hit the streets and shelves of Japan on June 21st for ¥30,975 (around $315).Video after the break.
[Via Sony Insider]
[Via Sony Insider]
"We know you haven't slept in the week since we first got wind of Sony's MDR-NC300D heaphones . . ."
Sarcasm-- Just one of the many services we offer here at Engadget.
Get over it. Go get your gadget news from USAToday.
I think you misunderstood me. $315 for a pair of earbuds is not something to get me excited.
My apologies. I misunderstood you. Please, carry on with your tuba.
Well you can get them for only ￥22,320 on Amazon Japan. I'm thinking about getting a set. I really need some to block the sound coming from the street outside and it would be helpful if they block out my wife as well. Though I had been saving to buy a Frostmourne replica sword or an Acer easyStore Home Server... oh decisions, decisions!
Blocking out your wife will probably result in her blocking you out . . . if you get my meaning.
Hmm well.. if you want noice cancelling in ear things... just buy the shure450 (or whatever the number is) ...
ok they kost about 400 dollar more .. but once you have them a couple of days later you WILL
get hit by a bus you didn't hear :D
The point there is that the Sony units are noise cancelling, not just noise blocking (similar to earplugs) like most all other canal-type earbuds.
But the Sonys probably still won't block out bone conducted noise. That means you actually need to crank the volume even more than normal headphones when doing something as benign as eating.
Is there a way to block bone conducted noise? While retaining the sense of hearing that is.
World's first? You mean after their first noise canceling earbuds from about 5 years ago? I bought them way back, work great, still using them for trips. Model MDR-NC11.
Review: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1306657,00.asp
@uberartist
"Worlds first DIGITAL noise canceling canal earphones."
The keyword is digital.
Of course, 98.4% noise reduction is just a 4 dB reduction in sound....
How do you figure that?
Isn't is a 36dB reduction?
Yet another number: -18 dB
But I don't know whether to apply a square or not, when "98.4%" are given (which is 1.6%/100%)
Here is how the Decibel scale works- +6dB = doubling of signal intensity, -6dB = halving of signal intensity. Pretty simple. So-
-6dB = 50% of original signal intensity
-12dB = 25% of original signal intensity
-18dB = 12.5% of...
-24dB = 6.25%
-30dB = 3.13%
-36dB = 1.56%
(100% of original signal) - (1.56% remaining signal) = 98.4% of signal removed
So I'm pretty sure the answer is -36dB
The correct answer is nearer -20dB.
-6db only equates to a halving of a voltage or current.
-3dB equates to a halving of power.
Even though I don't speak Japanese, it's pretty cool to see the technical aspects of DSP and opposing waves used to cancel the signals.
I don't speak Japanese either, but I understood the music. So much information into it. The sound was clear and exact, and I didn't even hear the train or airplane that traveled on the screen. It sure cancels noise.
Few days back they were suppose to be $410, now $315, already a 25% discount!
It´s almost confusing which side of the buds have to go into the ear
Sony's noise cancelling anal ear buds.
Now all you need to do Sony is give us a killer phone to go with those bad boyz. X2? We shall see. I think though we are kinda looking for some type of killer "PSP Phone" Just sayin...
huh? Sony makes top end headphones now? Aren't they pretty notorious for crappy drivers?
On the lower end (under $50) market, maybe. The V6, XB700, 7506/9 are pretty good for under $100. There's the F1, PFR-V1, CD1000, CD1700, and the SA3/5000 under $400. On the high end, there's the Qualia 010, R10, and CD3000.
Oh, and I've heard the EX700s are pretty good.
Push notification....
moar twitts fastar.....
w00t!!
those are pretty cool but i still cant understand why anyone would pay hundreds of dollars for some earphones, is background noise that much of a bother to people. ill just stick with my $10 sony earbuds since they sound fine to me
Some people like nice sound quality...
Consider this analogy:
$10 earbuds = 13" black-and-white CRT tv.
$50-100 headphones = average LCD tv with digital signal
$300 headphones = those fancy, high-end LCD tvs that offer some amazing specs to go along with amazing pricetags.
There are diminishing returns on headphones. The really expensive stuff is typically better than the moderately priced stuff, but the moderately priced stuff typically is a LOT better than the cheap stuff. The problem with your $10 buds is that they're so bad that you don't even realize that you're missing a lot of the sound.
