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Sony MDR-EX51LP Fontopia Headphones

Sony MDR-EX51LP Fontopia Headphones

List Price: $39.99
Your Price: $24.22
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Bass, What Bass?
Review: I bought these headphones to use with my MD player. I was hoping they would work well on a plane given the way they go inside the ear. Well, they do block out the outside world well but the bass is nonexistent. I returned them the day I received them.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Work great on a motorcycle--will save your hearing!
Review: I use mine with an iPod and they are great on a motorcycle for sealing out all the wind noise which is terrible for your hearing. With these earphones you can listen to your music at half the volume of regular buds and not be bothered by outside noises.

Bass and treble are distinct and never distorted (maybe since you never nead to crank up the volume?). I've worn mine for hours on end in my helmet and they are much more comfortable than standard earbuds since the only part that touches your skin is silicone (not hard plastic).

The downsides are mentioned in other reviews--you can hear your breathing, cord transfers noise to earbud, etc. But these complaints would be the same with any sealed earbud.

Would definitely buy again--got mine for $45.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good for ambient noise isolation and good sound.
Review: These fit pretty well in my ears and are comfortable even after wearing them for 45 minutes.

The cord is a bit long, but you can always tie or wrap it up. I have some portable headphones that have only a 36" cord and that's too short, so having this one a bit long is better in my opinion.

They do a pretty good job of isolated the ambient or outside noise when you have them on and they do make you slightly more aware of your own body sounds like breathing, but it's not that big a deal to me at all. I like the fact that I don't hear car traffic or the sounds of others in the gym or treadmill sounds.

The sound quality is pretty good. It has good bass as well as treble. The sound is better than any other portable headphones I have. They don't have the quality of studio like headphones costing $100+, but I don't want to wear studio like headphones when I go out jogging or to the gym. These are quite light and have a very low profile which is nice for when I go out jogging or to the gym.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: OK for blocking out noise
Review: These block out noise better than conventional buds since they seal like an earplug. Meaning they're great for my daily train commute. For me, the best thing about the blocking effect is I can have my music at a softer level and still hear it OK. They also block out wind noise, whose whistling was a real problem with my other buds.

The downside of this blocking effect is:
* You can't hear people talking to you even with the music turned down - so you have to remove the plugs to buy a bus ticket.
* Body noise is amplified - eg. breathing. I doubt you could exercise with these things as the manufacturer claims. And don't even thing about eating with them on - munch munch gulp.
* You can hear the cord rubbing on your coat.

Still, for me they're great. I use them for an hour on the train and walking each day without any problems.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: perfect for subway ride, but not for other settings
Review: I commute on subway to work, and MDREX51LP works great on subway. While it doesn't complete block out the noise, it does reduce them to a very low rumbling sound, so the music is clear without having to turn the volume way up. And even if you do turn it up, it will not create more noise to the other passengers since the leak is minimal. i feel like i am in another world wearing them.

some bad things to point out:

1. soundwise it's not the best pair of earphones, but i can adjust the EQ on my iAudio MP3, and it's better than anything on else on a subway, so I can't complain.

2. I would actually recommend MDREX71 over this. 71 has a shorter earphone cord and an extension cord, which can be easier to manage, since I still haven't gotten a hang of the case/cord clip yet.

3. Since it seals the ear, tapping the cord will send a slight but noticable pulse to your ear, so i really only recommend this for long trip on the train or plane, when there's not a lot of movement. this is not suitable for jogging or working out.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: the ear of the beholder
Review: Everybody has an opinion and they're all different. I finally settled on a pair of MDR-EX51LP buds for my Dell DJ (I rip my files to .wma at the default bitrate, if you care). The buds that come with the 20 gig DJ are poor sounding and uncomfortable, IMHO. Just like the ones that came with my iPod. I tried several different types and brands and settled on these. They have a more balanced sound than the other headphones in the sub $50 bracket that I tested - good bass, clean highs and mids. Do they compare with premium studio cans? No, but neither do the price tag, size or weight. They block office noise at a reasonable SPL and allow me to concentrate on my work without distraction. I can still hear some outside sound if I keep the music volume low enough - as has been mentioned before, that can be a good thing. They're very comfortable - I wear them for hours at a time on a daily basis. I don't get the uneven cord length, but it really isn't a big deal. Headphones are like operating systems - there is no such thing as one size fits all. Get the ones that work for you (and your audio device!) and don't start a holy war with someone who prefers something different.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Super Headphones!
Review: Even though a few people say these ear buds don't work, or they don't have enough midrange, don't listen to them! These ear buds are incredible. Choose the right size to fit your ear (comes with 3 sizes), place them in your ear and wow! These are clearly the best ear buds you have ever listened to. You may think that putting them in your ear will be uncomfortable - just the opposite is true. Conventional ear buds always hurt my ears, but these are smaller than typical ear buds, and with the rubber outer ring, they are very comfortable. They also block out external sounds which is great on the airplane. They won't replace your studio headphones, but you will not find a better set of ear buds for the price.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good, not great
Review: These earphones do what they're supposed to do: mostly isolate outside noises and deliver good quality sound at a low cost. The base is very good for ear bud/phone style speakers which explains the popularity of the Sony EX51 & EX71s.

That said, I'm not that pleased with their fit. I've spent the better part of a week fiddling back & forth between the different cushions and finally decided that for my ears I have to use the small size. The catch is that the smalls don't fit *that* well but the next size up is too large to get a good insertion.

All in all I'm satisfied of their value but would recommend seeing if you can find a friend with either these or the EX71s to see what you think of having them in your ears before purchasing. After using these for a week I can see them being used on the bus/plane, but for everyday listening I'm going to keep on using the Apple iPod earphones or just use a much better sounding set of actual headphones for about the same money.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: the LAST PAIR OF HEADPHONE YOU WILL BUY
Review: I have 4 CD players 3 mp3 players and a MD player only one set of headphones. Some say these ear buds have no bass I agree you must turn up the bass on the player once you have done that they have PLENTY of bass. I was at the point where I could carry more than 4 days of music (115hr) in 10 CDs but could only listen to 3 hr at a time because my ears would hurt problem solved with these. These are so comfortable I can fall asleep with them on no pain. Remember these go in side the ear so they are not as loud as others that are outside of the ear because they don't have to be to have the same effect. These ear buds cancel out sound my mother has yelled at me countless time and I never heard a word (she resorts to throwing something at me to get my attention). Some say "The cord is ridiculous" this is great my players are in my pocket and I am not crouched over looking like the hunchback of Notre Dame. If you have a equalizer in your player these are great

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: nice as hell!!!!!!
Review: these earphones are great they fit in my ear easily with the different sizes, and the sound is great it al so blocks all the sound out from other things so all u hear is the music.


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