SONY | SONY STYLE.COM

Excellent midrange priced earbuds from Sony

Pros: Superb bass response for this price range

Cons: Treble response could have been slightly better.

I recently purchased a set of Sony MDR-EX55 earbuds for my "vintage" 8GB NW-A808 Walkman. I prefer not to use the original 13.5mm driver earphones that were supplied with the NW-A808, keeping them as mint as possible. I also had a set of Sony EX Studio Quality earbuds (MDR-EX85LP), bought in mid 2007 as this model matched the original NW-A808 phones. As the EX85LP was rather pricey, I went to look for cheaper alternative models from Sony. The only model which met my budget was the discontinued MDR-EX52LP, with a smaller 9mm driver. The EX52LP was OK, except that it suffered from a serious design flaw - the left earbud developed a poor contact which meant only the right one was functioning. I promptly replaced the EX52LP with another one of the same model and to my surprise it contracted the SAME problem with the first one - the left earphone went dead too for no reason at all. I'm very careful with my earphones, taking care not to accidentally stretch them. Fed up with the QC issues of the EX52LP, I decided to reuse my MDR-EX85LP for the time being until it was damaged by my kitten who chewed on one of the earphones. That left me the original NW-A808 phones to use, which I reluctantly used for two weeks. Fortunately I found the new MDR-EX55 at a store and I noted the construction of the wire ends where they are joined to the earbuds had been improved. There was less free play at the ends. I chose the blue model as I liked the metallic blue finish on the earbud stems. The sound quality of the MDR-EX55 is slightly better than the problematic EX52's and the bass is deep for a 9mm driver, although falls short of the 13.5mm drivers used by the EX85LP and the Sony factory issued ones. The high frequency side is quite good but due could have been tweaked further. I prefer the EX55 phones when I sleep as they are short and are comfortable and snug inside my ears. On the other hand, wearing the EX85LP can be painful when I turn head on my side against the pillow (the protrusions of the EX85LP's press against my ear canal). If you're shopping for a mid-priced Sony earbuds, the EX55 comes highly recommended. :-)

Excellent In-ear headphones!

Pros: Great sound and quality

I couldn't be happier with these in-ear headphones! I bought them to replace the Apple in-ear headphones for my iPod (the left earbud stopped working). These stayed put in my ear after just placing them in ONCE (my Apple in-ear headphones would constantly fall out, and I'd have to keep putting them in...and that was AFTER I tried different sizes of the earbud covers). I just used the bud covers that were already on (I believe they're Medium) and they fit perfectly (I saved the Small and Large extras in the little bag). The cord is a little shorter on the left side, but I used it the way the picture demonstrates, I put the cords BEHIND my head - This works perfectly and rarely yank out! The cord itself is very long which is good. The sound is excellent, you can hear all the nuances of each song very sharply. ALSO, they totally block out unwanted outside noises.