The noise cancellation is OK but not as good as Sony and or Bose for instance. 1 surround sound is actually good. Clear male and female vocals. Appears more to be a teams issue than a headset issue. I would either have a pair of great, strangely-sized sandals for $20 more or I would have walked out with no further action required. These are absolutely amazing for the money. I dropped my other one in the shower and it broke and was unusable. It look nice tho . Even with no music playing through the earbuds and passive mode ON, I can BARELY hear people speaking and have to take the earbuds off. stuff!