Customer Reviews: Read 567 more reviews...
  Disappointing! June 19, 2009
What a disappointing piece of kit!
The original white Apple earphones are infinitely better than this offering from Sony - and I'm so disappointed to have to say that. None of the three sizes of earpiece came to the rescue as the sound was tinny and weak through all of them. The only time I could hear any kind of bass was when I pushed them deep into my ear canal and held them there - not a practical thing to do or a pleasant experience.
Back to the Apple plugs for me until I can find something better....
 Great sound but questionble quality and flawed design June 4, 2009
I'm normally too lazy to write reviews, but I have had 2 pairs of these earphones and feel compelled to share my experiences.
The sound quality is great for the price but the design is flawed for 2 reasons:
1) The left ear cord is quite short, whilst the right ear cord is very long. This means that the right cord looks unsightly, hangs out of your collar or jacket, gets caught on things and tangled up in knots. If you carry your MP3 player in a jacket or shirt pocket, if you remove the earphones from your ears and let them hang round your neck, the longer right cord soon ends up hanging down by your knees and can sometimes even end up dragging on the ground, which is a pain and looks daft;
2) The ear buds have a tendency to slip off the earphones rather easily, which means they frequently need to be replaced. The replacement ear buds only come in packs of 3 pairs (1 small, 1 medium & 1 large), so you have to buy 3 pairs, of which only 1 pair is likely to actually fit your ears. Consequently, I have spent almost as much on replacement ear buds as on the original earphones.
The quality of the wires is also questionable. My 2 pairs have only ever lasted about a year, and have not been subjected to particularly heavy use.
With my current pair on its last legs, I won't be replacing them with another pair. If you are on a tight budget, can live with the flaws and don't expect them to last too long, then go ahead and purchase a pair, but I believe there has to be a sturdier, better designed option out there at a similar price - I'm just not quite sure what it is yet!
 Sony headphones - great buy May 15, 2009
I bought these for my boyfriend who swears by them as the best sound quality for a mid-range priced earphone. And they are, excellent sound, great bass, and, unlike the cheap and nasty white ones that come with ipods, people around you can't hear your music (unless you have it stupidly loud).
The only two criticisms I'd have of these are, one, the little ear buds tend to pop off and get lost, but that's not too big a deal, as you should be looking after earphones of this quality anyway. Second criticism, I'm not sure if this is due to my boyfriend's rough treatment of the earphones or the way he wraps them round his ipod when not in use, but he's now had two sets, both of which have sort of torn at the point where the earphone wires split apart, and so one earphone stops working because the wires are loose. The wires of these are a little thinner than others I've had (eg. the JVC marshmallow ones, which are brilliant and cheap).
Overall, great earphones, you won't be disappointed!
 Great bass, and very comfortable April 3, 2009
I love these headphones.
The bass response from something so tiny is incredible, but the rest of the audio range is not neglected.
They really do sound superb.
Build quality-wise, the cable is a bit on the thin side, and not quite as flexible as it could be (especially in cold weather!), but the fit of the buds in your ears is very comfortable - taking advantage of the three sizes of silicone fittings supplied.
The little carry puoch, bud protector and 90 degree extension cable complete a nice package.
A disappointment February 20, 2009
I was looking to replace my Sony EX70 earphones with these. I've had them for about six years, and have been extremely pleased with them. They are the best sounding earphones I have ever used, and have proved durable over the time I've had them and still work like new.
So I got a pair of EX71s, thinking they would be as good. Oh dear. It is clear that Sony's accountants have been penny pinching... My old EX70s sounded so good I now realise they have spoiled me, as the sound from these is poor in comparison. Put simply, these sound like cheap earphones. The richness and life is gone from my favourite songs, replaced by something typical of the 'head in a bucket' sound characteristic of cheap earphones. It seems common nowadays for manufacturers to take what was a very good first generation product, and strip down the manufacturing costs to the lowest quality they can get away with. This certainly seems to have been the case here.
Build and material quality is inferior too. The short lead is springy and unlike the lovely soft one on my old 'phones. Worryingly, one side has a severe permanent kink on the wire, like it had been trapped almost to the point of sheering off. The connector for the extension lead gives an intermittent connection, and only works after a lot of fiddling with the plug to find the perfect spot. As someone who has been a fan of Sony products for years, I can say I am not impressed.
I will clearly have to look elsewhere to find a pair of earphones good enough to replace my old, excellent sounding EX70s.
|
