I kind of like both, but if I had to rely on one long-term, which would you go for?

Here are the vital stats of both for you to digest:

MDR-NC6:

Driver units: 38 mm, Neodymium
Max. power: 100 mW
Impedence (with power on): 20 ohms
(with power off): 65 ohms
Sensitivity: (with power on): 106 dB/mW
(with power off): 104 dB/mW
Frequency response: 30 Hz-15 kHz
Range of noise attenuation: 40-1500 Hz, more than 10 dB at 300 Hz


MDR-NC22:

Driver units: 13.5 mm, Neodymium
Max. power: 50 mW
Impedence (with power on): 20 ohms
(with power off): 8.5 ohms
Sensitivity: (with power on): 102 dB/mW
(with power off): 100 dB/mW
Frequency response: 8 Hz-22 kHz
Range of noise attenuation: 50-1500 Hz, more than 12 dB at 200 Hz


Of course, the annoying thing about the NC22's is the over-long 1.5 meter cord while my NC6's (after I desoldered the 1.5 meter cord on them) have a more remote-friendly cord (similar to the JE Version of these same units) taken from an old pair of MDR-EX71SL's and I kept the extension cord as an option.

Your opinions await, I am all ears, but my management recommends I go with the MDR-NC6 headphones despite the stats instead of IEM's to keep the hearing I have left.

when in the studio and WORKING , Cans,.. I Have a pair of Yamaha RH5A that I cut the bass on the master by 2db and they give me near linear response , Very detailed . For personal listening I have bothe the IEM's and Cans

I actually at home find the Yamahas easier to grab , they just sound good. my Sonys are for the trains and travel .

In other words, keep both and use them depending on both preference and taste, as I myself don't ride buses, trains or planes, but for the richer, thicker bass sound, use the cans, right?

Get a Pair of the Yamahas , RH5Ma cost you about 50 bucks , just try em .

http://yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDet...D560572,00.html

If it helps you decide (and your location is USA), I've seen the MDR-NC6 on sale at Target for $25 recently.

I already own both tham AND the MDR-NC22 units, all I asked is if I had to use one, which one you would go for.

Ah, sorry about that. When someone asks for opinions about headphones and then lists the specs, I tend to ignore anything at and beyond the specs listing.


Do you have a middle or inner ear problem? If it's a middle ear problem (conductive hearing loss), then really, using an in-ear versus a headphone won't matter. As long as you're responsible with the volume levels for both the NC6 and NC22, I wouldn't worry about which one to go for. But, I'm sure you've heard this all before. Blah blah blah - lol.

To be honest though, I'd trade in the NC6 for the D66 Eggos (one of the MDCF faves), AKG K81DJ, A-T SJ5, or V6. I haven't heard the NC22 (which may have received good reviews since they're related to the other Sony IEM NCs, I think?), but the NC6 sound pooptastic relative to other headphones I've tried or own. And, it looks like Guitarfxr and I are in agreement that maybe you should try something different from those NC6s.

I use both IEMs and headphones, too, but if I had to choose one based on sound quality, I'd go with the NC22. They can't possibly sound any worse than the NC6. Good luck.

When it comes to overall sound quality as well as noise canceling capability, I could hardly disagree, I would DEFINITELY go for the NC22's as I reviewed on a thread on this board already

http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=18875

and also on ATRACLife at

http://www.atraclife.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3403

Just the overall definition and clarity of each note throughout the frequency spectrum leads me more to them, despite the NC6's deeper, heavier bass (good for rap/hip-hop, but not for much else, in which I have to admit, drowns out most other frequencies and does sound muddy at times.

IEMs should be less of a threat to your hearing than any open headphones. They are already shutting out external noise, so you don't have to crank up the volume to overcome ambient sound. IEMs also, just by working like earplugs, will lower external noise by more decibels than noise-cancelling headphones, and they can just send you music instead of music plus noise-cancelling signal.

I don't understand why people deal with the whole noise-cancelling rigamarole--the battery module, the buzzy noise--when IEMs block noise more naturally and more effectively. Except that IEMs are more expensive.

I haven't tried the NC22. Yet I deeply doubt that they sound anywhere near as good as Shure E3 IEMs. List price is $179, and most Shure dealers have to advertise that price, but you can find them considerably cheaper, like on Ebay or here:

http://www.djdeals.com/shureE3.htm

Admittedly, that's not $25 at Target. But if sound quality matters....

Boy am I glad I chose the NC22's over the NC6's, they sound GREAT!

They make the NC6's sound like that half-baked crap you get from Target or Wal-Mart (lotsa luck trying to get the NC22's from them!), far better definition and far better sound, and just as much bass, in certain genres, well worth the price. I will agree they are no Boses ($$$), but if you want both great sound and no outside noise, and are somewhat on a budget, I highly recommend them.

They will go well with my MZ-NH700 and RM-MC40ELK for years to come, believe me.

My pics for Ishii (Ishiyoshi) to use on the ATRACLife Blog will be up by the end of the week.

Take your MD down to a Yamaha dealer or a Store that has these , Best buy Might...? But a higher end shop , and just listen the the RH-M5A's
You want Bass....... Ragu , its in there. For a Cheap (Pricewise, Not Quality wise) pair of cans , These are mighty close to the best I have heard.

My thoughts exactly. I wouldn't trade in my Shures or UEs for any Sony earbud, noise-cancelling or not. Actually, the only Sonys that I would consider now are the EX90 and the Altus. But, at their current price points, other ear/headphones have them beat (both quality- and price-wise).



I'll say what everyone else is thinking: Bose blows. (Edit: I don't have anything against them, but this and many other forums are clearly not Bose fans.)

I agree with that, over-hyped and over-priced are not the way to win customers over, it's just that I can't afford Shures or EC's, but I am also no fan of Boses, I mean who the heck would waste $$$ on their units when for 1/3 the money (and I AM on a budget) I can get better with Sonys or for the same price as Bose I can definitely take your advice and get some Shures, I agree with that.