Shortly after buying an iPod, one realizes that the included headphones, well… suck. Maybe it’s a case-by-case thing and I just have abnormally small ears, but I think I’m not alone when I say that my ears genuinely hurt after a couple tracks with those puppies. You know what I’m talking about, those hockey puck inspired hard plastic dealies you see on the right. The bass response is horrible, and the treble isn’t much better. The truth is that despite these qualities I continued using these headphones until they officially crapped out on me. $40 dollars later, I tried out Apple’s “iPod In-Ear Headphones” which worked and sounded great, but were ultimately lost after I stored them in the seatback pocket while flying home for break and left them there.

Now, I’m as skeptical of Sony as the next kid. Rootkits, the PS3, and nothing but bad product names (MDR-EX71SLA?? c’mon!) have cast them in a bad light. As I walked down the isle of Best Buy, my eyes naturally skipped over Sony rack in hopes that I would spot something new and cool that deserved my money. I even asked a sales associate, something I NEVER do. The consensus was that Sony had made something cool and that I should give them another shot.

Design-wise, they are great. Low profile buds with a subtle mix of white and gray. The snug is fit and they feature jogger style behind-the-neck cabling so that you don’t have anything draping over your neck to get caught on stuff. They come with a nifty little carrying case which is useless, but still a nice touch, 3 sizes of silicon ear buds, and a cable extension that adds an L-shaped jack. Because the fit is so snug, they also isolate a ton of outside noise, and they are extremely light.

Bass sounds amazing, as do the mids and highs. One thing you don’t realize until you get them out of the packaging is that the physical cord (not counting the cable extension) is very short. So short that I can barely rest my iPod on my lap while seated, but runners will love this because its the perfect length to reach your armband, and I’ve also found that its great if you like to clip your MP3 onto your book bag or mess bag strap. Since the connectors are all gold tipped, you don’t have any loss of quality using the extension.

All in all, I give this product a 4 out 5 because the physical cable could be a little longer, and every time I accidentally pull the buds from my ears I almost lose a silicon pad. Well, I haven’t yet (unlike with the Apple In-Ears), but the possibility is annoying.

Purchase/info link: Amazon’s MDR product page