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We take Sony’s portable noise cancellation solution for a spin to see if it’s worth Rs. 4,500. Does it fulfill the promise? Well, read on.

MDR-NC7 comes in a small package that includes headphones, one carry pouch and a dual pin adaptor for in-flight use.

Sony products are known for its aesthetics and NC7 is no surprise. The headphones look stylish with its white hue and silver accents on the side of the earpads. The NC7 is adjustable to suit everyone’s ears and folds down completely to be carried easily. The earpads consists of sponge that is covered with leather-like material to give it a classy look.

Making the NC7 work is a no-brainer. Just plug the pin into a 3.5mm slot supporting player and you could delve into uninterrupted music instantly. The noise cancelling feature actually works two ways – passively and actively. The passive noise cancelling is done with the help of the thick layer of sponge covering your ears while the active part kicks by activating the noise cancelling feature with a switch located on the side. However, this feature requires a single AAA battery to work.

We tested the noise cancelling feature by commuting in the ever crowded Mumbai local-train and even though it did not fully block the outside noise as promised, it effectively cut the noise by half. There is also an obvious difference when the noise cancellation is turned on. Apart from blocking noise, the music quality is also enhanced. It sounds better and is easy to pick up low notes, which with a regular set of earphones might be impossible.

However, despite the fact that it fared well in other departments, it lacked something which many users look out for – the bass thumping effect. The bass is not totally absent but we can say it has a minimal effect. Another thing is that it cannot be used for prolonged sessions. Not that its not ergonomic but the leather-like material is the culprit. Continuous use tends to make the ears sweaty.

Overall, MDR-NC7 performed decently for an entry level headphone but the price is the dampener here. Maybe lowering it to around Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 3,000 could give users more bang for their buck.