$9 Headphone Review: Sony MDR-ZX110

[Thalis]

Fixed the headband with an old pad from a HD 25 II:
View attachment 116146

very creative.... was it uncomfortable?

 

[MrOtto]

Yes, but perfect now. I used some contact glue. Length of pad is about 12 cm, 10 cm would fit better. You don't need padding where the band gets thicker, it's not in contact with your head. I bet eBay or AliExpress has some fitting pads in this length.

 

[MrOtto]

I ordered these pads which has memory foam and "top quality of leather", to solve the problem with the stocks pads which has noisy leather and foam.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32962840172.html?spm=2114.12010615.8148356.1.16722846LZ6y4h

 

[Helicopter]

I got mine. They sound great with the Amir EQ. My son is going to take them. I guess I'll wait and see how I like the Focal Celestee and the Bose Quiet Comfort 35 II before I order another pair. I know what I am recommending non-audiophile people get regardless.

 

[Thalis]

Just ordered the AP version for my daughter... hope the EQ is the same as the non AP

 

[Thalis]

just received the AP version in white......... applied Amir's EQ and wow... the bass and soundstage is actually a wee better then my non AP in black. The mids are really nice and not shouty. Not disappointed. Kid should be happy when she comes home and sees it.

Must be some tolerance with the dimensions, extender and the folding thingie... fits better on my head than the black non AP one too.

 

[Coffee_fan]

I tried your eq but softened a bit the top peak/dip from 7 to 5db and the cans are sounding way above $9 through a Chord Hugo. I also had to add some 8db headroom management so that the bass would not saturate.

 

[lamda18]

Could it be compatible with the latest Apple MacBook Air with M1 (in terms of the Mac's output power)?

 

[Helicopter]

Could it be compatible with the latest Apple MacBook Air with M1 (in terms of the Mac's output power)?

Yes. With its high sensitivity and low impedance, it is a good match for that and other portable devices with a 3.5mm headphone jack.

 

[Thalis]

Just received another AP version in black........... SQ is pretty consistent... not disappointed at all. In my samples that I have received the AP verisons are less creaky than the non AP.

 

[lamda18]

[QUOTE = "Ελικόπτερο, θέση: 726158, μέλος: 18814"] Ναι. Με την υψηλή ευαισθησία και τη χαμηλή σύνθετη αντίσταση, ταιριάζει με αυτό και άλλες φορητές συσκευές με υποδοχή ακουστικών 3,5 mm. [/ QUOTE]
Τhnx a lot!!

 

[oluvsgadgets]

Here is mine:

Preamp: -4.5 dB
Filter: ON PK Fc 30 Hz Gain 5 dB Q 1
Filter: ON PK Fc 110 Hz Gain -8 dB Q 0.46
Filter: ON PK Fc 500 Hz Gain -3 dB Q 1.5
Filter: ON PK Fc 1000 Hz Gain 3.1 dB Q 2
Filter: ON PK Fc 1600 Hz Gain -4.3 dB Q 3
Filter: ON PK Fc 2000 Hz Gain 2 dB Q 1.5
Filter: ON PK Fc 5000 Hz Gain -6 dB Q 1.5
Filter: ON PK Fc 5250 Hz Gain -5 dB Q 4
Filter: ON PK Fc 7500 Hz Gain -8 dB Q 5
Filter: ON PK Fc 8200 Hz Gain -6 dB Q 5
Filter: ON PK Fc 10000 Hz Gain -5.5 dB Q 6
Filter: ON PK Fc 10000 Hz Gain 7.8 dB Q 1
Filter: ON PK Fc 13700 Hz Gain -6 dB Q 8
Filter: ON PK Fc 15000 Hz Gain 3 dB Q 2

I tried to make it sound as natural as possible within the limits of this cheap headphone and without any obvious peaks.
I tried all EQs here, but they were all unusable to me, the headphone raw without EQ is a desaster, but with my EQ I would call it usable, sounds more like a 100$ headphone now, although there is still some slight droning with bass, which I couldn't quite fully eliminate.

also keep in mind that sound changes a lot with positioning, try sliding it around on your ear until you get the most neutral representation.

 

[ZööZ]

although there is still some slight droning with bass, which I couldn't quite fully eliminate.
.

Could the droning be due to high distortion in the lower frequencies?

I'll be sure to test your eq also in few days as I'm planning to compare different settings as soon as I get the headphones back from my son. (Haven't tried any other settings than amir's yet) Interested to see how your eq fares compared to others posted on this thread.

 

[Thalis]

Here is mine:

Preamp: -4.5 dB
Filter: ON PK Fc 30 Hz Gain 5 dB Q 1
Filter: ON PK Fc 110 Hz Gain -8 dB Q 0.46
Filter: ON PK Fc 500 Hz Gain -3 dB Q 1.5
Filter: ON PK Fc 1000 Hz Gain 3.1 dB Q 2
Filter: ON PK Fc 1600 Hz Gain -4.3 dB Q 3
Filter: ON PK Fc 2000 Hz Gain 2 dB Q 1.5
Filter: ON PK Fc 5000 Hz Gain -6 dB Q 1.5
Filter: ON PK Fc 5250 Hz Gain -5 dB Q 4
Filter: ON PK Fc 7500 Hz Gain -8 dB Q 5
Filter: ON PK Fc 8200 Hz Gain -6 dB Q 5
Filter: ON PK Fc 10000 Hz Gain -5.5 dB Q 6
Filter: ON PK Fc 10000 Hz Gain 7.8 dB Q 1
Filter: ON PK Fc 13700 Hz Gain -6 dB Q 8
Filter: ON PK Fc 15000 Hz Gain 3 dB Q 2

I tried to make it sound as natural as possible within the limits of this cheap headphone and without any obvious peaks.
I tried all EQs here, but they were all unusable to me, the headphone raw without EQ is a desaster, but with my EQ I would call it usable, sounds more like a 100$ headphone now, although there is still some slight droning with bass, which I couldn't quite fully eliminate.

also keep in mind that sound changes a lot with positioning, try sliding it around on your ear until you get the most neutral representation.

