Sony MDR-EX650AP Premium Wired Earphones with Brass Housing, Neodymium dynamic drivers, Smartphone Mic and Control - Black/Gold

These Sony earphones are overall really solid. Sound quality is nice, with a good amount of bass for the price, even if my ears aren’t the best. Build quality feels premium, they’ve lasted me a long time and I still actively use them every day. They do tend to tangle pretty easily, but the connection to my PC is flawless and they just feel comfortable to wear. Cable length is also nice and long what's always a nice plus. Honestly, I don’t have any major complaints; they’ve been reliable, sound great, and for the price, they’re definitely worth it. 8.5/10.

After ordering the Meta Quest 2, I was keen to quickly find high quality, spacious (so that sound, 'sounds' wide and open... e..g a scene in a film in a banquet hall; I want to sense that cutlery and chatter is all around me at varying distances). Naturally, having spent hundreds on the VR headset, I was particularly budget-conscious and my expectations were tempered -I had the 'visual' side but maybe wait until next year to go crazy on the 'audio' side. If I spent 'only' £50 and got some halfway decent sound I would have been content, although I expected little more. However, these are the Brass Bad Boys...the Sony MDR-EX650AP. Mysteriously luxurious looking yet priced around the £40 mark. The type of price you'd pay for lesser-known brands on high street retail shelves. I paid £37 I believe...so what are they? These headphones have an in-ear design and include silicone plugs in different sizes. Additionally, they also feature a built-in microphone. What is astounding is the fact that they are really made from massive brass. That's good for durability and provides slightly better protection against external noises. Sony applied a clear coat in order to maintain the shiny appearance of the metal. If it gets worn over time, you may have to polish the metal from time to time – the function should not be affected. The material truly becomes vintage as it visibly ages over time.. The earphones are very comfortable and well-balanced. The selection of materials for the cable is equally impressive. It has a subtly coarse texture and is coated with a pleasantly tactile plastic. The purpose of this combination is to prevent the transfer of cable noise to the headphones. Mission successful: you almost hear nothing besides your music. With Sony headphones, you won't have to worry about annoying cable rubbing noises on your jacket like you do with other headphones. Small details like that can hardly be advertised as major selling points, but when you take these factors into account, in total, they are in fact, major selling points... but only when the actual sound is on point. The sound is great on both ends. If you choose to use the MDR-EX650AP for listening to music, you will be amazed by the exceptional sound quality it offers within this price range. If you take telephone calls, you can hear yourself the exact right amount (crosstalk). Really though, had this product cost £100 more, it would still be worth the investment simply because the audio quality is spacious, the bass is forceful, and the highs are not overly shrill. For my intended Gaming and VR: amazing purchase...taking the price into account, perfect. 5/5.

Disclaimer: I'm not an audiophile. I had been researching in-ears for a while, in hopes of finding a comparable replacement for my MDR-EX310 in-ears, as one of the earbuds died Comparable in regards to sound quality and price. I was looking for something on a modest budget, about the same price as what my 310s were new (about $80 CDN), and to be honest, there really didn't seem to be much out there that provided the same quality product as the 310s. I wasn't concerned with noise cancellation, being wireless, or bluetooth capabilities (avoiding these features was more to do with staying within my budget than anything else). So I started looking into products from recent years, instead of the latest and greatest. That's when I came across the 650s. I believe they came out in '13 or '14. The reviews I read were very positive. They ticked all of my checkboxes, including price so I thought I'd give them a shot. They also looked similar to my 310s, and I had hoped that the fit would be similar. I can't get technical with this much so I'll just point out what I like in simplest terms: - build quality is quite nice. I like the cable. The brass housing. It's all pretty slick. And the weight is good. The brass housing gives them a solid feel. - the fit is great as the tips fit the same as my old 310s. However, none of the tips came with the same foam insert found in the tips that came with my 310s. I took the foam inserts out of my 310s and put them in the new tips of the 650s, and voila. They've very comfy; they fit snug and I get decent isolation. -this is where I'd like to get technical, but I can't - sound quality. I distinctly remember when I first put on my 310s I was blown away by the sound quality; the bass and clarity; for the money I spent. I was not blown away by the 650s. And maybe that's because they're so similar to my 310s, that I simply don't notice much of a difference, and so the first impression of the 650s isn't "WOW!" like it was for my 310s. That being said, and when I think about it more, this is ok. They still sound good. I'm not disappointed in the sound quality really; maybe the clarity isn't quite there. I like the balance; bass is good; mids are fine. I listen to a lot of metal, which in itself can be pretty muddy depending on the quality of the engineering of the music, and perhaps it's an unrealistic expectation to expect amazing clarity from ~$80 headphones. Based on all of the reviews I've read for in-ears in this price range, I do still strongly feel I made a good choice and will be happy with theses for a long time (hopefully)... - which leads to lastly, durability. I haven't had them long enough to be able to confidently give these 5 stars for durability. My 310s lasted about 6 years until one of the earbuds died. I'm hoping to get at least that much life out of the 650s. As mentioned, I really like the build quality. They appear to be a higher quality product from the jack, to the cable to the actual buds, than the 310s, and I hope that translates to a longer life. This is also why I can't give them an overall rating of 5 stars. They'd need to be able to stand the test of time first. Ratings are subjective anyway. Anyway, that's my 2 cents. I can't see how someone could go wrong with these at this price. You're getting build quality, snug fit (and isolation if you have foam inserts for the tips), and great sound for the money.

