Sony MDR EX70 ear-plug headphones - great!
Sep 22 '00 Write an essay on this topic.
The Sony MDR EX70 headphones are designed to sit inside the ear, providing a sealed listening experience. They feature soft rubber nubs (2 sizes) that sit in the ear canal, and unlike Koss’s awful “The Plug” headphones, these are easy to put in and unusually comfortable for something you stick in your ear. There is no headband, so they’re similar to Sony’s “earbud” style phone, of which I reviewed their MDR E848LP model. Unlike the 848s, the EX70 provides an acceptable degree of sound isolation. I can stand next to a busy highway with these on and even with the sound turned low and still hear the music well.
In regards to the sound quality, if you can get the phones to seal properly in your ears, they provide a surprisingly rich tone. The bass, while not tight, has a certain degree of focus. The midrange and vocals have a realistic, smooth presentation, and the highs are a bit bright, but I’m anticipating the high frequency spikes should smooth out over time with burn-in. Right out of the box these phones sounded tinny, with an obvious spike in the upper-high frequencies. Eight hours of burn in fixed the problem. They handle digital and analog music well, and have a pleasing warm tone (unusual for Sony). I believe they are the Walkman 25th anniversary ‘phones or some such, and are a bit expensive at $49 (I got mine for $35). If you need sound isolation, but don’t want bulky monitor headphones or don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on Etymotics, give these a try, I highly recommend them.
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