A Review of the Sony MDR-E828LP vs. MDR-E848LP earbuds

[Eagle_Driver]

I bought my Sony MDR-E848 earbuds for $25 back in 1997 (list price is $30), and four years later I bought a pair of Sony MDR-E828LP earbuds for $10 (full list price). Does $30 buy you better performance than a basic $10 pair of earbuds? (Sorry, I know that Sennheiser's earbuds have their fans and are great values, but I haven't heard any of them to judge them.) Let's find out:

The equipment used in the comparison between the two earbuds are:

Sony CD Walkman D-EJ721 (volume control set at 6/10)
Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue CD
Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon CD

Here's how they stack up:

First Impressions
The 848's look reasonably cool, with their long stem and black-and-silver finish. The newer 828's look cheesy by comparison, with their grey and silver finish. And the 828's feel cheap, too - when I lightly banged the two earpieces together, I heard ringing resonance noises from them. The 848's have way less of them. But do those ringing noises affect sound quality?

Sound Quality
The answer to that question is YES. At first listen, the 828's seem to sound better than the 848's. But listening to the two in an A-B comparison shows that the 828's have slightly boomy and loose bass as opposed to the 848's weaker but tighter bass. And the 828's treble is slightly ringing and tinny compared to that of the 848's. But the 848's lower mids are a bit louder than the 828's. However, when I put foam earpads on both models, the treble details all but disappear. Overall, I'd give the edge to the 848's.

Comfort
Neither earbud model is the most comfortable to wear - the expensive MDR-E888LP's (among open-air earbuds) are way more comfortable than either the 828's or the 848's. The 828's fit better than the 848's, but loses points for their hard plastic edges (versus the rubberized edges on the 848's). Overall, I'd call it a draw between the two.

Miscellaneous
Both earbud models come in a circular wind-up carrying case. The 828's have a conventional Y-cord and a nickel-plated plug tip, while the 848's have a "neck-chain" style cord (the left-side cord much shorter than the right-side cord) and a gold-plated plug tip. And since both earbuds are intended for portable use, neither comes with a 1/4" plug adapter.

Conclusion
Even with all its flaws, I'd say that the MDR-E828LP earbuds are a good value for $10, but they just aren't quite as good as the $30 MDR-E848LP earbuds.

Randall/Eagle_Driver

[Eagle_Driver]

If you agree or disagree with my assessment between these two Sony earbud models, please feel free to crap on it. (Neither of them sound as good as the ********* $80 MDR-E888LP earbuds.)

[chych]

I have heard the 828s, I have the 848s (modded too), and I have the MX500s...

Let me tell you this.

The MX500s completely kick the 848's ass in every imaginable respect

(except comfort that is, the MX500s are just a tad too big for my ears)


(few more additions to the post)

One strange thing I notice with the 848s is that they smell REALLY good... what is with that?! perfume or something? I could sniff this all day... be like lini and stick my 848s into my nose


Anyways, the MX500:
Much smoother, detailed, more pleasing to listen to than the 848s... the 848s are anemic, but the first thing I notice is the COMPLETE LACK of detail (DT831s are my reference). Bass is quite boomy on the 848s and impact lacking on both. MX500s don't get that much bass, and it sounds like they are missing something in the low mids or they are peaky at the high mids.

In conclusion, to my ultra mini-review, I prefer my modded EX70s over the MX500 and MDR-E848.

[Eagle_Driver]

Well, then, it's time for me to order those MX400's or MX500's, and then allow those tables to turn upside down...

EDIT I am looking for earbuds I can listen to on the bus going to work without blocking out so much external noise... (My EX70's block way too much external sounds for my liking - ) my E888LP's seemed to be the right choice, but I just don't want to bust an $80 pair of earbuds on the street , so I just ordered the Senn MX500's...

If so, fuggittabout the @#$% Sonys!

[sapphiremodena]

Do the Sennheiser MX400/500's have better bass than the
MDR-E828LP's?

[Eagle_Driver]

sapphiremodena: I can't say that for sure; I had just ordered the MX500's. I can't wait until Thursday morning to get my hands on them... And just because a pair of earbuds have more bass doesn't mean that they have better bass! Sometimes, more bass means crappier bass!

[Possum]

I'm really going to have to try the EX70, E888's, and maybe MX500's now especially since the E888's may be more comfortable!

I've been using my E848's at work and in the gym, and there's just way too much bass. It's fairly boomy, but extends to bring out very low frequencies and has about as much impact as an earbud of this type might offer. The rest of the sound is mediocre at best. As it was described in the HeadWize forums, the sound was like it was coming from inside a tin can (even after modding). I think if you're a dum-bass, you might like these earbuds a lot. I also think it's time for me to upgrade

[KR...]

The MX-500 are great earbubs and unlike the Sonys, they cost less and sound even better with an amp. Sonys earbubs have been known to sound worse with headphone amps than without.

[Eagle_Driver]

Originally posted by KR...
Sonys earbubs have been known to sound worse with headphone amps than without.

That's VERY true. Most good-quality headphone amps aren't designed for such very-low-impedance (<30 ohms) headphones (which only sound decent on gutless portable audio crap). In fact, some of the best solid-state headphone amps recommend the use of headphones whose impedance is rated at least 50 ohms.

As for my game of Earbud Bass Chicken, the E828's entire bass range is hyped-up; the E848's bass IMO has more mid-bass than low-bass. The E888s have the low bass but are a bit thin on the mid-bass compared to the cheaper Sonys. Thus, the cheaper Sonys with 16mm drivers are best suited for a "duh-m-bass", not an audio enthusiast!

[sapphiremodena]

EagleDriver: Be sure to post your opinions on the MX-500 in comparison to the 828's, as I just found out today that the Radio Shack near my house carries the MX-400's for $25 CDN. [I never knew that the MX-400's were sold in Canada before today]
Thanks buddy

[thomas]

i have the 838's which fit inbetween the two models you reviewed. Actually, i've only listened to them a few times and never broke them in.

But they seem to have a relatively flat frequency response, except for no deep bass or upper treble (as expected for a cheap earbud) It may even be flatter than the 888's, but no where near as enjoyable (doesn't have the nice midrange). The sound is quite clear, but not very detailed.

Overall, they're unremarkable, and not somthing i'd pay for...

[chych]

Hey, can anyone comment on the smell of the 848 I posted? Like, if its not just my earbud...

[Eagle_Driver]

Well, to put it not-so-kindly:

All of my earbuds - including my E888s and EX70s - smell like crap. (Could be *my* @#$%ing ears, too.)

And as you can see from my profile, before I bought my Sony V6s, I was a freaking Duh!-m-Bass (and dum-bass and dumbass?) for many years.

[chych]

Strange, my 848s have a distinctive sweet perfumish scent to them ever since I got them (like september last year)... they still smell, and I like

[andrzejpw]

I love my mx500 buds. From what I've heard, only the 888s are better. But then, I'm pouring in money into sennheiser hd580s and building myself a cmoy. (Oh, come august 17th, let us start the trip back to the US through germany and sennheiser bliss).