Sony MDR-EX57

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Sony MDR-EX57

Prasad Naik, Sep 22, 2010 1159 hrs IST

Excellent audio quality at a wallet-friendly price

Great audio quality, extension cable and carry case provided in bundle, well priced

Asymmetrical cable design may not appeal to everyone

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Sony's MDR-EX57 in-earphones have been available for quite sometime now. The earphones are priced pretty low and knowing Sony's track record of making good quality inexpensive in-earphones, I was curious to know how the EX57 sound. Unfortunately, much to our disappointment, Sony refused to send us a review sample.

Luckily I was on the lookout for a pair of good inexpensive earphones. But when it comes such things I never buy them without reading their reviews online. However, it seems nobody has reviewed this set, so I decided to blindly put my faith in Sony and went out and purchased it. I was lucky as it turned out great. But what good is knowledge if you keep it to yourself. I know a lot of people are constantly on the lookout for a good pair of inexpensive in-earphones, so this review is for all those people out there. It may be bit late, but I'm sure it is still relevant.

Bundle

Sony MDR-EX57
Small, medium and large pair of eartips
Extension cord
Carry Case
Cord adjuster

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Discussion Board

(48) Comments

udai

,chandigarh, on Jan 12, 2012 01:49 PM

what about the jays ajays one. i called flipkart but they said jays provide no support in India. also what is the difference in LP and SL model .

Prabhat kumar

,Bhopal, on Aug 04, 2011 07:06 PM

just bought sony mdr ex 57 sl for 1290 rupees reading this article and comment posted here. though its takes time to get used to these ear buds but sound is good what dislike is original cord length which is somewhat small though they give extra cord.

Ramesh

,Mumbai, on Jul 28, 2011 10:24 PM

I bought this earphone based on info here and comments too. Had Creative EP-630 earlier which I lost recently, so bought the Sony MDR-EX57SL recently. It is good, but takes time getting used to the rather flat sound. I enjoyed music from both my earlier PMP as well as Nokia handset thru my EP-630 but with these Sony EX57 ones, it just seems to miss something. Also, though the EX57 is supposed to fit better inside the ears, it keeps falling off regardless of which earbud size I use. I found EP-630 fit my ears more comfortably with size M and rarely slipped off my ears. So, my vote would still go to Creative EP-630 (incidentally are much cheaper too at Rs. 700 or so), compared with Sony MDR-EX57SL. Not worth paying twice the price of EP-630s.

Peeyush Paani

,New Delhi, on Jan 31, 2011 02:52 PM

I'm getting SONY MDR EX57SL for 1490/- and Sennheiser CX180 Street II for 1300/-. Which should I go for?..........plz help!

Peeyush Paani

,New Delhi, on Jan 31, 2011 03:15 PM

or should i go for phikips 9700 or soundmagic pl30? pls help...........needed immediately.... thanx

sameer

,delhi, on Feb 10, 2011 05:34 PM

cx180 is better if you want bass and performance ... if you dont like more sound try sony .. ... you can try philips 9550 .. its 1199 and is also nice ...

Niranjan

,Manipal, on Dec 02, 2010 06:11 PM

Trust me guys, if u are an audiophile, you need to get this one.. i owned a sennheiser cx300 precision, an d bought this one couple of weeks back.. The sony sounds way better than the senn.. revealing more details i never heared before. sennheiser has a very boosted mid range and bass but the high freq responce is pretty dissapointing, where as sony is softer yet punchy... great buy for the price.. one more important thing, the EX57 sounded pretty odd for the first time i used it... my suggestion would be to burn out the earphones , play it with full volume for atleast 5 to 6 hours and then hear the difference.. :P

Rahul

,Bangalore, on Nov 22, 2010 04:47 PM

Rahul , Bangalore, on November 22, 2010 0246 hrs IST I need your help Mr Prasad , I own Creative ep-630 , Klipsch image S4 at present , the klipsch has good detail but its very bright , creative is less in detail but is softer than klipsch s4 , I want smooth sound , what is your suggestion MDR-XB20EX or MDR-EX57 ? No problem with the price , I just want ultra soft sound with full bass ! Waiting for your reply :) I use this with iphone 3gs and ipod touch 4g

Prasad Naik

,Mumbai, on Nov 23, 2010 09:35 PM

If you want soft, bass heavy sound then I would recommend the Skullcandy Titan.

Shamik

,Kolkata, on Oct 30, 2010 10:44 PM

I also want to add something more.The little details which are being revealed is great.After listening for while I realized if some one give it to me saying that it costs 3k+,i would believe him after listening .

