Sony MDR-EX71

Shamrock

Shamrock

Shamrock

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The left ear piece on my pair has just died after less than a year. £30 and they just stop working so easily. :mad:

Now I'm not sure whether to buy a cheap replacement, which will sound worse, but not be such a loss if they die, or risk buying something even more expensive like shure e2c's and hope the price reflects the quality.

Any recommendations for replacements?
 
I would risk buying something more expensive... I used to get through cheap headphones all the time until I bought my Sennheiser HD25s. I've had them for nearly 3 years now and they're still sounding as good as the day I bought them! Not bad considering they've lived a fairly rough life in my record bag:)
 
Get some e2c's, you get a 2 year warranty and they are very good with returns, not that you will probably need to as they are solid with really thick cord.
 
Sharp md33s.

In reviews, on equal parr(or better) than the shures mentioned. And at about 25 quid import, cant go wrong :)

Also cheaper than the sonys, Same VERY snug fit as the sony's, much better build and sound quality than the sony's.
 
Spamalot said:
Happened to me after a month
Click to expand...

Went from college on a random driving trip with a friend. Popped in and brought some on a wim. Turns out I was back there every other week until after my 4th pair I asked for my money back.

1 years warrenty though.
 
Everyone recommending different ones, im not sure what to buy in its place myself, as I like the EX71's, but with the earbuds going walkies after a while, I am getting sick & tired of buying replacement earbuds and waiting for them to be delivered, because if one of the earbuds comes off, they become unusable phones, not good :(

Anyone agree on 1 best replacement? I dont really want to spend mega money, no more than around £50 TBH
 
Well warranty and customer service is important so I would discount the sharp.

Dispite what Vegetarian might think UM1'swill cost you about £135 in this country and about £70 if buying form the states but than there are import fees to add to that. E2c's can be had for £55 in the uk so not even close to the same price.

E2c's are also better sounding and built better than the Sennheiser cx300 imo.
 
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Im going to be going for the JVX FX-55's after hearing some good reviews of these, cheaper than another pair of Sony's and hopefully better sounding in the long run. Im tempted to get those EC2's, but are they really worth it when they are twice the price of the JVC's?
 
Umm, on a side note. Do you guys have the habbit to wrap your earphones around the player when not in use? From what I gathered, that is what kills them.

I killed half a dozen Sony earbuds until I moved onto the Koss (Porta Pro/KSC-75). They seem to take more punishment, but I also take better care of them. Sound wise, they are MUCH better than the Sony's. But unlike the Shure/Westone, they are "open". Which you may find a good or bad depending on your taste (I prefer an open sound). I also have the UM2, but as much as I like them, I wouldn't consider them better value than my KSC-75 (which is simply great).

Oh yea.. Koss products have a lifetime warranty. Back when I was using Sony's they didn't have that (I think it was only 12 months).

The Westone warranty is very short BTW, although from what I've gathered, they do offer good support past the expiry date.
 
Would be nice to see what the most best type of earphones are for MP3 use, with the cost not being an issue, just to see the price to pay to have the best sound, better than anything else
 
Amongst the high end IEMs:

The U10-Pro are probably one of the most popular - how can you not like the name "Ultimate Ears" when it comes to audio equipment. Some consider these the natural progression for Etymotic users.

Sensaphonics ProPhonic 2X-Soft - Also a large number of followers, and a direct competitor to the UE-10 Pro, even though it uses dual drivers rather than triple. Supposed to be bassier.

Westone ES-3 I have the feeling they are not as often mentioned as the other two (strange considering the UM2 is fairly popular). But it is also a direct competitor to the above two.

Well, since I've never used any of the above, I am not sure how well they sound on MP3. But they are clearly designed for portable use, so I guess a good encode should sound fine. But I reckon this is one case where lossless might be beneficial. Some reviewers on head-fi seem to think so anyway.

That said. I -think- that if money was an issue (and it is) I would much rather use that money to buy two mid/high end open headphones for home use, and something slightly less fancy "on the go". I suspect a high end open headphones can be every bit as competitive to the UE-10 Pro (speculation on my part).

If the words "what the... people spend that much on just IEMs?", then I'd argue that at least those things are much longer term investment then.. say, X1900 Crossfire ;)
 
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The Sharp MD33/Sennheiser CX300/Creative EP-630 are supposedly very similar (if not the same). They're considered better than the EX71 and are in the same price range.
 
I'm going to be stupid and recommend the B&O A8s. Fantastic replacements for the MDR-EX71 (considering I spent around £120 on replacements within a year on MDR-EX71s only and realised how stupid I am to buy another replacement :rolleyes: ). The A8s are short on the bass so if you prefer bass, avoid. Other than that, they produce some pretty good, solid sound quality at a hefty price :p Very comfortable and durable too.
 
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