[lojay]

If you're planning on buying another canalphone afterwards, say the Shure's or Ety's, then I could assure you the EX71 would be a utter waste of space, if not money. (Flame suit on!)...OK just kidding, read on!

Unless you're like me, a person who's suffering from paranoia so that I'm afraid to bring my Shures even to the subway. Actually the EX71 allow me to listen to music when I'm sweating a lot during excercise or when I'm in places not suitable for audio stuff, like at a camp or expedition outdoors. IMO the EX71's beat the Shure e3c's at price, but honestly, they still really are at a different level or class. It's neutral and less shrill, without much cons to say about them except the detail. For the Shure's I can tell you for days about the brightness and the veil (yes, both coexist. no wonder people hate them)

Try the expenisve canalphones you'd want first. Get the Ety's / Shures and listen all the 30 days. Then return them. If you don't like their sound, maybe you'll be like Commando, and prefer the EX71.

But if your talking about the EX71's traits and pros, I guess a lot of other phones could offer a lot more without too much more a price.

 

[bfwiat]

I have worked for Sony for quite a while, and I must say, I think the mdrex71's are possibly the most coloured sounding ear buds I have heard . . .if you don't like mid range, and all you want is bass and treble they are great (dance music, rock etc). But they have no midband dynamics, just a trumped up mega bass curve to give a bit of oomph to mp3's.

 

[Steve999]

LOL thanks. Okay, so maybe I won't buy the things. And you are an engineer at Sony? (I saw this in your other head-fi post). Which type of engineering? What do you do there? You could give us some very interesting perspectives.

And welcome to head-fi!

Quote:

Originally Posted by bfwiat I have worked for Sony for quite a while, and I must say, I think the mdrex71's are possibly the most coloured sounding ear buds I have heard . . .if you don't like mid range, and all you want is bass and treble they are great (dance music, rock etc). But they have no midband dynamics, just a trumped up mega bass curve to give a bit of oomph to mp3's.

 

[adhoc]

fwiw, a sony employee once told me that the main difference between the ex 51 and 71 was that the 71 had better matched drivers.

stay away from both of them though - i've yet to try anything else that has managed to have such incredibly bloated bass, a sucked out midrange and impossibly screechy highs all in one package.

 

[bfwiat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve999 LOL thanks. Okay, so maybe I won't buy the things. And you are an engineer at Sony? (I saw this in your other head-fi post). Which type of engineering? What do you do there? You could give us some very interesting perspectives. And welcome to head-fi!

Hi steve, sorry for some crossed wires.
I am not an engineer at Sony, i work for Sony, and do audio production/engineering outside of my Sony job.
I am glad to find head-fi, as it is nice to have sensible discussions with all kinds of people who are enthusiastic about music and sound!

 

[DigDub]

i have the sony ex51, ex71, shure e2c, sharp md33 and panasonic canalphones and i can clear up some doubts you people might have.

facts:
1. the ex51, ex71 and md33 and panasonic all have uneven cord lengths (neck-chain cord), where the right cord is longer and is supposed to go behind your neck. e2c has equal length L and R cords.
2. the rubber sleeves are interchangeable between the sony, sharp and panasonic canalphones. sharp's and pansonic's sleeves taper off more at the tips than the sony sleeves. panasonic's sleeves stay onto the phones better cos it is tighter. the ex51 DO come with 3 different sizes of sleeves (made in korea model).
3. the ex51 comes in 2 versions. one is a short cord version without the 1 meter extension cable. another version has a normal cord length. the ex71, sharp and panasonic comes in short cord versions with 1 meter extension cable. the e2c comes in normal length cord.

imo:
the sharp md33 sounds the best after a little mod which i did. i cannot find fault with the sound at the price. everything sounds balanced and i will get the md33 again if my current one breaks.

next will be the ex71. the ex71 is good for non-critical listening because they sound very smooth after a fairly long period of use. the ex71 is good for listening to when reading a book and in activities where the main focus is not on the music.

