[JF_Aidan_Pryde]

I bought EX-70s when they came out and loved them.

I lost them.

I bought EX-71s when they came out and loved them.

Someone stole them.

I bought the EX-81s when they came out and now I'm testing them.

Impression:
Package is beautiful and typically Sony. The ear buds are made in China. Build quality is excellent. 3 pairs of rubber buds are provided as usual. The middle size is on the ear bud.

Sound:
No breaking in, right out of the box, the sound is very muddy. Sound stage very compressed. Basically anything but transparent. This is fairly typical of EX series out of the box.

Tape mod:
Used scotch tape and covered the three holes on the back of the ear bud. A good improvement. Quality is in line with EX-71s. I can't say it's better.

Design:
Over the ear then plug in. Took a minute to get it but it seems to work well. Will test by jogging tonight.

I expect sound to get slightly better as they break in but no miracles. They are still very much EX in every sense; excellent isolation, nice build, bassy and treble on the harsh side.

But I love them.

 

[fr4c]

you seem to like the sony ex series.