Score: 8/10 – Very Good
Recommended? YES

These premium “ear-canal” headphones sound like much bigger headphones with sincere and deep bass response, and a mid and high range that is evenly balanced.  Truly the best earbuds we’ve heard in the sub $100 price range.

The Sony MDR-EX310LP personal monitor headphones are new to market and difficult to find reviews of. Radreviews wanted to be the first to publish a detailed review on these new personal monitor headphones from Sony.  Read on for details on how we felt about them, including their accessories, build quality, and sound.

Whats included:
In the package, Sony packs ear-bud drivers, hybrid silicone rubber earbuds (4 sizes), and noise isolation earbuds (3 sizes), a carrying case, and a small cord adjuster. All are pretty standard for mid and premium headphone models today.  The carrying case is good but not great; its made from a soft nylon fabric wrapped around a semi-rigid plastic case but theres no clasp to close it.

The Earbud tips are another interesting accessory, the MDR-EX310LP’s include both standard “hybrid Silicon” earbuds, as well as “noise isolation” buds which appear to be the same hybrid silicon earbuds, but with a ring of noise isolating foam sandwiched in the open ridge-back of the silicon earbud. Sony’s packaging has a small diagram that tries to illustrate this.  Surprisingly, these ear tips did not cut down ambient noise dramatically versus the standard tips.

Finally Sony has included the cord-wrap.  This is useful in case you want to use the headphones at the gym with an armband for your mp3 device. The cord wrap in this case works as advertised, and serves well for wrapping the headphones down to a shorter length. However it will not wrap up the entire length of the headphones 47″ cable.   The carrying case will fit the entire set however.

Regarding the construction:
The headphone construction is above par when compared with other headphones in the price range, but one gripe is that Sony hasn’t integrated a better wire design such as flat cables, or nylon wrapped cables, designed to eliminate tangling of the earbuds.  To Sony’s credit though, the wire construction is not as thin as on the Klipsch S4′s and some other popular brands.  The earbud construction itself feels solid, theres no large seams in the plastic and aluminum casing, and the wire leads connecting to each earbud are well secured using a long cone of strong rubber.   That rubber cone also helps eliminates “cable rash” noises from entering your ears.  The Sennheiser CX300 II’s are known to to suffer from this issue. Cable rash is when the sound of the jostling headphone cables enters your ear canals.  The headphone plug is the standard gold plated stereo mini-plug, and it features a right-angle jack.

How do they sound?
They are a pleasure, especially after  burn-in.  The first track I touched upon was Michael Jackson’s “Bad” and it was clear within the first 4 seconds that these earphones were worth their price.

The loud synthesizer riff was so full sounding, immediate, and clear…that it was a shock.  After listening to multiple tracks in a brief period I was able to get a good feel for the earphones performance.   The Sony MDR-EX310LP headphones perform equally well in a variety of music from electronica, to rock, to jazz, to rap and R&B. These earphones excel at all ends of the audio spectrum and have a tonal balance that is so even handed, that it suits all of these forms of music. I was a pleasure to hear distinct layers of instrumentation on songs, in a way that Ive come to only expect from larger headphones such as my Koss PortaPro’s and Beats by Dre Studio headphones. The bass is definitely present in these earphones thanks to the large 13.5mm diaphragm design, and its not muffled in any way… its just present, and gives you the feeling of complete accuracy.  Regarding the treble, its clear, precise, and not harsh. Listening to Lauryn Hill’s live acoustic performance of “Never Forget” on Unplugged 2, her voice was present in the center stage of my head.  It felt like I was there in the audience.  I keep a handful of acoustic tracks on my iphone, and they tend to focus on mid and high frequency ranges, and the MDR-EX310LP ‘s perform them exceptionally. I’ll reach for these instead of my Beats By Dre the next time I’m listening to acoustic or live tracks. Regarding the mid-range, these buds reproduce them faithfully, and with a presence that matches the treble and bass performances.  One final note: these earbuds are remarkably efficient compared to others tested.  Turning my ipod to 50% volume is an adequate listening level, versus 75% on the Monster DiddyBeats and Klipsch S4′s.

Regarding Comfort
Sony claims to have created a “newly developed stay-in design” on the box packaging, and it seems to work.  the earbuds are large, and thanks to the tacky rubber on the back of the earbud, it rests in your ear nicely (though noticeably).  The stay-in design seems to minimize shaking of the heavy earbud in your ears, and therefore minimize falling out.  The silicon ear pieces from Sony are firmer than some manufacturers but we were able to get a good fit thanks to the 4 different sizes included.  After 2 hours of listening, the Sony MDR-EX310LP headphones are still comfortable, though noticeable.  Based on your experience with in-ear headphones, your tolerance may vary.

How do they suit you in real life?
The earbuds work very well, they are well made and should last in daily use.  Although large, they are comfortable, and audio performance is very crisp, with no added artifacts, and a height to the sound stage that is uncommon with in-ear personal monitors.  The included cord-wrap will come in handy for athletic pursuits, and we look forward to including these ‘phones in our rotation.

Would you recommend them?
Yes.  They are a good deal at the $79.99 retail price, but Sony headphones can usually be found online for a discount. RadReviews recommends these headphones to newcomers to earbuds, as well as those that have tried other similarly priced headphones and not been happy.

Item Details:

Model Name:
Manufacturer: Samsung
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US Release date:
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