next is the ex51. it sounds different from the ex71. the ex51 is not as smooth as the ex71 or the md33. the bass is a little bit tighter than the ex71 and sounds more exciting than the laid-back nature of the ex71.

e2c is next on my list. the reason why e2c is placed so low is because its price vs performance ratio is not good. the treble is not well-defined and sounds a tad muddy. i expected something better for a pair of phones that costs nearly twice as much as the md33. the rubber sleeves hurt and i had to do the sony ex sleeves mod to improve the sound and make the phones more comfortable to wear. the good point about the e2c is that they seal better and is good for use in nosiy places like trains and buses.

the last one would be the panasonic. they have a cheap feel to them and feels like rip-offs from sony and sharp's canalphones. the wires are filmsy. the sound is a tad harsh and does not sound smooth. i would describe the sound as 'busy' and 'nervous'. it sounds a bit plasticky too.

 

[wctkdman]

What mod did you do digdub? The foam in the canal one?

I have the MD33s and I really like them, I think they could use a tiny bit cleaner high end, but they are still really nice. The fit is amazingly comfortable. The only bad things about it are the 4 pole plug requiring the adapter cable and the lack of a case.

 

[commando]

I'm finding that i'm getting quite a bit of cable noise from the plug in the EX71 banging on my coat when I walk. DigDub - what's the best set of 'phones to get around this? I just need a standard length cord, pref without an extension.

 

[terrymx]

the pioneer se-cl30 is the only decent sounding canalphone i heard at $30 that is balanced, with no bloated bass and have clean highs.

i literally like them more than the md33s, ex71, and e2c.

 

[DigDub]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wctkdman What mod did you do digdub? The foam in the canal one? I have the MD33s and I really like them, I think they could use a tiny bit cleaner high end, but they are still really nice. The fit is amazingly comfortable. The only bad things about it are the 4 pole plug requiring the adapter cable and the lack of a case.

yup. the foam in the canal mod.

 

[DigDub]

Quote:

Originally Posted by commando I'm finding that i'm getting quite a bit of cable noise from the plug in the EX71 banging on my coat when I walk. DigDub - what's the best set of 'phones to get around this? I just need a standard length cord, pref without an extension.

i use a shirt clip to get around this problem. sorry about the poor photo quality. its taken with a camera on my cellphone.

 

[Steve999]

Thanks DigDub. Great posts and great info.

Editing this with more listening time:

I went ahead and bought some EX51s. I figured if there is any difference between them and the EX71s I'd prefer the EX-51s tighter bass and more exciting sound you described.

Initial impressions listening to acoustic jazz are that I'm very pleased. The sound to me is "very good." That's very good as in not quite excellent but far better than just good.

The idea that these have one-note-bass or piercing highs is off-the-wall to me. Low acoustic bass notes are very clear and very well-delinated, I would agree with Linkwitz that the bass is excellent but mildly excessive. Highs are just about right at least to my ears. There is nothing harsh about the highs, but they are of the accurate (as I see it, as opposed to smoothed off) variety. My best guess is that there is some emphasis in the upper midrange and low treble, but it's far from extreme or offensive. There are plenty of mids, there's nothing remotely resembling the V6 emphasis on the highs and low bass.

The overall sound to me is smooth with an emphasis in the low bass, but nothing dramatic in that regard. I certainly don't feel as though I'm missing any of the music, these are full-range and articulate headphones. I find the sound emotionally involving (as opposed to staid or sterile).

Comfort is very important to me and is just what I was hoping for, a comfortable ear-bud. I also find them relatively easy to put in and remove from my ears.

Never having used canal phones before, I was surprised how loud my own breathing was. I feel that this aspect of canal phones in general represents a reduction in overall fidelity. Imagine being at the smyphony and hearing loud breathing during the quiet passages.

Speaking of which, I find symphonies to sound really great on these headphones. The extra low bass and upper midrange juices the sound up.

The isolation is pretty good, functionally quite useful, but not like you're underwater or anything -- closer to the HD280 than the V6.

