Sony MDREX71SL Fontopia In-Ear Portable Headphones

Rating:
Summary: ignore the complaints- these headphones are great
Review: I had recently killed my ipod headphones by leaving them into the bottom of my backpack, so one of them cracked open. I was also blowing one of the speakers out anyways, so I thought oh well and used some cheap headphones until my birthday, when i got these. I had read some reviews saying that these had an extremely annoying cord and how the earphones were set up were weird, so I was afraid that I wasn't going to like them because I'm really picky.

It turns out that I absolutely love these headphones and that I would never go back to the crappy ones that came with my ipod. They fit comfortably in the ear, although how far it goes in takes a little getting used to. Now, whenever I put in someone's ipod earphones, they feel hard, bulky and uncomfortable. I can't believe that I used to like those. The sound quality is great, it blocks out sound wonderfully. They're easy to transport, which is a feature that I love because I like to listen to music between classes. The protective case for the earbuds is a great idea because they protect them from the same fate as my ipod earphones. It also helps keep them from getting tangled. The other larger case is good for keeping the other sized rubber things that go over the earphone, but i don't use it that much because it's too much of a pain to keep pulling them out and putting them back in.

As long as the cord thing, they're right, the cord is too short, and the extension is way too long. To solve that problem, I used the cord extension, but kept the little tie thing wrapping up the rest of the cord on it, so it would stay short. A problem that easily solvable isn't a reason for returning them.

Rating:
Summary: Don't make the mistake I made by ordering these!!
Review: I apologize. I should have read the other product reviews for this item before I bought them ... would have saved me several dollars and alot of trouble ... These are quite simply the most bizarrely designed set of headphones ever sold by any manufacturer. Indeed, they are simply unusable. The odd cord length makes these headphones impossible to use unless the connected player is in your shirt pocket.

True, they sound terrific, but Amazon.com needs to just drop this item from the store. Instead, try Sony MDR-EX51LP Fontopia Headphones (same tech specs, but with normal cords and $10 cheaper!!).

Rating:
Summary: A Worthwhile Upgrade for Anyone Using iPod Headphones
Review: I would suggest buying these headphones to anyone who is using iPod headphones or headphones included with a CD/MP3 player. The MDR-EX71SL Fontopia headphones provide excellent sound quality for any genre of music. They provide great sounding bass, unlike the iPod headphones. It seems like you are listening with much larger headphones. Also, they are excellent at noise-cancellation. When I used them on an airplane while watching a DVD, it significantly reduced the outside noise. However, they are not perfect, and true noise-canceling headphones do a better job, but these still work fine. The headphones cord is short, so an extension cord is included. Instead of the extension cord I use the iPod remote, and it works perfectly. I ordered the white Fontopia headphones on eBay, so they look just like the iPod headphones.

These are really quality headphones. I was considering buying the more expensive headphones from Shure, but I decided to go with this as a less-expensive alternative, and I'm happy I did.

Rating:
Summary: Valued Upgrade
Review: First and foremost, I must say that these sony's did not blow me away at first. Just as a quality home set of speakers need to be broken in to reach their fullest potential, so does the fontopia headphones. Once broken in, the sound is full and rich - rivaling my Sennheiser HD 280 pro's.

I would recommend that if you were to purchase these, first give them constant play using all sorts of music for a couple of days. I didn't even use mine until I broke them in on my Zen Micro playing all genre's of music etc. Jazz, Rock, Pop, Hip-Hop, and downtempo electronica.

Once these are properly broken in, it's hard to beat the sony's price vs. performance value. Sure they're not true audiophile headphones, but they come awfully close.