Sony MDR-Q55SL Clip-on Headphones (Silver)

by Sony

Product Details

• Item Weight: 1.1 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00008VIX0
• Item model number: MDR-Q55SL/SLVR
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 12, 2004

Product Description

Sony MDR-Q55SL A.I.R. Lightweight, Open-Air, Clip-On Headphones - Those in-ear earphones that many MP3 players and iPods come with have great sound and superior isolation from external noise. The latter can be a problem as you move about in streets or roads. There are many noises - alerts such as sirens and car horns - that you might be oblivious to because you can't hear them. This means, that while walking and listening, you might be subjected to a greater likelihood of possible accidents. Sony MDR-Q55SL is an earphone that combines the feeling of an open-air headphone with the secure comfort of an ear-bud. You still experience the rich, full-range sound of the music but you also have a little sense of the environment around you. You can listen and walk on busy streets without impairment for safer mobility. So while your digital player's earbuds are fine for the solace of home or office, the MDRQ55SL is the headphone for those times in between. Better safe than sorry! Turning adjustment feature provides easy wearing and flexibility to fit various-size ears Large turbo duct offers a powerful, deep bass Adjustable 4 foot long (approximate) connecting cord with tangle-free cord slider Stereo uni-match plug (mini/phone) - nickel plated / Mini plug is L-shaped Weight - 1.2 ounces For all portable stereo listening devices that use stereo headphones

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best portable sets to date, October 29, 2003

By 

G (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony MDR-Q55SL Clip-on Headphones (Silver) (Electronics)

Sony has come out with a few different versions of these headphones. I know that one of them specializes in rap, another in techno, and another in jazz. These headphones specifically specialize in Hard House/Techno music. I tested this pair thouroughly and all I can say is that these are possibly the best sounding headphones in the price range that are intended for portable use.

As far as prices go for portable headphones, this is at the top of the charts. I payed a substantial amount of money for these headphones, but it was all worth the money. The best part of these headphones are the portability, to start... The cable is quite short so there is no dealing with miles and miles of extra cable that you have to put in your pocket. These are just long enough.. at least for me.. I am short - being at 5 feet 6 inches, and I found the length just perfect for me. I found that these headphones fit perfectly in my pocket - that's usefull if you are like me and listen to your music on the go or at school.

And with this small form-factor, you also get incredible sound. This is a rarity folks! Channeling of the sound is pretty good with these phones, usually channeling to the correct side with good accuracy. This is nice because usually atleast 10 different sounds are occuring in a techno song. With this portability also comes with some great use of the air for sound quality. It takes in the outside's environment - the air from the outside - to produce the low-end sound. The bass is quite incredible on this unit. Most times on headphones such as these, the bass is way too toned out to have it sound natural. On these headphones, however, it sounds like you are actually listening to it on speakers.

What else? Oh yeah, did I mention they look awesome? They are very stylish headphones, one of the reasons being that this was specifically directed towards people that want to look good with their phones on. The finishing on these headphones is nice, the metallic colors almost mesmorizing! :)

I can highly recommend these headphones to ANYONE looking for a high-quality portable headphone set for the go - especially techno fans. I can't really recommend these headphones to people that are really picky with their sound quality like me and want to listen to some nice rock music. Since rock is usually more instrumental and more notes are processed, and since techno is usually just all about the beat and the little details, these headphones won't sound the BEST on these Elements of Style headphones - however I would recommend the verison recommended for Jazz music if you want these headphones but listen to rock music.

I hope this review helps :)

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best headphones I have ever owned, November 20, 2003

By 

Erica Anderson (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony MDR-Q55SL Clip-on Headphones (Silver) (Electronics)

I don't know how many head/earphones I have gone through over the years. Most of them have been crappy due to sound and comfort level (more like, lack thereof). I don't like sticking earplugs into my ears because they end up getting to be uncomfortable after a certain amount of time and they end up getting covered in earwax. Besides lack of comfort, earplugs have a tendency to blow out in one ear. There is nothing worse than listening to my music on my portable cd player with only one earplug working. The same can be said about headphones too. Another quality about headphones I don't care for is wearing that annoying plastic arch that holds the headphones together. At least with earplugs, I can easilyi slip the devices over my earlobes. Several months ago, I was perusing the headphones aisle at Target when I came upon the Sony MDR-Q55SL. It had the same properties in both earplugs and headphones I was looking for: ability to slip the headphones around my earlobes and not having to stick two pieces of plastic into my ears. Normally I wouldn't have paid over $12 for a set of headphones but I was sick and tired of using the same POS to listen to my music so I opted for these model in Sony earphones. I haven't regretted buying them since then. The sound is amazing especially when I am listening to my favorite techno, EBM, or industrial cds. The sound quality is just fantastic. The comfort level is excellent too. I can listen to music for hours on end. The MDR-Q55SL is the best set of earphones I have ever bought.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars About the best you can get for the price, January 24, 2005

By 

The Grumpy Hacker (Milwaukee - Top 5000 Reviewer!) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony MDR-Q55SL Clip-on Headphones (Silver) (Electronics)

I used to do a bit of studio and concert sound engineering and I'm really picky about sound quality. I'm always skeptical of open-air headphone designs--and anything under fifty bucks--but I was pleasantly surprised by these ones. For the money they have terrific sound and an acceptable fit too.

I tend to look at the published tech specs of headphones and speakers more than any other factor. These have a frequency response of 16Hz-24kHz which is decent (never bother with anything that doesn't go below 20Hz or above 20kHz because in practice they won't be as good as published, especially at the low end). My opinion is the bass is perfectly accentuated but the highs aren't as bright as I'd hoped--an equalizer helps though. The 30mm driver is nice especially if you're used to earbud-style headphones like the ones that come with iPods: you need a bigger, stronger diaphragm to produce more bass (you also need a bigger duct, which these have as well). The sensitivity is fairly high at 104db/mW which means they don't need as much power to produce big sound, however, the input power is stated at a full watt, which is like twice as much, or more, as most cheap headphones--which means less distortion. The oxygen-free copper cord and gold plated connectors are nice touches you don't find on most cheap headphones.

Be careful when you go to buy these and make sure you read the specs and the package contents because Sony likes to reuse model numbers despite changing the color, cord size/style, and sometimes even tech specs of headphones. Mine came with a pitifully short cord and an "extension" cord. If you have a small MP3 player in a shirt pocket it's nice not to have an overly-long headphone cord, but otherwise you have to deal with the coupler in the middle making it heavier. I also don't like the behind-the-neck style cord, I prefer the split to be equal to each earpiece. The braided design is also prone to twisting and tangling.

As for the comfort, it's a trade-off between not having to deal with a head/neck band, and instead having to deal with behind-the-ear clippy things that are kind of hard to get on right. I foud that getting them positioned right where the sound is best is hard, and once you get them there bouncing a lot or turning your head can move them. They are fairly light though, and I had no trouble putting on or taking off eyeglasses while wearing them.

In short, the sound quality, power handling, and sound pressure output are all great and they're not terribly uncomfortable--better than earbuds in my opinion. Great for sitting at your desk working or stationary exercisers. Great price too.