Customer Reviews

Sony MDR-XD200 Stereo Headphones

5 star:		(241)
4 star:		(178)
3 star:		(73)
2 star:		(30)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

COMFORT:
When I first put them on, wow, they fit very well and sealed very good. I rate comfort 9/10. -1 point because if I wear them for 6-8 hours, the top back part of my ear presses slightly against the hard inside part of the ear cups, not really a big problem. I can fix this somewhat by changing the position of the ear cups on my ears. That's the only bad part about the comfort. You won't notice it until after a few hours of use.

SOUND QUALITY:
Overall frequency response is about flat. And just enough bass that it doesn't sound lacking, but not too much, just the right amount. You can listen to these for a long time and fall asleep without being fatigued from the sound.

TREBLE:
I tested the headphones on my computer frequency generator. There was a very slight, hardly noticeable (1-2dB) peak at 2.5kHz (the driver resonance), and another peak of about the same amount at 7kHz (natural resonance of the ear canal). I used the equalizer in winamp for flattest sound, but later after listening to music while switching it on and off, decided that the difference in sound quality was so small that I didn't need to use an equalizer. The overall sound has a kind of mellow sound to the treble, like a low wide peak from 400-2000, it doesn't sound perfectly flat.

BASS:
The bass extends to about 30Hz (-3dB point), while sounding more full and effortless at 40Hz. If they're played below 40Hz, the bass has some odd harmonic distortion starting from 35Hz and a lot more below that. (This is because the Sound Mode valve does not completely cover the bass port inside the ear cups). The bass below 32Hz can still be heard, but with little of the fundamental frequency and most of the odd order harmonics. The lowest audible frequency these can play is 27Hz. (My Koss EarPlug earphones can audibly play to 10Hz.) This is the only bad thing about the bass extension, but only for people that play super loud, super deep bass. When some bass is played at low volume, you can't hear much below 60Hz. This is how it's been with every hedphone i've had. It's normal.

OTHER:
The headphones have a switch at the bottom of the ear cups labeled 'Sound Mode'. All this switch does is cover (not completely) or uncover the bass port inside the ear cups. Music Mode covers the bass port for less bass boost, and Movie Mode uncovers it, adding only a slight about of bass, hardly noticeable. If you're using these as studio monitors, you'll want to have the switch set to Music Mode. One more thing is about the cord. It's very long (11.66 feet long!! I measured it :D ). Longest headphone cord I've ever known. You'll have no problem walking from one side of the room to the other without unplugging or taking off the headphones. Being so long, it does get tangled when you put away the headphones. The simple solution is to just wrap the wire into a coil and tie it with a twisty tie, simple. These are ok at blocking outside noise, while still being able to hear someone talk to you. These headphones have a rated power handling capacity of 1500mW. With a sensitivity of 102dB/mW and a maximum power handling of 1500mW, these can get up to 135dB in you ears. These headphones have Long Stroke drivers. All my other headphones distort when i turn them up very loud with a lot of bass, but these headphones can take a lot of bass without distorting (clicking sound of the driver diaphragm hitting the plastic).

OVERALL RATING:
I rate these headphones 9/10, excellent, but not perfect.
I recommend these to anyone, even professionals.
These are professional quality studio monitor headphones.
You can't go wrong with these. Super value.
Get them, you will not be disappointed.

This review is aimed at those with eyeglasses and whose ears get pinched between the eyeglass arms and the earphones. I do not like to block up my ears with ear plugs all day for health concerns. I have bought and used these:
Sony MDR-CD230
Sony MDR-V6
Sony MDR-XD200
My ears are not real fussy on quality, nearly all headphones give my ears a problem by pressing them against my eyeglass arms and this hurts, usually after 10-20 minutes of listening. My hatsize if about 7.25,
my ears are pretty normal in size, I am middle aged. All three of these headphones I own are the best I have tried on or read reviews by eyeglass wearers over past 2 years. Headphones have a left and right side - the cord typically is attached to the left side, and the ear spaces, or cups, are oriented accordingly, to that the back of the ear lobe has more space to sit in than the front of the ear lobe. The sideways pressure (how hard they clamp onto your head) also is a secondary factor in whether my ears hurt. I wear wireframe glasses, and my use for headphones is background music while I program.

$30 The CD230 is no longer available, that I could find (Fall 2006), and I've used them for 5 years. They hurt my ears after 3-4 hours of continual use, but are good before that. They have cloth covered ear cushions, and relatively deep ear lobe spaces. This feature in all earphone seems to be the primary feature that determines whether my ears hurt or not. If you can find these, and like cloth covered headphones, you won't be unhappy. The sideways pressure is light for me.

