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Sony MDREX85LPB In-Ear Headphones - Black
See it at Amazon.co.uk for £14.99Average Customer Rating
(4.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First | + Share18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
Great headphones
(5 out of 5) by Martin Hamilton on Jun 1, 2007 (West Sussex, UK)Just got these and they are great.. they are comfortable and the design fits very well in the ear.. they are not noise cancelling but do a great job of blocking all external sounds..
The larger drivers give well defined punchy bass and crisp top end nice top end sounds.. they are very good especially for digital music sources so are ideal for MP3 players.
They look great also.. the black and chrome finish is really nice..
The only concern I have is the cables are a little thinner than previous headphones I have had in the past.. this may not be an actual issues but I guess time will tell.
Pack comes with a classy little case and a protector to wrap the headphones in when stored..
All in all I am very impressed so far with these headphones
The larger drivers give well defined punchy bass and crisp top end nice top end sounds.. they are very good especially for digital music sources so are ideal for MP3 players.
They look great also.. the black and chrome finish is really nice..
The only concern I have is the cables are a little thinner than previous headphones I have had in the past.. this may not be an actual issues but I guess time will tell.
Pack comes with a classy little case and a protector to wrap the headphones in when stored..
All in all I am very impressed so far with these headphones
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Great pair of headphones, but they do not last...
(3 out of 5) by K. Pang on Oct 11, 2008 (UK)Great pair of headphones, but they do not last...
I got a pair with my Sony A828 mp3 player but after six months of use, my headphones have become faulty, I thought this was only my set but a friend who also purchased the same headphones had also experienced the same issues and the headphones are rendered useless.
Cannot fault them for sound quality but they are become faulty when used constantly...
I got a pair with my Sony A828 mp3 player but after six months of use, my headphones have become faulty, I thought this was only my set but a friend who also purchased the same headphones had also experienced the same issues and the headphones are rendered useless.
Cannot fault them for sound quality but they are become faulty when used constantly...
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
Great sound, for everyone else to hear?
(3 out of 5) by Mr. R. Meade on Aug 14, 2008 (UK)Bought these today and I'm very impressed with the sound, unfortunately so is everyone else in the room.
The outer-ear speakers act like a loudspeaker for everyone else to hear so if you plan to listen to you music any more than half volume expect people to ask you to turn it down.
The outer-ear speakers act like a loudspeaker for everyone else to hear so if you plan to listen to you music any more than half volume expect people to ask you to turn it down.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Punch harder than the price would lead you to believe
(5 out of 5) by R. Kent on Feb 3, 2009 (Switzerland)I use in-ear headphones exclusively with MP3 players in mobile telephones. I bought these as a replacement for the appalling headphones supplied with the Apple iPhone. Having been used to the (very good) HPM-70s supplied OEM with the Sony Ericsson W810i and subsequently a pair of Audio Technica CK5's that I bought for my Nokia N95, I at first wondered if my iPhone supplied units were knock-offs the sound was so bad and the units blindingly uncomfortable.
Having been impressed with the HPM-70's ability to drive hard and low (albeit somewhat muddily) without sacrificing top-end details and the CK5's clarity in the mid and high ranges, I wanted some sort of compromise.
Having tested a range of headphones from Shure and UE, I somewhat surprisingly plumped for the EX85's and have not regretted one moment. Spend some time getting the right bud fit and then a good few hours for them to loosen up and they really do provide a delighful stage well beyond that which I would have expected for the money.
The reason for choosing the Sonys is that of source quality. My current source (iPhone 3G) is quite simply poor in comparison to the Sony Walkman phones and more akin to that of my Nokia N95 (ie: Decidedly average). Had I been coupling my phones to a quality source I would probably have been writing this review on some UE Super Fi 5 Pros but the iPhone was a real limit here. The DAC just doesn't delivery a particularly dynamic performance (in the same way my iPod or Nokia never impressed) and compared with a Sony, Creative or Microsoft MP3 player, the Apples are decidedly lacklustre.
