The Sony MDR-EX51LP/EX71SL Maintenance FAQ

[Doug Gilmour]

Sony MDR-EX51LP/EX71SL Maintenance FAQ

Ok I have been on the "Ear/Headphones" Board a lot lately and have seen many asking about the Sony MDR-EX51LPs and the EX71SLs. Many iPod owners have these popular earphones as they are relatively inexpensive compared to other In-ear type headphones and they sound pretty good. Now as I have been browsing around on the iPodlounge I have seen a couple instances where people have been having troubles with the Headphones. This little Guide is made to help prevent users of these excellent Headphones form problems like this.

First off I would like to provide you with some info on the two different headphones:

Sony MDR-EX51LP
Sony MDR-EX71SL

As you can see they are almost identical. The only differences that I can gather are these:

-The EX51LPs come with a little plastic case for the earbuds while the EX71SLs come with a little "pouch".
-The EX71SLs have a shiny backing to the earbuds while the EX51LPs don't.
-The EX71SL have a little connector near it's plug that dettaches the plug from the rest of the wire.

As you can see these differences are extremely minor and do not matter. As for the $10 difference between the two, I am as puzzled as you are.

Now that you are acquainted with the two headphones I would like to start getting into the maintenance part of this FAQ. If you read the first link you will see that this person had a problem with his/her MDR-EX71SLs. The problem is actually quite common and has happened to me twice. What happened was one of the buds on the headphone actually stopped working completely and no sound was coming out of it at all on one side. Now if you're listening to your iPod and all of a sudden find that one earbud is receiving less sound than usual don't be alarmed yet as it may be something else. Check the earbud that you are having trouble with and check the little hole where the sound comes from. Since these are In-ears it is common that the earbuds will become filled with ear wax. If you can't even see a hole in the earbuds than there is definitely a wax build up. What you need to do is get rid fo that wax in there with an object with a very fine point such as a mechanical pencil or a Compass tool from math class (it's the instrument that lets you draw circles with precision). So basically just get the tool that you are using and poke a little hole very carefully into where you would normally see the hole, if indeed your earbuds are full of wax. This will allow sound to pass through it again.

Here is a picture of a clean hole in the earbud, please excuse the blurriness, but it was the best I could do.

Now if you have checked your earbuds and you see that the holes are not plugged with wax your problem is most likely a bit more serious. This problem has happened to me twice and I have had to return my EX51LPs twice for the same reason. What usually happens is people yank the earbuds out of their ears once they are finished with them. Do not yank the earbuds out of your ear, if there is anything that you listen to in this FAQ make it that. I have discussed this with a Sony employee at the local Sony Store and he says that when you yank them out of your ear the wire inside the cord starts getting damaged. Eventually continual mistreatment of them will cause the wire to break, in turn ruining the circuit that goes to the ear. So in other words you will stop hearing sound in one of the earbuds. Now this is a really big pain as you will need to get a replacement pair.

From where I bought it (a Sony Store) the earphones were included with a 1 year warranty. (I am not sure if you bought yours from Audiocubes, etc. if they are covered) Now since the majority of you ordered your earphones online it may not be very convenient to replace them. This is why I recommend buying them from a retail store, so if you have this problem they will be extremely easy to replace. Trust me you will understand why, when you get a message from Audiocubes saying they won't be delievered for another week and all you have to wear for a week are the Stock earphones. So I went into the Sony Store. The man just asked me a few questions when I told him that they weren't working. He gave me a receipt to sign, punched some things into his PC, and within 5 minutes I had a brand new pair of EX51LPs.

Now that I have experienced this twice I take proper care of these great earphones. The first pair I had lasted about 2 months, as did the second pair. This third pair has lasted around 3 months so far, since I have been taking a bit more care of them. I wrote this FAQ basically to get people to realize that the Sony MDR-EX51LP and MDR-EX71SL can break quite easily, and let you guys know how to prevent it from happening. So remember just follow these steps if you experience that there is no sound coming from a earbud:

1. If you are using the EX71's with the extension cable, make sure that the two cables are connected properly (push very hard to connect).

2. Check if there is wax blocking the little hole in the earbud.

3. If there is wax clean it out with a tool with a very fine point

4. If there isn't re-check to make sure that there isn't any sound coming out of them.

5. If they're still not working than try to return it and get a replacement pair as soon as you can.

Remember though, even if your earphones are working absolutely perfectly, don't yank the earbuds out of your ear, just gently pull them out. Eventually if you continue to yank them you will run into problems.

