$9 Headphone Review: Sony MDR-ZX110

[Jimbob54]

Just ordered a pair. How much money went into this headphone? I mean I paid $10 on Amazon, shipping included, so Amazon is warehousing these, paying for shipping and is still making money. Sony is also making money selling them to Amazon. I'm assuming the factory workers are being paid as well as liability costs are factored in (returns/defects). I once heard that a $10 bottle of wine, when all the costs for distribution, marketing, etc are factored in, your getting $2 of wine. If Sony can make headphones this good for $2, what could they do with $20?

$9 and change more profit

 

[nerone]

Here I am

 

[ZööZ]

@Jimbob54 Any thoughts on the article? I guess if the amp is "transparent" it doesn't matter if it is balanced or single ended?
Or are they correct when stating: "Benchmark products are designed for maximum transparency. Our goal is to build products that faithfully capture and reproduce music. This means that our products are not designed to alter the sound of a recording. This transparency is critical in a studio monitoring chain. We feel that this also makes our products well-suited for home playback when a listener wants to hear the music the way it was heard in the studio. A voltage-balanced headphone amplifier would run contrary to our goals."

 

[Jimbob54]

@Jimbob54 Any thoughts on the article? I guess if the amp is "transparent" it doesn't matter if it is balanced or single ended?
Or are they correct when stating: "Benchmark products are designed for maximum transparency. Our goal is to build products that faithfully capture and reproduce music. This means that our products are not designed to alter the sound of a recording. This transparency is critical in a studio monitoring chain. We feel that this also makes our products well-suited for home playback when a listener wants to hear the music the way it was heard in the studio. A voltage-balanced headphone amplifier would run contrary to our goals."

I think the article is 9 parts fact and 1 part marketing spin. See also this post and the one after, both know their stuff. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...50s-custom-cables-pros-cons.19380/post-645855

Most of the new headphone amps reviewed here are audibly transparent, balanced or not. Power and functionality is the only real consideration you should have today.

 

[ZööZ]

I think the article is 9 parts fact and 1 part marketing spin. See also this post and the one after, both know their stuff. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...50s-custom-cables-pros-cons.19380/post-645855

Most of the new headphone amps reviewed here are audibly transparent, balanced or not. Power and functionality is the only real consideration you should have today.

Are you reading my mind right now, the proportions are the same I had in mind

 

[bobbooo]

I'll have to search the interwebs for the article I referred to because I don't actually remember all too well what it was, just remember that balanced amps tended to do worse in some regards vs single ended ones and it could introduce some "distortions" to the signal more often, it didn't mean good balanced amps did it on regular basis if I recall correctly. Guess I shouldnt comment from memory but I'll look around... it is ofcourse possible it was bullshit all together anyways

In reality some actually have lower noise and distortion running balanced compared to unbalanced, such as the Qudelix 5K (both still audibly transparent though):

 

[ZööZ]

In reality some actually have lower noise and distortion running balanced compared to unbalanced, such as the Qudelix 5K (both still audibly transparent though):

Any idea if the single end implementation is sub optimal or the balanced is just exceptional (compared to the balanced) or is it just something fundamental here that the balanced in reality can achieve better performance in this regard than is possible with single end?

 

[Jimbob54]

Worth noting (if it hasnt been said already) that there is a version (the ZX110 AP) that has an inline mic compatible with Android (I guess Apple is not compatible) for a few $ more for those that want to use these mobile/ casual gaming as well as music. Cant guarantee they are identical sonically but I would guess they are.

 

[192kbps]

MDR-ZX110 or MDR-ZX110AP？

 

[bobbooo]

Any idea if the single end implementation is sub optimal or the balanced is just exceptional (compared to the balanced) or is it just something fundamental here that the balanced in reality can achieve better performance in this regard than is possible with single end?

Here's what Qudelix say about the differences between their 5K's single-ended and balanced output:

 

[brimble]

eq is even simpler when the values are given to you on a silver platter

Exactly my thoughts. I've ordered a pair of these precisely because Amir has provided us with EQ values.

 

[Cahudson42]

Here's what Qudelix say about the differences between their 5K's single-ended and balanced output:

So, if you are going to use the ZX110 with the Qudelix, it 'may' be worth it to spend an additional $10 for:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C1XKK15/

And get benefits as stated in addition to headroom..

Provided you are a reasonably skilled solderer without too much of a tremor..

 

[nerone]

@ZööZ
Are the values entered in the EQ correct?


Someone who has ordered two pairs can try to modify like me in such a way that they have more opinions

 

[ZööZ]

@ZööZ
Are the values entered in the EQ correct?


Someone who has ordered two pairs can try to modify like me in such a way that they have more opinions

They are same as mine so I would hope so. Is the spectrum analyzer featured only on certain android versions or can I activate it somewhere as I don't have such a feature on mine. EDIT: NVM the spectrum analyzer just isn't visible when using 10 band mode... Switched back to 6 and there it was

 

[nerone]

@ZööZ , thanks very kind

 

[tomtoo]

@amirm should try this.
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Panasoni...ld=1&keywords=rp+ht+030&qid=1611398638&sr=8-1

Overal for a anemic smartphone out, i think its the much better choise. And no i get not payed by pana. Its realy a relief changing from the sony to the pana. They are both for the price absolutly ok. But imho the pana is more comfy and open. And for a anemic smartphone out, if you eq, its better getting some bass out then in.

 

[solderdude]

View attachment 107878

View attachment 107879

There is an error in the Qudelix explanation :
It states: 2x more power and driving capability

This is incorrect. It should say: up to 4x more power compared to unbalanced, or....: up to 2x higher output voltage compared to unbalanced.

In the bottom line they have a typo.. UNABL instead of UNBAL.

 

[Jimbob54]

I bit the bullet and bought a pair of the AP (with remote) arrived this morning. £15 from amazon. First impressions - massive wooly bass. Then I realised I'd left a previous eq active on my phone . Shall update with proper impressions after food.

UPDATE- even with only a couple of minutes (without the legacy EQ obviously) its pretty obvious @amirm assessment is pretty spot on. They are by no means the worst headphone I have heard without any EQ. But yes, decidedly flattened (not flat) tone to them and a lack of clarity. Im not an on-ear fan but I can handle these as there is soft pads and not too much clamp.

With the suggested EQ they really are very good and I think bossman is right, put them on someone blind (with EQ) and ask them to guess what they were listening to and a fair few might say an expensive pair at least in the $150-$300 bracket.

A worthy spend of £15 to cross reference Amir's opinion IMHO. They will happily be my new Zoom call/ listening to music while home working/ casual gaming set. If anyone has any ideas to potentially get these for such use case, I see no downside in ponying up a handful of $$ more for the mic version (Android but prob not iOS compatible).

For reference , this was playing from my phone via UAPP and a meizu hifi Pro dongle and Toneboosters plugin for the EQ. I set the pre-amp to auto adjust and the hardware vol slider is around 80-85 % for sufficient volume for casual listening in an room where I was the only person and no significant background noises. After about 90% volume they start to get shouty.

 

[ZööZ]

Now that I have listened to the MDR-ZX110 with eq my dt 990 eq (oratory1990 worn pads) don't sound so "bassboosted" as was my initial impression. Now that I started listening mostly the same songs through my speakers can't help but think I'll have to start measuring these sooner than later and apply eq because I can hear "issues" that equalization solved for the headphones mentioned. Have to give He-4xx and ath-m50x a try with equalization also.

 

[nerone]

If I use Tidal with UAPP in Bit-perfect, the ZX100 sounds a lot better with the little modification at no cost (imho)