Recently I've lost the pads to my MDREX51LP set and have been using Maxell's HB202 headphones. They are pretty below average. They have poor sound quality and fit weird and are uncomfortable. Going through a bunch of old stuff, thinking hey, maybe I'll find something cool in here. I found some old mixes and a few missing CDs, and a few other random objects. But at the bottom of the box was similar to gold to me, I found a pair of headphones, missing interchangealbe caps, said Sony MDRQ22LP. This was a suprise since these headphones were around two years old and I then remember losing them when I had my RCA portable CD player (again, this was two years ago). Well, immediately I plugged them into my MP3 player to try them out. Overall, they have excellent sound, are pretty comfortable, and stay on in most activities.
Sony's MDRQ22LP headphones are of the clip design. They're pretty much headphones with no headband and instead clips to clip them to your ears. The cord design is a little strange. Instead of a traditional Y design, they're more like a Z. The right cord is pretty long and goes to the left cord which then drops down. It's similar to behind-the-neck headphones with the one cord only the headband was taken off. They come with interchangeable cups and have a clear and almost see-through colored cord so they match the iPod and all. The cord overall is pretty long so movements are never restricted if you ever travel with them. They have a usual L shaped plug so it won't get beat up like the line or slanted plugs.
Interchangeable Caps
Well, this is interesting since when I found these the caps were missing. Looking online, these have two interchangeable caps. One color is the basic silver and the other is this blue-purple mixed color that is pretty random. If I had the caps I would stick to the silver. With the caps off they are a gray and silver color which works for me.
Overall Sound Quality
Well, when I first found these sound was the most important since the HB202's had poor sound quality. I tested these headphones and overall their sound was above average and while not as good as canalphones MDREX51LP, they were better than my Philips HS520 pair. 16Hz-24,000 is a pretty decent range especially the treble end. Country sounded really clear and sharp. Dance and techno sounded fantasic with a lot of power bass and a clear, sharp sound. Metal sounded pretty clear and had enough beats. Pop sounded very clear with enough bass to satisfy me. R&B had a lot of bass and sounded clear. It handled all of the bass on rap and sounded clear. Rock sounded really clear with good bass. Speech sounded fantasic and very clear on these. Overall, the sound quality on the MDRQ22LP's are above average to near-audiophile quality.
Comfort
Comfort is another big issue with me since I wear headphones for long periods of time. Overall these are a very comfortable pair of headphones. Since they rest outside your ear they're more safe to wear outside then noise-cancelling headphones. They clip on easily and stay there with very little pressure. They don't fall off really at all. I could probably wear these headphones for several hours with no problems.
Durability/Portability
Like I said in my HB202 review, these might as well go together since in order to have portability, you have to have durability. Overall, the durability of these headphones seems pretty good. The clip on the headphone is secure enough and the cord could probably withstand a beating. As far as portability, since they're clip headphones, they'll be definitely small enough even for a small MP3 player case or such.
Price
At most places, these range anywhere from $14.99-$19.99. Overall, the price is pretty good for these headphones. They have great sound, great comfort, and could put up a beating if needed.
The Bottom Line
I'm pretty happy I no longer have to fiddle around with the HB202 headphones. They had below average sound and the comfort was pretty poor as well. I'm glad I looked through that box of old things, these aren't just above the HB202, they're above some other headphones I own as well. The sound is clear and has a decent amount of bass, they are comfortable to wear for hours, and are durable and portable. The cord sometimes gets in the way but just put scotch tape around the extra cord and it's no longer a problem. Sony's MDRQ22LP headphones are excellent replacement headphones for a CD player, MP3 player, or iPod.
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