Rating: 
Summary: Suprisingly poor quality for the Fontopia line
Review: I bought these for my iPod, because I liked the sound quality from my friend's higher-end Fontopia in-ear phones. The technical specs looked great for the 51LP phones, but the audio quality just didn't match what I was expecting.In particular, the phones clipped low frequencies even at moderate volume levels. The result was a noticably muddier/rougher sound than the iPod's included headphones. The high frequency response was much better, and I have no complaints on that end. The three included sizes of rubber covers were a nice touch, as you can custom-fit the phones for your ears. Also, the remarkably simple carrying case is just marvelous -- no more tangled cords. One other thing to be aware of -- like all "ear-sealing" earbuds, these will block out most external noise and act like stethescopes. So if you're doing something dangerous (running, lion taming, etc.) you might want to try before you buy to make sure it won't be a problem for you.
Rating: 
Summary: The Biggest, The Best, Better Then The Rest!!
Review: A lot of customer reviews state that there is no bass response from these headphones (most of them ipod users) and this is simply not true. You need to INSERT the phones INSIDE your ear to experience the full sound of the bass. These headphones are great because they completely isolate you in a world of sound. You don't have to crank you volume up to deafening levels to hear your music over the traffic or ambient noise. Another great thing about the phones is that no one around you can hear what your listening to, unlike most other products, so you can crank your music as loud as you want without everyone staring at you. The earbuds do need cleaned regularly but they are rather soft unlike other foam earbuds like the Koss's "The Plug", which I had to modify to make it work. I highly reccommend this product to anyone who wants to hear more music and less noise from the outside world.
Rating: 
Summary: over-rated
Review: 5 stars for comfort - 2 stars for sound quality. Volume much lower than other earbuds. Sound is crisp but lacks richness on any equalizer setting. I almost returned them but the comfort factor changed my mind.
Rating:
Summary: The BEST In-Ear Headphones
Review: The bass is deep and you can still hear the highs. The bass isn't out of control like other headphones where everything else is muffled. There might've been problems with people who gave this bad reviews. 1) You may think it's snug, but it's really not. I've tried the small sizes and they felt snug, but the medium size plugs really isolated the sounds and gave deeper bass for me. So try experimenting with the plugs.
2) You can't say that the headphones don't work well with your player (i.e. i-Pod, discman, etc.) because everyone has different units and they all can give out different ranges of frequency. Also, mp3s can be compressed differently, so I'd suggest compare with CDs, not mp3s.
3) The purpose of having one side longer than the other is so that the wire doesn't go straight down the middle. It's better that the wire goes down one side so you can place your player in your pocket or bag. Definitely a good buy! The best headphones I've owned! I've tried a lot of other Sony products, and these are superior!
Rating:
Summary: no bass... no love.... and sending it back to get my money
Review: Ugghhh I bought these to replace my broken Sony MDR-888 and they are horrible. It can't handle bass whatsoever. It has very shallow bass and plenty of high frequencies. I'm returning these immediately. I hate to admit it but I switched back to my old IPOD headphones because it sounded better- believe it or not. They fit nice and snug but the sound is nothing compared to my old headphones.
Rating:
Summary: It'll do, but no big deal.
Review: First of all, you get adequate sound; about what can be expected from something like this. The cord is ridiculous- five inches on the left, eighteen on the right. Plenty of slack to get caught on things, unless you wear it over your back as Sony tells you to. The ear buds stay in pretty well, but take care of them because you only get one pair in each size and they're fragile. They don't block out much noise, but better than typical headphones. The outside world is muffled, but you'll hear that bus loud and clear before it hits you. I guess that could be considered a positive. If you really want to block out the outside world, try Koss' The Plug and modify it. Go to the drugstore and buy earplugs, drill a hole through the middle, cut them down to the right length and fit over each shaft. This is as tricky as it sounds, but truly effective. The Sonys don't lend themselves to this kind of modification.
Rating: 
Summary: Good sound, very comfortable, pricey.
Review: I use these during daily 1 h bicycle rides with a HD-based mp3 player. Their major benefit, in my opinion, is that they are very secure in your ear and offer good, but not too good, isolation. You can still hear what is going on around you very well. Their sound quality is good, but really not much better than far less expensive in-ear headphones. They are nowhere near as good as conventional over-the-ear headphones of similar price in terms of sound quality. You can only do so much with tiny drivers. The case they come with is cheap and inadequate. Basically all it does is keep the silicone rubber seals on the ear-buds themselves. It should allow wire storage, as well. Finally, at $30, they are over-priced by about half. $15 would be a fair price. If you don't need the secure in-ear feature, you can do as well for much less.
Rating:
Summary: if you like to hear your music, these aren't for you
Review: I really wish these sounded better, because their good points: extremely comfortable, lots of bass, blocking out exterior sound, are very nice, but ultimately, they just don't sound good. While the bass is much deeper than I thought possible, the overall sound is disappointing, appalling even, depending on what kind of music I'm listening to. The biggest problem is that the mid range is very muddy and indistinct, partly because that excessive and sloppy bass totally overwhelms the lower half of the spectrum. But even if the bass wasn't obscuring everything, the mid range wouldn't sound very good anyway. It's not clean or tight. Treble is all right. If you like to feel thumping bass in your head without wearing huge dj/recording engineer headphones, and/or listen to your music only on the subway or on planes, these might work for you, but if you want to hear all the elements and nuances of your music, definitely get something else.
Rating:
Summary: Not Worth It for the Price
Review: I have to admit, for a tiny pair of ear buds, they have a lot of bass. Tons of bass. But when you listen to something with a lot highs, they can't handle it. Sony makes a pair of ear buds for $10 that are better than these. You can probably buy them anywhere. After returning these ear buds, I went with Sennheiser PX-100. They sound great.
Rating:
Summary: Great sound, comfortable headphones
Review: OK, I just can't pass up what some of these guys who didn't read the directions are saying.
1) Why are the left and right headphone cords different sizes? The answer is so that you loop the longer one (the right) around the back of your neck. When you pop the headphones out they stay around your neck instead of falling to the ground or having to hold them in your hands when you talk to people you run into. I know it's crazy...
2) Why is there no bass on these headphones? If anything these produce too much bass. They have absolutely no problem cranking out Metallica loud enough to make your ears hurt (and still play folk music incredibly well). The only thing I can think of that is causing a lack of bass is if you don't get a tight seal with the ear buds. That's why they give you three sizes because you MUST get a good fit with the headphones to get good bass (or treble as well). You can tell when you get a good seal with the headphones because outside noise will suddenly get much quieter and often when pulling the headphones out of your ear you get a mild popping sensation as the seal is broken. This can even mildly discomforting if you accidentally get them ripped out of your ears while mowing the lawn or working out at the gym. If you read the reviews for the EX70 and EX71 Sony earbuds (same 9mm sound driver) the people there are complaining of too much bass. This product has no problem with bass. A couple of other points:
1) Sound is very crisp. You will find yourself noticing some of the softer/more intricate parts of a song that you have listened to dozens of times in your car or stereo that you never noticed until you listened to it with these headphones.
2) Very comfortable especially for those of us that listen to music for up to 8 hours a day at work. Your ears don't get sore like they would using normal earbuds. The only bad thing I would say about these is that they are not industrial strength and will break. The caveat there is the amount of use and abuse I put them through. So after about 2 years I'm not too shocked that my old set is falling apart and I need a replacement. Needless to say I'm going to get another pair of Sony earbuds.
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