Sony MDR EX90 vs MDR EX70/1s (mini review)

[bockers]

This is my initial view on the new MDR EX90s and how they compare to the Sony 70s and 71s

Context

The review covers sound quality and practicality. This is a very subjective review, as all such reviews invariably are. I am no audiophile but do appreciate good sound with rich bass and listen to a lot of music. My music taste is predominantly rock but with a mix of pop and soul. The review was done using a Sony NWHD5 with the euro sound cap removed. Sound setting was digital sound setting on custom with bass +3 and treble + 1 or 2

Baseline

My trusty pair of MDR EXSP71 finally gave up the ghost on me last this week. The left earphone cable must have broken close to the driver. This was a great shame as I really liked this phones, they have served well for 2 years of almost daily use. I had bought a pair of Sure Ec2s in the quest for good sound at a reasonable price but (To my ears) the LP71 have a deeper richer sound, if a little lacking in treble. Now before purchasing a pair of MDR90s I went back to my old pair of MDR70s that I had before the 71sps came out. These were my first in-ear headphones and converted me to this format. I find this type of headphone very comfortable even during very long listening periods (On planes) and are also good when out bike riding or exercising in the Gym. On trying the 70s again, well oh dear, after the 71s these sounded muffled, some of this was due to wax build up but even with that removed it was better but still not up to the 71’s, the 70’s were almost too warm ! I tried the Shures’ again just in case but still not keen on them

I have found that the MDR70/1s do need some burning in as well as correct choice of earbud and ear placement. I tend to use the medium buds but have experimented with the large too. It is essential the buds are pushed firmly into the ear canal to ensure a snug leak free fit.

Both 70s and 71 gave me sufficient volume, especially with the volume unlocked on my HD5.

Buying The MDR EX90

So I decided to search for a pair of MDR90s. These are new and hard to find in the UK. After many Google searches I ordered a set from an online retailer, which had stock showing and waited…. And waited. I finally cracked after 3 days and phoned them, only to find that they had no stock and would have no 90s for a further two weeks (This despite their site still showing stock available). I hate it when retailers do that. I decided to wait but on a shopping trip top Guildford I went for a mooch in the Sony Shop and high up in a glass cabinet was a Pair of MDR90s!!! I immediately bought them (59 pounds sterling). Now I had to wait to get home to see what they were like.

First impressions

The 90 look well cool and have a quality feel. The cord also seams a little stronger than the other two. A little less flexible than the 71s but not as rigid and prone to cracking as the 70s. The drivers stick out a lot further from the ears but not that I have noticed this to be inconvenient. The leather carry case is excellent, far far better than the little plastic affair of the 71/71s and is actually very useful and protects the drivers and the cable.

Listening

Wow, is all I can say. These are by far then best earphones I have heard. They sounded richer clearer and with deeper bass than either the 70s or 71s. This was on first listening too so they should get better when burned in well. What also struck me was the extra volume. On some older CDS the sound is very quiet, which is why I have the euro cap disabled. Well this is not the case with the 90’s. These puppies really kick out the volume. On modern CDs you can get the volume to an uncomfortably loud setting before the end of the volume bar. Only downside of this seams to be that they are nosier on the outside so not as suitable for tube travel maybe.

Summary

A quality cool looking pair of earphones. They have got me trawling through my CD collection again to listen to my favourite tracks and enjoy them that much more. They do everything the 71s did but that much better. I would highly recommend them, specially to those who already like the MRD EX 51/70.71 or 81s. They sound better, are louder and it appears less prone to cable breakage.

John

[Guest Stuge]

Hi,

Congrats on buying a new pair of Ex90.

I`m Now eager to purchase Ex90

[markey]

Great review bockers! Been waiting to hear peoples thoughts on these phones, I thought they would sound alot better than ex71's, and you have just confirmed this. I'll look forward to getting a pair of these.

[bockers]

Nearly forgot to add. One major difference between the MDR90s and the rest is the driver appeture.

The MDR EX71 ets have a very small pin hole. This gets clogged with wax and other debris. The 90s have a much larger mesh appeture, much like a minature speaker grill. This looks less likly to get clogged up and would also explain the xtra loudness. I'll try and post a pic later today.

John

Edited June 5, 2006 by bockers

[Richard]

Is the version on sale in the UK the SL (Short Cord) or LP (Long Cord Version)?

[bockers]

Is the version on sale in the UK the SL (Short Cord) or LP (Long Cord Version)?

lp version

An here are some pics.

This is the phones in the case

And here is the comparison of the driver apeture with the EX 71

You can see the mesh of the 90s vs the pin hole of the &1s

Edited June 5, 2006 by bockers

[lindijones]

i can agree with this!

I also bought them and it is a large step forward from the ex71s.

But:

Why do they have this L-type connector?

too bad if you have a stick type player!!

Please Sony!!! : Make a small and normal plug like at the ipod phones!!

Or the same you do at the normal earphone which are supplied with the stick type players like NW-E407 !!!!

bye tom

[apache]

to me from your picture both cords are looks alike, at this time you should have been using it for over 3 months already. how is it now, the 90's cord ?

thanks for great review, I'd love to have one but i'm seriously concerned about the cord, i've had 2 71s with cords folded and broken

[bogon07]

The EX90 were just recently released in Australia but with a price big enough to kill an elephant ..... $199AUD.

