 "Rugged" | 2009-10-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: A35V0TDX1P4UJC |
I bought one pair of these a quite a while ago and was so impressed that I bought a second pair for another device. These are the most rugged earphones I have ever owned. It usually doesn't take much to break the wires in a set of headphones. I've broken plenty of them by snagging them on something.
But these have taken more abuse than I ever expected them to survive and yet they keep on working great. A few weeks ago I snagged the cord on a doorknob as I was walking through. It not only ripped the earbuds out of my ears, but also pulled my heavy player right out of my pocket. I couldn't believe they survived, but they did, no worse for the wear. I wear these to bed sometimes and when I awake, I find that my tossing and turning has ripped the connector from the player and wrapped the cord around my arm (thank goodness, not my neck). On several occasions I have accidentally dropped the player from chest-high, leaving it dangling from my ears. Once or twice the dog has snagged the cord with a paw, again ripping earbuds out of ears and player off clip. Still, they live on! |
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 "Comparing to the Sennheiser CX-300..." | 2009-10-28 |
| - Reviewed By secondadd |
I compared this Sony to the Sennheiser CX-300s and the Panasonic RP-HJE300. I thought the Senns and the Sony both had better sound than the Panasonic set, and I liked the way they fit my ear better, so I'll compare just those two. This is one of those cases where both earbuds have their plusses and minuses, it just depends on which you prefer.
The CX300 has a cord that wraps around the back of your head (i.e. cord to right ear is longer, whereas the Sony has equal-length cords. Both are about the same length. The CX300 has a cleaner, more trebly sound. The Sony has much more bass, it's louder than the CX-300 at the same volume, and it's muddier (but still a surprisingly good sound; I found it especially good for more easy listening type music). I'm not a bass freak, but I like a balanced sound. While the Sony sound seems more artificial in its bass boosting, on the other hand I've always found that my Nano never provides enough bass. I've tried a lot of headphones in the under-$30 category, and I've never liked the bass (or lack thereof) on any of them... so I think I actually prefer the artificially boosted bass in this case. The CX300 fits snugly in your ear, whereas the Sony is a plastic piece that kind of clips into your ear in an interesting way (and very easily). The Sony is surprisingly comfortable and easy to put in, although I wouldn't want to be lying on a pillow and turn my head as it is all-plastic and it has a piece that intrudes a bit into the ear. Both units actually stay in your ear nicely, which is a big improvement than the cheap headphones I had before. I'm not sure if the Sony will fit all ears (it's a one size fits all design), but it fit perfectly into my average-sized ears. The CX300 has those rubbery attachments to fit into various size ears. Its medium pieces felt slightly snug in my ear, but I think that is how they are supposed to be. I think the Sonys would be more comfortable than the CX300s when worn for a long period of time-- they don't jam into your ear-- the exception being if you are lying down, as noted earlier. While the CX-300s are not as loud as the Sony on the same volume, they do cut out much more ambient sound. If you clap your hands in front of the CX300s, your claps will sound muffled, whereas little ambient sound is lost with the Sony. It's strange that the Sony is much louder than the CX300 at the same volume although it lets in more ambient sound, but that was indeed the case. If closing out the world is more important to you, you'll probably prefer the Sennheisers. If you want to be aware of your surroundings, the Sony's would be better. In sum, Sony has louder, more bassy and muddier (but still acceptable) sound, and a more comfortable earpiece for long periods of wearing, whereas the Sennheisers have a cleaner sound, they shut out ambient sound better, and they might be better when lying down on a pillow. |
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| "Excellent, Cheap Earbuds" | 2009-09-04 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2N88CO1PDWZ6G |
| If you are looking for a cheap set of earbuds with very good quality, look no farther. |
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| "great product for the price" | 2009-09-04 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1PS2XMAYWS1GM |
| Sound great and at a great price, I used them all summer and i sweat alot when I do my cardio outside. |
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 "Solid earbuds for the right ears" | 2009-08-17 |
| - Reviewed By xtofer |
For those unwilling or unable to shell out the big bucks for noise-cancelling earbuds, these are a nice compromise for the price.
Pros:
For those with medium to large ears, the unique shape of these earbuds work great and don't require earwax-collecting foam pads that always seem to get lost or need regular replacement, which I think is a big plus. I'm a bigger guy and I find them quite comfortable and more secure than most. However, those with smaller ears (e.g., women, kids) might not find these earbuds easy to wear. Sound quality is above average with a good low and midrange (see Cons: below, however). It's nice to have earbuds that actually have some bass. Quality seems very good (Sony, after all) compared to most. I've had other Sony earbuds for 8+ years with no problems.
Cons:
As mentioned above, if you have smaller ears these buds might not be comfortable for you. Try them out before purchasing if possible. I found the sound quality to be good overall (for earbuds), but some tunes sound a bit muddy given the added low-end qualities for this model. The cord is also a little on the short side (another 6" would be nice)--- barely makes the stretch to my ears if I'm carrying my iPod in a back pocket (I'm over 6' with a long torso however). Finally, the carrying case is just a little faux-leather drawstring bag. Nothing fancy. I'd prefer one of those reel-style cases to help protect and stow these nice buds instead of a cheap little bag. |
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