Sony XBA-NC85D

The Sony XBA-NC85D noise-canceling in-ear headphones feature batteries conveniently built in to the earpieces that recharge with the included USB stick.
Design and features
The Sony XBA-NC85D is a noise-canceling in-ear model of headphones, and considering its $499.99 retail price, you might have expected that it would look great. No such luck -- the matte-and-glossy black plastic earpieces are big and chunky, but one boon is that they omit the bulky battery case that come along with most noise-canceling headsets. That's great, but since the Sony's earpieces contain the noise-canceling electronics and the rechargeable nickel-metal hydride batteries, the earpieces are unusually bulky. I found myself constantly aware of its size, and the fit didn't feel as secure in my ears as other XBA in-ear headphones.

The XBA-NC85D comes with a proprietary USB battery charger (you plug the headphones into the charger's 3.5mm jack), but you can't play the XBA-NC85D after its batteries have drained, a misstep shared with Bose's noise-canceling headphones. The saving grace with Bose headphones is you can always put in a fresh AAA battery. The XBA-NC85D's batteries, on the other hand, are not user replaceable, and can only be juiced with the included charger. If you forget to bring the charger on a trip, the XBA-NC85D will become unplayable after the batteries drain. This sort of proprietary approach is a deplorable design choice, and Sony should at least supply two chargers with a $499.99 headphone. sony xba-nc85d