Sony MDR-E888LP, taking discomfort to a new level....

Fig. 1 Sony MDR-E888LP

So I finally got the legendary Sony MDR-E888LP's. At one time these were Sony's flagship earbuds, and they had glowing reviews commenting on their spectacular sound quality. Ear canal headphones and in ear style headphones had not taken off yet back in the late 90s and early 2000s, and the Sony earbuds were still in production then. Sony eventually pulled this model out of production, and it is extremely hard to find. Japan is pretty much the only place to go, Ebay is full of fakes, watch out. This is considered an entry-level audiophile quality earbud by some, but there are CAVEATS to everything.

When these suckers arrived, I was excited. Reviews said they had sparkling highs, prounced mids, and just the right amount of lows. ( These are quick ways of referring to how an audio product handles different parts of the sound spectrum). "Low" may indicate bass, and just notes which require more "thump" to them.


Fast forward...I burn in the triple 8s. Burning in allows many headphones to "stretch out" their driving coils, diaphagms, and mehanical parts basically to reach their desired level of level of sound.

When the MDRs are broken in I can tell the sound has improved, it is extremely clear and detailed. I try it on classical, jazz, pop, and R&B tracks. The headphones handle the wide range of sound very well, the instruments are seperated, individual sounds are discernable. PROBLEM, these cans lack a sufficient amount of bass for you to enjoy music in my opinion. Maybe that is just the limitation of the earbud design, nevertheless this is supposed to be the higher end Sony Earbud and it doesn't deliver.

On COMFORT, when I put these things on, my ears started hurting within TEN SECONDS. I kept adjusting the earbuds, trying to get a comfortable fit, but these things are HUGE. They are way to big for the average pair of ears. The edges are kind of sharp and painfully dig in too! There's no way I can wear the triple 8s for aprolonged amount of time, they hurt like crazy. After noticing my ears were ringing with pain, the wires looked like they were going to SNAP.

Sony used really flimsy cheap wiring to connect high quality drivers, so if you happen to exercise or use this with a lot of movement they will wear out faster.


My verdict: If you're mickey mouse get these, otherwise avoid the risk of the 888s not fitting your ears and go with other products today. Sound is good, bass is still lacking. Not worth the pain. Oh yeah, warranty coverage is confusing.. everything is in Japanese. Don't know if there is a warranty..???
These have been returned!

P.S. I don't hate Sony, they make a good Walkman Mp3/Video player 8gb/16gb!

A good pair of cans for your portable. Basics, power.

2. Cans: Slang for headphones ( urbandictionary.com)

A good pair of headphones ( my general term for earbuds, fullsize, ear-canal headphones, and other stuff essentially designed to be used in close proximity to the ears) is essential for MP3 players, other portable audio players, and even computer users who don't want to use speakers.
In fact some headphones easily rival speaker systems costing hundreds and thousands of dollars.

This post is about the power the headphones require, they are basically mini speakers. The amount of power needed and available will affect your sound quality.

Hugh Robjohns gives a nice technical explanation of impedance on his site, and notes that sticking within 8-32 ohms range is generally a good idea for portable players (http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com/headphones.html).

So when you're at the store looking at headphones, the biggest ones are not necessarily the best pair for your portables. If you paid a higher impedance headphone with a portable the device will need to be used on higher volume to sound "okay". This will wear down your battery faster, more importantly the headphones will struggle to reproduce the sound. It's like having cheap speakers without an amplifier, turning up the volume will only do so much.

For practical portable use, choose headphones with a lower impedance design.
www.headphone.com walks you through the process with detailed reviews of more headphones than you can imagine, and finds the right fit for portables. Many earbuds, like the white ones which come with the ipod have low impedance, but a rare number do not. Do yourself a favor and upgrade from the stock ipod earbuds.

Option B: If you want to lug around a larger pair of cans (stop laughing) or use very high impedance headphones even on your computer, a headphone amplifier may be necessary. This essentially boosts the power of the signal, and products can also clean up signal noise resulting in a better listening experience. The "soundstage" or essentially all that you hear from the music will open up with the help from an amp, and some medium impedance headphones can benefit. Beware, this is a pricey route.

http://www.headphone.com/products/headphone-amps/
Would be a good starting point to look at some amps, and they make their own.

Power is just one important factor when considering headphones, but an important one.

More to come....

Welcome!

Revised mission 10/11/09:

When I initially started Hearingz (formerly iPlugz) earlier this year, my mission was broad. I told you that I was try to review a wide variety of audio products, including CD players, speakers, mp3 players, headphones/earphones, and even Mini-Disc tech.

My purchasing habits, and my passion for headphones have clearly shown that my goals should be more focused. Hearingz will primary be a headphone review site, this includes ancillary products like headphone amplifiers and other headphone accessories. Once in a while, I will throw in reviews on mp3 players, and software that maximizes your listening pleasure.

Stock earphones are those that come bundled with an mp3 or CD player. Most people use these, fortunately some are wising up. I threw away sorry stock headphones starting when I was 12 years old, and never looked back.

I hope you can get some useful information from my site, perhaps this may even give you help in buying headphones.


Enjoy!