$64 The V6 stands out for 2 things - richness and accuracy of the sound and blocking out outside office noises. Listening to classical music, not real loud, a co-worker can speak to my face and his voice is muffled pretty well. (Women's voices too). Overheard conversations are not overheard.
I have used these occaisionally for a couple months and my ears/head get sore after 1-2 hours. The sideways pressure is noticeably more than the other two, but not excessive. They are well cushioned, with soft fake thin leather-like vinyl which I did not find causes sweating at all. But there is not a large space for the ear lobes to sit, and this is what causes pressure after a while to build up uncomfortably I am sure. If I did not have my eyeglasses on, then these are very comfortable.


$26 The XD200 is a little lighter than the V6, it does not block out outside noises as well, which can be a benefit in the office because I can hear co-workers calling my name. The sideways pressure is light, the cushion is the same thickneess as the V6 but the ear space is much deeper for the earlobe, so for this reason it is the most comfortable of all headphones I've owned or tried. The cushions are covered in the thin leather-like vinyl like the V6 - this stuff feels like a paper much more than a plastic, it feels dry, not clammy. To my unprofessional ears the sound is great. If you wear eyeglasses, don't want to use ear plugs for hours at a stretch, then I think you will be happiest with the Sony MDR-XD200 headphones.

The Sony MDR XD200 is one of those headphones that look expensive and work expensive but are very affordable. This set is very good-looking, and not just the pictures, but also when its lying on your desk or somewhere else. Sadly the same cannot be said if its on your head, because frankly, these headphones are HUGE. take a look at the customer pictures at the top and one of them has a person wearing them with a slightly skewed profile. Those accurately reflect the size of these headphones. I would not recommend these if you are an active person who wants headphones for outdoor use or indoor treadmill use or something like that. But frankly, if that is your primary purpose, why would you use circumaural headphones in the first place? lol

However, if you plan to use these on ur iPods and mp3 players and just listening to music or watching movies on your computer, like basically sedentary activites, maybe even the occasional subway ride (if you dont mind the unavoidable stares from fellow passengers), then these are the headphones to buy. They provide perfectly awesome sound that the in-ear and other tiny appendages-also-called-earphones would supply. These are possibly the most comfortable things I have ever put on my head...maybe not counting the sweater hat my grandma made when I was 10. Seriously, these headphones are very comfortable and designed for extended use, although I did experience some heating up of my ear after 4 hours of continuous use, but thats just because these cups provide good insulation as well. There you go, a nice new set of ear muffs for the chilly winters.

These look big and bulky but they are extremely light. This might have to do with the predominantly plastic bodyparts, but if you do not intend to use this as a rugby ball, I think these headphones will last a while. very soft earpads, so dont poke them or scratch them or anything. They are really comfortable and squishy. Ok, enough about the comfort part.

The cord is 10 feet long. Which could mean a noose to hang yourself with, or a very convenient extension if you want to lay back and watch TV or something on your couch. As I said before, these arent primarily designed for portable use, so it would suit you to use a rubber-band or a flexible metal strip and tie together as much cord as you want. I reduced mine from 10 ft to about 2 and a half feet, and I am perfectly happy with them.

Hmm...lets see, what else? I bought mine for $24. Watch out for offers and discounts and such that make these really affordable. I would say it would really appeal to budding music aficionados who need an affordable monitor headphone pair. Although if you take them out on the street or on the subway, be prepared to warrant second-looks and be the center of attention and quite possibly, admiration.

Length:: 2:40 Mins

These suckers are big and like one previous reviewer stated you do feel like the Princess's understudy with these on...but for the price they do have a decent full sound. The only pity about these that would have excused the use of cheap materials and probably the existence of a poisonous lead-based silver paint ...is the arched head band.

If only they would have rounded the top band out to the contour of an actual human head these would be a killer-cheap pair of head phones.

With the phones off your head, pull the earpieces apart and you can see the topBand "square off." This is uncomfortable and I almost gave them away. However, I gave them a second chance and managed to get used to the discomfort.

pros:

1. big, puffy comfortable head cushions.
2. full, warm sound
3. super, long cord that reache across a small room.
4. addition of miniJack.
5. low price for good sound quality

cons:

1. uncomfortable headband
2. cheap, silver paint...why did they even bother? just leave them black.
3. noticably, cheap plastic feel
4. you can hear the plastic creaking in your ears while in use.

may the force be with you.

