Size, Weight . . . fantastic Mid-Range, and open treble

'Psychologically' weak bass ?

I bought these little direct in ear phones with a new Sony MZR9000 MD. Initially whilst charging the MD I tryed these headphones on my trusty old Panasonic SLX-410 portable CD player and was *MASSIVELY* dissapointed! the bass was weak and tinny the treble and mid however were well defined, but that is just not enough to make a quality pair of headphones . . . on comparison with my Koss SportaPros they were sub-standard.

However after making some digital recordings into the MD direct from my Cambridge Audio D500SE player and running the cans in for about 12 hours something happened !!! some awfully deep BASS appeared. But it is 'unusual' bass, not the ground shaking stuff I'm used to from either my Mission loudspeakers or the warm rumble from a closed back headphone. The frequencies are all there, but without actually moving any air. The headphones slot directly into your ear after all!!

The interesting thing is the box states the freq response to be 6hz - 23Khz, well I doubt that I can hear much over about 16Khz these days (too many MotorHead concerts!!) BUT I have heard certain frequencies that only very expensive headphones have revealed before.

The BIG non sonic plus point of these little buds is thier size and weight, you can pop 'em into your ears and really forget they are there!! I have worn them for 2.5 hours straight, with no discomfort or starin whatsoever. If you make the effort and go to the sound as opposed to waiting for it to hit you . . . you'll love 'em

So, if like me you have these cans and thought they were thin, weak and clinical - then try another source . . . you WILL be surprised !

Similar Products Used:

Koss Sportapro

Don't believe those reviews from the reviewer who goes by the name "texas red". I knew that the Koss Porta Pros have just about the most bass of any portable headphone - but then the bass doesn't overpower the mids or highs (in my opinion). But since the person who goes by the names "big iron" and "texas red" judges headphones only by the amount of bass they deliver, "big iron"/"texas red" obviously IS a "Duh-m-Bass"!

Anyway, the Sony MDR-EX70LP does deliver bass - and whoever says that these lack bass obviously didn't properly fit them into their ears. Granted, the bass isn't as tight as some other headphones, but it does have a certain focus to it. Mids are just average. My only complaint is the tinny, scratching, etchy, glassy highs - but then, compared to the super-expensive Etymotics, all of the inexpensive "plug-type" earphones are piles of c*** (pardon the French). It doesn't matter; my value and overall ratings for the MDR-EX70LP is relative to other $50 headphones.

Small soundstage. Tinny trebble.

Bought these because they were the most expensive in ear phones I could find in Cheltenham. Sadly they're not only the most expensive but some of the worst. Apart from noise cancellation which isn't always a good thing there isn't much to like. The soundstage is terribly compressed. The bass is ok but nothing to shout about. The trebble is too tinny and nasty to listen to. To top all this off if you're using them outside and it's windy you get a whistle from the phones... arrrh hate them.

Please note:
I'm comparing this to other inears designs and not my Grados (which would be a bit unfair).

Similar Products Used:

Grado reference RS2's, Various other inear designs.

Isolation, sound quality

The cord...

I got these because I needed a portable headphone. I've always liked the form factor of earbuds so I decided on earbuds (my Grados cannot be used for outside use effectively). Isolation is needed when taking music outside as when you listen you just want to hear the music, not the hum of the bus.

Let me add that the ex70s I got are the new ones with 3 tips, vastly different in sound quality from the old ex70s. Also I listen to them out of an MG head connected to an Audiophile 24/96 and a Sony 815 portable cdp.

Let me first start of saying that it is EXTREMELY important, in sound quality and isolation, that you get a good fit with these canalphones.

The isolation is pretty good though not as much as I'd like. For example on my noisy school bus the loud roar is reduced to a conversation. You can hear pretty easily without music being played and you can hear even with music but still the isolation is sufficient.

The sound quality is more than what I expected for 40$. First of all the latest revision of the ex70s do not have overpowering treble or bass. In fact, the sound is perfect. The bass is fine, those who say that the bass is lacking obviously are using them with their dual-mono-super-ultra megabass at all times (hardly audiophiles... sorry to be offensive but I just get mad when good products are underrated), or they just do not have a good fit (you HAVE to play with those ear tips for the best fit). The bass is fine without any amplification, though not as musical as it should be. The midrange and highs I would describe as slightly dry. The soundstaging is actually pretty good for small closed earbuds, uncomparable to my Grados but its pretty decent. Where my Grados I think instruments are 6" away from me, my ex70s would make them 2" away.

For $40 though, the sound quality is better than many other $40 headphones. However, the main reason I got these currently underrated buds is because of their isolation, isolation is extremely nice in noisy places like the outside. I strongly recommend these for portable usage, only the Etymotic ER-4s could beat them for small form factor portable 'cans' (yes even the 888s can sound bad with outside noise, as my SR80s do). However the Etymotics cost substantially more (though they have been said that they are so good as they should sound 4 times their price of ~$270).