I hope you found this little FAQ helpful. Please enjoy your earbuds because they are a great pair. If you have any questions PM me or email me at Jimmypage [at] gmail [dot] com

-Dan

[bench]

i've also heard that the ex71 are too short without the extension and too long with the extension. and that the ex51 are "standard" length, although not extendable like the ex71. is this true?

on the sonystyle site, it says that both earbuds have a cord length of 4 ft. but on amazon, they say the ex51 cord length is 4 ft while the ex71 cord length is: 1.5 feet (includes separate 3.3-foot extension cord) -- which would make the ex71 longer as a whole with the extension, making what i just described in my first paragraph to be true. yet i would think the sony site would be more accurate than amazon... strange.

and i think both earbuds come with some kind of carrying case? the ex51 with a hard case and the ex71 with a soft case?

[Doug Gilmour]

Originally posted by bench
i've also heard that the ex71 are too short without the extension and too long with the extension. and that the ex51 are "standard" length, although not extendable like the ex71. is this true?

on the sonystyle site, it says that both earbuds have a cord length of 4 ft. but on amazon, they say the ex51 cord length is 4 ft while the ex71 cord length is: 1.5 feet (includes separate 3.3-foot extension cord) -- which would make the ex71 longer as a whole with the extension, making what i just described in my first paragraph to be true. yet i would think the sony site would be more accurate than amazon... strange.

and i think both earbuds come with some kind of carrying case? the ex51 with a hard case and the ex71 with a soft case?

I am not sure about the cable length on the EX71 since I have never used it, but I think Amazon is right about it. The EX51 lenth is fine for me and I think it would be considered standard. As for the case, I didn't think the EX71 comes with a case, but I checked and it apparently ocmes with a "pouch". I do know that the EX51 comes with a cheap little plastic case, which I never use anyways.

-Dan

[squirrelly]

The 71s are to short, I just returned mine, might go with the 51s

[Doug Gilmour]

Originally posted by squirrelly
The 71s are to short, I just returned mine, might go with the 51s

The 51s are an excellent length in my opinion. Not too long and not too short. They go perfectly from my iPod in my pockey to my ears with a good amount of slack left over to move comfortably.

-Dan

[dwchin]

Thanks for posting this faq......I've had my EX51's for about 5-6 months now without problems, but I admit sometimes I do tend to yank (albeit gently...they are in-ear so I wouldn't want to just rip them out). I think now I'll start pulling them gently out instead

I agree about the EX51's cord length.....it's pretty "standard," and a great length provided you don't use the remote. If I do need to attach the remote to it, then sometimes I find it's a bit long unless I'm actually putting my iPod in a backpack or something.

and i think both earbuds come with some kind of carrying case? the ex51 with a hard case and the ex71 with a soft case?

The "case" for the EX51 is actually a small little capsule which holds the buds pretty well. The problem? It doesn't hold the cord along with it. To me, that's kind of useless.....I almost never use the capsule thing and I've ended up sticking them in a case originally used for some Sennheiser buds. Not a perfect fit, but it's better than nothing. EX71's in black I *think* come with an actual hard case which accomodates the cord along with the buds. EX71's in white does not, as far as I know....I emailed a few people about it when deciding if I wanted a pair and no one told me the whites had a hard case.

[Doug Gilmour]

Originally posted by dwchin
Thanks for posting this faq......I've had my EX51's for about 5-6 months now without problems, but I admit sometimes I do tend to yank (albeit gently...they are in-ear so I wouldn't want to just rip them out). I think now I'll start pulling them gently out instead

I agree about the EX51's cord length.....it's pretty "standard," and a great length provided you don't use the remote. If I do need to attach the remote to it, then sometimes I find it's a bit long unless I'm actually putting my iPod in a backpack or something.



The "case" for the EX51 is actually a small little capsule which holds the buds pretty well. The problem? It doesn't hold the cord along with it. To me, that's kind of useless.....I almost never use the capsule thing and I've ended up sticking them in a case originally used for some Sennheiser buds. Not a perfect fit, but it's better than nothing. EX71's in black I *think* come with an actual hard case which accomodates the cord along with the buds. EX71's in white does not, as far as I know....I emailed a few people about it when deciding if I wanted a pair and no one told me the whites had a hard case.

I'm glad that you found this FAQ useful. And yes I totally agree that the earbud case on the EX51LPs are useless and pathetic, but still the earphones are a bargain so you can't really complain.

-Dan

[RedNewt]

Well, it looks like just about everyone here likes the EX51LPs, so I thinlk I'll pick a pair up sometime. I was a little wary because of the reviews complaining about bass and volume, but it sounds like those people may just not have them in right. Thanks for all the info.

