Customer Reviews

Sony MDR-G57G S2 Sports Street Style Headphones with Reflective Ear Piece

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I bought the S2 headphones with my new S2 CD Walkman, and let me say that these head phones are great! When ever I go skate or go downhill mountain biking and wear these at the same time, they never slip off of my head, they just stay nice and snug around your ears and behind your head. The "behind the neck" band is great because it doesn't mess up your hair. The street style version of the sport inspired S2 Sony line gives it a very urban stylistic look, which we can all appreciate. The bass on this thing is just fantastic, and the sound quality is great. The S2 version of the street style headphones have added extras like reflectors on the headphones so you can safely jog at night time without being runover by a car. These headphones are also waterproof, so water, nor swear can effect the performance of these headphones. The only downside to these headphones is that you can't comfortably wear glasses of sunglasses while wearing these headphones. Other than that, I absolutley love these head phones and I would recommend these to anyone who likes to listen to music while doing something active, as well as anyone who listens to their portable audio players alot.

My Mp3 jukebox came with a similar behind-the-neck style headphones that I really liked so I thought I'd try these Sony ones. I can't say enough for the sound quality...for a relatively cheap set of headphones, it's really excellent. However, the headphones were really uncomfortable for me. They were quite tight, but more of a problem was how sore my ears got wearing them. This may be because I wear glasses, or maybe due to my smaller-than-normal ears, I'm not sure. I just haven't had trouble with other similar headphones before. I even tried removing the extra ear grips these have (nice for if you are doing something really active). That did help some, but I still couldn't stand to wear them. I'd recommend them for the sound quality though, just be aware of possible problems with comfort.

You can get replacement earpads at Sony website... for 2.95 each. Cost me 8.95 including shipping for a set. Can't seem to get on Amazon.com or I would have. PN is 499432401. https://servicesales.sel.sony.com

High quality sound -- with comfort. Very impressed.

Comfort will definitely be an issue for some people (as it was with me) but there was a simple fix for me: I simply removed those small black clips which rest on the top of your ears -- these were bizarre, unnecessary additions that (for me) were completely unnecessary and are most likely the source of the discomfort issues expressed by others. When you remove these small clips (which simply pop off with a small amount of force, so you can easily clip them back on if you want) the smooth black plastic band is allowed to rest comfortably on the top of your ears. I discovered this remedy by looking at my other new headphones, the Sennheiser PMX60's -- these are similar in functional design but are without those awful Sony ear clips.

Since I tried out both headphones I'd be remiss to not offer a comparison:
-The Sony MDR-G57's sound is clearly superior than the Sennheiser PMX 60's -- more bass without muddiness, and captures tremendous audio detail at the upper ranges. It's very impressive!
-The Sennheiser's are a bit lighter -- the Sony's appear to be made with more durable plastics (though not too heavy, they stay in place on your head).
-The Sennheisers leak much more sound than the Sony's. Big issue for me.
-The Sony's fit a bit more snug (that's a positive), so that translates into a better "seal" around the ears and thus more bass.
-The slick black styling of the Sennheiser's trumps the Sony's odd mix of white and reflectors. Otherwise I'd give these a 5 star rating.

3/17/2006 11:09 PM - Update: I just posted a review of the competing Sennheiser PMX 200's. The Sennheiser's have a clearer, crisper sound, though a bit weak on bass right out of the box. The PMX 200's leak very little sound, and have decent comfort, and sport a much better looking industrial design. Of these two, I'd give the top prize to the PMX 200's.

The sound quality from the MDR-G57 is excellent, with crystal clear output at the highest volume and minimal distortion. These headphones were obviously designed with portable CD players in mind. While the sound quality is nice, the design is, to say the least, unique. Rather than forcing the user to ruin their carefully sculpted hair style by putting headphones over it, these phones go behind the neck, saving face and hair.

The design does present a few problems, though. The first is the lack of size adjustment. Luckily, my head is neither too big or too small, but it can definitely be a problem to people with smaller or larger heads. Sounds silly, I know, but being too tight or too big can seriously cause discomfort. My friend bought these headphones and had the problem with her ears getting sore because she couldn't adjust the earpieces. One warning to all, though, prolonged use does cause irritation on the tops of the ears. Also, to people with glasses, you might want to reconsider buying these particular headphones, because the phones themselves take over the whole ear, preventing you from properly putting on your glasses.

