Nice Choice

My old Sony Studio Monitor headphones were getting worn so I decided to put them out to pasture in my living room. I wanted something more portable but didn’t want to compromise sound. If you’re like me, you know that the headphones included in most players are inadequate. I tried several in-ear headphones and a pair of noise cancelling headphones. None had the balance of comfort, sound and ease of use I was looking for. I found that cheaper noise cancelling headphones cause a lot of interference which gets tiring after awhile and in ear models just wouldn’t stay in my ear properly.

 So, I thought I’d try these ones out. After 5 months of use, I have to say that I’m very happy. They fit easily into my coat pocket when folded, they are quite comfortable once in place on my ears, the sound is great and they offer surprising noise isolation. Sony provides a hard plastic carrying case to protect them but this decreases the portability factor for my purposes but it will be good if I need to pack it in a suitcase.

The key feature is the folding mechanism which takes a little getting used to. With some practice, they can be folded or unfolded in four steps with relatively little time and effort. Once unfolded, two hands are required to pull out the spring-action headband and place the pads over the ears. Once there, they generally stay firmly in place, although, when shifting positions, a slight nudge can push them off the ears causing them to twist out of place or even snap right off the user’s head. These headphones must stay in precisely the correct position. This, however, is only a slight compromise for their portability, comfort and light weight. As long as you like wearing them straight over the head and not around the neck, this is not a major problem.

There is also a major plus to the springy headband; the pressure helps to provide excellent noise isolation. It feels like the pads form a tight seal over the ear and muffles noise from fellow commuters or office workers. This means you don’t have to blast the volume to drown out ambient noise and you can still hear your music clearly. The pressure on the ears from the springy action can cause fatigue after a long time of wearing. Thanks to the very comfortable, cushiony ear pads, this has only been a minor issue after marathon sessions when listening practically all day in the office.

Sound is as good as I’ve heard from larger headphones. These small looking phones pack a punch, providing clear sounds with good bass. Sony provides solid performance from its mid-range headphone line with style in mind.