MDR-EX71, my thoughts
Jan 23, 2005 at 1:53 AM Post #17 of 33
Well now they are starting to grow on me. I was worried that the bass would be way too much and be annoying but its just fine. I figured out what size cover to use so they sound much better. I also love the style and the cases that they come with. What do you guys mean by "harsh sounding," and also what do highs, mids, and lows mean?
 
Jan 23, 2005 at 2:09 AM Post #18 of 33
Quote:

Originally Posted by azmodien
I was even more disappointed than you were. I followed all of the positive buzz and ended up getting burnt. They are rediculously HARSH sounding buds. Burn-in does nothing.


That was my experience, as well. The sound quality can be summed up in one big word:
S C R E E C H Y!
 
Jan 23, 2005 at 2:21 AM Post #19 of 33
Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagle_Driver
That was my experience, as well. The sound quality can be summed up in one big word:
S C R E E C H Y!


totally agreed. I had ex71sl for 2 days and sold them afterwards. I couldnt stand the the combination of earth shaking bass, non existent mids and shrill highs.
 
Jan 23, 2005 at 3:38 PM Post #20 of 33
The problem is the general availability of these earphones. Apart from the EX71s you'll hardly find anything close to it in convenience at you typical audio shop. How many ppl have heard or even seen Etymotic / Shure phones?
 
Jan 23, 2005 at 6:18 PM Post #21 of 33
Ok, here's my opinions on these MDR-EX71 phones:

Treble: very harsh/shrill at high volumes. I have had my iPod uncapped using GoPod, but have re-capped it euro 100dB max as above this, treble is too bright. Below this, though, treble is more acceptable (and more midrange manages to elbow its way through - shouldn't be listening to them too loudly anyway).
Midrange: Not noticeable past overblown, innaccurate bass and treble.
Bass: Yes it's there, but no where near as good (accurate, or deep where needed) as my other cans (sennheiser HD575 symphony's - but then those are 5x more expensive). The extra bass is less accurate in the sony's.
Fitting: beautiful, too good in fact. In fact, so good that whereas before I used to simply turn the volume down/off to listen to people, I now have to take them out completely - no ambient noise at all - the bonus is that you therefore don't need such high volumes to hear the music (my iPod is usually set around the halfway mark now). Probably the most comfortable in ear phones i've used (btw-the inserts do make a difference, I've found medium sounds best).

Update: I have since tried this to improve the sound...
Get some simple cotton wool ear buds, pull some of the cotton wool off the end. Insert a small amount (enough to fill to the rim of the grey "caps" snugly) into the ends. Voila: Bass remains unnaffected, Midrange pretty much the same, treble markedly reduced......overall loudness reduced (so re-uncapped the iPod back to US vol limits)

OVERALL:....in hindsight, even with my "cotton wool" fix, treble can still be a bit too harsh quite a lot of the time. I don't think you should have to do anything to earphones to get them to work acceptably anyway. I now wish i'd bought Sennheiser mx450/500/550's instead (and they're £10 cheaper too)......why do companies insist on tuning the sound for people who think accuracy of sound means that you need piercingly high levels of (splashy) treble?
Anyway, they're not worth £35 from sony/dixons/high street etc, but maybe worth a look if £26 (delivered) from the net (and you're into bright/splashy treble)
I probably won't buy another pair...
 
Jan 24, 2005 at 2:23 AM Post #22 of 33
Its not even that the treble is too shrill, it cause the vocals to distort. It makes the artists sound like they have horrible lisps.

If you tweak the EQ just right, you can get them to sound AVERAGE. But you pretty much have to adjust the EQ again for each song. Unless you are listening at extemely low volumes, you will wince at the shrieking, horrible sounding treble.I dont see how anyone could find these pleasant to listen to, let alone enjoyable.
 
Jan 24, 2005 at 3:28 AM Post #23 of 33
They sound like my EX70s. I honestly use them as ear plugs at night if I go to bed late so I don't get woken up. The treble (around 2 to 7 kHz) is just unbearable for me! After EQing they're much much better but still not fantastic for proper listening.

Matt
 
Jan 24, 2005 at 3:32 AM Post #24 of 33
Like I said, the EX## series deliver wet, sloppy a-big-dog-licking-your-face bass, recessed mids and piercing screechy treble. Even worse than the MDR-V6/7506 type of sound!
 
Jan 24, 2005 at 8:00 AM Post #25 of 33
Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagle_Driver
Like I said, the EX## series deliver wet, sloppy a-big-dog-licking-your-face bass, recessed mids and piercing screechy treble. Even worse than the MDR-V6/7506 type of sound!


Agree... I can EQ them (boost 3200Hz and cut 10Khz) but it still cant compete with either my KSC75 or e2c. The EX51 is the muddiest most conjested sounding headphone I own. They are also the most comfortable by far.

Garrett
 
Jan 25, 2005 at 9:39 AM Post #27 of 33
i had ex71 for almost half an year, before this i used ex70. I do think EX series is very fit for out-door useing. of course, i do not use ex?? at home at all

ex71 is better than ex70 i think, especially on transparence, compare with ex51 ex71 is thicker and warmer

my english is not very good, excuse me
smily_headphones1.gif
etysmile.gif
 
Jan 25, 2005 at 7:27 PM Post #29 of 33
has anyone ever tried not to put the ex71 so deep inside the ear channel?

i've never experienced this "harsh" treble mentioned here, until i once put them really deep, aiming directly at the ear-drums. this way the sound becomes really strange and shrill. the treble sounds as if it was whistling. but normally i don't put them that deep, only so far that i get a good seal and that they don't fall out with the slightest pull, although they still tend to fall out if i pull a bit too much. but this way they sound quite ok and i would even say that i prefer to enhance the treble a bit to get a nice sound of them.

sure they will never sound like grados or something, but if you eq them a bit they can sound quite acceptable.

of course everyones ear is different and one might get this shrill sound directly at the beginning, but if i don't put them too deep, they sound everything else than "shrill".
 
Jan 25, 2005 at 7:43 PM Post #30 of 33
Quote:

Originally Posted by oluv
has anyone ever tried not to put the ex71 so deep inside the ear channel?

i've never experienced this "harsh" treble mentioned here, until i once put them really deep, aiming directly at the ear-drums. this way the sound becomes really strange and shrill. the treble sounds as if it was whistling. but normally i don't put them that deep, only so far that i get a good seal and that they don't fall out with the slightest pull, although they still tend to fall out if i pull a bit too much. but this way they sound quite ok and i would even say that i prefer to enhance the treble a bit to get a nice sound of them.

sure they will never sound like grados or something, but if you eq them a bit they can sound quite acceptable.

of course everyones ear is different and one might get this shrill sound directly at the beginning, but if i don't put them too deep, they sound everything else than "shrill".



I never could get a good seal with the larger tips. I had to use the small ones and shove all the way in... I should try again with larger tips.
 
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