The other drawback in the design is the bleedthrough, more so on these than other open-ear design headphones. Be careful of the volume if travelling on a bus or a plane, because the people sitting around you will definitely hear what you are listening to.

But all that said, I am happy with these headphones, though I see the drawbacks for many people, and experienced a few of them myself. For the price, these are a great deal. For sound quality, these have it where it counts, for design, it's depends on the person.

I purchased these headphones from Circuit City and must say that they are great. I jog a lot and I have found that they do not move around at all and are very comfortable...in fact, after a minute you forget you are wearing them. As far as sound is concerned, I've had the walkman volume up all the way and these headphones handle the sound just fine. There are identical Sony headphones for a little cheaper...but they don't have a gold plated jack...I think the extra couple bucks is worth the better connection.

These are the first behind-the-neck phones I've purchased; I'd seen some of the reviews here, some of which citing issues such as "inadjustability" and that the MDR-G57G isn't designed for "large heads". In fact, the neck- and ear-pieces are made to flex to the wearer's head very nicely. These are actually some of the most comfortable headphones I've ever put on. No "ear discomfort" at all as one reviewer reported - causing me to wonder if this person hadn't been wearing the things incorrectly in the first place, such as one would do an "over-the-head"-type of phone. This would explain the "too small" and "inadjustable" comments. You'll find that there's no feeling of having your head squeezed as you would wearing an "over-the-head" phone, nor will you experience that "I'm losing my ear-piece!" feeling with these like you might with earplugs. Sound quality is good - an opinion shared by other reviewers. Base quality is decent without being so strong as to give you an aneurism in your brain from its concussion. Someone's stated that a person sitting next to the wearer can hear the sound coming from the phones... It's true with all open-air units, this. Pay a few-hundred for a sealed-ear unit or get some plugs if it worries you what your neighbor's gonna hear you listening to, because you'll not find an open-air unit that's silent to adjacent accidental listeners. What these phones do well beyond sound is stay on your head without annoyance during active persuits, such as cycling or jogging or walking or whatnot. Each ear-piece even has its own reflective orange inlay to ward-off any potential collisions during use in work-out persuits.

My recommendation? For the price and type of headphone, these'll keep up with their contemporaries. They're comfortable and secure to your head while engaged in physical activity and they've got good sound quality to them. I'm pretty happy with mine, so yeah, I'll say "try 'em" - I think you might like the things.

"Five Stars"? Why not.

I purchased these head phones about 3 months ago and I would agree with all the reviews. You can't listen to the head phones for more than 30 mins with out pain in the back of your ears.

My cats recently got a hold of them and I purchased a new set yesterday. The backing is now soft rubber as opposed to hard plastic. I have had no discomfort using them as of yet. Looks like the only thing wrong with this product has been fixed.

Before purchasing I would make sure you are getting the soft rubber and not hard plastic ear clips.

I bought these headphones to replace the not-so-great pair I received with my MP3 player.

I am a runner (treadmill and outside) and I never have problem with these headphones staying on. They don't hurt me at all like some other folks are saying. I especially like how the wire is connected to only the left side.

I'm also a musician and I think the sound quality is "good". I'm sure there are better sounding headphones, but these do the trick. With good quality MP3s (192 and up) you can hear the bass clearly and the highs sound good too. You can pick out the stereo effects of the recordings and the many different intricacies of the tracks.

All in all, I think these are great headphones for the price and they look pretty cool to boot.

i bought these several months ago, and i have nothing but good things to report: these headphones are sturdy, waterproof (and sweatproof!), and have that nifty reflective patch on both ear pieces. they never slip off my head, and i find the sound quality is surprisingly good. with some adjusting here and there, i can manage to wear squash glasses or sunglasses with these, though having all that stuff behind my ears is the not the best case scenario. basically, these headphones turned out to be much higher quality than i was expecting. great product!