Sony MDR-EX71SL Fontopia In-The-Ear Headphones (Black)

by Sony

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 3.8 x 1 inches ; 0.2 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000092YQW
• Item model number: MDREX71SL
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (660 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Sony's MDR-EX71SL earbud headphones make a great pair of phones for your mobile devices, and are perfect for the gym, commuting, or other applications where a little isolation from outdoor noise would do you good.

A great pair of phones for your mobile devices.

Earbud holder and case are supplied.

In-Ear Design

These earbuds fit snugly yet comfortably inside the ear, eliminating the headband so you can enjoy music while exercising, dancing, skating, or whatever activities you love doing.

Soft, silicone earbuds reduce outside noise, help generate powerful bass response, and provide long-lasting comfort for hours of listening. As an added bonus, the earbuds are washable, removable, and replaceable.

Three sizes of earbuds are included to accomodate different ear types.

Super-Small 9 mm Drivers

These new drivers enable powerful sound with space left over for the earbuds, for added sonic isolation.

Long-Throw PET Diaphragm

This helps these earbuds deliver deep, extended bass, down to an incredible 6 Hz; and features low mass for extended high frequency response all the way out to 23,000 Hz.

Neodymium Magnet

Neodymium provides maximum energy in minimum size. Ounce for ounce, Neodymium is more powerful than other magnet materials. Even with the MDR-EX71SLs' small, 9 mm drivers, Neodymium achieves 100 dB of sound pressure output from a modest 1 mW input power.

Precious Metals

A gold-plated mini-plug offers exceptional corrosion resistance, superb conductivity, and low noise; ditto on the oxygen-free copper cord.

Compact Case

This high-impact purple case neatly stores the ear-buds and headphone cord when not in use, ideal for carrying in a pocket or backpack.

MDR-EX71SL Specs

Frequency Response:	6 Hz - 23 kHz
Driver Unit:	9mm
Diaphragm:	PET (long-throw)
Magnet Type:	Neodymium
Sensitivity:	100 dB/mW
Impedance:	16 ohms
Cable Length:	4 Feet
Power Handling Capacity:	100 mW
Warranty:	One Year

What's in the Box

Sony MDR-EX71SL, Carrying Case, Earbuds (Three Sizes)

Product Description

The MDR-EX71SL is Sony's first closed type Fontopia Design Bud Style Headphones with a resonant bass response. Additional features include a super-light in-the-ear design, new, super-small 9 mm drivers which are ultra-compact drivers that produce powerful sound with space left over for the sonic isolation of the newly-designed soft silicon earbuds.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

311 of 324 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect NYC commuting headphones, October 31, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sony MDR-EX71SL Fontopia In-The-Ear Headphones (Black) (Electronics)

Kudos to Sony.These earphones offer the best combination of isolation, sound quality, comfort, and easy on-and-off design. I am a commuter in NYC, and twice a day I walk a few blocks, take a bus for about 15 minutes and a subway for another 20 minutes. I used to use Koss KSC-35's, but their open-air design had me constantly changing volumes to deal with the various noise levels. I also needed to put the volume on very high to deal with the subway, and I was afraid that I was harming my hearing. I tried the Sennheiser PX-200's and while real comfy, the isolation wasn't enough. Then I tried the Shure E2C's, but the only insert that would fit my small ear canals was the small foam pair. Since you need to take the time to roll these foam inserts up real small before inserting, then hold them in your ears till they expand, that made them very inconvenient for everyday on-and-off use. These Sony's are also a little more comfortable than the Shure E2C's. I have even tried the Koss Plugs, but they do not fit in my small ear canals at all and constantly came out. Thanks to these Sony earphones, I can now travel in comfort and musical bliss for my whole commute without the need to constantly change volumes. As with the Shure earphones, only the smaller inserts fit me on these Sony's. At first, it takes awhile to get used to these, and my ears did get a little sore, but after a few weeks I got used to them. The material that goes into the ear is pretty smooth for easy insertion, and is fairly easy to keep clean. A word of advice: do clean the removable inserts once in awhile in soap and water and keep your ears clean! The sound on these is very good with solid bass. Perhaps not the best you will hear, but better than your average moderately priced headphones of any design and brand. Another word of caution: if you need to operate a bicycle or vehicle these are dangerous as outside sounds are really muffled or cut off. So don't use these in environments where you need to hear sounds clearly.

