Customer Reviews

Sony MDR-J11G h.ear Sports Headphones

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

(3/18/06) I read lots of reviews in which people say their earphones fall off and are not worth anything. I guess it all comes down to the shape/size of people's ears. These fit my ears like a glove. I don't even realize I am wearing them. I'm currently traing to run a marathon; I run a lot. So far, the farthest I've ran with them was twelve miles and I had not problems at all. I only paid $10.00 for them; if they break, that's fine; the usage I've gotten out of them so far has been worth every penny (and I'm confident I will get many more miles out of them before I need to get new ones.)

ADDENDUM (8/18/06): Well now I have trained and run two marathons and the earphones are still holding up. I am currently training for a third marathon (which is in two months) and these earphones have not given me any problems. I am confident these earphones will be operating just fine in two months while I run the third marathon. If/when they break, I will definitely gotten my $10-worth out of them.

ADDENDUM (10/15/06): I just ran the third marathon and these earphones are still good. I wouldn't be surprised if these hold up for a couple more marathons.

ADDENDUM (04/21/07): Well now I have trained for and have run four (4) marathons using these earphones (that's too much mileage to even try to count). They have not failed me yet. Granted, ever since I've had these headphones, I ALWAYS wipe them clean with a damp cloth to remove the residual salt from my sweat. IMHO, that's the reason they have lasted so long.

ADDENDUM (04/09/08): I've been running and training for yet another marathon which is just a couple weeks from now. But I finally trashed my original set of earphones; they were still working, the left speaker was starting to breakdown (slightly less volume than it should be.) Apparently two years of sweat ran its toll. However, I'm sure a non-audiophile wouldn't even have noticed. Anyway, $10 later, I have a brand-new set for the upcoming marathon. I'm sure they'll last me just as long as my old ones.

I honestly don't understand some of the negative reviews for this product. They certainly don't just fall off if worn while running, let alone while walking. Because they are very light and supported by over-the-ear clips, the earbud tends to "float" in your ear and may not feel snug to some people. The speaker face of the earbud actually points forward, and not directly into the ear. They are not designed to be a snug fit in the ear canal, like the "closed type" designs of Shure Sound Isolating or Sony Fontopia headphones. Because of this, you are able to hear outside noises while running (which is a good thing), and also don't get the stethoscope effect when the wire rubs up against your shirt/body.

Sound quality is pretty good. Far from perfect, but certainly not bad. Great range and clarity for this price and purpose. Obviously there are headphones on the market that offer higher sound quality (see Shure), but for listening to mp3's, podcasts, or audiobooks while running or working out, these headphones sound just fine.

Sound volume is good as well. I use mine with an iPod mini. At the lowest volume level right before it cuts out the sound completely, it's still fairly audible. When running I usually set the volume on my iPod to about one-third the max. One-half the max is about as loud as I can get before outside noises are washed out. Anything louder would probably cause long-term hearing damage.

I have not experienced the crackles or distortions mentioned by other reviewers. Keep in mind that it may not be the headphones causing this. The quality of the digital audio player plays a big part in the overall sound quality. I have also not experienced any shortouts due to sweat or loss of sound in either earbud.

One bonus characteristic of these headphones is that the ear clips don't get in the way of sunglasses. Because the earclips are thin and angle out toward the top part of your ear instead of against your head, your sunglasses won't have to sit on top of the earclips.

My one piece of advice is to always attach the shirt-clip to your shirt if possible. That's why it's there! Otherwise, it's just extra weight dangling and putting pressure on your earbuds.

Overall, for $10 these headphones are a great value and work well while running or working out.

The sound is decent. But the phones are terrible for sports, especially for running. They won't stay in. They are constantly falling off, pulling away so that you only hear through one ear, and the clip only worsens the problem. So I'm still on the hunt for headphones that won't fall off during a workout. These aren't them.

I think it is genetics that causes some people not to be able to find a headset that fits well.... After trying 10 different headsets, I finally found this one... It fits great, sounds great, and is water resistant so when I sweat I don't break them. I loved them so much I recommended them to my mom, and she too finds them to be a great fit and sound quality... She is an extreme exerciser as well... Definitely worth the money....