Finding a pair of earphones that are comfortable, durable yet produces excellent sound quality has been a difficult venture for the likes of myself. My earphones go through daily use from commutes, gym, running and plugged into the laptop so gets a ridiculous amount of abuse compared to the norm. Cheaper earphones tend not to offer the sound quality I am after whilst justifying a pair that cost hundreds of pounds for use in sporting activities is certainly overkill. My latest experiences include Sennheiser IE 60, Beyerdynamic DX 160 iE, Grado iGi and Shure 315, all ending in disappointment, with some form of failure occuring within the first year of ownership alone. The longest lasting pair I had was a pair of Beyerdynamic DTX 101 iE, which survived over a year and a half of solid use and finally caved in after being completely soaked for the hundredth time. All earphones offered a different experience but an enjoyable sound experience for those not demanding a bullet proof pair. When Sony first announced the brass housing earphones in early 2014, it had caught my eye, Sony in recent years will most likely not have fallen under most people's radars as a brand name of choice but these earphones undoubtedly highlight what Sony are truly capable of. At £51.40 during the time of purchase, it is significantly cheaper than the competition and my previous experience of Sony earphones have always been an overwhelming amount of bass so I had purchased these with some doubts. The brass colour also offers some concern, especially for individuals like myself who prefers subtlety and the alternative silver colour is much harder to source. Initial impressions of the earphones are that it looks very well built, the choice of cable material, the feel of the earphones itself and the right-angled connector jack all seem very solid and instils confidence in the longevity of the product, certainly more so than my recently faulty Beyerdynamic DX 160 iE. Like most Sony products, these earphones oozes quality, putting some of the more expensive rivals to shame, especially those costing near the £200 mark. Onto the more important bits, what do you get for just over £50? You get four different size ear buds, a cable tidy wrap tool, a small pouch and the earphones itself. The earphones have a mic on the left ear piece falling just below chin height and a very handy cable reduction feature to shorten the cable split length. As for the sound itself, gone are the overpowered bass, the range is very well balanced, nothing is drowned out. Vocals are clear, beats are precise, the bass is well weighted. Putting the earphones through its paces by starting on classical music, flicking through some jazz and upping the stakes by introducing some rock followed by electronic music and these earphones will handle them with no sweat. Downsides? Apart from the colour and especially at this price point, I cannot fault these earphones, hopefully it will end my continuous search and replacements for my needs. The Sony MDR-EX650AP are extremely comfortable, well built, light and produces excellent sound quality, what more could you ask for!

Audio quality is top notch, mids aren't lost in bass or ear splitting highs; both of which sound bright and easily defined. If you own a Sony Xperia, make sure you dial these in. I'd recommend making a little playlist - three songs, one bass heavy one high and the other mids, then find the sweet spot where all three sound good. Then you'll have a good listening experience with these, because they are brass housed, they don't reverberate in the same way as cheaper earphones so can sound funny if you're not used to them. These are heavy. They will make your ear hurt after a little while, it's an unavoidable factor of using brass. So use them in moderation to avoid discomfort. The cable is a good length, it also has a play/pause button that doubles as an answer/hang-up button; it's a hands-free compatible which is nice. They're pretty expensive on face value, their also expensive for a something that actually hurt you. But the audio quality is brilliant and they look really nice too.

I swithered a long time before deciding to spend £50 on a pair of in-ear headphones. I had read the What HiFi reviews for these (2014 award winners £50-100) and the cheaper Sound Magic E10s (also What HiFi award winners under £50) and poured over other Amazon reviews. A friend opted for the Sound Magic but was I put off by the quite large microphone piece on the cord. The one on these is much smaller. I have a proper separates HiFi at home and have always enjoyed sitting listening to music but most of my listening these days is on the go so it was important that I got the right decision. Having used these for a few days I am confident I made the correct choice. First thing....don't open the box, plug them in and expect to hear them at their best. Spend a bit of time ensuring you select the best fitting silicone rubber buds. This isn't just down to comfort, the better the fit not only serves up better sound isolation from outside but it also helps tune the sound giving a fuller bass without ever swamping the rest of the music. Also I chose to plug them into my HTC One phone and left them playing on repeat for about 6 hours before actually sitting down to listen to them. I think that helped soften any initial sharpness. So on to the listening...I have a 32GB micro sd card in my phone so am not short of storage space. For that reason I like to rip or download my music at 320kbs or higher (sometime lossless). I started out with a FLAC rip of Rush 2112 album (70's prog rock) and was blown away within the first few moments. I didn't think it possible to have such an airy, 3 dimensional, out-of-your-head sound from ear buds but these Sonys manage it with aplomb. Moving on to more modern music I gave Daft Punk's Random Access Memories ago from Spotify. The dance music had great rhythm and well controlled bass. A wee dabble in to some classical music didn't phase these either. As for the button on the cord...yes there is no volume control, but as others have pointed out your phone isn't likely to be that far away and an in line volume control is adding 'resistance' to the music which could affect quality. The button does work well for call handling. Also I use PowerAmp as my android music player. Its menu allows you to decide what button presses do e.g one click to pause/start, double click to advance, treble click or long click to go back. The Sonys handle all the commands well. I don't often take calls while wearing headphones (to be honest it hasn't been an option before) but having tried it a few times, call quality was perfect and the person on the other end never complained or commented that I sound weird (or should that be 'wired'). Overall, I am delighted with these. The only slight down side is the claim that the cable will not tangle. Granted it is better than previous earphones I have had, the cable having a textured feel, but it still finds a away to loop itself into a bow! Maybe I need to take a little more care before storing?

