Sony MDR-A34L Vertical In-The-Ear Headphones

by Sony

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7 x 1.2 inches ; 2.1 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00006IS50
• Item model number: MDRA34L
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 15, 2003

Product Description

Ultra-compact headphones that fold even smaller.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great compact headphone solution, February 23, 2006

By 

David J. Lewis (Arlington, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sony MDR-A34L Vertical In-The-Ear Headphones (Electronics)

Since I got my DAP (an iAudio X5) I've been looking for a good compact headset to carry around (for classical music). This Sony MDR-A34L is the one I finally settled on, after nearly giving up.

First, I can't see paying $100's for a compact headset that is likely to break or get lost. Sure, they may have better sound, but when I'm riding the bus, puffing on the treadmill, or even sitting in the office, I'm not expecting and probably couldn't distinguish the highest levels of sound quality anyway. That I'll reserve for sitting at home with good speakers or a full-size headset. Besides, the correlation between price and quality (according to reviews) seems pretty tenuous; some of the best reviews went to the $10-15 models. Finally, there is so much individual variation in comfort, and the only way to know for sure is to try one in combat. I'm not paying $100+ to find out it hurts my ears.

So, I tried a number of well-rated loose earbud models in the $10-40 range. These are the ones I see around most commonly. Well, I must have odd ears, because they were all uncomfortable and/or fell out easily and/or did not seal well enough to give good bass. I was about to give up when I decided to try the in-the-ear with headbands. This Sony was well rated, fairly cheap, and had the bonus of folding up, so I wouldn't totally sacrifice the compactness of free-standing earbud units.

Well, I discovered that the in-the-ear-with-headband models are a totally different beast from the loose earbuds. The headband models position the speaker unit in an enitrely different way than the earbuds -- facing forward and backward in the ear rather than inward. Also, with the headband to provide gentle inward pressure, the earpeice need not be shaped to stay in the ear on its own. It can be made both more comfortable and more optimal for listening.

So, I put this Sony on my head, and was blown away... great sound, great bass, reasonably comfortable once I get the headband adjusted right (sorry, but I will never be totally at ease with things stuck in my ears). I was skeptical of the folding aspect, but it works very nicely. I keep a rubber band around when folded, and it's about the size of a small candy bar. I wish somebody would make a little slipcase for it, but for an under $15 item, it's not likely. And of course, at under $15 I can afford to buy a couple more against breakage and the inevitable day that Sony discontinues this model.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Why I like these headphones, November 1, 2005

By 

M. Weaks (Mpls MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony MDR-A34L Vertical In-The-Ear Headphones (Electronics)

I really like these headphones.
For two reasons:
1. I have a big cranium, and I need headphones that have a little give and dont smash my ears. Well these fit the bill -- they are foldable but still adjustable, so someone with just about any size head can wear these. Thanks Sony.
2. I cannot wear ear bud headphones, they fall out of my ear and make my eats sore. But I still crave compactiveness, because I am using these headphones in conjunction with a PSP so I needed headphones that fit in a small pouch. Again these fit the bill.

The cord seemed too short to me, but I am a giant so maybe it is just me, so I gave these headphones a 4 out of 5 only because of the cord. Otherwise these headphones are great, exactly what I wanted - foldable - compact - over the head, head phones and the price is right too.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The closest to sitting in front of a hi-fi system, December 28, 2005

By 

Matteo (FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony MDR-A34L Vertical In-The-Ear Headphones (Electronics)

As years go by I keep trying new headphone models, and I always end up returning to the Sony MDR-A34. Why? I don't know the exact year, but this model has been around since -at least- 1996. Why hasn't in almost a decade a better model appeared? Is it the unique design? Certainly this model's particular physical design doesn't look "cool" any longer and even looks kind of dated, but it probably has a lot to do with the headphone's exquisite sound response, perfect from the lower basses to the higher trebles, always delivering unbelievably amazing sound.

I must clarify that it isn't enough just to read the specs at the back of the packaging; this won't tell you how well they will perform. The right way to value this model is to test it in the field against other models: choose your favorite song and keep changing headphones. When you come to the A34 you won't believe the difference. Sure, you may find a better fidelity model out there (those very big ones) at the expense of looking like a DJ, but none as discreet and portable as this one.

At this point I must state clearly that I am not a Sony fan. In fact I've tried several other Sony headphone designs -expecting A34 performance- and they all let me down.

Now, you must admit that it's kind of weird that a brand like Sony keeps manufacturing a headphone model for a decade(*); they must have a good reason to do so and I bet this is sound quality.



(*) Although the specs have changed a little over the years: The frequency response of the original A34 was (18-22k)Hz whilst this recently purchased model claims (10-23k)Hz.