Sony MDR1RNC Premium Noise-Canceling Headphones (Black)
$675.95
Price: $675.95
(as of Jan 06, 2025 20:50:53 UTC – Details)
Countless details combined to deliver: precision sound quality, thoughtful design, and long-term comfort. Available in three models, including Bluetooth and Digital Noise Canceling capable models, Sony MDR-1R headphones offer premium style with performance for a headphone experience without equal.
Precision noise canceling–reduces up to 99% ambient noise
Full-auto AINC auto noise canceling function with Dual Noise Sensor technology for optimized performance
50mm Liquid Crystal polymer film diaphragms (5-24Hz)
Enfolding structure delivers wrap around comfort and an improved acoustic seal for improved bass response
Comfortable ear pads deliver powerful bass response and long-term comfort
Customers say
Customers appreciate the headphones for their good sound quality, comfortable fit, and high-quality build. They find the noise-canceling function decent, and the headphones provide clear and balanced sound without ANC activated. The leather feels good and provides a relaxing feel. Many customers appreciate the substantial build quality and premium feel of the headphones. The style is described as fashionable and charming. Overall, customers are satisfied with the headphones’ performance and style.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Benjamin J. Parrish –
My Thoughts
I have been a Bose fan for a long time, and have been trying to find something better than the Quite Comfort 15s. I decided to give the MDR1s a try. Here is how they stack up, for me:Comfort: The MDR1 are slightly less comfortable than the QC 15s to wear. I can wear the Bose for a full 8 hours and not even know they are there. With these, you start to feel a slight pressure around your temple after several hours. Point Bose.Convenience: The QC 15s are slightly smaller and lighter, the cord is a fair bit longer (the MDR1 is too short, IMO), and the on-off button is in a much easier spot to get to. The MDR1 will play music with the button in the off position, unlike the QC 15s, but the sound is washed out, so I don’t know why you would want to. Still, if you had to, you could. That said, I’m going to give the point to Bose here. The QC 15 have a perfect form factor for what they are intended to do.Battery Life: Of debate on convenience is the ability to recharge the MDR1s. I like that I will not have to worry about batteries with these headphones. On the other hand, if I am traveling or do not have access to a USB port (or I don’t want to wait for the MDR1s to charge) I can simply put a AAA batter in the Bose and I’m good to go. The Bose can last several weeks of constant use, as long as you do not leave them on overnight. I’ll call this a tie.Sound Quality: This is going to come down to a matter of personal preference. I like both. I mostly listen to trailer music (e.g. Two Steps From Hell), or symphonic metal (e.g. In This Moment). The QCs have what can only be described as a “warm” sound. The MDR1 are more neutral, and a lot more crisp. I find some songs (e.g. Requiem Immortale by Epic Score) sound better with the QCs, others with the MDR1. Overall I give the point to the MDR1s. They sound better on a broader range of music.Build Quality: I’m going to give the point to MDR1 here. The Bose do look and feel like cheap plastic, although they are more durable than their appearance belies. As long as you don’t drop them from a great height, or jump up and down on them, you should be fine. I have routinely ripped the cord out of the computer when I stood up and forgot to take the headphones off, and they still function fine after two years. By comparison, however, he MDR1 look and feel like tanks. I’m not sure in an actual test which one would stand up better, but from the quality of packaging to the finish of the headphones I’ll give it to Sony here. They look like they are worth the money.Noise Cancellation: Without any music playing, this is a tie. WITH music playing, Bose wins, hands down. I wear noise cancellation in the office to drown out my co-workers talking. With the MDR1 I can hear people talking, chairs squeaking, etc.. With the Bose all I hear is music. Also, I have to turn the Bose down pretty low before I hear noise. With the MDR1 I have to turn the noise up. Point Bose.Summary: My preference is still the Bose. For me comfort, convenience, and noise cancellations are the primary three things I am interested in for this type of headphone. That said the MDR1s are a great pair of headphones. If you are more interested in the quality of music than other features, then I would recommend them over the Bose. If, however, you want something to drown out ambient noise you can’t get anything better than the QC 15s.
