azmodien Posted December 17, 2004 Report Share Posted December 17, 2004 I just wanted to hear other peoples opinions on these phones because I am not happy with the pair I just bought. I am not an audiophile by any means as I have been enjoying some cheapie buds until now. But these new Sonys dont even sound as good as my cheap $12 pair of Sony Fontopias. I was extremely disappointed with the performance after my first listen, the treble is EXTREMELY shrill and harsh with an overall distorted sound. They dont sound like they are defective, they just sound cheap. There is definately plenty of detail but the harshness of the treble makes me cringe. I tried using the larger plugs, but there is not much difference. They are definatley seated in my canals correctly. I am currently trying to burn them in. I have been playing them loudly for 48 hours straight through my Minidisc with a mix of different types of music. So far though, there is no noticeable difference. Does anyone have any experieces they could share? 48 hours seems like a good burn-in time, or at least enough to notice a difference. Any help is appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeriyn Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 Nah, your experiences with the EX71 is pretty much normal. They have both bloaty, uneven bass and shrill and metallic highs. Burning in these phones does no good. Nothing you can really do with them will fix them. I've heard of a few people modding these phones by filling over the vent holes with some type of covering (glue or tape) and it's supposed to relax the treble a little. If I were you, though, I'd put those EX71s for sale either here or at Head-Fi. For less fatiguing phones, check out the Shure E2c or the Sharp MD33. Both are around the 50-60 price range (the sharps are about 40 + 10 shipping from audiocubes). The MD33s are designed for use with dual mono headphone jacks (4-conductor rather than 3-conductor) if you use them "short" with the extension cord removed. The extension acts as a converter to normal stereo minijack however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sony_man Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 with my ipod i set the equalizer to treble reducer. that way the bass is more defined and the treble not as sharp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananatree Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 I concur with Cori, try burning your ex71's in the fire. I think most of the popularity of these phones come from them being white like the iPod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sony_man Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 nah mine are black... i didnt even know there were white ones! :happy: i only got them because my cousins had them for his N10. but he had the higher model, and i guess the only reason i like them is because they are the only in-ear buds ive ever tried and they do the trick for me (well almost). :grin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syrius Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 Strangely enough the MDR EX 70's I got from Japan two years ago sounded sweet as nectar. Or maybe I wasn't used to the crappy quality of Sony's offerings. And then they got crushed. *sigh* Cori, what's your take on Etymotic's E6? You know the ones that won't break the bank like the E4P? I am thinking on getting a pair... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Tires Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 The short story of my experience is that I've owned these phones before and hated them, but i just tried a fully (and then some) burned-in pair and they sound great. I guess they can be decent phones after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyther Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 Booyah. With phones in general, you get what you pay for. The cost for phones is usually split up into looks and quality. If you pay USD50 for 40 dollars worth of looks, you're only getting 10 bucks worth for quality and that's somewhat the case with EX71s. Likewise, Etys are a 270 dollar phone with 10 bucks worth of style. See what I mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeriyn Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 Shure E3c... they've got a bit more money on style than the Etys do, but they're still solid cans. I got mine from MacMall for 119 with free shipping. Definitely check these out. Not as detailed in the highs as the ER-4P nor as clear and resolved, but they've got more bass and they just sound "fun." They're my portable groovalizers. :laugh: Also, Shure E2cs are down to the 55-60 dollar range at most e-tailers. Edit: Ah, skyth, it's more fun to post here now that you're back. :grin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sony_man Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 with cori's knowledge on the shure's, im wondering if i shouldve waited before i bought those Sony's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeriyn Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 with cori's knowledge on the shure's, im wondering if i shouldve waited before i bought those Sony's.Dude, remember I'm stateside. The lowest I've seen them for is what I got them for, 120USD. That's nearly three times what the EX71s cost. =P Only about 40 bucks more than the eggos though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeriyn Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 Cori, what's your take on Etymotic's E6? You know the ones that won't break the bank like the E4P? I am thinking on getting a pair...I've actually never listened to the ER-6i, so I can't say anything for the sound quality. They appear to be rather fragile though. I've heard from many people that the sound is typical Etymotic though--hyperdetailed highs, lean on the low end. Also I've heard they've got the famous (or should I say infamous) Ety comfort issues. I'd actually recommend E3c over the ER-6i purely for the fact that they seem to run about the same price nowadays but the E3 is more on the level with the ER-4P, without the hyperdetailed highs and more bass (Shure phones are actually a bit rolled off on the highs, the E3s much less than the E2s, but not sure about the E5s). On a side note, both Shure and Etymotic phones seem to be very tolerant of heavy EQing. Too bad for me that the iPod Mini presets don't do much but distort the sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sony_man Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 i didnt have that kind of money then. so i think ill stick with my ex's. :whistle: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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