[chinathrow]

I own them so I can assure that having them plugged in without NC does not block conversation voices. Turn them on and they are gone or way quieter.

Edit due to downrate: I own or owned multiple over ear medium size NC models and the mentioned in'ear ones win by large.

[Arizhel]

Hmm, interesting. I wonder if it's because they fit in the ear, rather than sitting outside like more traditional headphones. This would allow them to cancel noise at higher frequencies since the driver-to-eardrum distance is smaller.

Have you used other, more traditional can-type NC headphones? Can you compare?

[chinathrow]

I edited my previous comment to address your questions.

[kdamken]

Agreed - there's a big difference between having it on and off.