Sony MDR-EX500LP with Multi Layer Diaphragm
Posted by Notcot on May 17, 2010 in Portable Sound & Vision |
Product Description
MDR-EX500LP Step Up Inner Ear Vertical EX Series Headphones
- High quality Sony sound
- 3 x earbuds for best fit (s/m/l)
- Includes carry case
- High resolution sound
I am surprised to see these earphones got a 1 star review by a previous reviewer as they don’t justify that in the slightest. I agree at first you think there is little difference between these and another pair of similar earphones but there are a few factors which you need to be aware of before deciding their fate.
1) They do need a little time to settle down as I had heard about this before but until I got these, had never experienced it. After about 5-10 hours of listening they seemed to ‘pop’ and suddenly the sound became extremely clear. Might be me or could be they settled in properly.
2) MP3 encoding does make a difference – I have noticed that because of the massive frequency range these earphones can handle, a lower encoded MP3 track compared to a higher one IS obvious. Listening to tracks at a 128kbs format compared to the recommend 320kbs you’ll not realise certain instruments or sounds are diffused to softened. Listening to a 320kbs track and the clarity is amazing.
3) Finally, if you’re like me your previous headphones were probably pretty decent in the first place and may have achieved a 80-85% sound quality. These I feel, achieve a 90-95% sound quality because of their frequency range which IS hard to find in earphones at these prices (I’ve checked all around before getting these). I would not say the sound is 100% quality as only earphones of £200 upwards might be able to achieve close to this mark.
Overall I find the earphones sit nicely into the ear and offer a good resistance to falling out when walking or similar activities. They do not whistle when walking about which some earphones are prone to (my previous Creative ones did!). The case they can be stored in offers a very nice option and is solid.
I agree these might not be everyone’s cup of tea but if you’re like me and want a good range of sound (frequency) and have the ability to buy/store mp3s of a high encoding these are an extremely good choice for the price. Otherwise you’ll just have to pay a LOT more for near perfect sound.
So get these earphones, get the best quality MP3’s, get a BIG mp3 player to fit them on and…….enjoy! I am…..
Rating: 5 / 5
I purchased these earphones after i noticed a decline in quality of my cx500’s which had glorious great sound providing it stayed in the ear’s properly. Amazon were advertising these new phone’s on their home page. As i needed a new pair, i thought i wouldn’t go for the previous models, and the experience i had with the Sony ex90’s, i really had to think about purchasing these one’s. With it’s advertising i decided to go for it, and how surprised i was by the innovative design which allows the phones to stay in it’s place in the ear canals. WELL DONE SONY FOR THINKING THAT OUT. As for the sound quality, we’ll i feel my old phones still have the little more precise edge. Don’t get me wrong the bass is there. I am more of a treble man the a bass guy and i feel that could have been more crisp. Then again these are brand new and perhaps may take a little while to wear in. But where it excels, is in it’s innovative fitting and reasonably tough construction that why i felt it deserved five star’s. I only wished they provided a clip on hook, so i can attach the wire to my garment instead of tucking it under my jumper to stop it from falling on the floor where it can get damaged.
Thoroughly recommend this product to anyone.
Rating: 5 / 5
I needed a new pair of earphones to replace my trusty long serving MDR-EX71’s. I decided to try and find a set with a little more bass this time around, my first purchase was some sennheiser cx500’s. they didn’t deliver the clarity of higher frequencies that i had become accustomed to with my sony’s so they went back. next up was a pair of sony MDR-EX85LP’s, soundwise they were excellent, the bass response was not quite as good as my 71’s but I put this down to the fact that they had not burned in yet, Unfortunately the design of the phones meant they hurt my ears after a short time of wearing, they also leaked considerably more sound into the world due to their design. so they went back.
The MDR-EX500LP’s were my third attempt and I managed to find them for a great price on amazon and just hoped that they would deliver at least to the standard of my 71’s. I should not have worried…
Firstly, I love the design, the brushed metal finish and the mesh look are great and ooze quality.
The wiring seems a little flimsy but i’m sure it will last as well as my previous sony sets have. I wasn’t bothered about the case, nice tho it is, i’ll never use it, I would have preferred a spare set of ear buds, that was until I realised how well they fit onto the ear pieces, you’ll never lose one, they are really nice and tight!
The silicon ear buds are extremely comfortable and when the earphones are inserted you really do not notice that they are there after a short time, the earpieces look like they might be heavy but they just don’t feel that way at all once they’re in place.
Most importantly, the sound quality is, for my tastes, absolutely spot on. I listen to a wide range of styles, Contemporary, Indie, Rock, metal, RnB, Hip-Hop, Motown, Soul you name it really!… These earphones adapt nicely to a variety of music. Bass is clean, crisp and direct, it doesn’t wallow, it doesn’t boom and over-resonate around the soundscape. The Bass drives and compliments the overall sound which is exactly what I like my bass to do. If you are after a full on bass overload, in ear phones will never satisfy you completely, only cans can do that.
High frequencies are accurate and shine like they should, cymbals sparkle and Instruments lower down in the midrange can be picked out even in the busiest of mixes.
Vocals are clear and expressive, One track I listened to earlier had a number of layed guitar parts, they were noticably defined and I felt almost like I was sat in a studio monitoring the sound!
I can’t comment on longevity hence this only being four stars. If they still running in another twelve months it will be a 5 star review.
To my ears listening to MP3’s ranging from 128 – 320 kbps They are the best in ear phones I have owned or tested.
Rating: 4 / 5
First off, I am an audio freak, I own or have owned the following:: B&O A8s, Audio technica es7, bose triport an in ear, Sony ex90, and lots more…
What I found with the ex500s were they were a treat set of earphones, in fact slightly better than the ex90s, which were a favourite if mine for a while! The balance between the highs, lows and mids is excellent. The bass is confident without being over powering, and the vocals jumps out vividly. Very impressed with Sony. Obviously I guess these will get overlooked because of the brand and by audio snobs but I would highly recommend these. I consider my B&O A8s as my fab pair for the commute but I tend to use these more now cos of the audio quality, comfort and fit so it says a lot!
Rating: 5 / 5
When I first started using these Sony MDR-EX500LP headphones, I was worried that I’d bought a dud. The difference between instruments and vocals just wasn’t distinctive and the sound all felt `rounded’ together and fuzzy. And to top it all, there was a very noticeable lack of bass. The bass level improved the more I used them but I also realised that it was the encoding quality of my MP3s that was the real culprit for the sound quality.
These headphones are so refined that you will notice a huge difference between higher and lower MP3 bitrates. The Sony’s are so sensitive they can actually sound worse than bog-standard headphones on tracks encoded below 128kbs. But once you go over the 256kbs encoding level, the clarity and range of the sound these produce is absolutely brilliant. Vocals are crisp and full, notes coming from instruments and synthesisers all seem to have a beginning and an ending `edge’ within the music that I’ve never been able to pick up on before. I’ve recently bought some Sennheiser MM50iP headphones (previously costing £65, now £25) for my iPhone and I would say these definitely produce a better sound.
If you’re going to be listening to CDs, FLAC or high quality MP3s then I’d strongly recommend these headphones. If you’re listening to MP3s encoded at 192kbs or less, I would look elsewhere – or bite the bullet and encode at a better bitrate. You’ll want to after you hear the difference!
Rating: 5 / 5