Sony MDR-EX56LP/BLK EX Style Headphones – Hybrid Silicone Type Earbuds (Black)
| Overall rating: |
|
Successor model for MDR-EX55 ¿ change to new hybrid silicone type earbuds for better sound, more comfort, and secure fit ¿ three sizes (S, M, L)
Features
- 9mm EX provides comfort fit and deep bass sound
- Silicon housing for better comfort and soft fitting
- Cord adjuster
- Cord: 1.2m
- Three sizes of earbuds (S, M, L), holder
- Dimensions (W x H x L): 4 x 1 x 7 inches
- Weight: 0 pounds
Good for a while
I purchased 8 pairs of this product as Christmas gifts for the younger members of my family and one for myself. The first few stopped working withing two months but I dismissed it to abuse, but then my 3 siblings who I see all the time told me that all of theirs failed shortly after, I could not believe that sony has fallen so low on quality so I started using my set for an audio-book I purchased both to test the earphones and give me a reason to finish the book. The earphones are very comfortable and sound better than most earphones but the left side stopped working less than one month after started using them. My days of using headphones on a daily basis are gone but I grew used to sony quality which this model clearly lacks.
Good audio, poor construction
The bass on these is incredible. These earphones are also great at blocking out all noise (which can be a problem when someone is trying to get your attention from 4 feet away). Buy these for the audio or for the price.
But here’s the drawbacks you’ll face:
- The asymmetric cord is infinitely annoying. You look weird with asymmetric wires dangling in front. Wrapping the cord around the back of your neck is awkward. The unequal weights from the asymmetry results in one of the earbuds frequently falling out of your ear. The asymmetry also makes wrapping and unwrapping the cable more difficult. Lastly, the longer wire is significantly longer than it needs to be to wrap behind the neck (this contributes to all of the above problems).
- The silicone does not breathe. Extended use results in moisture build up in your ear, which itches.
- The earbuds fall out immediately when running and need frequent adjustment when walking.
- The cable is sometimes too long, and the cable wrap can only reduce the cable length by 6 inches
The 90 day warranty on these is just long enough to ensure your product isn’t dead on arrival. If an earbud gets yanked too hard, it will no longer function. I’m in search for another set of headphones, and it won’t be this model. Overall, the functional construction was short-sighted.
Build Quality???
I have seriously gone through 4 pairs of these, each lasting 6 months. Yes, they sound great out of the box after listening to Apple’s stock headphones. However, it seems Sony puts little effort in build quality of their headphones. After a couple months of use, the left bud starts to get quieter and quieter as the Y connection starts to deteriorate until finally it stops working. Secondly, the rubber ear surrounds fall off too easily. You would think it easy to get replacements, and it is. But they were 8 bucks at Best Buy? For a rubber cone the size of my pinky finger nail? Yah right. The ear surrounds are extremely uncomfortable unless you have perfectly sized ear canals as well. I’ve given up on these headphones and graduated to over the ear Audio-Technicas to use at home and decided to stick to the stock Apple headphones when I’m out and about. I’m definitely happier with this choice.
BRUTAL
I bought these, kept them in incredible condition, and one earphone broke after one week of moderate use.
Pathetic Sony.
Worked Well For a Year
Finding earbuds that work well for your ears isn’t easy so I was pleased to find these. They stayed in my ears very well while running and sounded great. Biggest knock in their general use is they don’t come with a clip that attaches to your clothes so you don’t have the full weight of the cord pulling in your ears. Unfortunately the right side failed after about 14 months (I saw another review citing the same problem). I originally paid $43 for them at BestBuy. But now you can get them for $17 from Amazon. For that price I’ll buy another pair.
DON’T BUY unless you plan on replacing every 6 months
Title says it all. Second set went out today at the 6 month mark. Only has 90 day warranty. I paid full retail ($40) at bestbuy for both pair. My bad. Never again.
