[xcalibur]

Hope this short review is helpful for those thinking about getting a new pair of earphones.
The prices in $ is estimated and the prices in pounds are how much i actually paid for them (shipped)

Sony MDR-EX70SL:
Price - $42 (30 pounds)
Goods - Solid bass and best isolation of the lot
Bads - Poor mids and highs...The bass can be overpowering and can make the sound 'muddy'
Ideal for - Rock music (or bass driven music)

Sony MDR-EX71SL:
Price - $46 (32 pounds from ebay)
Goods - Solid bass and best isolation of the lot, White colour is great for ipod users!
Bads - Slightly better mids and highs compared to the ex70..still has the 'muddy' effect although less than the ex70s.
Ideal for - Rock music (or bass driven music)

Sony MDR-E888SP:
Price - $66 (Audiocubes just dropped them to $59) (Around 45 pounds from Audiocubes)
Goods - Clear Mids and highs
Bads - Super weak build..Looks like it can break any moment if you're not careful! Worse bass of the lot.
Ideal for - Vocals & Classical Music

Sennheiser MX500:
Price - $19 (18.95 pounds from superfi)
Goods - Clear and transparent sound
Bads - Weak bass
Ideal for - Pop, Vocals & Classical Music

After burning all of them in and trying them i'm sticking with the mx500 because it's best for the type of music i listen to and in some senses the best all round earphone..bass is in between ex71 and e888 and IMHO the mids and highs are pretty close to the sound on the e888 and will blow away the ex70 and ex71. I do feel that if you have a choice between the ex70 and ex71 for around the same price the ex71 is definitely more worth it since the mids and highs are better (plus it comes with a nice soft cloth case)..And for those of you who are still using stock earphones please do get a pair of MX500s...they're definitely worth it...Hope to hear what you guys think!

 

[pikawel]

Hey, nice quick and to the point review. I'm sure it'll serve as a quick reference to anyone in that situation.

What a benefit to have the cheapest pair win overall, eh?

 

[rblanco10]

good write up xcalibur,

Yes I agree that the MX500s are great for SOME types of music (for me they were great for classical, jazz, electronic, vocal music,
and instrumental music without wanting to listen to the bass of the music.)

The MX500s were very inexpensive and the highs and mids were perfectly clear. But their lack of bass made me replace them with
the Sony MDR-EX71SL's. The MDR-EX71's blow the MX500's away
in UN-AMPed and UN-EQUALIZER play. Tuning up the bass boost or EQ gives the EX71's more boomy bass, while with the MX500's the bass was still non-existant.

Newbies, do a search of the different threads and read what the different people have to say about their experiences with their headphones/earphones.

Through my experience the sad thing about the MX500's was
that I thought that they were going to fit better. IMHO the MX500's absolutely hurt to listen to, even with the thicker foamies put on them. The hard plastic casing of the MX500's hurt the opening of my ear canal. Why couldn't Sennheiser redesigned their latest earbud (the MX300, MX400, MX500 all have the same basic design that doesn't contour to the ear, well it doesn't contour to my ears and others also.) They slipped out of my ears easily, then I had to push them back into place, driving that hard plastic back into my ear. AND where was the advertised MEGA BASS on the MX500's?

Xcalibur Did you try different sources for playing the
MDR-EX71SL's? The MDR-EX71SL's only fault that I found was
that they needed a higher volume to display their characteristics
of clear highs and mids. I tried them out on different sources
(PCDP, PMDP, PCD/MP3P, home audio reciever, home CD
magazine changer player, & through my minitower computer)

And the better the audio player, the better the EX71's sound.
(UN-AMPed and UN-EQUALIZED play.)

Definately I would recommend the Sony MDR-EX71SL's (if you can get them < $48 shipped it is a good purchase.) They are very small, they seal and stay put in my ear canals, comfortable for long music listening durations, ultra portable with a nice cloth carrying bag - you can store your CD/MD/MP3 remote in this cloth bag along with the earbuds. The MDR-EX71SL's also come with a
gold plated plug, a short cord, gold plated extension cord, and a earbud protective plastic case, and different sized silicon earpieces (not cheap flimsy thin foamies.) You put the EX71's on and pull the right earbud behind your neck (leaving only one earphone line running down on the left side to connect to your player) and you will forget that you even have them on. And the music isolation of the EX71's beats out the MX500's.