Overall for music enjoyment I'd put them in the general category of the KSC-35s, portapros, and V6s. A very good buy for $40. IMHO.

Thanks again to all the posters, and for the link to the Linkwitz review...

Quote:

Originally Posted by DigDub facts: 3. the ex51 comes in 2 versions. one is a short cord version without the 1 meter extension cable. another version has a normal cord length. the ex71, sharp and panasonic comes in short cord versions with 1 meter extension cable. the e2c comes in normal length cord. imo: the sharp md33 sounds the best... after a little mod which i did. i cannot find fault with the sound at the price. everything sounds balanced and i will get the md33 again if my current one breaks. next will be the ex71.... next is the ex51. it sounds different from the ex71. the ex51 is not as smooth as the ex71 or the md33. the bass is a little bit tighter than the ex71 and sounds more exciting than the laid-back nature of the ex71. e2c is next on my list... the last one would be the panasonic...

 

[LTR/RTL]

anyone try and put different bud tips on these like the shure triple flange or the ety triple flange?? don't know if they fit, but if anyone can try, i'd like to hear the results...

 

[james902]

hehe i own a ex71sl and i love the debate here.

just look at your application and cost factor.

the ex71s aren't bad... but that all depends where your reference is. the ex71 is the only canal phones i've had, and they sound a hell'uv a lot better than my cheap 10 dollar sonys that just died. for an everyday user, which means none of the members here ahhahah, the ex71 will be perfect. however, i love music and i find myself drawn more and more towards a neutral flat headphone because i listen to a lot of classical. so I just hope a future purchase of ety's will surpass my expectations if they're going to cost 4-5 times as much

 

[crazyfrenchman27]

Steve999, I am the man to answer your question.

My first accessory purchase for my ipod was a set of 71s. Unfortunately, something happened to the right ear bud that prevents it from working. My major gripe with the comfort of the 71s is that the shortened cord prevents you from connecting the ear buds to portables located around your waist, forcing you to use the extension for most applications (blech!). That extension feels like a lead weight hanging from your left ear, let me tell you! The ear ring from he11...

To remedy this problem, I purchased a pair of 51s to replace my broken 71s. Initially I was concerned that they would differ sonically; fortunately, I found that they produced roughly equivalent sound (do note that I hadn't broken in the 51s sufficiently when I was comparing them). I could not distinguish between the two in my A/B tests.

The 51 actually has a cord of acceptable length that you can insert into your portable without compromising comfort, which makes it the clear winner for portable use. However, the 71s seem to benefit from softer silicon tips (to my ears, at any rate) and rubber cover for the cord housing (instead of plastic on the 51s), making it generally more comfortable for wear. They are both sufficiently comfortable for exercise and other rigorous activity.

Now, as far as my assessment of their sound...

I actually don't have the problem with the 71s/51s bass...I think it is much tighter than a lot of bass offered by other portable headphones (namely, Koss Porta Pros). When I listen to Blackalicious's "Sky is Falling," I experience a snappy low as opposed to an elongated shudder. This is what should happen. Hey, I might be a bass head...so keep that in mind.

What I do find more problematic is the manner in which the 51s and 71s handle highs, which is, quite frankly, detestable after my exposure to Porta Pros/PX-100s. After prolonged use of the nude ear buds with some recordings (more than one hour), I want to rip them out to save my frayed ear drums from the terrible shrieking!

Perhaps I'm overly sensitive to highs, but I think more than one person would concur with my assessment.

In comparison to other portable listening devices in their price range, they're not that bad...I'd take them over the MX-400/MX-500 (which don't seem to stick in my ear). They isolate sound in a way that the KSC-35s, Koss Porta Pros, and PX-100s do not.

For $40 bucks, get the Porta Pros (if you intend on not using an amp) or the Sennheiser PX-100s (they blow away the Porta Pros with an amp; otherwise I prefer the porta pros).

I would only purchase the 51s/71s if you desperately need an ear bud/something that isolates noise in that price range.

Just my honest opinion, of course...please don't accuse me of being deaf!