Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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97 of 97 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good match for an MP3 player, February 11, 2007
The one critical difference between this headphone and the others in the MDR-EX series from Sony is the width of the drivers. This headphone uses 13.5 mm drivers, whereas the MDR-EX81, MDR-EX71 and MDR-EX51 all use 9 mm drivers.
The larger driver yields two distinct improvements: (1) better clarity, and (2) greater efficiency. The efficiency is important if you want to use this headphone with an MP3 player since most MP3 players have very little power. This headphone is rated at 106 dB/mW whereas all the ones with the 9 mm drivers are rated at 100 dB/mW. This is a difference of 6 dB and the rule of thumb is that it takes about 3dB for us to hear a clear difference in the volume level.
Note that the greater efficiency is not just important for playing music loudly, it is critcally important for a proper delivery of dynamic range at low levels of volume. It should therefore not be surprising that these headphones are a significant improvement over the ones with the 9 mm drivers.
There are still some caveats: (1) you must make sure that you place the buds properly in your ears to hear the improvement that the wider drivers give, and (2) just don't expect these headphones to give you the same kind of sound that you get from a top of the line over-the-ear headphone hooked to an amplifier. There is no such thing as a headphone for an MP3 player that can give you a Sennheiser HD600 type of sound. That said though, these are very good phones for an MP3 player. Certainly they offer a noticable improvement over the ones with 9 mm drivers.
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55 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Rich Bass, Expanisve Sound, Secure Fit but Little Noise Isolation, November 24, 2006
An update after 3 months of usage:
I uphold my original opinion. EX90 is worth the price. Indeed, it is value for money when compared to any of the headphones that Shure has to offer. The bass in your well-coded MP3s will no longer sound like somebody's beating a broker drum under water...
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I have previously owned Shure E2C, Sony MDR-EX 51/71/81, Ipod buds, a pair of AIWA earphone comes with a top of the range walkman. I have also tested Boss QC3 and Boss Tripod.
The Sound: very rich bass, crystal clear treble and medium frequency sounds full and realistic. It is definitely better than all the headphones listed above. The Ipod buds are a disaster.
E2C has good bass, when you fit it in your ear correctly. But the other frequency ranges are much lass well defined. Consequently, its sound is not as clear. EX71/81 has similar problem, but at less than half the price of the E2C. The Boss Tripod's marketing is more impressive than the product itself. QC3's noise cancelling ability is better than its sound.
The make: EX90 has a much sturdier feel than its predecessors. Its rubber cord cover feels more substantial and much tougher than its predecessor.
The EX71/81 use very soft rubber cord to lessen the rustling noises created when the cords are in contact with other things (i.e. your cloth). It has not succeeded in this regard and also makes the cords filmsy and easy to break. For example, my EX81 has stretched marks on the cords in less than 6 months and now its wires are exposed.
The Fit: EX90 has a round shape that uses the inside of your ear to secure itself in your ears. I did not have to wiggle it to put it on, unlike the EX 71/81. Also it does not fall out easily like its predecessors. I also did not have to push it all the way into my ears to make the bass come out. The bass from the EX71/81 and the E2C depends on where they are in your ear. If you do not fit them properly, there will be no bass.
The look: good, but not that much better or worse than its predecessors and the E2C.
The down side: There is one down side though. Because of the way the EX90 sits in your ear, you will notice the outside noises are not blocked out. As the ambient noises tend to be low frequency and will hence blend with the bass from the headphone, it makes the music a little difficult to enjoy during commute and the bass ineffective. EX 71/81 sits deep in your ear and then to block out some of the noises. So does the E2C.
Also the high fidelity of the headphone could make some poorly encoded mp3 sound terrible, but it is not the headphone's fault.
One last thing: why doesn't Sony give us extra pairs of the rubber rings? Instead, it chooses to spend the money giving us a leather carrying pouch. Who would actually use it?
The bottom line: The EX90 produces excellent sound at all frequencies. It is a notale advancement from its predecessors and sounds better than its competitors' more expensive products. It is also very easy to put on. However, if you intend to use it mostly during commuting or in very noisy environment, you are better off with the EX 71/81 that are cheaper but probably won't last, sound great but much harder to put on and sit much deeper in your ears. I would not recommend E2C/Tripod - it is too expensive for what it has to offer.
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well worth the price, September 26, 2006
I own over 20 pairs of earhpones and headphones and this is the second best pair just next to my full size Sennheiser HD600. I have compared it to its Sony Fontopia siblings such as the EX-71SL and EX-81LP and found that this EX-90LP definitely sounds superior to them. The EX-71SL and EX-81LP actually sound alike with only one major difference of the ear-hook on the EX-81LP; otherwise the materials and technologies are the same. While both the EX-71SL and EX-81LP use a 9mm driver, this one uses a 13.5mm driver which gives far better dynamic range and signifcantly better bass besides delivering more natural sounds. Using this EX-90LP on an ordinary MP3, I immediately heard more details in the recordings which I did not realize they ever existed. The human voice came out more naturally (the other two had some voices a bit exaggerated) and I could hear deeper bass and clearer cymbals with more overtones and longer resonances. For those who failed to appreciate the sound of this EX-90LP, I believe they have not properly tested out the enclosed earpads. For some in-ear earphones including the EX-71SL and EX-81LP, which earpads to use may not matter much; but I found the EX-90LP's sound quality depended much on the earpads used, and different people may fit different earpads. It takes a little while to try out all the different earpads, but once confirmed the suitable pair, the sound it delivers should satisfy all practical audiophiles.
Last but not least, I agree that it's not as comfortable as the EX-71SL but it should be more comfortable than the EX-81LP. However, everything takes time to get used to, and it took me about 2 days to get used to wearing the EX-90LP. Now I can wearing it for long hours and start to discover what I have missed.
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