May I know why are there 2 10kHz filters?

 

[Jimbob54]

May I know why are there 2 10kHz filters?

It provides a broad hump with a sharp divot taken out of the middle at 10 k. An "M" shape if you will.

 

[Thalis]

It provides a broad hump with a sharp divot taken out of the middle at 10 k. An "M" shape if you will.

ah ok.... thank you. Already made a new entry in Peace.... will give it a try soon

 

[oluvsgadgets]

May I know why are there 2 10kHz filters?

The problem is that most look at a graph and try adjusting some filters to lower boosted areas and elevate others, but you need to listen. You need to find all peak frequencies by listening.

I am currently fine tuning the EQ, I think the ZX-110 can really be made to sound quite amazing.

 

[oluvsgadgets]

Ok, here the final EQ, took a while and sorry that I didn't sort it, but IMO like this it sounds more natural than a K371, thus we made a 100$ headphone out of it. bass is still slightly droning, I cannot get it any cleaner. I also compared it to Sonarworks' profile and interestingly they sound quite similar although I think mine is smoother overall.

Ps if you don't know what all the filters are doing, just play some pink noise and switch the single filters on and off, should become quite obvious then.

Preamp: -2 dB
Filter: ON PK Fc 40 Hz Gain 3.5 dB Q 1
Filter: ON PK Fc 90 Hz Gain -10 dB Q 0.3333
Filter: ON PK Fc 370 Hz Gain -2 dB Q 10
Filter: ON PK Fc 500 Hz Gain -2 dB Q 1.5
Filter: ON PK Fc 1000 Hz Gain 2.5 dB Q 2
Filter: ON PK Fc 1275 Hz Gain -2 dB Q 5
Filter: ON PK Fc 1500 Hz Gain 1.5 dB Q 1.5
Filter: ON PK Fc 1600 Hz Gain -6 dB Q 3
Filter: ON PK Fc 2000 Hz Gain 0.7 dB Q 1.5
Filter: ON PK Fc 5000 Hz Gain -4 dB Q 1.5
Filter: ON PK Fc 5250 Hz Gain -4.6 dB Q 4
Filter: ON PK Fc 7550 Hz Gain -12 dB Q 6.2354
Filter: ON PK Fc 8250 Hz Gain -12 dB Q 5
Filter: ON PK Fc 9850 Hz Gain -6.5 dB Q 8
Filter: ON PK Fc 9750 Hz Gain 7.5 dB Q 0.8
Filter: ON PK Fc 13750 Hz Gain -5.3 dB Q 8
Filter: ON PK Fc 11500 Hz Gain -10.7 dB Q 8
Filter: ON PK Fc 6100 Hz Gain -6.8 dB Q 5
Filter: ON PK Fc 250 Hz Gain -1 dB Q 1
Filter: ON PK Fc 140 Hz Gain -1 dB Q 0.8
Filter: ON PK Fc 90 Hz Gain -1 dB Q 1.5165
Filter: ON PK Fc 6750 Hz Gain -8 dB Q 10
Filter: ON PK Fc 9125 Hz Gain -6 dB Q 10
Filter: ON PK Fc 3000 Hz Gain -2.2 dB Q 5
Filter: ON PK Fc 3660 Hz Gain -6 dB Q 5
Filter: ON PK Fc 7200 Hz Gain 3.1 dB Q 1
Filter: ON PK Fc 10300 Hz Gain -5 dB Q 10

 

[Cahudson42]

Ok, here the final EQ,

Any chance you could select the 10-most effective? Qudelix, and others, have a 10-entry limit.

 

[oluvsgadgets]

reduced version with just 10 filters (tweaked a bit more in the meantime, I think it sounds quite nice like this):


Preamp: -3 dB
Filter: ON PK Fc 120 Hz Gain -9 dB Q 0.3333
Filter: ON PK Fc 1600 Hz Gain -6 dB Q 3
Filter: ON PK Fc 3650 Hz Gain -6 dB Q 5
Filter: ON PK Fc 5200.32 Hz Gain -5.6 dB Q 1.5
Filter: ON PK Fc 6500 Hz Gain -5.6 dB Q 3
Filter: ON PK Fc 7550 Hz Gain -12 dB Q 10
Filter: ON PK Fc 7750 Hz Gain 6.9 dB Q 0.9
Filter: ON PK Fc 8850 Hz Gain -13.8 dB Q 3
Filter: ON PK Fc 9700 Hz Gain 5.3 dB Q 0.7
Filter: ON PK Fc 10500 Hz Gain -12 dB Q 12