Sorry Sony, These Headphones Are Hellish! (Sony MDR XD100)

Member Name: Nar2

Product:	Sony MDR XD100
Date:	04/01/08 (220 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice looking, easy to height adjust, closed type, cheap price.

Disadvantages: Naff sound

Banded headphones - why do they exist? They have been around since the 1950's where their existence was partly supported by professional musicians, sound engineers and later, much later more preferred for use in the classroom. They last longer due to tougher use and give out better sound quality than in ear headphones and similar types.


** Reason To Buy **


I've always loved banded headphones not that I'll ever go the whole hog and be a public DJ whilst shopping outside; instead banded headphones are a much needed device for use with any musical instrument, particularly my home keyboard when private practice is needed, or with use with my drum machine, PC and Apple Mac computers or anything in fact which has an ear phone piece. I find In-ear type headphones just don't support the GM Midi voices and bass depth that many voices and sounds impart and at the same time, they are not long enough cord wise from the distance between instrument and user. Of course you can buy in-ear types which promise the deep bass by either offering a shorter delay of sound rather than something more panoramic but they never seem to have enough stretch on the cord and give up half way through the year because of poor quality plastics.

For years I have been using Panasonic headphones, partly because the price of them are very cheap and sourced from Argos they are always in supply. Until 2004 their RPHT 205 model was replaced by the 225 model and the design changed partly with the addition of an in-line volume control built into the cord. For £10 although these headphones looked particularly old compared to these new Sony headphones, the sound quality was excellent despite a metal input. Interestingly for £19-99 from Argos you can also buy Technics headphones (Panasonic & Technics are the same company) where their RPF200 are the same design but have a gold plated plug for closer precise quality of sound.

This time however when my old Panasonic headphones failed after a year I decided that enough was enough. The old headphones, model 205 had lasted three years before giving up. The problem mainly was the quality of the cord kept coming out of the headphones, ruining the signals and thus rendering the headphones useless.


** Quick Skip Product Specifications **


* 40mm silver plated plug adaptor
* 3.5 metre rubber cord.
* Silver metallic design
* Adjustable headband for comfort
* 12khz to 22khz
* Closed Type headphones
* Cost brand new £10-00


** Availability & Cost Price of Sony's MDR XD100 **


Sony's MDR XD100 headphones were partly available until this year where they are being phased out by the much better and higher priced MDR XD200 model, but aside from differences in sound effects on the later model, there is more to the Sony model than meets the eye. Online stockists at base level before marking up reveal that the price of these headphones comes in between £10 and £15-00. I paid £13-90 from an Ebay seller however!


** Design **


Classy is the word that I would best use to describe these headphones. Designed in matt black with a "targa" type head band between the phones themselves, the cups independently swing down via hinges which have been built in. I wish my Panasonic headphones had these, because for fitting and comfort, these Sony headphones don't clamp on tightly, but rest comfortably and gently mould to your head rather than standard fit. The cups are also slightly smaller and rounder too, which ensures that ears are covered and comforted. Black PVC foam has been used to support the phones on ears once they have been put on and where the speakers are located further, black foam has been designed to ensure further comfort. It is a pity that whilst they are reasonably comfortable to wear, they start to feel sore after an hour with them on - not the best around here for long term wear then.

Use of silver metallic is heavily present on both cups externally, with a slight angle bent at either side of the headphones with "L" and "R" to distinguish the position of how to wear the headphones in the first instance.

They match everything in my home at the moment - my old Panasonic CD tape player is all in silver, the Yamaha drum machine is also in silver and my keyboard has silver detailing on the main centre fascia. Silver seems to be the new Millennium colour and even on as far as 2005 and beyond, silver and gold seem to be the colours chosen by many of the audio corporate companies to cosmetically blend in.

There are 3.5 metres of cord maximum which is 0.5 more than I had with my Panasonic models. However there isn't much of a difference here in actual stretch. The cord is rubbery and feels thicker compared to Panasonic's headphones though.


** Packaging **


The packaging that these headphones are similar to most small audio equipment that Sony produces. In short a thick acrylic package front with cardboard at the back, and with such a strong bonding, it was initially difficult to get into the package. It is vital that you cut around the package because if you cut into the sides you may find yourself cutting part of the headphones or the cord! The headphones come with a silver metal 40mm jack input against the standard fit 35mm jack on the headphones cord themselves and with the usual paper guarantee manual from Sony Worldwide there aren't many guidelines on how to use headphones - if you have common sense you'll know how to use these headphones responsibly.

Details and specifications can be found on the back of the headphones though, in 11 languages and the tinniest size of words I have ever seen!


** Sound Quality **


Compared to the higher priced 200 series, there are no sound boost effects on the headphones themselves to improve sound quality. You just plug and play and adjust the volume on the device you are using.

This is fine with me because I don't like in-line volume controls or boosters partly because a lot of static can be produced over time with these types of controls and there is very little a user can do other than to wipe the jack input or play about with the volume to get rid of the static.

However I should add that compared to Panasonic's headphones which have a frequency rate of 18khz to 22khz, these headphones have a lower frequency rate of 12khz to 22khz. This in effect means that the sound quality is not as good as the Panasonic headphones.

This can also relate to the sound of bass which doesn't travel as well as they did on my old headphones and I am slightly surprised by this. I have always reckoned that Sony has a knack of producing the best sound quality and maybe I have been spoilt with my old Panasonic headphones. But for the price I would have expected some bass depth on a par with Panasonic.

Tone quality on the headphones is extremely bright but again the bass and treble feel half cooked - compared to Panasonic's models. With use with my Walkman and drum machine, the headphones don't buzz which is a good advantage though - particularly when I have set the volume to extremely loud - this I feel is down to the design of the hinges rather than the speaker cups themselves.

Overall sound quality isn't as rounded as other headphones - for example, when listening to pop music, stereo imaging responds well on both cups but with certain classical music, the bass is almost absent without having to resort to amp it up on the device I'm using.


Sorry Sony but frankly these headphones are a waste of my time.
For the price I was expecting a lot more than what I have paid out for and even for the look of the headphones which are lovely to look at I am slightly disappointed about the overall sound quality. I am used to using cheap banded headphones, having also sampled Philips and JVC which gives Sony a run for the money. However all is not lost; these headphones will make a good substitute for use in the classroom - but they won't be used that much at home, sadly.

In terms of consideration, these headphones are suitable as a direct replacement for in-ear non bass types. The bass is there, as is the treble and a bright tone, but there is no surround, no effects which have automatically been installed in the design. For the fashion conscious, these Sony headphones at the most, look fantastic, but they fail to float this professional musician's ears. Thanks for reading. ©Nar2 2008.

www.sony.co.uk

Summary: Nice for the fashion conscious but forget about the sound quality.

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