For me, I'm more interested in these for the fact that noise-cancelling earphones will allow one to listen to their ipod/mp3 player outdoors without having to jack the volume way up.
I wish I could find the article, but a study was done a few years ago on the rise of young people (35 and younger) and how they are exhibiting early signs of hearing loss. The study attributed this to listening to portable mp3 players too loud when walking outside to mask ambient noise.
So what's the benefit of doing this digitally instead of analog? 'Cause that's quite a few D/A and A/D converters you've got going there...I would think they can't be that high of quality in that small of space. First you've got the D/A coming from your MP3 player. Then it goes into the A/D converter of the line in on the headphones. Then you've got the A/D converter for the ambient noise to mix with the line in. Then they all finally go out through the D/A converter.
I really can't imagine any digital benefits would outweigh the signal degradation that would result in that many conversions.
I know my signal processing, and those are some pretty damn impressive stats. Stats are just stats though, how do they sound?
You've already used these new sony headphones? You should post a review.
Looks like a pretentious, expensive crapgadget to me. And why no pic of the inline AAA battery pack Engadget? Insky makes a valid point about the multiple A/D conversions -- they will compromising sound quality.
Can anyone recommend a decent normal pair of earbuds.? I use these when I walk around in the city or the gym and I find the deep canal type earbuds block too much sound and make me unsafe and slightly disoriented. Bonus if they have a mic and controls for my iphone.
I'm hoping that these buds don't block/cancel out too much noise or that it at least won't hit the USA.
Or else:
The Sun
"Sony accused of plans to kill off all [CENSORED] by generating more traffic "accidents".
honestly I am not a big fan of the canal ear buds. They never seem to stay in my ear. I prefer the original style of earplugs.
insky is right. Way too much conversion going on. And why? Noise cancelling? Yea, the technology works, but who needs a total blockage of sound? I totally understand noise cancelling tech being used in say -a car. mike asks for a decent pair of "normal" earbuds because he doesn't like canal type earbuds because they block too much sound. Some people do not like to be totally disconnected from their surroundings. Most people who listen to their MP3s in 128 or 192 wouldn't know good sound if it slapped them in the face, so I'm assuming that Engadget DO care about high fidelity. I use my Shure E4c earphones and the in ear design (canal) works like an earplug to block background noise naturally. This enables you to listen comfortably at lower volumes-even in loud environments. And unlike headphones utilizing active noise cancellation technology, no artifacts are introduced into the listening experience. Sound isolating earphones are also much smaller and don't require batteries. If you couple a pair of these with a Headroom Total Bithead portable headphone amp and you've got audio nirvana. The Shure E4c earphones were $399 when they came out. They're now discontinued and I just googled a pair @ $120. Add a decent headphone amp and you've got WAAAYYYY better sound than almost anything on the market and certainly these Sony phones. You got to use a lossless compression scheme with your sound files though or your just wasting your money. E4c earphones come with a pair of disposable Foam Sleeves, a pair of Triple Flange Sleeves, three pairs (small, medium, large) of Flex Sleeves, and three pairs of Soft Flex Sleeves (small, medium, large) to ensure the ideal personalized fit, but also allow for as little or as much external noise blockage as you want -it's the best of all worlds. How well do they block outside noise? I can't hear my wife talking to me even when she's standing right next to me -and tha'ts worth a lot more than money can buy.
they are.....HUGE!
I was excited about this until I saw the fact that Sony is making it.
So, you got excited by the word 'Video:'?
"So, you got excited by the word 'Video:'?"
lol
It'll be nice to walk out the street using these...OMFG A TRUCK...
be nice to use these while ridimg my motorcycle.. assuming thye work, and stay in my ear
And you like being run over by an ambulance.
I guess Mr. Paul W. Idiot doesn't understand that noise cancelling is appealing us bikers because prolonged exposure to the high noise enviorment is very *Bad* for your ears. Dangerous to ride a motorcycle w noise cancelling earbuds? I got news fer ya smart ass. Its highly dangerous to ride in the first place. Thats why we are bad asses. TYVM. =]
Words first WTF? What do you call the Panasonic RP-HC55s I'm listening to as I type this? (Apart from "way more affordable"). There were enough brands out there for a comparison review of them by Australian Choice magazine.
Of course these ones only do 94% (or 84%?) from memory... and it seems to be the people with the most annoying voices on the train managed to squeeze into the missing percentage points somehow.
Response down to 6Hz? Really?
I don't think so.