$9 Headphone Review: Sony MDR-ZX110

[Merkurio]

@Merkurio I think it might be a limitation of the trail version. Its definitely worth investing the money into this software, I have been using it for a month or so and their software support is excellent. I was sent a beta version of an update to rule out crackling noise I was hearing in Safari during video playback.

Appreciate it!

 

[boselover61]

So Dr. Olive was right... there are little correlation between price and sound quality in headphones.... Wait when is he not right ?

 

[yahrightthere]

Haven't looked around all that much but is there a quick and easy tutorial in laymans terms on how to EQ here on the site?

But EQ this headphone and it produces reference quality sound!
You don't use EQ? Well, I don't want to hear. Actually, I don't even want to know you! You are wasting away your audiophile life without it. For zero cost you can transform a $9 headphone to a reference quality reproduction engine. buy this $9 headphone and put in my EQ.

 

[sweetchaos]

Haven't looked around all that much but is there a quick and easy tutorial in laymans terms on how to EQ here on the site?

My post should get you started.

 

[BillH]

Haven't looked around all that much but is there a quick and easy tutorial in laymans terms on how to EQ here on the site?

Look here:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ows-linux-macos-ios-ipados-and-android.18450/

 

[stalepie2]

I remember liking the earlier ZX-100 model, but most people in Amaozn customer reviews like this update because it had more bass.

 

[sweetchaos]

For Canadians...

Lowest price is currently CDN$18.
Sale ends on Jan 20.
Black, White.

I'm tracking all Canadian resellers/dealers who sell these headphones here.

 

[ROOSKIE]

No, I meant speakers. This is the kind of sound I wish speakers would produce but very few do. I am trying to get diehard speaker guys to give headphones a try.

I am a diehard speaker guy and have been trying many headphones.
So far my conclusion is they are not really my jam no matter how good they are.
I love the sound "bath" of sound filling a room bombarding my whole body and I love the spacial sense. I love room filling imaging and I love floor shaking - not to mention listening with my GF side by side.
I just dont care for the "in my head" condensed sound. Plus I just can't enjoy the physical pressure on my head for more than an hour or so no matter what.
To each their own and I am deff gonna try this pair for fun however headphones and speakers are just not interchangeable in my world.
Plus with speakers I can DIY which at times seems silly with all the great finished products and at other times is just so rewarding.
I do go for city night walks from time to time with headphones and deff use em late night when sleeping people are around and sometimes on airplanes. Sometimes they are better than nothing but honestly I always wish I could just rock the big gear.

 

[moonlight rainbow dream]

I swore off spending any kind of real money on portables after I discovered the Sony MH755 and the Sony MH1C. These things are marvels... cheap, disposable and I can listen to them all day and just get lost in the music (this is even without EQ). The transparency of the midrange is actually a reference to me when evaluating speakers. Before this, I was a hardcore Etymotic guy and I had wasted many hundreds of dollars replacing lost and broken earphones which will inevitably happen with a daily driver.

Glad to see Sony can work the same magic with an on-ear.

 

[ROOSKIE]

I just ordered 2 pairs to try off amazon. It is currently the best seller in the "on ear" catergorie.
I wonder if this review caused that or if that was pre-review??

 

[posvibes]

What's that? You don't use EQ? Well, I don't want to hear. Actually, I don't even want to know you! You are wasting away your audiophile life without it.

This goaded me to actually download a parametric equalizer, I was intimidated by the need for the "computerwhatsits" but took the plunge thinking it was going to be incremental at best and I wasn't confident that the difference would be audible to me.

The Peace interface made it much easier than I feared it would be, although I haven't come to terms with all of its possibilities, but inputting some pre-measured eq values has made such a vast, pleasurable and audible difference I am simply amazed.

Boy was I wrong, it's great. I feel like I am back in the game!

 

[samwell7]

I swore off spending any kind of real money on portables after I discovered the Sony MH755 and the Sony MH1C. These things are marvels... cheap, disposable and I can listen to them all day and just get lost in the music (this is even without EQ). The transparency of the midrange is actually a reference to me when evaluating speakers. Before this, I was a hardcore Etymotic guy and I had wasted many hundreds of dollars replacing lost and broken earphones which will inevitably happen with a daily driver.

Glad to see Sony can work the same magic with an on-ear.

Hey I want to try the MH755 or MH1C but it seems that all the listings I can find are fake, where do you buy them from?

 

[Promit]

... what. I mean I wouldn’t buy these for any number of reasons but seriously. Unbelievable. They have no right to be even tolerable in this price bracket.

 

[Emlin]

So, how does it measure after EQ? Or is after EQ to be only subjective?

 

[xykreinov]

Hilarious, awesomely hilarious. I think this is one of the biggest jabs at subjectivist, boutique-audiophiles on this website.

Combine with a Qudelix 5k for it's PEQ, and for $120, it appears you have 'close' to a SOTA nicely portable HP system

Or, you could choose from a slew of free PEQ software. Apple products are pretty much the only thing that those are trouble with. I only look to hardware DSP if the higher audio latency of software is an issue (gaming, video/music production, etc.), and it rarely matters in a portable setup. AutoEQ hosts an in-depth guide to them: https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq#windows

 

[johnk]

I got a pair of these for my daughter recently - I'll have to "borrow" them back for some testing

 

[xykreinov]

So, how does it measure after EQ? Or is after EQ to be only subjective?

This would be one of the best guesses: https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/Au...zer_hdm-x_harman_over-ear_2018/Sony MDR-ZX110
A member could send a ZX110 to oratory1990 to know for sure, though.

 

[Ron Texas]

Actually, this fits the bill for lots of people because it is cheap and light. I don't know how to EQ cans on a mobile phone, though. Thank you @amirm

 

[xykreinov]

This goaded me to actually download a parametric equalizer, I was intimidated by the need for the "computerwhatsits" but took the plunge thinking it was going to be incremental at best and I wasn't confident that the difference would be audible to me.

The Peace interface made it much easier than I feared it would be, although I haven't come to terms with all of its possibilities, but inputting some pre-measured eq values has made such a vast, pleasurable and audible difference I am simply amazed.

Boy was I wrong, it's great. I feel like I am back in the game!

The first headphone I did a a full PEQ to the Harman Target with was the Sony WH-1000XM3. Its preference score is in the 30s, so the difference was immense. It drove me mad. I listened for hours and hours like I hadn't before. I dug through tracks I hadn't listened to in years because I thought I had worn out their enjoyment. Even my other studio headphones like the Status Audio CB-1 and Beyerdynamic DT770 600 ohm, which lack the oh so evil ANC, simply coudn't compete without EQ. But, when I did EQ them, it was game over. The DT770's improved tonality combined with its lower distortion offered an experience unlike any I had before. Though I had registered many months prior, It was that night I really started delving deep into ASR.

 

[stalepie2]

The Koss KPH30i sound a good bit better, in my opinion, and did not need EQ. They cost a little more at $30.