Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony MDR-EX51LP Fontopia In-The-Ear Headphones, White

I ordered these because the Apple headphones that came with my iPod Mini kept falling out at the gym, and also lacked adequate bass response. When I first tried the Sony phones at home, I was disappointed. I did not like how they fit, and the sound didn't seem to be any better than the originals. However, I decided to try them out at the gym, since that was why I got them in the first place.

It took me a while to get used to the cords being different lengths, but now I like that feature, becaue I can have them out and around my neck, even when they're not in my ears. This is convenient when I'm at the airport or on a plane, and have to be listening for boarding calls or announcements, but don't want to put the headphones away.

As for the fit and sound, I found that after I had them in for a few minutes, I hardly noticed them at all, and the sound is a lot better than the Apple headphones. As many other reviewers have noted, you must insert these headphones fully into your ear canal, or they won't stay in and they won't sound good. It sounds a lot more intrusive than it feels, at least for me. I can wear them for hours without any problems at all.

While they are not really noise-canceling headphones, they do effectively isolate you from all but the loudest ambient sounds. This makes them ideal for air travel and other times you want to block out external noise.

I am pleased to have headphones that allow me to enjoy my iPod more fully than the originals ever did.

My EX51s have been trouble free for several months, despite some mild abuse. They stay in place fairly well after fitting the proper-sized rubber sleeves, and they're comfortable enough to fall asleep with. The "behind the neck" cord requires some adjustment, but aftter learning how to wear it properly (entire cord behind neck, main cord clipped to shirt or collar to relieve strain) I adapted quickly.

The sound quality is surprisingly good for buds cheap enough to regard as disposable, though they seemed rather shrill at first. Several hours of burn-in were required to tame the tizzy highs. Clarity & detail are better than with the standard iPod buds. Frequency response is fairly neutral (using my Sennheiser HD590s for comparison), with a slight treble boost and the bottom end rolled off just a bit. Sound isolation seems nearly ideal to me, with perhaps a 15dB reduction of external noise--enough to make outside sounds unobtrusive, but still permitting one to hear approaching cars when running on public roads. Though I've been disappointed by Sony products in the past, I don't hesitate to recommend the EX51s as a terrific value.

I had the same issue as other people who have written reviews. The rubber started decomposing shortly after I got it, but I didn't notice until I got a mild shock. Then I saw that a good portion of the rubber had definitely lost its color and composition. By the time I called, it was out of warranty (though I'm not sure even if the warranty would have covered it).

I called Sony, and replacements are $25. More than buying them here on amazon. Oh, well, I'll just keep the rubber earbuds as spares for the other Sony buds I have.

Do yourself a favor and get the black equivalent - the black tubing is physically different (a little tougher, and doesn't decompose). They might be a dollar or so more, and they might not match your iPod, but they'll last you a lot longer.

Let me start this review by talking about me. I am extremely cheap, and I wanted the best possible headphones that would not break my bank. I would definitely call my self an audio aficionado. The system in my car has the complete Infinity kappa perfect series, if you know what that is then you know I dropped over 3 grand on my car, and my family room has the Bose lifestyle 28 system in it.

I am demand my headphones to be durable, fit well (not even know that they are there), white to match my iPod, tolerant to a little water or alot of sweat, very durable, and simply amazing sound quality. These headphones hit every single mark with amazing results.

I have owned these headphones for a little over a half a year, and use them almost every day. The cord length was a little weird at first, but when you get used to them, they are awesome. I use them at the gym most the time, and the cord design puts them behind your neck, and out of the way, so when you run or lift you cant even tell that they are there. Give a little time to get used to them; you will never go back to 'normal' cord lengths again.

I bought these to replace the headphones that came with my iPod mini 6gb, and the difference is unreal. Yes, you read that right, it goes down to 8hz... 12hz lower than most human ears can hear, so obviously the bass response is superb. The highs and mids are very crisp, clean and clear too.

Now on to the noise-isolating feature; I would not call these headphones 'true sound isolating', but they are good enough. Sure, you could spend another 100 dollars on 'true sound isolating' headphones, but you are going to feel like an idiot when you find out that there is barely an audible difference. Sometimes when I'm studying for college I put these in and no music just to make it more quite when it's a little too loud where I am.

You can also listen to music at a lower volume with very good quality to save battery life and still not hear anything around you. But when your favorite song comes on, blast em and you are in for an ear orgasm.

One problem that I did find with these headphones (and probably all ear bud headphones) is that when you smile alot it hurts your ears a little bit. I love the comedian Dane Cook, and I got just about everything he has ever said on mp3 on my iPod, and when I'm smiling or laughing a little too much... it kind of hurts.

All in all, if you are cheap like me, demand a sound quality that is out of this world, and want a very durable set of headphones, these are perfect for you. If you have money coming out your @ss... and will pay 150+ for headphones... go for it, but just try these out once, you can always return them and Amazon has a amazing return policy but I really doubt you will return them.

As always for a review, I give the product time. In this case the EX51LP needed time for me to get adjusted to the "hot" sound.
Here "hot" means the bass and treble notes sound emphacised compared to other phones, especially the Ipod's. Not bad mind you, just more in your face type of sound. I use them with the Shuffle, which you may know has the best bass response of all the Ipods (ref PCMag tests)so the bass was really Really right there. It may be a bit too bright on the low and high end, but it also eliminates the need for equalization for me. Other phones will sound dull after this, not necessarily more accurate, but definitively more dull. Ipod lounge is another good source for many "bud" and other phones comparisons as well. The specs for 51's and 71's are identical, as is the sound, the mounts on the 81's are a bit different but the sound is similar, people hate the two piece cord on the 71's. The wire lengths on the 51's are preferred by a vast majority, left ear is about 4", right 12", the joint cord about 4ft. The cord is tangle prone, and the little "wrap" case is useless, use an Altoids can instead. All of the 3 sizes of the ear pads fit in my ear OK, the inserts are THAT soft. The buds are small enough that you can fall asleep on the side of your head, and they will not hurt. They are not very efficient at 100db, the Ipod players are very loud at 1/2 full, but for instance my Panasonic MP3 CD player had to be turned almost all the way up. Informed opinion is that that the higher level Etymotics and Shure buds are more accurate although not as "hot" or "impressive" sounding. But for sheer performance under 100$ you will be hard pressed to do better.