Sony MDREX85LP/BLK Soft Earbud w/ Soft Clip & Case

by Sony

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.7 x 1.1 x 8.6 inches ; 2.9 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states. We regret it cannot be shipped to APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.
• ASIN: B000PCH3FI
• Item model number: MDREX85LP/BLK
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (91 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 26, 2006

Product Description

Lateral in the ear headphones

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MDR EX 85lp, January 6, 2008

By 

J. Bergquist (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony MDREX85LP/BLK Soft Earbud w/ Soft Clip & Case (Electronics)

Unfortunately, the only real way to test different brand earbuds is to buy them and hope you like them. If you don't, then return them. Fortunately, larger companies let you return open packaged items such as earbuds for a full refund (without a reason), so this is what I did.

I tried similarly priced ($100) Shure earbuds, and also the popular Bose ($100) earbuds. Both are quality products, but not as quality as the Sony MDR EX 85lp (which you have to find at an actual Sony store, if not Amazon, which is about half price.)

The Shure brand has a sound disparate towards Treble. Way too much treble. And the Bose have much too much bass for my taste. So much that it overpowers the music itself. If this is what you're looking for then your good to go, but this is not what the music was recorded to sound like. That is a matter of fact.

And then there is the MDR EX90 lp, the slightly older brother of the MDR EX85. The slight difference is that the MDR EX 85 case is made of plastic and the MDR EX90 of metal. The metal housing is supposed to cut vibration, but it is so negligible as to stump a hummingbird. Ok, exaggeration, but I actually tried both and went with the EX85 (with plastic housing) because I thought the sound was a touch touch nicer, but I'm sure it was imagination or the fact that I'd compared them so many times side by side as to not know the difference anymore.

The EX85 and EX90 are nearly identical earbuds, much better than anything else I've heard in the way of earbuds. The sound is so great!

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars sony ex85 earbuds, June 1, 2008

By 

Dr. John M. (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sony MDREX85LP/BLK Soft Earbud w/ Soft Clip & Case (Electronics)

Not a bad product! Overall, a very good effort by sony. The buds are probably best suited for users who do not like "canal-phones" that reach deep into the ear canal. These sit just inside the canal and do not have a suction fit. Because of this, the outside noise blockage is only "fair". But it is nice that you can wear them outside and not worry about getting run over by a bus that you don't hear coming. This year, the cord is also lighter and pulls on the ear less. As for the sound, I would describe it as a detailed and bright sound, with a relatively solid amount of bass. There seems to be an overemphasis on the 3-6K hertz range, which makes each song sound very clear and "open". The bass is solid, but lacks mid-bass impact. Snare drums sound weak and you can't hear the impact on the skin of the drums. But heck, for 50-60 bucks, who can complain. I would say that for the money and for the user who hates earplugs, these are awesome. I wish sony would create a model that costs a little more and has a slightly better sound signature. The EX90s are supposed to be that bud, but most say it is indistinguishable from the EX85s! Either way, I would buy them again.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An impulse buy that worked out, April 16, 2008

By 

Peter Marreck "technophile" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony MDREX85LP/BLK Soft Earbud w/ Soft Clip & Case (Electronics)

I was wandering around the Apple store (which has a funny way of making money feel like it is burning a hole in your pocket) and rationalized ::cough:: realized I needed a headset upgrade (as well as one that worked with the iPhone without an adapter). I went to the audio section and looked at a number of headphones. This headphone looked reasonably priced and was the last one in stock (wisdom of crowds at work?) so I went with it. I didn't think the extra expense of noise cancellation on other headsets was worth it as I already preferred in-ear headphones (which do a pretty good attenuation job already).

Well I have to say it was a great purchase. Excellent response across the entire frequency spectrum. Fits comfortably in the ear for a long time. Treble is not too trebley and bass is FULL but not overpowering nor muddled/cheap-sounding (perhaps due to the bottom frequency response spec of 5hz!). Nifty carry case. Can't go wrong with these, as long as they fit comfortably in your non-mutant ears...