They have their flaws but I really like them
So basically these are the only headphones I’ve used for the basically the past 7 years. For the price here, their sound cant be beat. I think they’re really comfortable, have great rich sound that goes both loud and whisper low. you just gotta love sony
now im not gonna lie, the life of these things is only 5 – 15 months on average until one of the earbuds starts to go. but dont let that discourage you because EVERY earbud style headphone from EVERY brand and manufacturer has this problem (believe me, ive tested this claim) and you can research this basically anywhere on google. And frankly, at only $16-18 (the price seems to vary), id recommend buying 2, getting free super saver shipping and you’re set for about 2 years of good music for under $40, which is how much these cost at BestBuy.
now, the first pair i ordered were defective so i had to exchange them and it couldnt have been easier or faster. from the day i started the return procedure to the day i got my new working set, it literally only took 3 days. Amazon paid for the return shipping, they got it in one day, already had my new pair in transit by the time i shipped my defective pair and they arrived 2 (3 if u count the day i started the procedure) days later. I got my full refund without any problems less than a week later.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED if u want a simple, easy experience and great quality headphones for dirt cheap.
Solid ear bud purchase.
No frills, no sound distortion, comfortable enough and they don’t fall out while running. This isn’t going to blow your socks off, it’s not going to spoil ear buds for you forever, chances are you’ll put these on and after a few days will completely forget about them.
They don’t quadruple the bass, they don’t drop the treble into the pits, in fact they don’t Touch My Equalization At All. Thank you Sony. It’s nice to know a headphone manufacturer isn’t just pandering to a crowd that likes to use their car stereos to trigger false alarms in seismic monitors.
They don’t cost that much, they don’t hurt my ears when I take them out, and I’m not fiddling with them constantly while running (granted the sample size is like 5 times this entire year, but still – 100% success rate)
Nothing fancy: they aren’t for audiophiles looking for the holy grail of ear bud sound quality. But it doesn’t have static, popping, grating, or do anything but stay in my ears and make sounds that keep me entertained.
I got exactly what I expected, and am perfectly satisfied with my purchase.
3sets and same problem every time. . .
I have been in and out of these head phones for years now, and I’m just sick and tired of replacing them.
I more than likely would have given up on them after year one, but I never use them enough to believe there was a problem with these head phones. I have had 3 pair and every time it’s the same problem. The right ear goes out, and will not come back. It’s not because of a short, I think the speaker inside of the ear-bud blows out. . .
3 different pair and the same problem with all of them. I have used them on 2 different IPODS, and a cheaper Sansa 4gb. They sound good while playing, but don’t expect to get alot of use out of them. . ..
I don’t know much about electornics…
Though I know very little about electronics, these earbuds are fantastic. They are extremely comfortable compared to the previous pair I owned and with the soft rubber conforming to my ear it blocks out all background noise! It also came with two other sizes of earbuds that are changed easily and a “thing” to wrap the long cord around for easy keep.
Ear buds are too big.
These are the first ear buds I have had from Sony that do not fit comfortably in my ear, because they are too big , including the smallest attachments. I do not thing I have unusually small ear canals, but these Sony earbuds are too big for them. Otherwise, they would be great.
Great earbuds, except when they’re not.
I find the sound to be pretty good, which is the most important issue to me.
A close second is comfort, and this is where they fall short. In the ear, these are comfortable and similar to the older MDR headphones these replaced (the right bud on that pair died after 15 months). My main complaint is the asymmetrical cord. The left cord (past the splitter) is too short (only about six inches) and the right cord is much too long, about 24 inches. Is this designed to go around a football helmet instead of a human head? The result is *lots* of extra dangling cord, which is a huge bother for runners. This should be no more than 10 inches, though I much prefer symmetrical cords. Asymmetrical cords are also much more inconvenient to wrap/unwrap around my iPod nano. The product description should give these measurements or indicate the cord is asymmetrical.
wonderfull
wonderful product only down side is that it uses the L cord style insted of the Y where it has one longer head phone then the otherside to put around your neck otherwise veryveryvery high quality
Very weird earbuds
I’ve always been a VModa guy, and I tried out these Sonys recently. These have a very awkward construction, the wire is meant to go behind your head, which makes no sense to me. Whenever I looked left, my right earbud would rip out. They weren’t very comfortable at all either, and I didn’t notice much sound quality. So, I ordered my Vmodas again, they’re soooo much better. I recommend the VModas.