Having hooked both the UEs and EX85s into my Arcam HiFi both sets of earphones came alive with the UE's going one step further. Back in the context of the iPhone and there's nothing in it.
So back to the EX85s. Lows are similar to those of the HPM-70s but are clear as daylight unlike the muddied HPM-70s. Synth string basslines make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. Mids are clear with well pronounced vox. The Sonys give a lively performance and really do dance across pitch changes rather than fight through them. Highs convenyance is good too but across the whole range the Apple source here shows up it's limits. Plug them into a better DAC and they really do open up nicely.
So, before you through hundreds of your hard earned at earphones, just think, how good is my source...? If you're thinking iPod or iPhone upgrade then in my humble opinion VERY few MP3 players and phones cut the mustard with a real quality dynamic reproduction (the Sonys being one of the few). £100+ headphones are typically wasted on the vast majority of MP3 players and mobile phones, the Sony Ericsson Walkman series being an exception when it comes to phones...
Before I get accused of bias, I'm no Sony fanboy - most the products I have bought off them have broken well before what I would deem to be an acceptable lifespan, but the EX85s really do represent excellent value for money and punch well above their weight. Recommended...? Yes, definitely.
Having been impressed with the HPM-70's ability to drive hard and low (albeit somewhat muddily) without sacrificing top-end details and the CK5's clarity in the mid and high ranges, I wanted some sort of compromise.
Having tested a range of headphones from Shure and UE, I somewhat surprisingly plumped for the EX85's and have not regretted one moment. Spend some time getting the right bud fit and then a good few hours for them to loosen up and they really do provide a delighful stage well beyond that which I would have expected for the money.
The reason for choosing the Sonys is that of source quality. My current source (iPhone 3G) is quite simply poor in comparison to the Sony Walkman phones and more akin to that of my Nokia N95 (ie: Decidedly average). Had I been coupling my phones to a quality source I would probably have been writing this review on some UE Super Fi 5 Pros but the iPhone was a real limit here. The DAC just doesn't delivery a particularly dynamic performance (in the same way my iPod or Nokia never impressed) and compared with a Sony, Creative or Microsoft MP3 player, the Apples are decidedly lacklustre.
Having hooked both the UEs and EX85s into my Arcam HiFi both sets of earphones came alive with the UE's going one step further. Back in the context of the iPhone and there's nothing in it.
So back to the EX85s. Lows are similar to those of the HPM-70s but are clear as daylight unlike the muddied HPM-70s. Synth string basslines make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. Mids are clear with well pronounced vox. The Sonys give a lively performance and really do dance across pitch changes rather than fight through them. Highs convenyance is good too but across the whole range the Apple source here shows up it's limits. Plug them into a better DAC and they really do open up nicely.
So, before you through hundreds of your hard earned at earphones, just think, how good is my source...? If you're thinking iPod or iPhone upgrade then in my humble opinion VERY few MP3 players and phones cut the mustard with a real quality dynamic reproduction (the Sonys being one of the few). £100+ headphones are typically wasted on the vast majority of MP3 players and mobile phones, the Sony Ericsson Walkman series being an exception when it comes to phones...
Before I get accused of bias, I'm no Sony fanboy - most the products I have bought off them have broken well before what I would deem to be an acceptable lifespan, but the EX85s really do represent excellent value for money and punch well above their weight. Recommended...? Yes, definitely.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Typical Sony - great quality, until it breaks.
(3 out of 5) by Doug on Jan 7, 2009I got these headphones free with the NWZ-A818 mp3 player, a good deal for just under a hundred quid. However just like all Sony products made after the mid-90s they have no longevity; 10 months after getting them the headphones became faulty. Fortunately they're under warranty so a quick call to Amazon put a new pair in the post for me free. Still, this is one more in a long list of broken Sony products, I have completely lost faith in them and am concerned now how long the mp3 player's going to last...