Cote Dazur
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Your mind is telling you the one you spend so much money on and want to prefer is the one you prefer, so all is good in your world, lucky you.
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$9 Headphone Review: Sony MDR-ZX110
- Thread starter amirm
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For me I like to rotate between headphones and compare. As far as I know amirm mains a DCA Stealth. Is it also just because he wants to prefer it?
I must say those Sonys aren't bad. Comfort wise they are one of the most comfy On-Ear headphones to wear. It would be even better, if they were wireless and given a microphone.
ZööZ
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mdr-zx110ap version has a microphoneFor me I like to rotate between headphones and compare. As far as I know amirm mains a DCA Stealth. Is it also just because he wants to prefer it?
I must say those Sonys aren't bad. Comfort wise they are one of the most comfy On-Ear headphones to wear. It would be even better, if they were wireless and given a microphone.
It's not wireless though and a microphone in front of the mouth will make better call quality.
restorer-john
Grand Contributor
With or without EQ, these things are truly horrible. A pair landed in my lap for free, so I had a bit of a listen, poked around with DEQ and promptly threw them in a drawer as 'emergency headphones'. Let's hope that 'emergency' never occurs.
Maybe 'poking around' isn't the best method.
"I must say, I was not prepared for the transformation that these four filters made. The result was an extremely accurate and audiophile headphone! If I performed a blind test, I am pretty sure many people would think this is a high-end headphone. It certainly beats out majority of speakers out there. I was most impressed with detail, clarity and spatial effects. The latter was also a surprise. Maybe the drivers sit an angle and provide for better results there. While you don't have a huge soundstage, the instrument separation is quite good and satisfying." - Amir, who based his EQ on actual measurements
How can a test be blind? You feel the shape of the pads on your hears no? tested compared to what?
ROOSKIE
Major Contributor
The listener would have no idea which set they are.
Like $10 wine in $100 bottle. How would you know by holding the bottle?
You would know they are light and on ear style though which for some might not impress.
Although this literalism is kind of missing the point....that with a few well chosen bumps in EQ, Amir reports that these phones can sound excellent -- I will engage
Blinding' in this case would be in a test for preference, and what you'd be blinded to is brand/model/price as well as appearance. There would be several possible ways to perform the test. One possible way to compare would be to provide a functionally 'high end' headphones (measures well without EQ, sounds good, possibly pricey) as the reference, then present the user with other phones, including the Sony , and ask which of them sounds closest to 'high end', as they switch back and forth. Other protocols are possible.
Obviously it would only be valid if the subject isn't tactilely experienced with the headphones in advance, i.e. doesn't know them by 'feel' before the test.
Even if that's necessarily true (and that's arguable) it would then prove even more remarkable if the user ranked its *sound* high, no?
Are you arguing that they can't sound 'high end' after a few judicious EQ tweaks, contrary to Amir's report? Or are you obsessing over protocol details of a hypothetical blind test (one for preference, not difference).
Are you arguing that they can't sound 'high end' after a few judicious EQ tweaks, contrary to Amir's report? Or are you obsessing over protocol details of a hypothetical blind test (one for preference, not difference).
I am saying it’s not really a blind test.
Robin L
Master Contributor
That would be the issue---no test could be entirely "blind", these zippy little lightweight on-ear 'phones can be differentiated from something with big earpads like the Sennheiser HD 5XX or 6XX series by feel alone. Comfort might be a factor of this sort as well.
Realy remarkable
So, obsessing about hypothetical protocol details in a hypothetical blind test Amir posits . Not engaging with the substance of what Amir reported. Got it.
Yes, changing two variables at once is not clean experimental design.
A test for *difference* where the task is to correctly identify A and B would be fatally confounded by the need to wear the headphones.
A test for *preference* recognizes that you can tell A from B. It's a given. Hypothetically, one could ask you to report which headphone sounds more or less 'high end' from among two or several. The feel of the phones could be a fatal confounder if the sound of the Sonys tended to be ranked low compared to more comfortable phones.
What would be harder to explain on that basis would be if the sound of the Sony tended to rank high among phones that were similarly or more comfortable.
That might be an implication of Amir's report, though he did not equate 'high end' with ear comfort. He was pretty clearly referring to the sound only.
If you're saying it's impossible evaluate headphone sound preference blind.... Sean Olive would disagree, citing Harman's use of virtual headphone test methodology. I would guess Amir is aware of this. Ask him if that's how he would perform his blind test.
Now would anyone like to offer a reason why Amir's report, of which the hypothetical blind test is just one aspect, couldn't reflect reality? So far all I see is argument from incredulity on that front.
restorer-john
Grand Contributor
Poking around meant taking Amirs ‘correction’ and applying as close to that as I could. Definitely made them better, but no silk purse.
Nothing really rescued them. But I had go.
They also pressed way too hard to be comfortable for more than a few minutes.
I might cut off the lead to repair other headphones as it is decent.
solderdude
Grand Contributor
I gave away mine.
Usable for video conferencing, very position/seal dependent.
EQ may get tonanilty a bit better but distortion is not 'salvageable' and compression already starts above 70dB SPL.
Even at low listening levels with not even 'Harman' bass correction the distortion is already off the charts.
It is one of the worst measuring headphones I came across in the years I have been at it, save some few $ crap.
Should I need a lightweight cheap on-ear headphone I would prefer the 3x more expensive KPH30i
Usable for video conferencing, very position/seal dependent.
EQ may get tonanilty a bit better but distortion is not 'salvageable' and compression already starts above 70dB SPL.
Even at low listening levels with not even 'Harman' bass correction the distortion is already off the charts.
It is one of the worst measuring headphones I came across in the years I have been at it, save some few $ crap.
Should I need a lightweight cheap on-ear headphone I would prefer the 3x more expensive KPH30i
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Personally I come here more for the measurments than for Amir’s subjective evaluation, no need to « engage in the substance of what Amir’s reported » I don’t have an opinion on this I haven’t tried it. But, if proper blind test methodology don’t matter to you, and visibly, measurments don’t matter much neither since these measure objectively horribly, then are the subjective listening test the only valid point to be taken from these reviews? In all case, no doubt this EQ will help these headphones sound better, yes that (Eq/Bypass) can certainly be quite conclusive blind. But preference to different headphones, there would be too much bias to have any results that are more conclusive than sighted, and bias is not only one direction you know.
Was wondering if Anirm bought a pair that got some upgrades but still had the same seriel number MDR-ZX110. Could that made a difference in performance.
solderdude
Grand Contributor
Highly unlikely.
The measurements Amir made show huge amounts of distortion at 94dB already (at the same levels mine did).
I suspect Amir listened to it at background levels only with EQ.
On the other hand the $ 2.5k Raal had similar amounts of distortion and with EQ that one sounded fine to Amir.
Sooooo how important is distortion below a few hundred Hz ?
Anyway.. I did not like it without and EQ nor with EQ and would suggest to buy something else instead for a bit more money.
You simply can't expect to have top tier performance for $ 10 plus some EQ.
It simply does not work that way.
The measurements Amir made show huge amounts of distortion at 94dB already (at the same levels mine did).
I suspect Amir listened to it at background levels only with EQ.
On the other hand the $ 2.5k Raal had similar amounts of distortion and with EQ that one sounded fine to Amir.
Sooooo how important is distortion below a few hundred Hz ?
Anyway.. I did not like it without and EQ nor with EQ and would suggest to buy something else instead for a bit more money.
You simply can't expect to have top tier performance for $ 10 plus some EQ.
It simply does not work that way.
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