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The proof is in the preference, June 29, 2004

By 

Shane T. Stokes (Purchase, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony MDR-EX71SL Fontopia In-The-Ear Headphones (Black) (Electronics)

First of all, I did ALOT of research on canal/earbud phones (including reading all of these reviews and many others on other websites) before settling on a pair for purchase. I am pretty much a audiophile however that doesn't mean I expect pefection with every purchase, I realize there's ALWAYS going to something that I wish sounded, worked or was designed better. I am also a bargain shopper not willing to shell out $500 and up for headphones, mainly because I cannot not afford it and I (like the rest of us) don't like being overcharged.
That being said, let me start with that fact that I actually purchased the Sony MDR-EX51LP's not the MDR-EX71SL's. The reason? After my research I discovered there's not much difference between the 2, save the short cord/extension problem you will read about later and the fact that they carried them at Best Buy which made it easier to return them if necessary (I came across comments that stated Amazon charges you if you decide to return the MDR-EX71SL's).
Let me start by saying I am VERY satified with my purchase. I bought them about 3 weeks ago at Best Buy for $39.99 plus tax, roughly the same price Amazon is charging for the MDR-EX71SL's. I was looking for earphones that would block a significant amount of exterior sound, fit snugly in the ear and not fall out as well as produce a quality of sound I would appreciate. I can say all of those needs are met with my MDR-EX51LP's. There are a few things you should know about these earphones though.

#1 If you don't like having to fiddle with little things to get great sound, don't buy these. The multi size silicon earbud coverings take a little time to figure out. You must have a complete seal to hear clear bass so play with the sizes to see which one fits you. I actually lucked out and the medium size (which is already placed on the phones) fit my left ear perfectly giving me an understanding of how they should fit. My right ear wasn't so lucky and after playing around I found that the large size was the solution.

#2 You must understand that these phones work like ear plugs. You have to fit these babies snugly in your ear or the bass is not distinct and the noises around you will be more audible and not as cleanly "Blocked out". A proper seal is a must!! Now this isn't nearly as hard or annoying as it sounds and once it's done you'll be happy you bought these. As a side note, the silicon earbuds can get quite dirty if you don't use q-tips often so clean your ears! Also this "ear plug" sensation will take some getting used to (For me a couple of days) so have patience.

#3 Part of the complaint I noted from other reviewers was the cord of the MDR-EX71SL, apparently it is quite short and designed for ipod users and players with arm band capability. Sony's solution was to include an excessively long extension cord that again apparently caused problems (read the rest of the reviews) with its connector. The MDR-EX51LP has the same cord design as the MDR-EX71SL's (Right side longer than the left so that the cord can sit behind your head) save one distinct difference. The cord for the MDR-EX51LP has one long cord like every other pair of headphones you've ever owned so it's much easier to deal with. However, due to the similiar behind the head design (Right side longer than left), I do think purchasing a clip is necessary to hold the cord in place. I find the extra length of the right side has too much slack and either gets in the way or caught on clothing. This sometimes tugs on the phones themselves, particularly on the left side. This becomes a nuissance. Also the cord is pretty thin, no problems yet but due to experiences in the past with other earphones I fear it could be in the future.

#4 Most importantly, is the sound itself. Now this is where things get complicated. Everyone has different tastes as how their music should sound so you are going to get varying opinions. I find, with a good seal (I cannot stress this enough), the sound is much improved over standard earphones and earbuds. I found the EQ a little tinny at first but the balance can be evened out with a bass booster, this allows capabilty for heavier bass sounds. My player has 2 settings of bass boost and I find the first setting to be more than adequate, the 2nd was a bit too much bass for my liking. The external sounds around you disappear when music is playing and this allows for quiet listening as not to damage your now clean ears. This is key as I travel alot!