Shamik

,Kolkata, on Oct 30, 2010 10:40 PM

I have just bought it...its really good.A nice buy on Rs.1450..no doubt in this..Noise isolation is great.trust me i really needed the noise isolation...i m happy with what is MDR EX-57 is offering.I tried it while returning home.I was in middle of the city and the the surround was extremely noisy,but it worked perfectly..i hardly got a sound of bus/taxi. Bass is natural.mid is just accurate,treble is also good,but it could have been little more sharper..but i am all over really satisfied with the total package

Av.

,delhi, on Oct 19, 2010 11:44 PM

Hi.. just bought Sony's MDR-EX35LP for 990.. they sound great.. far better than Ep 630.

niranjan

,manipal, on Oct 03, 2010 12:24 PM

how does EX57 compare to the new sennheiser cx-300ii precision? i'm using it with my walkman A series, which outputs brilliant sound, i find the sennheiser to be a bit harsh in the higher mid range, what do u tell about it Mr.Prasad? please help me out, does ex57 sound better than the cx300ii?

Raunak

,Jaipur, on Sep 25, 2010 08:04 PM

Sir can you suggest me any good in-earphone under rs.500. I'll be using it with Nokia 5235.Only sound does matter for me. Thank you sir :)

prince

,mumbai, on Sep 24, 2010 12:44 PM

please put up the review for the new walkman a- series nwz 844 or 845 seems to be good multimedia devices... these headphones comes in its package i m thinking of buying the player... so hoping for a quick review...

amit

,nagpur, on Sep 23, 2010 05:42 PM

prasad.....i am in a way of purchasing new earbuds .have planned for klipsch image s4. Is it worth to buy sony ex57 against klipsch as there is a price difference of rs 2800 between them?

dude

,kochi, on Sep 23, 2010 05:53 PM

I own a pair of Klipsch Image S4-s myself. Those are actually in a different ballpark from Sony alltogether. Go for it if you have the money and the taste to appreciate them. Else, settle for the Sony EX-57-s...they appear to be a fine choice judging by this review.

Prasad Naik

,Mumbai, on Sep 23, 2010 09:57 PM

I haven't heard the S4 myself so I'm in no position to answer your question.

priyank

,mumbai, on Sep 23, 2010 05:29 PM

wt is the price of this headset????

prince

,mumbai, on Sep 23, 2010 01:55 PM

hey guys please help ... i m thinkin of buying these earphones because my brother has the same one and they are awesome... i need to connect it with my nokia 5530xmusic... but then these donot have a mic so ... wat should i buy guys ? pls help me i m in a real dilemma ... !

Rajesh Malvekar

,Karwar, on Sep 23, 2010 02:44 PM

U can connect this earphone to Nokia 5530 has 3.5 mm headphone jack go ahead and enjoy your music

dude

,kochi, on Sep 22, 2010 06:36 PM

Seeing all this torrent of comments about comparing the EX-57's sound quality to other peers of its range- the Creative EP-630 in particular, maybe it's be a good idea to do a shootout of low end in-earphones . What do you say to that, Prasad? P.S- Hope you get the review samples in time if you plan on conducting this comparo ;-)

Prasad Naik

,Mumbai, on Sep 22, 2010 09:25 PM

The problem is not getting the earphones on time. The problem is getting them at all. Which is why we haven't been able to conduct a comparison test between them as it is difficult to procure earphones from all the major brands.

dude

,kochi, on Sep 23, 2010 12:21 PM

Gee, that's so sad.... A lot of guys would have liked to have that comparo... :-( Wonder what's the problem with those brands- maybe they don;'t like having their earphones tested as it would pretty much reveal their deficiencies.

Ramesh

,Mumbai, on Sep 23, 2010 10:57 AM

I had used Sony, Sennheiser (MS-560), Creative EP-630 & 830, and Philips headphones. In my opinion, Creative EP-630 / 830 beat the rest with crystal clear sound, with pronounced lows and mids, and don't crack at highs like some others do. Was really disappointed with Sony and Sennheiser ones, with so much hype about these makes. Creative headphones rock man !! Will love to hear how Sony MDR-EX57 compares with EP-630 / 830.

Tushar

,Dehradun, on Sep 23, 2010 06:46 AM

""notice the subtle thump that they offer which is far more satisfying than the meaningless boom that you would normally hear. "" Yes i love it , i love it i love it. :) Nice review. After reading the performace part, i feel that the audio performance matches my HeadDirect RE2, costs around 2k, which sounds like a 100$ earphone, clean n clear mids, sharp crystal clear but as most ppl say abt is its low on bass, i wud say it has a different bass its got the subtle thump , really gr8. It takes a while getting used to that. As u said ""It's a bit of an acquired taste and not everyone will like this kind of audio."" :) Sony MDR-EX57 sounds like a better package at that price.

Prasad Naik

,Mumbai, on Sep 23, 2010 10:56 AM

Once you get used to hearing the actual bass the way it was meant to be instead of the booming mess most speakers produce then you will never want to go back.

