accessories

Pros:
When noise cancellation is turned of sound is excellent. Basses are rich.
Cons:
1.I don't know what you are expecting from noise cancelling but it try it somewhere before you buy. Where I work, there wasn't too much noise but airconditioning and computer fan white noise. All this helped was blocking outside noise somehow. Electronic wizardy to cancel noise comes with an annoying hissing sound and did not have an effect around my envrionment.(Sony says hissing sound is by design.)

And don't forget, it will cancel only white noise, not the voice of people or closing and opening doors.

2.If you are not comfortable with In-Ear design, this shouldn't be your choice. I always liked in-ear headphones so it is not so bad for me, but still not the most comfortable. I guess it is a trade of between comfort and noise isolation.

I'm a Sony fanatic. I buy Sony first (save for Bose speakers & iPod stuff). I have a Sony receiver, Sony CD changer, Sony DVD player, Sony Walkman, and on and on and on. This is the single worst Sony product I've ever purchased. It is so bad I challenge Sony to show my one documented photo of a single Sony employee who has ever used the product. First, my Bose noise-cancelling headset doesn't hiss--Sony's claim this is normal is bunk. Second, the endless mass of controls and weirdly assymetrical cords make it almost unusable on the train and ferry. Walking with it is nearly impossible owing to the tangle of wires. The weight of the control box weighs enough to pull th ebuds out of your ears. This may sound picky but if you buy these you'll soon see what I mean. It makes then useless for motion--I can't imagine running in them--which is in part why I bought them. The earbuds don't fit in my ears (I can use the standard iPod buds, but none of the Sony buds fit well).

Did *anyone* at Sony actually try this product before it hit the market? At $100 a pop this product is a rippoff. And as a huge Sony fan I warn fellow consumers--go straight to Bose. (I bought these to compliment the Bose because I thought the in-ear design would be better for my daily commute and walking.)

I got mine 2 weeks ago and here is my report. BOTTOM LINE: with these headphones, noise cancelling is achieved PRIMARILY by good, tight fit (i.e., just get the cheaper non-noise cancelling circuitry type). As it says in the manual, the circuitry only cancels low frequency sounds like AC unit drone. When in use at Starbux, neither voices nor the milk steamer will be cancelled. Based on my senses, Sony has attempted to attack high frequency noises simply by boosting high frequencies of your music (i.e., a big part of the "noise cancelling" relies on INCREASING noises...which can be damaging and also means it is not effective when music is not played through them). In combination, (tight fit, low freq cancel, high freq boost) you get decent isolation at the expense of altered EQ, extremely limited ability to reduce ambient sounds without playing music, and a STEEP retail price. Again, the cheaper in-ear sony phones without the circuitry are a good alternative if you are unwilling to splurge for the Bose. I have had the opportunity to try the twice as expensive Bose unit...NO COMPARISON. The Bose headphones are absolutely amazing. TRUE noise cancellation. They work stunningly and do not rely at all on music being played through them. Don't try them on at a store without having $300 to spare because you won't want to leave without them! I'm still saving up for mine...