Robin
Premium
- 16,799
- United Kingdom
These are Sony’s brand new mid range offering, the MDR-EX35LP. The prices for these at the moment varies wildly but they are around 15-20 pounds, some places they can even be had for less. In the US these can also go by the code MDR-EX36V which includes an in line remote.
Just picked these up in Chrome Blue (look a lot darker in real life than the picture above) and I was very impressed.
Pros
Sound Quality
The sound quality is simply excellent, as with some of early Japanese reviews I have seen the 5/5 score is justified. Sony have clearly taken technology from their higher up past models and filtered it down to the new more affordable stuff and its hard to believe these cost what they do.
It has excellent bass which I was so looking for mainly using it on my 4G 20GB iPod which was notorious for having like no bass at all! But the area it seems to really excel is the more vocal / instrumental side of things with very clear definition on quieter more melody based songs. Classical music lovers would be very happy with these.
Some of the lyrics on songs I couldn’t previously make out I was easily able to hear which these headphones. I also could now hear a real difference between lower bitrate music and higher quality stuff. You really do notice how dreadful 128kb encoded music is on these! (some of this music was from 7 years ago!).
Aesthetics
They have a simple lozenge design which come in different chrome / polished metallic finishes (although its not actually metal). Under light they clearly stand out and look very tasteful. Others may prefer more extravagant stuff but these keep it simple.
Accessories / Extras
Comes with the usual S/M/L earpieces but now they are made from a new ‘special’ hybrid silicone material which is meant to make them even more comfortable. They did feel extremely smooth and flexible but I didn’t really notice any massive improvement in comfort over previous stuff. But they do the job and fit well after you experiment with the different sizes.
The cord is Y configuration which I prefer after using J for ages, it has an adjustable tab to widen or shorten it and also a nice little rubber cable tidy which you can clip to the wires. The jack is of course gold plated.
Cons
The Jack
The jack is right angled which for me was the biggest letdown, I don’t even see why they still exist, it’s a small niggle but for iPods it can lead to a greater strain on the jack and socket as the cord is pulling sideways not directly upwards, one of my other headphones eventually broke because of this. You also end up swiveling the jack side to side more which can wear down the contacts.
Outside Noise
For those wanting a total audio seal these do a good job but they don’t totally block outside noise. For me this was a pro because I want to be able to hear people call me or traffic when out and don’t want to suffer any ear pressure popping effect but if you want total silence then it’s a con. It would still do very well on an airline but im yet to try that out.
Warranty
There’s only a 2 month warranty which is kinda lame because nearly all other headphone manufacturers give 12 months. This is the norm with Sony as there warranty periods on everything seem to be shorter.
Some other issues are the buds need to be cleaned every time you take them out and the rustling of the cord is amplified in the phones but these are all standard disadvantages of using in ear so not really cons, especially for its price point.
Summary
Does what it’s meant to do best which is to provide quality sound rather than giving you frilly extras! On the sound quality alone I really have to give them 10/10.
Official Tech Specs
Black, blue, gold, pink, red and white colors available
9mm driver unit
Frequency response : 6 – 23,000Hz
Sensitivity : 100 dB/mW
Cord length : approx. 1.2m
Weight : approx. 3g (without cord)
Supplied acc. : 3 types of ear buds (S/M/L), Cord adjuster
Robin
Pic of the colours!
Just picked these up in Chrome Blue (look a lot darker in real life than the picture above) and I was very impressed.
Pros
Sound Quality
The sound quality is simply excellent, as with some of early Japanese reviews I have seen the 5/5 score is justified. Sony have clearly taken technology from their higher up past models and filtered it down to the new more affordable stuff and its hard to believe these cost what they do.
It has excellent bass which I was so looking for mainly using it on my 4G 20GB iPod which was notorious for having like no bass at all! But the area it seems to really excel is the more vocal / instrumental side of things with very clear definition on quieter more melody based songs. Classical music lovers would be very happy with these.
Some of the lyrics on songs I couldn’t previously make out I was easily able to hear which these headphones. I also could now hear a real difference between lower bitrate music and higher quality stuff. You really do notice how dreadful 128kb encoded music is on these! (some of this music was from 7 years ago!).
Aesthetics
They have a simple lozenge design which come in different chrome / polished metallic finishes (although its not actually metal). Under light they clearly stand out and look very tasteful. Others may prefer more extravagant stuff but these keep it simple.
Accessories / Extras
Comes with the usual S/M/L earpieces but now they are made from a new ‘special’ hybrid silicone material which is meant to make them even more comfortable. They did feel extremely smooth and flexible but I didn’t really notice any massive improvement in comfort over previous stuff. But they do the job and fit well after you experiment with the different sizes.
The cord is Y configuration which I prefer after using J for ages, it has an adjustable tab to widen or shorten it and also a nice little rubber cable tidy which you can clip to the wires. The jack is of course gold plated.
Cons
The Jack
The jack is right angled which for me was the biggest letdown, I don’t even see why they still exist, it’s a small niggle but for iPods it can lead to a greater strain on the jack and socket as the cord is pulling sideways not directly upwards, one of my other headphones eventually broke because of this. You also end up swiveling the jack side to side more which can wear down the contacts.
Outside Noise
For those wanting a total audio seal these do a good job but they don’t totally block outside noise. For me this was a pro because I want to be able to hear people call me or traffic when out and don’t want to suffer any ear pressure popping effect but if you want total silence then it’s a con. It would still do very well on an airline but im yet to try that out.
Warranty
There’s only a 2 month warranty which is kinda lame because nearly all other headphone manufacturers give 12 months. This is the norm with Sony as there warranty periods on everything seem to be shorter.
Some other issues are the buds need to be cleaned every time you take them out and the rustling of the cord is amplified in the phones but these are all standard disadvantages of using in ear so not really cons, especially for its price point.
Summary
Does what it’s meant to do best which is to provide quality sound rather than giving you frilly extras! On the sound quality alone I really have to give them 10/10.
Official Tech Specs
Black, blue, gold, pink, red and white colors available
9mm driver unit
Frequency response : 6 – 23,000Hz
Sensitivity : 100 dB/mW
Cord length : approx. 1.2m
Weight : approx. 3g (without cord)
Supplied acc. : 3 types of ear buds (S/M/L), Cord adjuster
Robin
Pic of the colours!
Last edited:
But they still work fine so I'm keeping them for now.
A good sound cancelling earphones (Shure, Sennheiser, etc.) will cause a lot of money though...... 
Although, if I ever had the money I would totally by one of these... 👍