Varun

,Bangalore, on Sep 22, 2010 01:42 PM

How does it fare compared to Creative EP630?

Sourav Mitra

,Jamshedpur, on Sep 22, 2010 08:22 PM

Far better. I have been using them for past 3 months and I must say they are much better than my previously owned creative EP 630. Initially I also felt that the bass is missing; but realized later that I got used to creative's boomy bass. Also as I use it with my COWON D2+ I just made few changes with the various settings to suit my taste and now I feel the enhanced sound staging that these provide.

Prasad Naik

,Mumbai, on Sep 22, 2010 09:24 PM

EX57 sounds far better than EP-630. They have a more natural and balanced sound unlike the EP630, which have a bass and treble heavy sound with weak mids.

Varun

,Bangalore, on Sep 23, 2010 10:53 AM

Thanks Saurav and Prasad for responding! This will be my next purchase then! :)

sachin

,goa, on Sep 23, 2010 01:28 AM

there is lot of talk about Soundmagic series headphones these days.i have EP 630 and Soundmagic pL30 both.and PL 30 beats EP630 easily. dont know about PL11 though.

suman

,bhubaneswer, on Sep 23, 2010 12:13 AM

ep-630 cost 750/- , and u comepare this with ex57 ... shame on u guys .... ex57 the most expensive one i own ..... and the bass is bad .... even with my cowon s9 ....

suman

,bhubaneswer, on Sep 23, 2010 12:00 AM

the noise ratio is bad ... 102 db .... ep 830 from creative is far batter in sound produceing ... i have whole lot of in ear earphones .....ep-630 .. this one .. phillips she 9550 ..ep-830 .... phillips and ep-830 r the better sounding ....

DnA

,Mys, on Sep 22, 2010 11:42 PM

Thnx for the good review. I would also suggest you to review the newly launched IEM's by Philips. Hoping for review soon..

krizanand

,Hyderabad, on Sep 22, 2010 09:48 PM

Good review Mr.Prasad, a teasing one for me, I was into almost every Sony center in Hyderabad on tuesday to get one of these and to my surprise none, yes none, were having this and instead showed me a 2000Rs model which looked similar to this. I'm going to search in some other outlets to find this one. After seeing your review, sure I will get only this one.

Thirumal

,Bangalore, on Sep 22, 2010 09:47 PM

try to review Soundmagic series like PL11... Astonished by the sound quality at the price..

devesh

,varanasi , on Sep 22, 2010 12:47 PM

hi prasad Ur review sounds good (pun intended ) , can u advice me from where i can purchase them , will it be available Sony stores ? will they work with my nokia e72 or not ? looking forward ur quick reply

Dhruv

,New Delhi, on Sep 22, 2010 03:20 PM

It will definitely work with the Nokia E72 as I'm using this as well as the Creative EP630 on different occasions.

devesh

,varanasi, on Sep 22, 2010 04:29 PM

dhruv thanks for replying , can u tell me how much did creative 1 cost & which 1 found better

Prasad Naik

,Mumbai, on Sep 22, 2010 09:22 PM

I bought them off eBay for 1,490. Much better than hunting for them in shops. They will work with any device with a 3.5mm headphone jack, such as the E72.

sachin

,goa, on Sep 22, 2010 08:33 PM

hi prasad!! looking for a in ear earphones shootout,same way you did with desktop speakers recently.

chandra kanth

,warangal, on Sep 22, 2010 01:36 PM

so nice it"s beautiful how much this cost

Shridhar

,Kolkata, on Sep 22, 2010 05:28 PM

dont worry about the price..... for avoiding duplicity, go to sony center & pay Rs.1490/- for the genuine product. not excellent with very low frequency sound. sony should provide a clip with the wire. otherwise i am enjoying this product very much.

Amit

,Mumbai, on Sep 22, 2010 03:50 PM

Where to buy them in Mumbai??

Vikas

,mumbai, on Sep 22, 2010 01:06 PM

pls review these sony earphones MDR-EX33LP/G & MDR-EX35LP/B and can u compare them with creative ep630 .i really liked ep630 but nowadays earphones are not getting same quality as before ,i bought creative now & treble is more than bass but when it was released i bought it that time also & bass was more prominent

mady

,Pune, on Sep 22, 2010 01:59 PM

I am using MDR-33. Found it rugged and better/natural sounding than ep630 (it's pure bassy).

Nir

,Delhi, on Sep 22, 2010 02:23 PM

Though both MDR-EX33 and MDR-EX35 comes with 9mm driver unit, I personally like MDR-EX35 due to its ergonomics and slightly better sound quality. When compared to Creative EP630, both are any day better than Creative earphone. Bass on Sony MDR-EX35 is more accurate and natural than Creative EP630.

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