Similar Products Used:

Grado SR80, Sony 848 buds, various crapola headphones

nice looking, sound is nice

not comfortable, bass not powerful as claimed. Could be cheaper. Long cord

Bought this to compliment my new Minidisc portable. (old one stolen) It's a Sony and Sony bundles crappy earphones with their product. So I decided to use my remaining credit notes (from insurance) to buy this rather expensive (for casual users) earphone by Sony. Looks rather 'nice' from the outside, though looks weird when I saw myself in the mirror wearing it. Now for the sound quality - well better than the crappy earphones Sony gave me for free. Not as good as the FREE Panasonic earphones I got. The bass is non existant! This is really bad since Sony claimed to be able to pump some really powerful bass with this earphone. I feel cheated! The earbuds are uncomfortable but got used to it. Anyway for the price, I expected Sony to do better. Since I used it, I can't exchange it with something else. I would rather use the cheaper Sony grooves earphones. The cord is 1.2 metres in lenght. Not the ideal lenght since I would be mainly using it with my portable player. Still, I heard there is a short cord version available. Anyway there is a positive note to this product. I was able to use this earphones for 4 hours straight without actually aching my ears. Probably because it goes into the canal.

Similar Products Used:

many cheap bundled earphones, The Aiwa's are good. The Panasonic's are good too. The Sony bundles are crappy.

so unbelievably comfortable, fantastic sound isolation, juicy bass, high treble

mids a little lax (and scratchy at points)

lemme first say that these bad boys are comfortably nested in my canals at this very moment. my word. at $39 these phones were a steal. for the longest time i've been searching for a set of phones able to fit in my ears comfortably and snugly. sony has answered my call. the silcon earbuds are positively gushy and easily fill any shape of ear canal. sony also includes two spare sizes for different sized ears. the phones are light as well. whoever says these things lack bass output is sick in the head. very, very sick. if i pump my minidisc player's bass to full, i have to remove the phones from my ears because the pressure simply becomes too much to handle. no joke. the treble is quite sharp, but sometimes a bit too sharp. you'll probably not want to think about purchasing these phones if your listening device doesn't have adjustable bass/treble levels.

the sound isolation these things afford is astonishing. i ride the subways for at least an hour a day; need less to say it's very noisy underground. the EX70LPs do an excellent job of keeping the majority of outside noise out and inside noise in.

the only crappy thing about these phones is that if your listening device doesn't have bass/treble adjustment capabilities, the high mids get scratchy, and, at times, very scratchy. i find that i have to adjust my sound settings several times over the time it takes for a 150-minute mix to play itself to the end. this shortcoming doesn't change the way i feel about these babies. the comfort, size, weight, and snugness destroy every other earbud out there. i'm a very active college student--my music is wherever i am, no matter what i'm doing. you'd easily be able to run a marathon with these. after having these in my ears for only a few minutes, it feels almost as if the music's coming from somewhere inside my brain.

the phones come with a small translucent grey case that only has room to store the buds themselves (not the cord). some people think the case is foolish, but for me it works well. i never really have a need to store my headphones away somewhere for long periods of time; usually i need to put them away for maybe a couple of hours at a time. instead of putting buds in a case and then winding the cord, and then having to undo the whole process when i want to listen again, i can simply snap the buds into their discrete case when i need to store them in my pocket, and unsnap when i'm ready to listen. and here's a little something i found out--for all the listeners out there who use devices with wired remotes--you know ridiculously long the cord can become when a set of earphones and remote line are connected... the cord of these phones can be looped through the case several times, shortening it, in effect. this is seriously handy if you're tired of having a pocketfull of cord.

the buds can be washed in a mildly soapy solution (which i've done) if they get too dirty for your liking. that's a plus. even if the sound produced by these was really crappy, i'd still use them as earplugs. you should too.

Similar Products Used:

none

Closed [ Env. noise reduction, no sound leakage ], Light, Easy-to-Listen, Clean

Case very unusable

Clean sounds, Light, Breakable [ but still work for me ], Used with Sony CDP/w Radio and Laptop.

Good sound, but no improvements with better datasources.

I love them, stylish, easy to transport and store.

Bass is not home-theater like - but more stationed only in lows.

Similar Products Used:

Various in-ear

excellent sound, so clean and so light

it drop out from ear sometimes

Excellent for the money, for classsical it is a winner.

Similar Products Used:

all the other big headphones, Grado and etc

Great noise cancellation, 3 sizes of silicone cups fit all ear sizes, doesn't fall out, and looks pretty cool (i have the white ones)

A bit pricey...trebles can be a bit harsh sounding, even after breaking in.. depends on type of music you listen to

I got these to replace the cheap ones included with the MZR-909 that i bought. These buds are great, because they fit well in the ear canal, and cancel noise pretty well, even on the train. The sound is solid, but the trebles are a bit too bright. The bass is decent, but it's mainly because of the silicone cups that the bass rumbles..doesn't sound like 'real' bass...

I've been using them for quite a while now, and they are pretty durable even though the wires look really flimsy.. the white version i have still looks good, but then the white wires get dirty easily and turn greyish after a while. They need regular cleaning. To get the best out of the earphones, you need to position them correctly, because the shape of everyone's ears are different.. just experiment till you find out whats best for you..

Overall, the sound quality is good, but it sounds great for casual listener's like me
I would recommend buying this product, as i find it very suitable for everyday use.

I guess for me it's a great bargain, because from the price listings here, i got it for pretty cheap..

Similar Products Used:

Sony bundles, Sony Q33SPs.

Deep-down-brainshocking-bass!
Comfortable design
Very lightweight

Sound quality...
Price!

Those who say that these doesn't deliver deep/loud bass...forget them!
I cant compare these sonys or any sonys to my Beyerdynamic 531's, but in outside usage these are the most ideal headphones I have ever used.
The more deeper they are in your ears, the more bass they'll deliver.
EX70LPs are like in-ear hps with subwoofer!

Similar Products Used:

Other earbud type headphones