[Doug Gilmour]

Originally posted by RedNewt
Well, it looks like just about everyone here likes the EX51LPs, so I thinlk I'll pick a pair up sometime. I was a little wary because of the reviews complaining about bass and volume, but it sounds like those people may just not have them in right. Thanks for all the info.

I'm glad to see that this FAQ helped you. I hope you like them. Get back to me when you get them and tell me what you think of them.

Enjoy!

-Dan

[RedNewt]

Ok, I just picked up a pair from Best Buy. First of all, I am very pleased by the degree of isolation they provide. They are a good deal more comfortable than the original one that come with the iPod. The bass is nice, almost too much sometimes. They are providing great clarity and allowing me to here mor details in the song. They should be great for travelling.

[Doug Gilmour]

Originally posted by RedNewt
Ok, I just picked up a pair from Best Buy. First of all, I am very pleased by the degree of isolation they provide. They are a good deal more comfortable than the original one that come with the iPod. The bass is nice, almost too much sometimes. They are providing great clarity and allowing me to here mor details in the song. They should be great for travelling.

Great to see that you're enjoying them. They do offer a lot of bass, some complain it's too much, although I like a lot of bass in my music. It does quite a good job isolating for only $40 or so. I was astounded at the amount of isolation even at a low volume, while listening to a generally quiet song (A Day in the Life - The Beatles) I could listen to them at a very reasonable volume even while my car radio was playing.

I was on a Road Trip two weeks ago and I listened to y iPod for around half of the drive (around 4 hours of listening) and they worked perfectly. I couldn't hear the radio at all while I cranked up some Zeppelin

One thing I haven't tried however is using them on a Plane. Last year I went to Cuba and used my Sony Street Style's. Absolutely horrid. I couldn't hear anything pretty much even at full blast. I am sure these will definitely improve on that!

They are definitely a great buy! And I hope they serve you well,

-Dan

[dwchin]

I recently used the EX51's on a plane trip, and I must say I was fairly pleased with the isolation. I listen to them on relatively low volume level when in a quiet environment since I understand people can hear the music coming out of them slightly when it's loud enough. Even at the low levels though, it still managed to block out most of the ambient noise. Nice to know I have a portable, affordable pair that keeps the noise out

[Doug Gilmour]

Originally posted by dwchin
I recently used the EX51's on a plane trip, and I must say I was fairly pleased with the isolation. I listen to them on relatively low volume level when in a quiet environment since I understand people can hear the music coming out of them slightly when it's loud enough. Even at the low levels though, it still managed to block out most of the ambient noise. Nice to know I have a portable, affordable pair that keeps the noise out

Great. That's good to know as I will be going to Italy next year and the plane ride is around 8 hours, so it will be a welcome change from those Street Styles.

Thanks for the heads up!

-Dan

[cold aspiration]

I completely agree with you guys on how great sounding these headphones are, a major upgrade from the stock ones. However, speaking of that isolation, don't you guys get sick of listening to your own breath, hearing every sound your body makes when the cord rubs on you and when you try to talk with phones in, you have no idea how loud you actually are, or how quiet. I loved the isolation until it started to keep me from knowing what the hell is going on around me. For the plane I know I will be taking the sonys but for regular use, i'm sticking to the stock.

oh and the cord length for the the 71s are annoying. I have the white one from audiocubes and I don't like the neck chain design.. actually kind of useless and just a hassle to get it right. Plus the cord is too long and I don't like using the remote. I guess if you are willing to put up with all these imperfections then it would be a great earphone for every day use, but to me, it is important to know what goes around me and I am willing to sacrifice excellent sound for just mediocre for that. After a bit the stock ones don't really sound too terrible. Anyways I just wanted to know what you guys thought about the isolation

[dwchin]

For the isolation, I can't say I mind the "stethoscope" effect too much. I don't really hear my breathing all that loudly, especially when the music's on, and I almost never eat with the EX51's in my ears. It can be a bit annoying if someone's talking to me and I missed the first part of what they said, but then that's with any closed phones, and I usually slip these out of my ears when I answer back anyway.

That brings me to another point....I actually rather like the neck chain design (Is that really what it's called? heheh) I like having the cord behind my neck....I've always hated having huge lengths of cord in front of me and behind the neck/down the side is really good for putting the iPod in my pocket or reading in bed with music on. Plus, when I pop them out to talk to someone, they just dangle there around my neck, read to be popped back into my ears in two secs. I've seen some people wear these with the cord dangling by their chin...either because they didn't like behind the neck or they weren't sure how to wear them, and I think it looks really silly that way. Overall, they're not without their problems.....but they're a good value for the money