$9 Headphone Review: Sony MDR-ZX110

[amsterdance]

Ok so, after almost a week I can confirm that these headphones doesn't worth it, I mean, it's just $10 but things are highly overprices here (South America) and these cost almost 10% of a minimum wage.

I've been using my Philips A5 Pro for 6 years and I love them specially for music like trance but I get the 110 because I want a more portable headphones. With some heavy EQ they can sound "decent" at least in my PC but they are just bad on phone and consoles where you can't modify the sound, I don't know if mine came bad but the sound is louder on the left so I have to increase around 2.5db on the right channel.

I've asked in the store and they can give me a JBL T450 or Philips SHL3165 in exchange, idk if someone has tested any of them but they both seem better than the 110 at least in specs and some reviews but a lot of reviews say that the 110 are great so, who knows...

 

[buscon]

These headphones don't do bass and with lots of EQ (which is needed) the distortion and compression in the bass is huge.

Fine for tele-conferencing.

thanks for posting this review, it is indeed a good point.
I would like to hear what other people in this thread think about it, I guess many have been using these headphones by now and have an opinion about it.

 

[buscon]

About the differences between the MDR-ZX110 and the MDR-ZX110AP: based on Sonarworks they are exactly the same, only the microphone is the difference:

 

[amsterdance]

Ok so, after almost a week I can confirm that these headphones doesn't worth it, I mean, it's just $10 but things are highly overprices here (South America) and these cost almost 10% of a minimum wage.

I've been using my Philips A5 Pro for 6 years and I love them specially for music like trance but I get the 110 because I want a more portable headphones. With some heavy EQ they can sound "decent" at least in my PC but they are just bad on phone and consoles where you can't modify the sound, I don't know if mine came bad but the sound is louder on the left so I have to increase around 2.5db on the right channel.

I've asked in the store and they can give me a JBL T450 or Philips SHL3165 in exchange, idk if someone has tested any of them but they both seem better than the 110 at least in specs and some reviews but a lot of reviews say that the 110 are great so, who knows...

I'd like to know if the lower volume on one side (mine is on right side) is common in these headphones or if mine are faulty.

As I said, I can get the T450 in exchange, some reviews say (like Rtings) that the JBL are not a huge improvement but have better sound than these but idk if just change them or use the warranty for the volume problem.

About the AP version there are some people that say the mic model is more clear and not too boomy so idk what to say.

 

[buscon]

About the AP version there are some people that say the mic model is more clear and not too boomy so idk what to say.

about that, did you see the frequency responses I posted above? The standard version and the AP version should be exactly the same. I tested the two models these days and they sound exactly the same to me.

 

[amsterdance]

about that, did you see the frequency responses I posted above? The standard version and the AP version should be exactly the same. I tested the two models these days and they sound exactly the same to me.

Yes, that's why I said that idk what to say because you can find some comments in Head-Fi or even in this thread about some differences, that's what the user Thalis wrote (you can see that in the page 22):

"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."

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

So, you have tested them, what can you say about the volume problem?, I know some headphones are louder on one side because I had this problem with a Superlux but I don't know if that's a common problem with these.

 

[buscon]

Yes, that's why I said that idk what to say because you can find some comments in Head-Fi or even in this thread about some differences, that's what the user Thalis wrote (you can see that in the page 22):

"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."

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

So, you have tested them, what can you say about the volume problem?, I know some headphones are louder on one side because I had this problem with a Superlux but I don't know if that's a common problem with these.

ok, I understand.

I compared the headphones and to my hearing I could not notice any difference between the two versions. Maybe it is a QC issue or maybe also of perception... hard to say.

 

[matts19]

One remarkable thing about these headphones is that they are never fatiguing. They are even more laid back than my 600/6XX/r70x. I admit this is mostly due to the fact that the drivers are small and dynamics are lacking, being a cheap product. Quite often, overly dynamic phones are too energetic and zestful for my liking. Often I just like to reach for these headphones and enjoy the music. Since I do not listen at loud volume anyway, I do not worry about distortions either, even with bass EQ. Without cranking the volume I could still hear quite a lot of details which is amazing for $9 phones. I applied vaseline to every nook and cranny around the drivers to minimize creaking.

 

[Emlin]

One remarkable thing about these headphones is that they are never fatiguing. They are even more laid back than my 600/6XX/r70x. I admit this is mostly due to the fact that the drivers are small and dynamics are lacking, being a cheap product. Quite often, overly dynamic phones are too energetic and zestful for my liking. Often I just like to reach for these headphones and enjoy the music. Since I do not listen at loud volume anyway, I do not worry about distortions either, even with bass EQ. Without cranking the volume I could still hear quite a lot of details which is amazing for $9 phones. I applied vaseline to every nook and cranny around the drivers to minimize creaking.

Most use vaseline to avoid the cracking.

 

[matts19]

Most use vaseline to avoid the cracking.

Funny I thought of same as others lol.

 

[EasyGuy]

Just got these for a long flight soon and I am surprised by how good they sound. The suggested EQ helped, but good regardless. I have so many bluetooth earbuds, from Samsung and Sony, but these cheapie sound much better. I will probably stay away from bluetooth headphones from now on, always get disappointed. Now I'm curious about the AKG 371....

Not as good as the HD6XX, but the price is like 100x more lol.

Even my gf who doesn't care about these liked them because they are light and "decent sounding", she now wants me to buy her one, I told her no ring then lol.