I've bought these headphones specifically to use with my ipaq at the gym to watch movies while I'm on a cardio machine (treadmill or elliptical trainer). I had already gone through 5-6 other headphones this way, which lasted from 1 week to a few months each. The big problem is that sweat permeates the soft pads of many headphones, and once it also gets inside the speakers, the electronics break down as well.

So far, after about 1 month of use, the sony headphones seem to be the best of the bunch. There are no soft pads, and sweat doesn't seem to bother them at all (they're advertised as "water/moisture resistant"). They stay on the ears very firmly, and the shirt clip prevents the wire from swaying too much during exercise. I'd rate them about perfect for this type of use, with the possible exception that I would like them just a bit louder at max volume (it gets noisy at the gym sometimes). I would expect them to last several more months, if that doesn't happen I'll update this review.

I dug these up today after becoming worried about taking my new ER-6i buds out with me, especially to work out. After becoming very spoiled by those wonderful phones (highly recommended!), I really expected to hate these little guys, but that wasn't the case. Now, I won't evaluate them comparatively with the aforementioned Etymotics (a ridiculous proposition), so please don't get that impression. That said, I wasn't displeased with the sound of these Sonys considering their price and intended use.

High frequencies feel rolled off or muted, kinda like turning the tone control down on an electric guitar or 2-eq-knob stereo system, but that's better than the screechy highs that some low priced 'phones deliver. Midrange seems to be tuned to emphasize vocal ranges, which may or may not be pleasing to your tastes. The bass lacks any real semblance of detail, but at least it's there in sufficient quantity without being distractingly boomy. Better still, many basslines are at least partly distinguishable in terms of the individual notes (you'd be hard pressed to identify pitches or anything like that, but you can at least tell a difference between them: better than the "1-note-bass" response of a few cheapies I've heard).

A word of warning: when I first put these on, they sounded awful, just disgusting (no bass, ultra-tinny highs/few mids), but I found this to be caused by the headphones falling too far out of the ear; to get decent sound, these must be fitted as snugly as possible (comfortably) into the ear. This is not easy for everyone, as some other reviews here attest, so your mileage may vary; my experience with these has been surprisingly positive given their budget class.

I was very skeptical about purchasing these headphones, because the IPod earphones, and several sony earbuds hurt my ears after an extended period of time. These were much better than i thought. The sound is clear, and a great sound for around 15 dollars.The cord slider is always a nice feature. And about them falling off, so far, i have not had any problem with them. They are very light, and very comfortable. You don't need to shove them in your ear liek the earbuds, and the weight is distributed to different parts of your ear, allowing you to wear them for extended periods of time, w/o them hurting. I would ahve given it 5 stars, but the material used, could have been a little more flexible, which might cause the problem of falling off people are saying they are having.
Overall, Great sound, and build for the price!!

Through trial and error I have found that the headphones that wrap around each ear instead of the traditional band (over the head) style or earbud only style are best suited for very active work outs. The problem for me was that a couple of the wrap around models that I tried did not do a good job of channeling my hard earned sweat away from my ear canal. Sony has done a good job of incorporating their sport (water-resistant) over the head (band) style with the wrap around the ear style. These headphones do a pretty good job of keeping sweat out of my ear canal, the wrap around allows me to be more active without having to adjust the headphones, allows me to more comfortably wear a hat...if I wish..and the earphones are more comfortable on my ears vs. having an ear bud stuck in the ear canal. Amazon was about the only place I could find them though. These are exactly what I was looking for.

I purchased these as a replacement for the headset that came with my Sony "S2 Sports Radio Walkman" and I am quite pleased. They are comforatble and secure (on me anyway), the cord is nice in that it does not seem to get tangled and/or need to be wound after each use, and they sound quite nice.

These DO NOT securely stay on your ear. When I run with them they constantly are coming away from my ear so I can't hear them (so much for that "Non-Slip Design for a Secure Fit"). Addtionally, if any sweat drips down onto one of the ear phones, it effectively mutes that side. I usually have to pull them out and try and blow any moisture out of them with little to no success. I am definately in the market for a new pair of head phones to run and work out in.

I originally bought these as I've had much success with Sony Sport headphones, but Sony should be ashamed of itself for these.