These Sony MDR-XD200 Stereo Headphones are a good low cost little brother to the Sony Studio Monitor Series Headphones MDR-XD400 if you don't use headphones almost 24/7 as I do. While the MDR-XD400s are true audiophile quality with an "airy" sound stage, a dynamite full frequency range and excellent dialogue and vocal clarity doing all kinds of music faithfully, these are the same design--almost--with a good sonic range, fairly flat across the spectrum, the same weight (light) and around-the-ear fit, less distinct when video dialogue's concerned, I can recommend the MDR-XD200s for the budget conscious buyer. They're better in my estimation than the Creative Labs Aurvana Live! headphones 4 times more expensive(!!!), and the CL Aurvana "DJ" headphones I tried were sonically the equal to the MDR-XD400s--and possibly more "rich sounding"--but I returned them because of their weight [almost 16 oz (a full pound)]. Audio Techinca makes some good phones as well and at decent prices, so shop around to select what you feel will do the job intended, read the reviews and remember--It NEVER hurts to buy quality!!! Good listening to you!

Sony MDR-XD200 Stereo Headphones

I listen to music all day long at work. I really like the 10 foot cord. The sound is crisp and clear. I can really crank the volume up and the other people around me cannot hear what I am listening too at the volume that I am listening to. They are big and bulky no doubt but I will take that for the clarity of sound that I get. The Treble and Bass frequences come across clear. I have not noticed a differences in the Sound/Movie feature. I get all the Highs and Lows. The Sound Quality is almost as good as the Custom Bulit Bose system in my Truck. I have also used these Sony MDR-XD200 Headphones for Gaming and the quality of sound does not change at all.

They are well made and sturdy. Some people complain about it hurts after a few hours, my opinion of what they say is; I weared my Sony MDR-XD200 Headphones for approx 11 hours a day by 5 days a week., I have not problem with the comfort and they do not hurt.

Kudos to Sony for the Sony MDR-XD200 Stereo Headphones. I love them.

I search for a while for a decent pair of moderately priced headphones. I came to these and I am glad I did. The sound is great and they fit nicely. The only issue I have is that they don't fold flat and they have a lot of plastic that appears that it might break easy but just got them and no signs of yet of this being a problem.

Also one suggestion to Sony and others. Make the cable changeable. What i mean is allo it to detach and include both a long cable and a short cable. This way you won't have a lot of excess cable when you only need a little.

Overall very very please.

I've had these headphones for about a week and a half and have used them a lot. I don't really agree with the "discomfort" reviews. I've dealt with painful headphones that pinch hairs and are too tight and have earcups too small, etc. I also wear glasses which makes the area behind my ears hurt if the headphones are too tight.
These were surprisingly comfortable. The earcups are nice and big so your ear doesnt get crunched and the inside is slanted so the back of your ear fits right in. These are a sort of "wide" headphone set so they fit without the too-tightnes. As other reviewers said, they are pretty big and bulky, so theyre best just for home use.
The sound quality trumps every other headphone i've used (including earphones which sound louder). I listen to music very loud a lot of the time, and am often frustrated that i can't make it louder, but I found myself turning the volume down with this set due to having too full a sound.

I also didnt find any majorly noticeable difference between music and movie mode with the small exception that movie has a bit more bass.

I was a little sad to see that amazon charges about 10 bucks cheaper than what I paid for the phones at target, but with this set, I can deal with it.

SOUND:
Although they are labelled "Sony MDR-XD200 Studio Monitor Series," I would NOT use these as professional studio monitors. The clarity needed to pick out mix details is just not there. Compared with our Sennheiser HD202s (similarly-priced, btw), they have less low end punch AND less high end sparkle. Boo. Compared to the more expensive Beyerdynamic DT770s, they lack clarity and separation of midrange content (voice/piano/guitars), and do not provide as much sound isolation. I would not use them to track vocals. These headphones would probably be fine for movies and casual music listening. There is a "movies/music" switch below each ear-piece that seems to act as a mild bass boost, but adds no dramatic differences.

COMFORT:
They are probably one of the most comfortable supra-aural headphones out there, esp in this price range. If you plan to listen for hours at a time, these should feel fine. I have a larger-than-average head, and did not feel like these were squeezing my temples at all, unlike most headsets I run across.

BUILD:
The headband has a nice flexibility to it. I feel like it would hold up. The ear-pads are soft and leather-ish; they don't feel overly cheap. They feel lighter than they look, which probably adds to the comfort factor. The cord is LONG, which is great for the home, but might be an issue if you're going portable. Never took these out and about, though, so I can't comment on how they would hold up to the standard subway/bus trip.

OVERALL:
If it's not accurate enough to be a studio monitor, don't label it "Studio Monitor Series." These are getting returned.