Initially I had rated these as being “Excellent, with some compromises” and 4 Stars. The compromises were, at the time, unremarkable due to the price and sound quality. However, they completely died ridiculously prematurely from average use and with appropriate and safe storage techniques. I loved the brilliant sound and commented that the build quality was great for the price. Apparently this was an illusion as they’re actually just attractive looking junk. I’m not alone here looking at some other reviews. All products have a failure rate, but it seems a bit more than average from these reviews that the items quit within 4-9 months. All could be forgiven, or atleast only dropping a star if it were relatively straight forward and easy to sort the exchange under warranty. I found it extraordinary difficult to figure out how to get service from Sony. Even now when I think I have the answer from them I am surprised and unsure to an extent I’ve wrote Amazon. Sony say on their site they do not repair these items as it’s more cost effective to replace. Fair enough. However, instead of having a facility to setup and return the defective item the site tells you to contact your dealer for advice on how to effect an in warranty exchange. Truly awful as guess what the dealer will say after a month or so? They’ll say contact the manufacturer who provides the warranty! Thus, whilst I know Sony is supposed to provide me a replacement there’s really no obvious way to sort this. I’m hoping Amazon steps up and helps and I shall report back. In sum, my advice if pondering buying these: when they worked they were good for the price but even then e.g. the buttons could have offered more features, e.g. volume control, which other similarly priced models do including the originals you’re replacing. Given the less than stellar longevity and Sony’s warranty hassles, I advise go with someone else and I’m just going to say Sennheiser is a great option. From experience, they are the most helpful company for warranty issues I’ve ever come across. Unlike Sony figuring out how to and sorting a return takes minutes and they have gone above and beyond for me before. I’m unsure why I even considered anyone else.

Compared with significantly more expensive earphones, and most importantly, when using a 'reasonable' music source, these earphones with a 5-28,000hz frequency range do give you good 'punchy' bass, and throughout towards the higher frequencies; with a lot less distortion than the Sony MDR-EX1000AP earphones, which otherwise; were almost of a comparable quality to this '650' derivative. Problems lay with a very obvious background noise, (plugged into the source and where no music is playing) and no matter how high-quality the input; the noise is always there interfering in what would be an even better-quality sound, if this was somehow eradicated, as it's hard to hear any background noise under the same conditions using either similar, less or higher quality earphones. Problem two, is that the button to accept and hang-up phone calls (pause/play music etc.) doesn't appear to be working no matter what I do, either on a smartphone or a daft phone under two differing but two of the most major phone manufacturers; nothing works. I purchased this directly from Amazon (sold and sent) so, I don't know if this is just a fault with this particular unit, or a more widespread issue; but I think that we'd have heard about it more in the reviews if there was a significant issue; aside from the well-known iPhone issue, for which my review does not relate-to. The last main issue with these earphones is that the sound repeatedly cuts-out for no apparent reason, and re-testing these earphones with 'another' set does 'not' result in the same issue. The sound stops and doesn't re-start, and you have-to unplug and press play again to re-start the music or the radio. I'm re-testing using an old set of Sony earphones, which I don't use anymore because they are so painful, and as my whole body is in permanent chronic pain; I don't want a 'new' pain, and these 'new' earphones are considerably more pain-free, (which is what I wanted) but this 'testing' proves that it's not the source unit at fault; but these earphones themselves. I am also quite blind, and the fact that 5 hours of trouble-free listening only last about two minutes, as the sound cuts, and I have-to 'keep' reaching into my pocket to struggle to see the 'latest' fault is not helpful. So, they project a good sound, but are not very practical for even the most basic of earphone requirements. I got my first smartphone recently, and received a £10 promotional discount to order, which I used for these earphones, but I am told that I will subsequently lose this £10 (that made this purchase affordable) if I return this product. But I have-to return it, because after finally finding some good sound representation in an affordable set of earphones, the event is so short-lived, that I cannot continue with these any longer. This has been dictated from 'speech to text' using a machine, and I have tried to correct some errors, but some mistakes will probably remain; but hopefully you understand the message regarding my honest experience whilst using this product.