Still the Koss KSC-35's and the ETY's have been reviewed as THE BEST portable earphones.

 

[pelikan1931]

I have both MX500 and 888LP, but not the 71SL. But I recommend you to spend a few more on Grado SR60, the sound of which fuller and wider. Its cable is worth the money alone. Earbud (and all earbuds for that matter) is just for convenience. If you want to good sound without compromise, dont consider earbud from the very beginning.

 

[soupy]

Quote:

If you want to good sound without compromise, dont consider earbud from the very beginning.

There's always etys and shures (okay, technically earphones than earbuds) and those legendary earbuds...

 

[pelikan1931]

Quote:

Originally posted by soupy There's always etys and shures (okay, technically earphones than earbuds) and those legendary earbuds...

ops, forgot about them. yes,they will be on my shopping list. and between the two, which one is better, or easier to drive from portable? I think Shure is somewhat cheaper than Ety.

 

[jaskin]

The Etymotics 4P can easily be driven by a headphone out. You can also get a conversion cable to change it to the Etymotics 4S when using with an amp.

 

[xcalibur]

Thanks for the feedback guys..

"Xcalibur Did you try different sources for playing the
MDR-EX71SL's? The MDR-EX71SL's only fault that I found was
that they needed a higher volume to display their characteristics
of clear highs and mids. I tried them out on different sources
(PCDP, PMDP, PCD/MP3P, home audio reciever, home CD
magazine changer player, & through my minitower computer)"


Yeah...the ex71 seems harder to drive than the mx500...rblanco10, so you mean with the right source your ex71 is better than the mx500 in the mids and highs unamped and unEQed? Does it not have the 'muddy' effect?

I have yet to hear the KSC-35...any one in the UK know how to get one over here? I think ETYs are way off my budget! Heheh...

 

[rblanco10]

Quote:

Originally posted by xcalibur Yeah...the ex71 seems harder to drive than the mx500...rblanco10, so you mean with the right source your ex71 is better than the mx500 in the mids and highs unamped and unEQed? Does it not have the 'muddy' effect? [/B]

I have never heard my EX71's as muddy, they are very clear. The only time when the bass is overpowering is when I have the base boost turned all the way up!

With a better source definately the EX71's sound better, even without having to turn up the volume, turning up the bass boost, and even having to EQ.

I still say that my EX71's sound close to the MX500's, and is better in some cases because you can hear the different low frequencies and hear the bass. The MX500's were great for vocal tracks! (But still no bass out of my former MX500's on un-Amped play.)

 

[r3cc0s]

with the mx500
if you get radio shak pads or a thicker pad
they give alot better bass while keeping it's transparency

i like them alot better than my ex70

 

[xcalibur]

Quote:

if you get radio shak pads or a thicker pad they give alot better bass while keeping it's transparency

Cool...you sure it doesn't lose any of its transparency? i always thought pads kinda muffle the sound a bit...

 

[astrodabu]

Does anyone know where to get replacement silicon ear pieces for the sony earbuds? They look very comfortable, and I tend to have ear aches after using earbuds. I'm planning on getting the mx500s, but i'd hate to have to buy a sony pair, just to get a comfortable fit.

 

[Barry]

I got a replacement set from sonystyle. There is a button for replacement parts, or something like that. Good luck

 

[astrodabu]

Hey barry, do you find the silicon pieces to be pretty comfortable?

 

[KellDammit]

personally, i consider the shures and ety's "canalphones" rather than earbuds. the difference being that they don't just sit in the outside curves of your ear like buds do. for canalphones, you have to get your ears surgically bored out, so you can plug the phones directly into your brain.
well, okay...they don't go THAT deep, but i do remember being a little wigged out when i got my e2's. i am a long time (since the mid-80's) earbud user, so it took some getting used to. now that i'm used to the canalphone fit, earbuds (the ex70's too) drive me nuts! they feel like they're perpetually falling out, even when they're nice and snug. i guess technically, the ex's sorta qualify as canalphones, but i've never thought of them as such before, and don't now...they just don't feel as "solidly in there" to me. if you're used to ex's, and then try the ety's or shures, i think you'd understand what i mean...
anyhow, pay me no mind, it's been a long day...
this has been a test...blah blah blah.
we now return you to your previously scheduled programming.

kell