Customer Reviews

Sony Clip-On Headphones (MDR-Q33LP/B)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought into the hype machine that Sony was running up on these headphones too. It was when I saw a beautifully designed Sony website (with pretty Flash animations) entirely devoted to these W.EAR 'phones that I decided that I simply HAD TO get them. "They even came with replaceable caps," I thought. "How cool is THAT?" After I ordered it, I anxiously awaited what I thought would be the next generation of portable headphone design. Unfortunately, I was disappointed to find that the hype was hardly justified. I returned them within just a couple days worth of testing. The fact is, while Sony may want you to believe that their stylish W.EAR 'phones are comfortable, I found them to be anything BUT. The earpieces are held together by a spring-loaded mechanism, allowing you to adjust the size and theoretically fit any ear. The problem with this idea, though, is that the springs are entirely too strong and continually press against your ear... I had a painful reddish branding on the top of my ears within the first day of usage. If there were a lock of some sort to stop the force of the spring, maybe I wouldn't be complaining about the pain. The other problem with the spring-loaded earpiece is that it's really small and it only grabs onto the TOP of your ear. And because the earphones are so heavy (much heavier than your average pair of in-ear 'buds), they tend to drag your ears down, increasing the distance between the ear and the speakers, thereby decreasing the sound quality. These 'phones are actually quite nice sounding -- that's assuming you cup them to your ears with your hands to keep them in place for any amount of time. And if you're buying these 'phones for the style and look, you may be in for a shock when you find out how awkward and bulky they are. They're much larger than I had imagined. They make you look like you attached two jumbo-size snails to your ears, and the aforementioned "floppiness" effect caused by the weight dragging your ears down certainly doesn't help matters. All in all, I wouldn't go for a jog wearing these 'phones despite what Sony may lead you to believe -- unless you find looking like a basset hound with long flappy ears to be a style statement. Maybe someday the clip-on style will be popular in the portable headphone category, but not before the multitude of design flaws are addressed.

I brought my pair of earphones some years back. It was fine for the first 2 years. I realised that the wire that connect the left to the right would work itself loose as time passes. Soon, the ear phone can only work on the left side.

But I thought this was due to normal wear and tear so i brought a newer model from sony recently. the same time happened but this time the right one was ok. And this is only like in 6 months.

I suggest thinking carefully if buying similar types of ear phones. not just sony but other brands too.

I bought a set of these 8/10 years ago when they were the newest model and they were great. The cord is just the right length that you can use them comfortably on just about anything but a TV. The sound quality was great right up to the day I broke them. And best of all they're WAY durable. I'm murder on headphones since mine go everywhere with me. In the time I've had these I've gone through 2 dozen or more spare sets (one of which was also a Sony) that were only used when I couldn't find these, and they only just broke a few weeks ago. I've been hunting for another set of these specifically since then.

Someone else mentioned that they found these headphones unconfortable to wear for long periods. So did I, until I "adjusted" them. On most clip type headphones, the clip is parallel to the earpad, and rotates with a hinge that is also parallel to the ear pad. On the Sony headphones, the ear clip rotates around a pivot that is nearly perpendicular to the ear pad so that as the clip is rotated, the distace between the clip and the ear pad varies between zero and 3/8 of an inch. However, unlike other designs, the clip stays nearly parallel to the ear pad. This makes the headphones sit in the ear better, and provides better sound IMHO.

The problem I had was that the clip itself is molded so that only the lower edge touches the back of your ear. In my case, this dug into my ear and left them red and sore after a few hours. The solution is to heat up the front part of the clip with a candle, and twist the clip so that it lays flatter against the inside of the ear. They don't hold quite as well this way, but they feel so light and pinch so much less you hardly notice you are wearing them. Once modified, these have proven to be great headphones!

Using my new headphones for the first time today. They're pretty comfy to wear and sound fantastic. I'm hearing things in my music that I never noticed; good strong bass. Since I usually use my headphones at work hooked to my computer monitor, I actually find the length of the cord to be perfect. I can turn my head and even roll back to my file cabinet without yanking the headphones off.

These are really good headphones that are really comfortable and sound excellent. There are however, a few problems that keep me from giving it a 5 rating. First of all, the spring mechanism is not entirely sturdy and there is always a chance for it to break whenever the headphones are put on. I suppose it would not be a problem if the headphones could be opened so that the consumer may re-attach the spring if it ever comes loose, but there doesn't seem to be a way to do it. Another problem is that the cord is extremely long and can be subject to getting tangled quite easily. This may or may not be a problem for the individual user depending on what they actually use the headphones for, but for anything belt-worn or carried, the cord is just way too long. Overall though these headphones are excellent and I do give them a thumbs up.

I love these headphones. I just love to wear them. They have excellent sound quality and produce excellent base. The smaller size of the clip-on headphones wont lead your ears hanging down if you adjust them well enough. The smaller size also allows you to wear glasses/sunglasses without interfearing with the headphones and scratch the frames up. I like the spring mechanism clip that adjusts to any ear size. I recomend these headphones to everyone who wears headphones for any reason!

these are great head phone the bass is perfect and despite what every one else said these head phones are great...they are light, durable and stylish. i love them and when they break (wich is gonna be in a long time) im gonna get the same head phones until they either die out or i die..
i would recomend these head phones to ANY ONE that listens to music on a portable CD player or any thing like it

These headphones are SWEET! They are very comfortable and they sound awesome. I'm wearing them right now, and I can tell you, they make my [$$$} discman sound GOOD.

Few problems though. On mine the right ones spring mechanism broke. Also, the cord is TOO LONG! But it doesn't bother me that much.

The bass is nice, (but not as someone mentioned, WILL BLOW UP YOUR HEAD) and they are very stylish. Plus the cord looks cool.

Overall I reccomend you buy these as they are very nice headphones.

These headphones are great! They are very loud, and can produce enough bass to blow your head up! If you want to hear music to its full potential, BUY THESE HEADPHONES!