AWESOME PRODUCT AT AWESOME PRICE!!!
Great headphones for a really good price, they sound clean & loud enough, they feel just right in my ears I’m really glad that I got them.
My continuously best experience with Sony affordable ear buds
I own a pair of MDR-EX71SL Fontopia earbuds since 2004, and just couple months ago the right ear stopped working. I bring it to gym, to school, etc. They were comfortable with such a good even bass/treble quality so I really like them. I bought a pair of MDR-EX85LP for my sister, but we found the sound quality was so disappointing. The bass was too strong with a weak treble and mid ranges, I had trouble hearing the full sound quality. I was told “you’re supposed to break into them”, but I’ve never experienced this problem with other earphones, so why should I settle for such a chore? A bit disappointed, I searched thoroughly and found this model. For less than 20 bucks, I got the same quality as the EX71SL that I purchased for about 30 dollars, and the silicone ear pieces were tightly fitted in the drivers so no chance of pulling them out and losing them! Yes, Sony, you are supposed to improve on the good models, not recreating them. This model’s cord is shorter than the EX71 I had and it’s softer too, so we’ll see how long these will last.
Great but not the best.
Very light and comftable for the ears, great for a cellphone but i just wish they had better sound quality overall. Above Average sound, not the best.
Awesome for the price
I have a set that are very similiar to these from Sony that costs me $60 a few years ago. These are very close to as good and cost 1/3 the price. Two thumbs up!
The new MDR-EX56 is a step backwards in sound quality and craftsmanship for Sony!!
EDIT:: After writing this review I purchased a new pair of these ear buds form an Amazon seller. After receiving them I now have 3 reasons to complain. As I noted in the my previous review, I have owned at least 3 pairs of these ear-buds. But Sony’s upgrade from MDR-EX55 to MDR-EX56 was a step backwards.
1) The little ear bud that goes into your ear has a much stronger and durable material on the inside (the part that connects the silicone ear-bud housing). This makes sure that the ear-bud housing stay put.
2) Unfortunately, the sound quality has gotten worse in this model upgrade (from the MDR-EX55 to the MDR-EX56). Sony must have changed their driver in these headphones because the bass is not nearly as nice sounding as it used to be. This means I’m going to have to pay more for Sony’s MDR-EX300 to get the sound I want.
3) The craftsmanship on the the new MDR-EX56 is horrible, the soft backing looks as if it was glued on all lopsided. Usually these ear-buds are put together really well.
—–
My previous review.
I’ve been buying this model from Sony for a few years. The sound quality for the price (here on Amazon) is outstanding. I use these ear-buds for 8-9 hrs per day for 5-6 days per week. After about 6-7 months they ALWAYS begin to fail. First one ear-bud, then the next. But I always buy another pair because the audio quality for the price is next-to-none. I might as well stock-up and buy several pairs at once. They would last me a few years.
If you’re looking for studio quality you should buy the higher end model ear-buds, but if you’re just looking for a good “work-horse” set of ear-buds with excellent, full range, sound then look no further. My only real complaint about these ear-buds is that the soft cover comes unglued rather quickly after very heavy use. However, this doesn’t seem to effect the sound at all.
Cheap but not worth
I purchased this product online for 21 dollars, but is not worth. Sound quality is low. Even i was not able to return it back, as again shipping costs are more. I suggest not to purchase this product and i prefer Creative EP 630, which is of same cost but has great quality.