Sony MDR-EX155AP review
Throughwork
Sony, 1946, make anything audiovisual, with a reputation for good things. Usual incomprehensible ID—I think AP is Android Phone. These are Sony’s one‐step‐up‐from‐bottom earphones.
Contents
Build
Utility gear. The cable is basic two‐core, a little thin, kinked, with the smallest Y‐split stamp possible. Interesting matte coating. Sony make claims for tangle‐resistance, I’d say average, but not outstanding. Strain relief at plug is unusually flexible, and at the housings a strain relief is inset, if you wonder what the visual kink is… outstanding. Tips go in average depth, and the matte finish holds good. One of the easiest earphones ever to identify left/right, as the tips are angled, the wires are set into the side, and L/R is printed on the housings. Overall, likely good for robustness. Comfort is good, and the can‐housings are surprisingly easy to push in and out, with their flat surface and bend from the eartip‐fitting. As usual with Sony, form is function, so the colour options basic, the inset cable looks weird, the cable utility. But I rate them average looks, because the silver‐black housing finish is nice and the parts hang together.
Sound
Volume is good. Volume range is good. Envelope is maybe a little slow, but controlled. Precision is poor, but coherent. Swells have no effect on timing, but clog. There’s a small low bump, and mid‐strings are bit duff. Splash and tiss near cymbals, which is unusual. Some can‐echo, and the low bump, but not overwhelming. Frequency seems to fade at top, is light on bass, but bass is there, good on higher bass. Poor on detail, but has colour in what you hear. Scale and positioning, outstanding.
Not the best for orchestra, as they fog a little at swells, are not precise and can be missing at high frequencies. But an honest and flat performance, and the light freedom is likeable. For rock and pop they’re a little damped and colourless but coherence is good. Which comes forward for solo instruments or hi‐tech recordings. Balance is good for soundtracks, even if they don’t have much glamour.
Spec
| mic available? | yes |
| cable noise | reasonable |
| accessories | 4 pairs silicone eartips. An unusual, but usable, clip to shorten the cable |
| support |
Assess
Well, say this for Sony, this is their step‐up offering for general purpose, and that’s clear. They’re not a fun‐of‐ownership sale, but they’re easy to use, feel like they’ll last and have a microphone with a convincing switch. They have good volume, are well‐controlled, and some echo counters constraint. Without being impressive, they work for anything. This isn’t high‐fidelity, but it’s made that way.
I suspect some of the damping, imprecision and frequency limitation come from a small, low‐tech dynamic driver. But the unpromising cone‐shape housing is controlling frequency unevenness, livening the sound, and the result is coherent. There’s no reliable reviews that I can find—Sony are moving some, I assume? Many will be unimpressed but, at the Original Sale Price let alone the list price, if I wanted something for monitoring or general listening, I’d reach for them.