These in-ear phones give good clear mid and high tones. The bass is, if anything a bit muddy, but then this causes less ear damage.
As to the sound cancellation; I have only tried this at home, but Sony's claim of 90% reduction is greatly overstated. My Sennheiser PXC 250s claim 80% reduction but are far superior in this area.
Still the Sony set are still good value for the money.