Although Minidisc Australia has them @ $169AUD !

Edited September 24, 2006 by bogon07

[ncl]

to me from your picture both cords are looks alike, at this time you should have been using it for over 3 months already. how is it now, the 90's cord ?

thanks for great review, I'd love to have one but i'm seriously concerned about the cord, i've had 2 71s with cords folded and broken

I've had a pair of ex-90s since the start of august and no problems so far. The cord does feel of much better quality than the those of the 71/81 series that just went soft and peeled.

[DSP]

does somebody know how these compare to the sennheiser cx300

I´ve owned the mdr/ex71 but cx300 sounds sooo much better. First wanted to get these but I thought they were a little too expensive. CX300 are really good. can they compare

[hk_loves_u]

Just out of curiousity how does the leather case to hold the Mdr ex90 work? like the ex70/1 the plastic cover was convient and it was very useful if i wore the headphones and mp3 on neck strap, but just wondering how does this case work? does it work similar to the one given with ex70?

[Sling]

I bought a pair of these from Minidisc Australia a couple of weeks ago and am really enjoying them. I have never used the EX70/71, only the EX51 with its little plastic case. These have similar bass response but in addition the highs seem much cleaer... I'm no audiophile

The EX90's case is simple and practical. It has a plastic insert that sits in the leather pouch. The headphones sit in the plastic insert so that they come out easily but still don't fall out if you hold the inset upside down. The cord is then fed around under the insert and finally can be wrapped around it. It takes less than a minute to get them out or put them away.

[nobi]

like it a lot ....

[cli_51]

hey ppl is this still active?

Edited May 9, 2007 by cli_51

[cli_51]

hey im kinda new to this but can u tell me whether mdr-ex90 work with other mp3 beside sony?

thx in advance

[dura_]

hey im kinda new to this but can u tell me whether mdr-ex90 work with other mp3 beside sony?

thx in advance

yes, no problem, it has a standard 3.5mm plug that fits all digital audio players.

[thebondman]

Just got my pair of EX90s yesterday after having tried a few different brands and models (including v-moda vibes [awful things!], Shure e2c, & etymotic er-4s). The 90s have much more treble clarity than anything else and also seem to have a wider stereo image, not so "in your head".

I've had a pair of EX70s for over 4 years that i've used almost daily and in comparison the mid-range and treble of the 90s is superior, but the bass the 70s deliver has more sub, why i do not know as 90s are supposed to be better! That's not to say their bass isn't great, because it is, rich and defined but just not as much sub. I'm doin a burn-in right now so hopefully the sound will settle and who knows it might improve.

In terms of the aesthetic quality, they're build seriously rugged from aluminium with a slightly thicker and more flexible cable than earlier EX models and look really professional. In-ear fitting is simple and easy to achieve a leak free fit, although maybe not quite as comfortable as the 70s/71s but still damn good.

I haven't tried the Sennheiser CX300s yet, but im guessing they'll probably have more sub bass with a little less clarity.

Bottom line: Beautifully clear and defined sound, great build quality and comfortable fit. Well worth the money

[markey]

Hi and welcome to ATRACLIFE!

Thanks for your thoughts on the EX90's. I have been considering these for a while and may well gat a pair as I haven't seen many complaints. You say you had a pair of EX70's that you had for over 4 years and used daily, I'm surprised the cables lasted all those years? I have had a pair for over a year but hardly ever use them.

[STAN☆STAN]

Thanks for your review.

I also like the sound of EX90 and I have enjoyed it for a year.

I bought the JAPANESE version EX90SL.

Compare with my EX71SL,EX90SL is more balanced in sound.EX71has a strong but a little disordered bass.

Anyway,subjectively,I like the SQ and look of EX90SL.

[Tim Elliott]

I just got these, refurbs from ecost for about $45. Not bad. As a first time user of Google Checkout, they payed $10, which took care of the shipping. I really like the sound. I've liked the sound of other Sony headphones I've had.

I'm hard on headphones so I guess I should be good and use the supplied case instead of just shoving them in my pocket They didn't come with all the earpieces so I used some larger ones from cheap Skullcandy buds I had. They fit perfectly. I like the combination round bud style with the plug insert. They stay in my ear confortably. I wear them at work under over-the-ear protection, in a noisy environment and they fit well although the sound quality is overkill for lower bitrate podcasts so I may still use cheap $10 buds for work.

I have a larger mp3 player, an older Archos recorder running Rockbox (and upgraded to 120 gigs). I love it. I will probably look for a good camera case that has a pocket large enough for the plastic insert by itself.

Tim

[BIGHMW]

I DO also, enjoy using my newly-obtained EX90SL's and do find a tremendous improvement in the midrange of then compared to my old EX71SL's as well as 6dB more output (106dB for the 90's to the inferior 71's 100dB).

There is not as much bass as the other IEM's I also own, the also newly-obtained black EX85SL's, but there is definitely also more separation and definition in the 90s compared to the 71's bloated bass (even my 85's put out deeper, more-defined bass than them) and closed-type feeling. I am sure glad I got them, I just might get backups of both so I will have a spare in case the ghost is ever given up (fat chance of that happening because the cords are very solid and well-built, and not so rubbery-feeling).

[jonny mac]

Anybody know how these compare to their cheaper cousins, the EX85? I've been thinking about getting a pair of one or the other but $90 for the EX90 is pretty steep.