After getting fed up with the speaker cord crawling out on both side of the speaker on my HS520 pair, and becoming extremely uncomfortable, I decided to ditch that pair for a different set. I looked at Wal-Mart and while they are very heavy in earbuds and old-school style headphones, they only had two sets of behind-the-neck headphones, a Koss pair and these Sonys. The Koss pair were about $5 cheaper but two things made me turn away from them. First off, I dislike the lower-end (around $30 or less) Koss models since, for some reason, they aren't up-to-par with me, usually becuase they don't have enough volume or they aren't designed as well as their high-end PortaPro line (which is fantastic BTW). Secondly, the blue/silver finish looked really tacky and cheap-looking. The Sony model, suprsingly, matched exactly with my Sony stereo system I was planning on using them for. Plus, they have a nice, long cord. So know your probably thinking, well, why don't you buy a studio-pair headphones. The reason is because a majority of them are above the $20 mark, something that's not worth spending because these headphones are going to be put to heavy abuse because my computer is also connected to it. And if you looked at how the set-up is, the cord is going to get yanked. The headphones are going to suffer heavy volume. And sometimes, they are going to suffer some excercising as well. So, I'm looking for something that is low of price and is durable. Sound quality isn't a major issue since I have an equalizer however it should be at least good enough to make it sound good with the equalizer. I looked at the box much closer to realize that these also came with my DEJ360 walkman I bought way back in 2003. Then my memories started to pour in about these and I remembered that they were 1) durable and 2) had a more deep bass sound than a clearer sound. They were only $13 so if they only sucked a little they'd still be moneys-worth.

Sony MDRG42LP Behind-The-Neck Headphones
Sony's MDRG42LPs are the typical behind-the-head style of headphones, and they're also known as "street headphones" or "streetphones". They aren't the most stylish headphones but still look pretty good with a silver/black scheme; at least they look better than the Koss set. When you look at the package LIGHTWEIGHT will be printed in large letters but don't let that fool you--these are some of the most durable headphones you'll ever come across. For those of you who own the older PSYC walkmans, yes, these are the headphones your player came with. If you've never tried the behind-the-neck style of headphones chances are they won't feel too good first touch. Don't return them if they don't feel good the first 10 seconds or you might be passing up some pretty decent headphones. Play around with them for a week or so and if you're still dissappointed with fit or comfort then you should return them.

Sound Quality
One important factor in a pair of headphones is what comes out of the speakers. A lot of people think just because of the Sony brand name everything is going to sound fantastic but that isn't neccessarily true. I don't see these sounding like their DJ model headphones. Overall, these have a pretty decent sound to them, especially on the bass side--people that are missing a bass boost on their player might want to try these. Classical sounds just fine on these, rock sounds good on these, and urban/R&B/hip-hop sounded great on these. Classic rock, latin, and country (the ones with the lighter instruments) sounded a bit washed-out because of the large amount of bass but should be no problems for casual listeners. Speech sounds just fine with these headphones, as...well...I think if a pair of headphones fails on speech they already fail everything...

Overall, the MDRG42LPs do have a nice sound to them especially for those listening to pop or urban, mainly because they have a slight lack of high end and a pretty deep bass sound.

Comfort
Another big factor in headphones is the comfort level. These do get a bit uncomfortable after some time but overall are a pretty comfortable set, especially for those with smaller ears. Like I said before, if you are new to this style, they probably won't feel good when you first slip them on, but after about a week you'll actually find them to be a quite comfortable set. The foam pads on them do provide a lot of comfort to them. While these aren't the most comfortable set of this style I've tried, they should be comfortable for those with small ears.

Portablility/Durability
Another deciding factor when purchasing on-the-go headphones is how small or large they are. This isn't a large deciding factor for me since they'll be for home use, but for those using these for outside use might want to consider that fact. Overall, these are pretty decently portable. It would be better if they folded up so they were a bit smaller, but they are known as the most portable lightweight set that don't fold up. I would actually prefer non-folding ones as the fold up sets I buy always seem to break at the folding part and have to be fixed with tape. They are pretty lightweight so it won't feel like you're carrying a 5 lb. weight with you.

The durability of these 'phones is probably the worst thing about them. The cord is made of different rubber material that seems a little more durable than plastic. The speakers, headband, and everything are held together securely with no problems. The problem is the cord on the speaker is easy to rip off. Just remember, if you are looking for something that will last awhile, like for excercising headphones or one that'll be used for rough activities, these aren't it.

Warranty
The MDRG42LP headphones are covered with a 90-day warranty against defects in workmanship. If something is just defective with them immediately, you should definitely take them back to the store rather than dealing with Sony which I would say has the worst customer service that I've ever dealt with. But if the store you bought them from has a shorter than 90-day warranty, you can just simply send them to Sony at 10227 Crossroads Loop Suite B Laredo, TX 78045.

Price
At Wal-Mart, these only costed $13. For me, I think that price is fairly reasonable for these. They have good enough sound, are very durable/portable, and have nice looks to them.

Specs
I have no clue how to read specs, but for you audio techs, here they are.

Driver Units: 30mm
Power Handling Capacity: 1,000 mW
Impendence: 24 ohms at 1 kHz
Sensitivity: 104 dB/mW
Frequency Response: 16Hz - 20,000 Hz
Cord: 5 feet

The Bottom Line
Sony's MDRG42LP behind-the-neck headphones are great ones for those wanting a pair of on-the-go headphones and not caring about how long they last. The sound isn't fantastic and they aren't the most comfortable pair around and thier durability sucks. But the big bass, long cord, decent looks, and portability are also good attributes. So...are they the best? I'd say no, but they are an OK set of behind-the-neck headphones for only $13.

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Recommended: No