Derek –
If NC matters to you at all, you will be better off with an alternative
If you had done reasonable amount of research, you would know that this headphone, and its main competitor Bose QC15 differs mostly in terms of look&feel, sound quality and the effectiveness of NC. 1RNC is better looking, sounds better with less NC effectiveness. QC15 is less stylish, with mediocre sound but better NC. What you really want to know is how much do they differ in each category. I had a chance to compare them side by side in real world situations and would like to share my opinions.Look&Feel:1RNC is much better built, the ear cups are metal, the plastic used elsewhere feels high quality, the cable is thick and tangle free. It’s already very good looking in the black/red accent, and even better if you can get the sliver version that is sold overseas. The leather used for the cushions are really supple. Some may mention that there are quality issues that leads to “Jack rattle”, but that didn’t happen to the unit I received. I assume the have sorted the production process out after a while. The headphone is quite large for portable use, about 30% larger than QC15 and much heavier. But it’s still comfortable to wear, at least for 3 hours of flight time.QC15 on the other hand, screams mediocre everywhere in terms of build and style. It very business looking, which may be a plus for its main audience, but not really a plus for me. The plastic parts used are really “plasticy”, and the cable is thin and easier to tangle. There is also the problem with the Bose specific connector that can cost you much more to replace. The leather feel as good as those on 1RNC. The headphone is quite light and comfortable to use for long flights.Sound quality:I’m not going to talk too much about this as I’m not a experienced audiophile. But the main difference between the 2 headphones that stood out to me were detail and sound stage. 1RNC have much better separation and more realistic sound stage when NC is enabled. When NC is turned off, 1RNC is somewhat comparable to QC15 (which only works with NC on). The difference is quite significant and unmistakable. That being said, even with NC on, 1RNC is no where near the level of a good fullsized headphone, such as the HIFIMAN HE-400 driven by the schiit M&M stack I was using. You are getting a NC headphone for less money after all.NC effectiveness on airplane:This is truly where 1RNC fall apart as a package.First the NC itself. 1RNC doesn’t cancel out the higher frequency very well. As a result, you can hear other people’s conversion. This may be a plus for when the flight attendance ask you for beverage choices, but not so much when you are sitting next to a couple of persistent chatters. Also, because of the lack of NC on higher frequencies, the background noise after NC is turned on sounds like a small waterfall (or pouring rain). It is much harder to bear than the humming sound produced by QC15 and takes away any additional enjoyment brought by the better sound quality.Furthermore, the earcup of 1RNC is so large that when you lean your head back to the seat, the earcup touches the seat back and conducts the vibration of the seat/plane’s body into the earcup. This interfere with the NC and makes the experience really go south. One would probably have to lift his/her head for the entire flight just to avoid this (or stop using active NC).QC15 on the other hand, covers a boarder range and produces a more bearable low hum. And because of it, you can appreciate the music more even with lower sound quality. The earcup is small enough that it will not touch the seat back. Although it has a bright light on the earcup to indicate its on and therefore making it harder to go sneaky during take off and landing, with the new FAA ruling, it wouldn’t matter anymore. So out of the two, I can only recommend QC15.How about 10RNC:I haven’t tested 10RNC on a airplane, so I really can’t talk about the NC part, which is arguably the most important factor in choosing this kind of product. But what I know is that it has much smaller earcup, and will not have the issue of touching seat back. The build is not as good as 1RNC, but still feels a bit better than QC15. And it’s cheaper. If sony’s claim of improved NC is true, then 10RNC is certainly another good choice over 1RNC.
Kealia –
Good Headphones
I bought the MDR1RNC because it seemed like a good tradeoff between noise-cancelling vs. audio performance. Reviews seem to favor the Bose in terms of NC. Also, be aware that this particular model is now discontinued – and replaced with the MDR10RNC. I purposely chose the older model because it had a larger magnet (i.e., 50mm vs. 40mm) for better bass as noted by many on-line reviews (disclaimer: this may be because the 10RNC hasn’t been on the market long enough to be extensively reviewed). Also, the full (original) retail price for the older model was a ridiculous $500+, now discounted to ~$300 – so if you choose this model, make sure you don’t pay full MSRP (i.e., don’t buy from the Sony Store :-)). I haven’t had a chance to use the 1RNC on airplanes, yet, but the NC seems to work fine in cutting out airconditioning noise. Some reviews noted that these phones sound dull and lifeless when used with the NC switched off, while the same review(s) also said it sounded too bright with NC switched on. I admit that I’m kind of straddling the fence in that regards – there may be some types of music with vocals that sound just a bit too bright – but to me, that’s reality, i.e., different studios use different equipment and sound engineers have their own ideas about what sounds right – and a pair of phones that can clearly demonstrate that difference, is in my mind, a good thing. Besides – that’s what equalizer apps are for, right? I won’t bother mentioning specs – I’ll just say that the 1RNC sounds really good with tight, deep bass, excellent mid-range for vocals, probably more high frequencies than I can hear these days, sits comfortably around my ears and on the head, and looks great.
Roxane Marin –
very good
Dr Arun V –
Hi product is very good. Missing connector to flight entertainment. Hope the seller provides that at the earliest.
SW –
Excellent sound quality as well as good noise cancelling.
Foumalin –
Sound quality is good!!!Noise cancelling is good for sound like Air Conditioner, Washing machine…. but not for other ones like human voices, computer keyboard, it’s even stated on the manual.The main issue is comfort, let me explain. The outside of the ear pads are comfortable, but there is chance that your ear touch the inside which is hard plastic and the mic….it’s really uncomfortable. Unfortunately nowadays you can’t return headphones, so be sure your ears are made for these ones.
Nevada S. –
Best headphones! Quality on them are astounding!!!!