Looking for Sony earbuds, will they last?

Hey yyyy, welcome to Head Fi! Sorry about your wallet.

I've owned a pair of EX85's, which lasted me for three years or so and seemed to be built like a tank - and when I gave them to a friend he broke the cable within a week. Another friend had some EX85's which lasted just as long, and as far as I remember are still going strong. Meanwhile I have a friend who has a pair of EX700's, and the strain reliefs separated from the body after about two years.

So I guess I can't say they are terrible, but I think depending on how you treat them they are as good as average - at least in terms of build quality. The one thing I can say is that Sonys are usually comfortable - at least for me.

In terms of sound quality though, if you have $99 bucks to spend, I can't imagine why you would buy Sonys. I've always found in my experience that Sonys are warm, slightly mushy and at the same time often have issues with sibilance.There are a lot of great and more balanced options around that price range. If you haven't already, check out joker's thread with his comparisons of more than 100 earbuds - 

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/478568/multi-iem-review-110-iems-compared-sennheiser-cx280-cx281-added-09-25

Hope that helps!

Hey YYYY,

I really dont care for the sound of any of the Sony buds I have heard.

Just my own taste.  I am a big fan of Sennheiser for many years.

Also take a look at Denon they make pretty good sounding buds as well.

I think Bose buds are WAY over priced.  Hope my input helps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by yyyy2999 

http://www.sonystyle.ca:80/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=20153&catalogId=100803&langId=200&productId=8198552921666088663

 

These are pretty affordable, i think they've just recently come out so there are almost no reviews of it. I wonder if you guys have any feedback on these or opinions of other ones i should get. I wanted to spend 99$ and get shure srh 440s but they arnt as portable and the cord is extremely long and heavy. I've read aloooot of reviews, on other sony earbuds and they all apparently break after a short while without any reason. so im skeptical on buying em. I also perviously owned a pair of razor morays and the left earbud stopped working randomly

Sony MDR-EX57 is an in-ear earphone which is available at a very low price. Sony is known for making good quality media accessories and yet again it has manufactured a low priced in-ear earphones. The MDR-EX57 comes with eartips of three different sizes: small, medium and large, an extension cord, a cord adjuster and a carry case.

Design

The MDR-EX57 have a typical design for the in-earphones and the drivers are pointing towards the eardrums and this makes it pretty easy to wear where you just have to slide it into your ears and not struggle to have a proper fit. The earphones are available in three different colours: purple, white and black. The earphones have a non-symmetrical design where the right cable is longer than the left. The best way to comfortably use the non-symmetrical EX57 is to place the longer cable round your neck. The cord of the EX57 is around 2 feet and with the extension cord that comes with the EX57 it adds up to another three feet. This helps increase the length of the cable if you have to place your phone or music player in your pocket. The cable is very thin but it is durable. The EX57 is very light and hence very comfortable. The EX57 has very soft eartips that feel secure in your ears.

Performance

The Sony MDR-EX57 has a clean audio quality for an inexpensive earphone. It is compatible with most of the devices and the audio is neither at the low end quality nor at the high end quality of music. Whereas most of the devices at this price range are either on the low end of quality or on the high end to hide the inefficiency of the earphones at certain frequencies. The EX57 has broken this trend with its consistent performance. The EX57 initially has a very light bass effect but after a minimum usage, you will hear the soft thumps that are pleasant and yet the feel is heard. This is much better than the loud bass that almost ruptures your ear.

The mids on the EX57 have great clarity with a high degree of precision for the voices. Like the mids, the highs are extremely good and accurate. The audio is highly detailed and every minute detail is sure to be revealed at your eardrum without being harsh on them. Since the earphones are very light and you almost sink into your music, you will forget the earphones and all that you can hear is some clear music.

The only issue with these earphones are that they can never better your music; they just play it as it is. So all that you get form EX57 is just some clean and natural music. SO those who love loud thumping audio quality please avoid buying EX57.

Conclusion

The Sony MDR-EX57 in-earphones are just awesome and anyone who likes clean music will duly be impressed with the earphones. The EX57 is available at a price of Rs. 1490 and the earphones have a great value for money. With all the extra accessories it comes with, I think it is a good deal.

Hope this review helps some.......................

I've got a 25 dollar pair of Sony's that are actually REALLY good surprisingly.

*edit* they aren't super durable though...

Sony really are producing good stuffs at low price range nowadays. I think they have begun to feel the competition. Lol

When will the likes of BOSE and so called other giants realize  that they are not worth the money is all I am waiting for.

I still use my IEM that was included with my Sony X and gotta say its awesome. My IEM has battled through sweat while working out, carelessly dropping them when they're not in use and yet they still work like they were new.

For sony earbuds, there is only one model still in the market today in the $99 price range, the E888.

There are however discontinued models, which sell second-hand up to $300.

In the lower price ranges, there are the E7XX and E9XX series, they are very durable and have great sound quality, I used them for years in -20 snow, sun and sweat, back pocket etc., they held up fine.

For sony canalphones/IEM's, there are a plethora of options, for instance this month two new models were relased, the EX600 and EX1000, which look stunning, no reviews yet, apart from unboxing and some photo's of the manual's, as usual, the manual of the flagship (EX1000) goes into depth about research & development and the materials used in the process, this time around, sony have constructed the diaphragm out of liquid crystal polymer film, and are using strong driver magnets as usual.  In my old sony earbuds, if you put them right next to eachother, they'd seperate themselves by a few cm's!  That's how strong the driver magnets are.

Next month, the EX510 and EX310 will be released, which are a direct upgrade to the popular EX300 and EX500 series.  The new models have a prettier design, better cables, metallic and vented housing and chic colours, no words on sound quality yet (since they haven't been released).

Next month there is a also the EX800ST coming, as a first from sony, it's a studio IEM, aimed only at studio use, however it will most likely seep into the common market just like the famous history of the MDR-V6 studio headphone.

Here is a picture of the MDR-800ST http://moesoyo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/main_image.jpg

And here are many picture's of the the new behemoth of sound quality, the MDR-EX1000.

This is worth looking at, trust me! http://www.sony.jp/headphone/photogallery/MDR-EX1000/index.html

In other news, sony seem to be reviving their SACD format a little, I for one am happy that Sony are still going strong, because they pioneered so much of the audio world in the 80's and 90's, and I used their cheap little amazing earbuds along with a PCDP for so many years, the fact that PCDP's are dead, almost brings a tear to my eye.