Do Sony Vaio Z noise cancelling headphones work on any Vaio Z

I've been given a VPC-Z13Z9E to replace my original VPC-Z11 CTO that stopped working.

While the Z13Z9E doesn't come with noise cancelling headphones, I had assumed that the ones that came with my CTO would work with the new PC, but they don't seem to: i.e. the noise cancelling feature doesn't work. I would have thought that the problem is with a driver setting, but I can see that the noise cancelling program is installed (though I notice the driver doesn't add it to the startup programs) and it does nothing when I try to run it, so maybe there is a difference in hardware.

Has anyone managed to get a Vaio Z (VPC) which didn't come with the headphones to work with the Vaio Z noise cancelling headphones? If so, was there trick to do it?

Many Thanks!

Ashers

 

Out of curiosity, what is the headphone part number that you have. You can find the part number on the little rubber connector that splits the wire into the left and right speaker wires.

 

MDR-NC021 .

 

You should be able to use it with any VPC-Z, I can't speak for the VGN-Z though. In any case, the plug has an extra bar that make it incompatible with most devices. Although i figured out for my N900 at least, i can use them if i keep my earbuds about ~1mm not entirely plugged in. My Nokia 5800 is the same, requiring the plug to be ~1mm from fully plugged in.

 

The extra ring is finicky on other devices. Obviously you'll lose noise cancelling on other devices but it works fine as headphones on my iPhone 4, but I only get sound out of one speaker on my iPad.


The headphones that came with my Z13 are MDR-NC021.

I remember when I was trying to get noise cancelling to work on my P series (to no success) a member of the forum told me to right click the speaker icon on the start bar, go to playback devices, and somewhere within a submenu you can make sure the noise cancelling function is checked off. If I find the right menu I'll report back.

 

Actually, I think the system board is different for the noise-cancelling models, because my Japan-ordered VPCZ1 box actually listed the system as the "Noise-cancelling" model (sorry, I don't have the pic on hand). That would explain why it's not working, as the headphones aren't sold separately.

By the way, you can use the headphones (MDR-NC021) with the iPhone 4 (and possibly the iPad?). Just plug it in all the way, and then pull it out slightly from the socket. When the headphones are plugged in somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd rings, they work perfectly.

 

huh interesting, the MDR-NC021 came with my walkman x series as well, meaning the Noise cancellation is going on inside the laptop which means most of sony's NC headphones should work with the Z series regardless of model

 

Yeah, that's exactly what i have to do for my phones... i thought that was possibly a nokia problem though...

Actually there are 2 MDR-NC021, the one for walkmans have an extra large plug right? There's a model of the MDR-NC021's with this extra bar protruding out of the plug that makes it impossible to plug into normal 3.5mm jacks as seen here: http://image.blog.livedoor.jp/mdr_ex2008/imgs/9/8/98c576ac.JPG

as opposed to the ones that shipped with the Z that just has an extra ring w/o deforming the plug itself

 

That's correct, there are two variants of the MDR-NC021. The one Rachel has with her TT has the extra bulge.

 

my NC phones has no extra plug, although not sure what you mean by extra plug, is this what you mean?

http://img.alibaba.com/wsphoto/v0/3...e-for-SONY-MDR-NC022-NC020-NC021-Earphone.jpg

if so then no, my NC phones have no extra plug. they will normally plug fully into my laptop, but it won't work like on the walkman, ie full volume. but it will work on other walkmans that do not have noise cancellation.

the MDR-NC021 I have does not come with an extension cable

 

Yes that notch is what I mean by an extra plug.

 

Indeed. There are TWO types of MDR-NC021. One mentioned above in the link above, and the ones used by the VPC-Z today. The former (the link quoted above) was prevalent with the NW-S730 series and the NW-X1000 series Walkmans, as with the VGN-TT, all of which featured NC.

Sony then, in their infinite wisdom, decided to change the connector terminals WHILE keeping the same model number of the earphones, hence the different plugs on the newer generation NC models. And the confusion that has ensued. If memory serves correct, the newer gen Walkman NW-A840 and A850 have the new, 'extrusionless' plug for their NC functionality. The same ones used on the VPC-Z today.

 

my X walkman has no extra plug, it is the same as for the new A series.

 

Many thanks for the answers. Odd that they have two MDR-NC021 models - mine is the one without the notch.

dimension6, you are correct. Looking through the service manual of the VPCZ1, I can see that there are two different audio (ANL-96) boards:
A-1769-462-A: with noise cancelling features
A-1769-465-A: without

and the manual indicates that all the ones sold in Europe (except CTO) use the latter.

So, it looks like it's back to normal headphones for me!

 

A friend of mine has bought a Z135GG which according to Sony-Asia.com should come with noise-canceling earphones but it hasn't! I want to know if there is any valid online shop or ebay vendor to buy Genuine ones from them.

 

Hi guys,
A bit off topic, but..

Do you know if the newer nc020 earphones without the extra notch, will work in an x1060 that came with a 4 notch set of earphones (same model number)?

Thanks