These are my first pairs of noice-canceling headphones. They were great for the first month I used them. I mean ULTIMATE PERFECT! Great for exercising and walking outside.

HOWEVER, with the noise-canceling feature on there is a slight buzzing noise, but if your music is on loud enough it will block out the buzzing. For those who don't like listening to your music too loud, these headphones are not for you.

Anyways, after only a MONTH of owning these headphones, the left side of the headphones began developing a crackling noise. Whenever the bass would kick in from a song it would start crackling like CRAZY. Or if I wore them on a windy day and the wind was blowing against the left side of the headphones the crackling would be unavoidable.

Fortunately my speakerphones came with a 90 day warranty, so I will be sending them back to the factory. However, even with the warranty there are no guarantees of "free" repairs.

Overall these speakerphones are VERY VERY comfortable, but you might start sweating around the ear after wearing them for a long time.
The sound quality is better than any other speakerphones I've ever owned, but still it has its flaws.

I have had these for almost two years and I have found that they do not hold up well. The padding in the ears has flattened totally making them very uncomfortable. The headphone cord has become stiff so that I have to bend it away from my face. The biggest problem that has developed is creakyness. The headphones creak anytime you move. The creaking is loud and unpleasant and resonates inside the headphones. If you are trying to wear them while sleeping on a plane the creaking sound is very disturbing.

The noise cancelling is good on a plane and the sound is good considering the price. However I would not buy them again because they have aged poorly.

I will admit that I recently gave up my Sony Headphones for the Bang and Olufsen A8's ----- however, that was more for portabilities sake, than sound

with regards to sound, this is the BEST pair of headphones that I have used

The noise cancelling features are excellent! -- putting these things on, along with the noise cancellers, allows you to hear sounds that you never knew existed within many of your favorite songs

I compared these headphones, head to head, on an airplane, against the Bose Quiet Comfort 2, and there was no difference in sound - both performed excellently, and equally, within the airplane environment ---- however, the Sony ones were more comfortable and MUCH cheaper

Don't even waster your time with the Bose Quite Comfort ---- grab a pair of these and you'll fall in love quick!

I wore these for about an hour while riding the bus and couldn't wait to take them off. Maybe if I could find a way to replace the minimal amount of padding around the ears they would be better, but I doubt if I can. The headband felt fine.

They did reduce the background noise to some extent, but it was still noticeable on the bus. Actually, my ipod headphones were louder than the Sonys with the ipod set at the same volume, but the sonys seem to be a little easier on my eardrums due to the fact that their not jammed in my ear canal.

I'm considering returning these and getting the Bose QuietComfort 2. Although $300 for a pair of headphones is obscene, I need something good for long flights and I'm not sure that these will do the trick.

These headphones suck without the noise reduction turned on. With it on the sound is better, although somewhat muddy compared to the headphones that came with my ipod. I suppose I would rather wear these on a plane, bus, or train than my ipod headphones because they are easier on my eardrums, while still allowing me to hear the words of the music I'm listening to.

As you can see they look great and they fold up nicely too. I wish they would just make them more comfortable.

I've been using these for over a year now. Basically, in a quiet environment these sound pretty good. They aren't as good as similarly-priced studio-class headsets, but you're paying for the noise cancelling. The raw capability is pretty decent, and has acceptable detail in treble, vocal, and bass ranges.

The noise cancelling works pretty well. I've taken these on several intercontinental flights and they do a decent job of blocking out engine rumble and screaming kids. They also do a decent job of blocking out adult human voices, which is nice in the office.

However, I must have pretty big ears, and I've found that the foam cups aren't quite thick enough to adequately push the driver away from my outer ear. After 2 or 3 hours of use my ears start to ache a bit.

The cord is plenty long, and can be disconnected in the middle to link to an optional Sony wired remote control. An adapter to convert the standard 1/8th inch stereo jack to the dual 1/8th inch jacks in many airplane seats is included.

The thing that I don't like about this is that I find these uncomfortable when I try to lean my head against the window in an airplane and sleep. I think that the MDR-NC11's might have been a better choice in that regard.

They're also kind of bulky unless you have a large carry-on to keep them in. I'm paranoid about putting these in the seat pocket in front of me, since the MDR-NC20's come with a soft bag instead of a rigid clamshell like the Bose headsets. I haven't had any spills yet, but active travellers may wish to find a case that's more rigid.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with these. The natural audio sound and the noise cancelling are plenty sufficient for the price... I couldn't justify the $300 for Bose unless I needed the protective clamshell and had ears that fit perfectly into their earcups.