Sony MDR-EX71SLA: best iphone headphones?

[chopper dave]

I ordered a pair of these online for only $30- the same price as the iphone headphones. They come with a 18" built-in cord and a 24" extension cord, connected with a light and small connector. The main headphone jack can be modified to work perfectly with the iPhone by simply cutting back 1/8" of soft insulation around the jack. It looks so good that it could have been made that way.

But that is not all. The extension cord can be modified in a similar way, cutting away a little soft insulation and then scraping away a little plastic, either with a razor blade (my choice) or a Dremel tool. You have then effectively made an awesome adaptor for other headphones or outputs. If you subtract the cost of buying another adaptor, the headphones (kind of) only cost $20.

I like the extension cord more than any of the adaptors they sell in the Apple Store. The Belkin one is especially horrible, being so stiff that it is constantly coming out, looks retarded, and won't work in my pocket.

Finally, the sound quality is somewhere between the Shure E2Cs and the included headphones. They have more bass than the Shures, but are definitely not as clear. Keep in mind they cost only 1/3 as much though. They FEEL much better than the Shures, which are just too big and heavy for my ear canal. They also don't make me look like a total nerd, according to my fiance.

I'll try and post pictures later of the jack modifications I made. Perhaps, if I'm feeling very adventurous, I'll try and graft them onto an iPhone headphone cable (for the mic). Has anyone here tried this with these?

[mr.666]

thanks. i'll aviod the belkin. i'm cutting back my ear candy's, i'll let ya know how that goes.
P.S. is this "the" chopper dave?

[joseftu]

I have those same earbuds, and love them. But I like the little microphone/controller on the iPhone headphones. So I cut off the iPhone earbuds (right near where the cord joins the bud), and soldered on the Sonys. Don't hesitate to do it. It's great. The best of both worlds.

(although if you're smarter than me, you'll remember to slide a little white heat-shrink tubing on before you solder the connections. Then you won't have to use white electrical tape, which is not as neat as it should be. )

[rxmxsh]

Where did you find them for $30?

[e.n.d.]

I used my ex71's religiously with my 60gb ipod. The bass is great. However, I don't bother using them with my iPhone because they don't improve the sound much.

To me the iPhone doesn't hit low frequencies as well as my ipod so I might as well use earbuds with a mic and remote.

[chopper dave]

Here, as promised, are my plug mods. The round one is the one from the buds, the angle one is from the extension cord.

The round one involved just cutting the insulation with a razor blade. The extension cord needed a little more hacking of the "hard" insulation under the soft stuff. You could get it a lot neater if you were more patient- this only took 5 minutes. The angled one actually looks pretty nice in the phone because it is angled almost flush with the side of the phone.

Got them for $30 from Amazon with free "super saver" shipping:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...232342-2605224