Sony MDR-EX500LP Vertical In-the-Ear Style EX Style Headphones

BBBS

100+ Head-Fier
Pros: Detailed sound
Cons: A little bit thin
I actually got these on sale for less than $10, so thanks to the guy who probably didn't print the price correctly. Anyway, these earphones use a fairly large dynamic driver, which you listen to from the side. This improves bass, which is very detailed and well extended, and the treble too is very crisp...almost to the point of being fatiguing.
 
For $10 these are a bargain, but their retail of about $75 is far more realistic. As with most Sony, the higher the model the more detailed they usually are, so if you don't need the aluminium trim and the leather case, a cheaper pair might have a darker, more engaging sound. They are somewhat analytical to listen to.

emsijs

New Head-Fier
Pros: entertaining sound signature, quality bass
Cons: a bit too sparky highs for me
I was really pleased with the sound, but they lasted only 10 and a half months. The left channel just died, while walking on the street. Fortunately for me, I got a refund from iheadphones.co.uk.

potatoe94

100+ Head-Fier
Pros: Unique shape, Eye-catching housing, A step-up from standard earpieces.
Cons: Cost, Sound quality could be better, Insecure fit. Price tag could be better set.
 
[size=9.0pt]Comfort[/size]
[size=9.0pt] This here, is and in-ear earpiece and comfort for in-ear earpieces vary from user to user, they tend to give an insecure fit even if placed “well” into the ear canal, the constant feel of it falling off is a huge downside to this pair of earpiece. This flaw affected the performance. Every size of the provided ear buds I tried yield similar results. (Unless triple Flanges are in use)[/size]
[size=9.0pt]Portability[/size]
[size=9.0pt] Sony provides a leather travelling case along with it and it does help in storing them neatly. I would not say they are very portable as they don’t give a secure fit into the ears. The need of constantly adjusting your earpiece securely when one brings it out is not portability. (Unless triple Flanges are in use)                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                                       Performance
Sound Quality- The first thing one will look in a good pair of headset will be the bass response, The bass response of these earpiece is just a slight upgrade from the standard earpiece which comes free upon buying an iPod, it can display low notes with not much bass distortion. Bass is realised . The midrange is well produced with the clarity , however not very realistic , sounded rather artificial . The trebles are focused in these earpieces, in fact, the trebles are over-focused, the trebles produced are “piercing” and is somewhat hurtful to the ears for new listeners, too bright in that sense . They take quite a long time to burn-in. The Soundstage is about average. I personally doubt these “Studio Monitors” should be named that way as i don’t think they are up for the title to Monitor Studio Recording , it may be more practical to name them as just “Performance In Ear Headphones” As they are not Precise enough to be used as Studio Monitors. It is not very coherent aswell, you can hear the different music instruments, but its just not clear and real enough, some were very soft or even left-out , while some stands out but without much clarity. Lack of details .                                                                                                            Isolation- They have an average isolation system and this greatly reduces ambient noise when placed properly                                    
                                                                                                                                                                            Design
The housing is made of aluminium, which claims to help reduce vibration noise when playing music, it sure does cause people to take a glance at your earpiece when wearing them out. A vertical in-ear system.  Other parts of the earpiece design are very typical to that of the standard earpiece. It also features an ultra thin cable, which turns out to be ultra tangly .
[/size]
[size=9.0pt]Suggestion*                                                                                                                                                                 [/size][size=9.0pt]Get triple flange silicone ear buds , it will reduce the “sharpness” of the treble and lower the bass line as a stronger , dominant noise isolation kicks in . The sound quality you would expect from an in-ear earpiece of this price tag , will be beautifully displayed  when triple flanges are on , as mentioned before due to its vertical in-ear design , it tends to gets lose and pop off the ear canal , the triple flanges have too , made this pair of vertical in-ear earpiece a lot more stable and secure .[/size]
[size=9.0pt]Overall                                                                                                                                                                                           [/size][size=9.0pt]These Studio Monitors are rather overpriced , considering that Sony gives a fixed 1 year warranty for a huge number of their portable audio accessories . Performance to Price tag ratio are all “just right”. However cheaper headphones may produce alot better sound quality than these SMs.[/size]
 
[size=9.0pt]Included    [/size][size=9.0pt]                                                                                                                                                                               - Small, Medium, Large Ear bud Sizes. – Leather Carrying Case[/size]
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