choice of colors-mine are purple

They have no bass or mid range, so they sound like crap.

The earbuds that came with my discman D-E446CK were pretty good. They had really heavy bass and didn't distort even with groove on, but they got wrecked because I let my stupid friend use them, and I thought i'd try the MDR-E827LP because they were similar and should have been better since they were 24.95 Canadian. I was majorly disappointed. I can't even use these. If you press in one them you get almost as good sounds as the supplied discman headphones sounded but I can't walk around like that. They are all highs, and hurt your ears. No bass.
I also have the MDR-WO8L which I can't complain about for the price, they are in the ear with a headband type, and they have a little bit of bass but they got blown up (a little buzz in the sound on most music) from my friends playing them too loud. After reading the review on the MDR-A34L which is similar looking I think I might buy them.
My Koss Porta Pros sound great except they look stupid so I don't like walking around with them on. I want something that doesn't make me look like more stupid than I already do.

Similar Products Used:

MDR-WO8L, Koss Sporta Pros

Fairly well balanced, reasonably accurate bass; not too much mid-treble; water-resistant (so that you can work out without worrying about sweat ruining the earbuds)

May require the supplied foam ear pads or a bass-boost switch to obtain maximum bass response; a bit too much high treble

I am posting this to refute (correct) a 2-star rating I had given on 6/25/00.
I had read one previous post that this model had all highs--no bass. But that is because his ears may be either oversensitive to highs or undersensitive to bass! Anyway, I bought these at full price from Best Buy because I needed something that sounded better than the muddy-sounding vertical earbuds that came with my first Sony Sports Walkman (the WM-FS499). At first I was disappointed: No bass, shrill highs. But after a one-day break-in period, they sound as good as any earbuds--sometimes better than even my expensive MDR-E888LP buds. (I heard on one website that the high-end Sony earbuds have stronger low-bass than mid-bass, thus the "bass" has that hollow feeling; there is more mid-treble than high-treble, thus music can sound a bit "harsh".) These have a clean, balanced sound that can be a bit bright (but that will disappear if you put on the supplied foam earpads--you’ll gain some much-needed extra bass with them on). But because low bass notes are still a little weak, I’ll have to give the MDR-E827G’s a rating of:

Value: 5 stars

Performance: 4 stars


P.S.: Neither Best Buy nor Circuit City currently carry the MDR-E827G’s, but United Audio Centers and the Sony "Showcase" Store both do.

Similar Products Used:

Sony MDR-E837; MDR-E848LP; MDR-E888LP; MDR-ED228LP; MDR-W20G; MDR-A34L

Weak bass response, harsh highs

In a word: These buds are mediocre performers for a mediocre price. I guess that they would suit only those people who only want a pair of yellow-coloured earbuds without a headband--but everyone else, you can do better.

Value: 3 stars

Performance: 2 stars

Similar Products Used:

Sony MDR-A34L, MDR-E848LP, MDR-W20G