In ear headphones - horrible

[Fretless]

Just read a What Hifi review of the Sony MDR-EX650 which features a brass housing and a relatively large 12mm driver.

http://www.whathifi.com/sony/mdr-ex650ap/review



Supposedly very comfortable and smooth-sounding.
Might hunt down a set myself.

[alfafan123]

I guess there is no one size fits all answer for these because there are so many human physical variables and product designs . IMHO my latest spec Apple earbuds are surprisingly good and pretty cheap too if all you want to do is listen to a download in the background.

[brit-pop]

Just read a What Hifi review of the Sony MDR-EX650 which features a brass housing and a relatively large 12mm driver.

http://www.whathifi.com/sony/mdr-ex650ap/review



Supposedly very comfortable and smooth-sounding.
Might hunt down a set myself.

I'd be interested to know how these worked out but can't ever imagine spending 60quid on them. Maybe my 20quid Sony ones are cheap and nasty and that's where I'm going wrong.

Mind you I didn't pay much more than that for the Koss portapro my wife uses and they're in a different class soundwise.

Some interesting stuff on this thread though, I've signed up to that massdrop site just to see if some of their other suggestions (for on ear phones) materialise.

[Fretless]

Got hold of the Sony MDR-EX650AP today - they were on sale. The cheaper EX450 model has an aluminium body but the same 12mm driver.

Smooth sound, really good detail/imaging/dynamics, big bass (but not too much, Sony's always pump up the bottom end). I think the best word would be 'luscious'. Excellent sound isolation.

Damn comfortable - forget I had them in within 5 minutes. These pop in and stay put. Worth checking out and there is some sort of special 30-day tryout offer from Sony (over here anyway).

I think I'll be using these a lot.

[Fretless]

Have today tried the EX650 earbuds against my older Sony MDR EX500 buds, playing FLAC's on my Fiio X3. I have always found the EX500's to be excellent and have used them a lot over the last years. However, they now sound flat and dull in comparison with the newer (and considerably cheaper) EX650.

Also compared a Koss PortaPro headphone. The EX650 has a more refined character with a wider soundstage and far more bass information and definition. Although with the PortaPro you can still hear what is going on around you, I did some vacuum-cleaning this morning with the 650's in place and was able to thoroughly enjoy relatively quiet music with the Dyson as a gentle noise in the distant background.