 

[phoenixsong]

Just got these for a long flight soon and I am surprised by how good they sound. The suggested EQ helped, but good regardless. I have so many bluetooth earbuds, from Samsung and Sony, but these cheapie sound much better. I will probably stay away from bluetooth headphones from now on, always get disappointed. Now I'm curious about the AKG 371....

Not as good as the HD6XX, but the price is like 100x more lol.

Even my gf who doesn't care about these liked them because they are light and "decent sounding", she now wants me to buy her one, I told her no ring then lol.

There will still be a ring- the sound of the last few coins being emptied out of your wallet

On a tight budget, going the single DD IEM route might be an alternative worthy of consideration

 

[Cote Dazur]

So I had to try those, I had them for a few days, past the first few time when I was listening to the headphones instead of listening to the music, I now totally appreciate how great those headphones are, and not just for the money.
Thank you @amirm for taking the time to measure those and sharing your impression with us.
Plugged to my iPhone, they play great music!
At that price, anyone should have a pair, forget the hardware, just play music.

 

[Cote Dazur]

After spending more time with those, I have to revise my previous post. Those headphones are pleasant but also opaque. There is a lot of musical clue missing. I keep noticing on some parts were missing but my tell point was listening to Norma Winstone Cafe. On those Headphone I cannot make out the words of the song, it does not sound bad, just muffled and unintelligible.
That those could get a recommandation from ASR, from people who should know better, not just this case but with other instance, makes me reconsider how I will use this site information from now on.

 

[SMc]

After spending more time with those, I have to revise my previous post. Those headphones are pleasant but also opaque. There is a lot of musical clue missing. I keep noticing on some parts were missing but my tell point was listening to Norma Winstone Cafe. On those Headphone I cannot make out the words of the song, it does not sound bad, just muffled and unintelligible.
That those could get a recommandation from ASR, from people who should know better, not just this case but with other instance, makes me reconsider how I will use this site information from now on.

Thanks for being so specific. Using the Spotify app eq to approximate Amir's settings, I heard every word in the song you brought up. The clarinet solo does sound a bit lacking in fullness and I have encountered obvious bass distortion with orchestral music, so they aren't perfect, but for $10 with eq the Sony is a miracle and highly recommendable at that price.

 

[Cote Dazur]

highly recommendable at that price.

That is one way to look at it, but maybe at that price it is mission impossible for any pretend of High Fidelity.
I posted to damper my first post as to not misled peoples, these headphones are somehow seductive at first but eventually too much is missing to hold interest.
If anyone finds those satisfactory to listen to music, I am glad they have found a cheap (as in unexpansive) way to do it.

 

[krabapple]

"I'm gonna complain about how mediocre these headphones sound and ignore the Amir's crucial EQ recommendation" <--apparent attitude of some posters here.

 

[Saidera]

Yes, but the fact is that most layperson listeners (including myself) find the EQ effect varies. If you use Sony Oxford EQ type 3 and Sonnox Inflator VSTs then the changes are pretty nice, but if you use random parametric EQ or JRiver EQ, and then add crossfeed, then having EQ and not having it seem almost the same. A bad headphone is just bad (relative to other kinds of pricier headphones), albeit better with EQ obviously.

But in the huge world of headphones, with all kinds of styles and designs and sounds, I'd say this has great cost-performance and was my first headphone that I bought when I went to the city, pricematched for it, and used it with DSEE HX on a ThinkPad as a visitor in a hospital. Great headphone to use and abuse outdoors. Great when quality doesn't matter with all the noise outdoors. Great when you lose a headphone, easy to replace. Way cheaper than an XM4 or XM5. I would recommend using it with tissue paper to cover the drivers like a Yamaha NS10. Also try and increase the EQ settings so that the changes are more apparent. Also adjust the fit so that they feel comfortable. Also recommend using it with Apple USB-C dongle 3.5 mm jack version, the cheapest combination ever of Sony&Apple. EQ quality is crucial.

After half a year, I’ve dug out my ZX110 again, and although it’s not as detailed and realistic as ATH-M30x with EQ, it works well enough. I can’t imagine what might be different in 1AM2, M1ST, 7506, CD900ST, Z7M2, Z1R, XM4, XM5 and such, but ZX110 shares various specs with the Sony family of headphones.

 

[Cote Dazur]

Thanks for being so specific. Using the Spotify app eq to approximate Amir's settings, I heard every word in the song you brought up

It’s me that should thank you for enticing me to try Amir EQ on those headphone. you are absolutely right the lyrics are perfectly clear once the EQ is applied without the EQ, the headphones are not clear but with the EQ the sound is captivating so I understand now what EQ can bring
unfortunately I can only use those headphone on my computer because I don’t have a ability to EQ on my iPhone or on my iPad but that’s fine.
On the PC is where those headphones are going to be connected to from now on, so thank you again .

 

[asrUser]

I bought the ZX110 and set up the Eq like Amirm suggested. Okay it sounds a lot better than without Eq, but then again I hear some distortions. Also the bass sounds bloated. Comparing to Aeon 2 Noire is not really fair, but hey, Amirm said something about "reference quality". So I tried the Noire with and without Eq and there was less distortion depending on recording. It just sounds a lot more neutral whereas the Sony is more like a V shape with bloated bass.

By the way I had to skip a meal to buy those.

@amirm Do you have any suggestions on how I may change the suggested Eq for better results on the Sony, please?