Sony MDR-EX71SL (White)

Well, as you have guessed, I have busted my Creative Headphones which I had used for my Zen Vision M. After 4 months of listening to these busted earphones, I have decided it is time to replace them with better sounding units. First off, it is my budget which I had to be concerned with. I am only willing to spend up to RM300 for a set of earphones and that narrow's my choice of earphones to a few brands. Second, I need a pair of earphone which can effectively 'seal' off any outside noise as I am a heavy traveller and noises from within the bus really irritates me when I am listening to my music. Lastly, it must be foldable or small so that I can carry them around easily. One thing to note when choosing these headphones are it's capability to be driven by the smallest amount of energy which we call it 'impedence'. If impedence are high, you may need to crank up the volume just to get the same effect of volume from other headphones which had a lower impedence with lower volume levels. As a result, your batteries from your MP3 player may die earlier.

After judging and reading many information that had been presented by audiophiles, I had only 3 choices left and they are:


1) Grado SR60


2) Sony MDR-NC6 (Noise Cancelling)


3) Sennheiser PX-100 (white)


4) Sony MDR-EX71SL(White) - Last option if all else fails.

Well, I proceed to test the units mentioned for the attributes that I need but the main factor that I am considering for a headphone are it's ability to seal outside noise off. I tested the Grado SR60 and kept in mind of how much the surrounding noise is kept at bay. But these babies really sounded good. I was practically in nirvana when songs where played using these headsets. The mids and highs were really crystal clear and bass was not bad too. However, the sound leakage from within the phone and outside was quite noticeable. Although the price is around RM300 for a pair of these might seemed worth it, judging from the sound leakage, I think it is not acceptable as a traveller's companion. Not to mention, it is bulky and not foldable so carrying it around may be cumbersome to me.

Next it was the Sennheiser PX-100. These babies are compact in size and it is foldable. Not to mention, they have carrying box too. In terms of sound, it is more or less the same as the SR60 although SR60 had more depth and the highs are much pronounced. For the PX-100, it seriously looks good and especially, the white ones :p But again, the sound leakage is quite noticeable and I had to put this unit a side for later consideration.

Next came the Sony MDR-NC6 (noise cancelling) headphones. I would like to start it by saying Whoa!! The surrounding noise was effectively cancelled out although there are still some noise present on the backgorund. The feeling as if I am 'sealed' into a room with and the surrounding areas are 'quite' quiet. As usual, the Sony headphones are 'boomy' in nature, i.e. they are heavy in the lower end (bass). But, for a traveller, these headphones would be a main choice because of it's noise cancelling function. As a result of the noise cancelling function, more details could be heard on the highs and not to mention, the lows as well. But the price tag is quite tounge scratching where it goes for RM288 for a pair of these. Batteries are not included :p.

I was on the verge of getting the MDR-NC6 but I gave the EX71SL a try. These units are actually 'In-Ear' phones. That means, you have to stuff these babies into the ear canal to get an effective sound. At first, I was quite apprehensive about having something getting stuck in my ear canal but nevertheless, out of curiosity, I gave it a try. I asked for a demo unit and the 'ear plugs' looked like it had went into some god knows what kind of ear canal. I mean, it looked filthy. Yucks. After some cleaning up, I stuffed them into my ear. Mated to my MP3 player, I cranked up the volume. At first I was utterly disappointed at how it sounded. DEAD. No bass or whatsoever. But then, carrying a price tag of RM168 for these small unit it had to be something right? So, I braved myself to stuff these things further into the ear. WHOAAAA!!! OH MY GOD!!! I had never felt such sweet sounding stuff to come out from such small units!!! They sounded beautiful!

My attention shited to this unit. I proceed to play a selected a few songs from my MP3 just to test them out if they could handle the music that I will be listening to. First up, the song 'Higher' from the band Creed. Ordinary ear-phones would have cracked under pressure when this song is rendered but these babies passed the test with flying colours. It handled the lows very well. This is a real tribute to the Mega Bass tech from Sony. Next, a song from Joshua Kadison titled 'An Invisible man'. Why I chose this song is because I would like to see how low the bass could go and this song had one of the deepest bass I had heard. You would seriously need a capable headphone to provide an accurate detail as to how the bass should sound like and again, it passed the test. For an earphone, I had never come across such a small unit which have the capability to drive bass to such a low level. Next, I tested it's ability to play acoustic stuff and this is where it did not shine very well, I chose Yukie Nishimura's song entitled 'Water Bright Dance'. It is a piano piece and to me, it should sound 'bright'. This unit showed that it had 'warmer' tone where the highs did not sound really bright to me. But, it is still acceptable as it still sounded like a piano nevertheless. At the same time, I am also looking into other details like the sound of the piano hammer knocking against the string. There is a distinctive 'knocking' sound whenever a note is played (I am on the brink of being a sound freak here) in this song. Although there is a presence of this knocking sound (indicating this in-ear phone's ability) but then, it is not prominent. Next I played Metallica's 'Sad but True', 'The God that Failed' and 'Struggle Within'. These are definitely earphones for Rockers. Overall I am quite satisfied with the sound. At the same time, these units are small to carry with and more importantly, it only cost me RM168. Compared to what I would need to spend, these were a bargain and without hesitation, I got one of these unit.

As for now, after 'burning' it for a whole week, my earphones began to show a much 'balanced' character. The bass is much acceptable right now where the highs are beginning to show it's colours. As for the package, there is a set of plastic containers for the earphones and also a carrying bag. Of course, with such tech, you need to maintain them as well where I usually would clean these units every 2 weeks just to make sure that earwax does not get into them. Overall, I found them to be quite comfortable as well and I did not have any issues of wearing them for a whole day at all. Also, these units are more 'boomy' compared to others where it showed alot of details on the low's. For those who loved R&B and Rock music, these are definitely for you.

Here are the discoveries I came across while using them.

1) You need to have some earwax left on your ears to get an 'effective' seal. Trust me, your gooey stuff from the ear is useful in this scenario. If it is too dry, sound would actually leak.

2) In terms of sound, these babies are heavy in bass. Real heavy. If you are a bass freak, go for these. R&B and Rock music sounded great using these earphones.

3) They are so effective in shutting out the outside noise that I could only hear faint sounds from the surrounding area. I felt as if I am totally shut out from the outside world. Don't use them on the road. You can never hear car's coming and trust me, I had tried :p.

For acoustic music lovers, I think you need to get other alternatives like Shure and Etymotic but then, you are paying twice the amount compared to EX71. I am currently looking into Shure's and Etymotics (In-Ear Phones) which had better quality and sound at the higher ranges compared to these Sony's but then, getting one of these would be the 8th most needed in my 'LIST OF NEEDS' :p. So, I am putting these thoughts aside for the current moment.

Right now, I am enjoying the song from Josh groban titled 'My Confession'. It really feels like heaven.