[chiggachu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catastrophe will these fit well for ppl wearing glasses? i'm worried about whether the hooks will interfere with my glasses.....are the hooks bendable? so it can fit for all sizes of ears? also, i'm kinda new so any suggest how to 'burn-in' ur earphones? i got a pair of 2 wks old EX51 and they dont sound that good imo

The hooks are very flexible, which is great because you don't hear any microphonics when you move the cord around because the hooks kind of absorb all of that shock.

I wear mine with my glasses on all the time! Doesn't get in the way, as the ex81 loops just sit right on top of the glasses loops. Remember that the loops aren't really that tight fitting because they are so flexible. They're just there to keep the buds in your ears if the cord is tugged or jostled. At least this is my experience with them (and I have fairly small ears).

 

[swatx]

i am stumped.. i just bought ex71 and they sound great.. lot of bass which is what i wanted.. and before buying the ex71 i read the specs of ex81 and ex71 and they are exactly the same.. so how can they sound diffrent?

would it be a better choice for me to get the ex81?

 

[bangraman]

Should I rewrite my posts to be clearer? Is there something that's not totally apparent?


All right. Let me have another go:


Take an earphone. ANY earphone. Now, really boost the bass on the player. Make it excessive. Then instead of fitting the earphone as per normal, hold it a couple of millimeters away from your normal wear position. A more balanced sound, yes?


That's exactly the EX81 effect over the EX71. The difference in fit caused by the earclip accounts for the difference in sound. There is absolutely no difference in sound quality.


On the other hand, anyone who is telling you their experiences of the EX81 while looking like they have "a stunted alien antennae" are simply describing the sound of the MDR-EX*7*1, as if they are wearing the 81 like this, they're replicating the fit of the 71 by putting the EX81 drivers as deep into the ear.


Why 'alien antenna'? Because the earclip can't be formed into shape like some earclip phones I've seen. It's just basically a bendy earclip which might or might not fit your ear. If you are among those who the earclip design won't quite fit, you're reduced to wedging in the transducers into the ears as the main method of stabilisation because the clips will keep falling off.


The reason that they may say they can detect a difference in the sound is that they haven't taken into account the very pronounced change in sound of the EX71 as it's used. The sound degrades noticeably during the relatively short lifetimes of the EX series. If you have a 'well burned in' (I like to think of it as 'near-failure') set, you will definitely notice a change between it and a new EX81, even when worn the 'alien antenna way'.

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman That's exactly the EX81 effect over the EX71. The difference in fit caused by the earclip accounts for the difference in sound. There is absolutely no difference in sound quality.

If it works, it works, no matter how it is achieved...

The bass is not anywhere near as prominent regardless of the antenna look or not, so - if it is a case of same drivers, different fit - then that suits me fine...

...Incidentally, I cannot wear them WITHOUT the antenna effect, they just fall out of (off of!) my ears if worn 'correctly'...

I'll keep quiet on this subject from now on... and maybe buy myself a pair of Shure E4Cs when they come over to this side of the world...

 

[titaniumx3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman Should I rewrite my posts to be clearer? Is there something that's not totally apparent? All right. Let me have another go: Take an earphone. ANY earphone. Now, really boost the bass on the player. Make it excessive. Then instead of fitting the earphone as per normal, hold it a couple of millimeters away from your normal wear position. A more balanced sound, yes? That's exactly the EX81 effect over the EX71. The difference in fit caused by the earclip accounts for the difference in sound. There is absolutely no difference in sound quality. On the other hand, anyone who is telling you their experiences of the EX81 while looking like they have "a stunted alien antennae" are simply describing the sound of the MDR-EX*7*1, as if they are wearing the 81 like this, they're replicating the fit of the 71 by putting the EX81 drivers as deep into the ear. Why 'alien antenna'? Because the earclip can't be formed into shape like some earclip phones I've seen. It's just basically a bendy earclip which might or might not fit your ear. If you are among those who the earclip design won't quite fit, you're reduced to wedging in the transducers into the ears as the main method of stabilisation because the clips will keep falling off. The reason that they may say they can detect a difference in the sound is that they haven't taken into account the very pronounced change in sound of the EX71 as it's used. The sound degrades noticeably during the relatively short lifetimes of the EX series. If you have a 'well burned in' (I like to think of it as 'near-failure') set, you will definitely notice a change between it and a new EX81, even when worn the 'alien antenna way'.

I'm not so sure about your comments. I have my EX81s deep in my ears using the etymotic/shure ear pulling technique yet I can definitely hear better more balanced sound compared to the EX71. I even tried wearing the EX81 upside down so that its practically identical to the EX71, same fit and isolation yet it still sounds better. Also no one seems to consider the fact that the EX81 has reduced volume compared to EX71. Maybe the reduced sensitivity somehow balances the sound?

 

[Catastrophe]

any1 suggests how to properly burn in the ex71/81?

mines about 40hrs old now, playing mostly rock/soft vocals/pop...and the theres improved 'boomy' bass, but not on vocals...

can u balance it by playing more soft sounding music instead of bassy songs?

 

[PrototypeX2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catastrophe any1 suggests how to properly burn in the ex71/81? mines about 40hrs old now, playing mostly rock/soft vocals/pop...and the theres improved 'boomy' bass, but not on vocals... can u balance it by playing more soft sounding music instead of bassy songs?

Burn-in itself means loosing the driver by playing music which mean there aren't actually a "proper" way to do it. It's just playing music through it.

 

[bangraman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by titaniumx3 Maybe the reduced sensitivity somehow balances the sound?

Both are 100db/mw.

 

[jml90]

Would these be a worthwhile buy or not I'm no audiophile or should I save up for better phones?

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jml90 Would these be a worthwhile buy or not I'm no audiophile or should I save up for better phones?

What is your budget, and what would you need the cans for? isolation / public transport, or general purpose listening?

 

[jml90]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duncan What is your budget, and what would you need the cans for? isolation / public transport, or general purpose listening?

Well general purpoise listening currenlt my budget is $50

 

[Duncan]

What kind of sound are you after?

These have a very specific sound... which is not to all tastes...

Most people tend to head for Sharp MD33 or the Panasonic HJE50... depending on what kind of sound you like, either of those other choices may be more up your street.

 

[jml90]

I don't get what you are saying

I like these because of their clip on style and isolatio

 

[sjino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman Both phones have basically the same drivers. Both phones, if fitted the same will sound essentially the same. There are very slight variances due to the design of the housing, but it's not a magically cured EX71.

Bangraman, your comments about the sonic differences could be accurate, because there are definitely differences between the Koss KCS-35, 50, 55, Porta Pro etc. which use the same drivers.

Having said that, I would like to know if you (or anyone else) know for certain that the 71 and 81 do use the same drivers. I was under the impression that Sony had chosen a different driver for the 81s, which supposedly accounts for the sonic differences more than the funky ear clip design. Does anyone know for certain?

Thanks.

 

[Bjork Forever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PrototypeX2 I can with mine.

I do see several reviews that said the clip on the EX81 is there for display's sake. It does not really serve as a purpose, since it does not really clip to your ear. The can pretty much stays because you insert the bud into the canal.

I am curious to have this answered. Since I would love to do some running with the earphone.

Currently I have a SONY MDR-EX51 and Bose Triport (for different purpose). Will I see significant different in term of sound quality. I notice that EX51 (perhaps like what most said about EX71) has tendency to be more bassy.

Thoughts?

Great comments so far!!