So overall, I'd say that Sony has done a great job. If you want really great sound with the small size and convenience of earbuds and you are tired of tinny treble driven phones then these are for you. But if you expect pristine quality sound and bass that bumps you out of your chair I suggest you stick with over the head headphones or if you're willing to shell out $500 + for the top of the line then go for it. Shure's Ec5's rock. But me, I'd rather shell out $40 for earphones that give me just what I'm looking for. If you check out comparable earbud phones you'll find you'll end paying more for very simliar results in sound and other trade offs of various problems, etc.. I checked out Shure's (Ec2 & Ec3) as well as Etymotic (ER-6)and there were minute differences in performance and design but huge differences in price!!

Final word, I rated these only 4 stars because of the cord problem and the weak excuse for a cord case (Don't bother it's too time consuming and will break eventually) but I'm extemely pleased with my purchase and would highly recomend it to anyone looking for a REASONABLY priced pair of high end earbud phones. However, I would seriously recomend the following: Research all, Physically check out all and then buy what you prefer.

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great sound, terrible design, January 18, 2005

By 

RPP (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony MDR-EX71SL Fontopia In-The-Ear Headphones (Black) (Electronics)

I own several pairs of headphones- Koss' "The Plug," Creative's earbuds, a pair of over-the-ear studio headphones from Sony, and this set. This set excels in some features, and fails miserably in others. First, the good:

SOUND
The sound quality in this pair is excellent. It blows all my other pairs away, hands-down. The sound is remarkably clear and crisp, and reproduces everything from Slayer to Debussy in incredible quality. The bass response isn't the same as Koss' The Plug, but unless you are an absolute bass fiend, you won't really notice. Once properly fit into the ears, these also create some passive noise reduction that helps quite a bit.

COMFORT
The rubber pads are far more comfortable than The Plug's scratchy plastic-and-foam design, which constantly hurt my ears. They're still in-the-ear, which can feel invasive to some people and can get tiresome after some time. However, this is the most comfortable pair of in-the-ear buds I've ever seen. However, note that even with a perfect seal, the rubber means that if you sweat quite a bit, the earbuds tend to come loose.

And now, the bad:

DESIGN
Where this set excels in sound and comfort, it fails miserably in design. I wish Sony hadn't tried to get all fancy on this set, because the poor design has relegated this pair to gym-only usage for me.

First, Sony somehow thought that consumers wanted a cord that went around the back of the head instead of hanging in front. As a result, the left cord is much shorter than the right- the right earbud is designed to go around the back of your neck and then into the ear. I knew this going in and thought it sounded cool. In practice, it isn't. The metal nub where the two cords come together is just heavy enough to constantly be tugging on the wire, so the left earbud always feels like it's being pulled out of your ear. I ended up "modding" my pair by doubling up the right cord and using a twist-tie to make them effectively the same length. It solves the problem, but looks bad.

Second, Sony manages to get the total cord length wrong...twice. The package comes with the initial cord, which has the standard jack and the earbuds. This is about 1' long, which isn't even long enough to connect to a MP3 player in a front jacket pocket without the earbuds being yanked out. The package also comes with a 3' extension cord, which then makes the total cord length 4', a foot longer than the basic set of headphones. This extra foot is annoying; it hangs too low when attached to something in your pocket or on a belt clip, which means it gets caught on things easily and yanks out the earbuds.

Additionally, the cord manages to be both too thin and too heavy at the same time. Like Koss' The Plug, this cord is very thin and tangles very easily, particularly given its extra length and uneven earbud cords. While Koss' set at least then has the virtue of being nigh-weightless, the Sony pair's extension cord uses large gold connectors which add significant weight to the set and, again, make them feel like they're being pulled out of your ears.

Finally, the package comes with two cases. The "carrying case" is junk. You have to wind the cord so tightly it makes a thousand kinks to store it inside, and it takes about five minutes to accomplish this should you for some reason want a cord which resembles an accordion. By contrast, the earbud case is well-designed and the one bright spot on this otherwise dreary design plan; I wish my other headphones came with one of these.

OVERALL
These aren't going to cause you to pitch all your other headphones. They're good for a dedicated purpose, but they're too unwieldy to be the kind you pop in and out of your pocket throughout the day. When Sony makes a version of these with just a basic, no-frills 3' straight-line cord, I'll be the first to buy it and recommend it. Until then, proceed with caution.