D83
01-20-2005, 11:37 AM
I have been reading alot about the ex71's and after mine broke I was looking for a new 'phone. I am not sure why the 71's went, but I assume the driver blew in the right 'phone. The previous week my ipod remote went up the spout and I was so annoyed I took the earphones apart to see if the wire had become severed. It hadn't, thus the assumption of the blown driver. Having purchased them off ebay I had little comeback, so bit the dust and searched for a new pair.
Reluctant to get another pair of 71's I looked at 81's and NX1's and toyed with the idea of er-6i's or B&O a8's. However, the thing I like most about the Sony'phones is that they have a short cord; ideal for use with my remote which I clip to my shirt. I hate having 4 odd feet of unneccesary cabling to deal with.
Ebay would have to be my source for these in the UK and 81's were hard to come by so I plumped for the NX1's direct from HK. You may or may not have read reviews on the NX1's, I could not find any decent reviews so I am attempting to write my finds here. I will follow with a few photos later when get some time.
First impressions are mixed. The around the neck band is ot the rubbery plastic that I expected it to be made of, but more of a hard leather feel effect going on, which in my opinion makes it feel slightly more tacky than if it were rubber/plastic feel. Secondly, the band is not very heavy, so its weight does not keep it sat flush around the neck and it can have a tendancy to rise.
That aside, the earphones are very similar to the 71's to my ears. After my 71's broke, I went back to the vanilla Apple 'phones and boy do they sound pants after listening to my 71's. The NX1's are much better and the combined soundstage and isolation seems better than the 71's. The actual bud is a slightly different shape and feels lighter to me and more comfortable to wear. However they seem to be quiter than the 71's I had and the Apple 'phones. I have all my tracks at +20% volume correction and even with that these NX1's sound quite quiet in comparison. The actual sound quality is very similar to the 71's with perhaps slightly more refined treble, but that may be due to the better soundstage and isolation as previously mentioned. As a consequence finer details can be heard, but is hard to verify due to the state of my 71's.
In case it wasnt apparent by the pictures, the NX1's are short, probably a total length of 0.5m means they are ideal IF you have a remote. If not then you will probably need an extension, which incidentally doesnt get included in the package. These 'phones are designed for the flash players that can be hung around the neck and the string loop I presume is to be used to attach the flash player to the phones for security, and then the player hangs from the neck and keeping the neck band taut in the process. In hindsight the deisgn is much more suited to this type of mp3 player opposed to the mini that I have it attached to.
As for the cable split; the wires split about 10cm from the jack into two equal length sides. You can adjust how far down the wire the band can sit and for comfort and to avoid looking a fool, it is necessary to have the lengths on the left and right the same. So symmetry is recommended. This adjustment means you can change the fit of the band on the neck. As with the 71's 3 pairs of flanges are included.
In terms of everyday use, they may be more impractical for ipod users since you have to place the band over the neck like a necklace, although the phones to unclip away from the band. If you are fussy about messing up your hair or wear a hat or a cap, then these may not be to your liking.
Pics will follow and I will try my bets to answer any questions folks may have.
In the meantime I am still thinking about some er-6i's or a8's for the sheer quality sake, which as a current student is not my priority in earphone attributes, but soon may be.
Reluctant to get another pair of 71's I looked at 81's and NX1's and toyed with the idea of er-6i's or B&O a8's. However, the thing I like most about the Sony'phones is that they have a short cord; ideal for use with my remote which I clip to my shirt. I hate having 4 odd feet of unneccesary cabling to deal with.
Ebay would have to be my source for these in the UK and 81's were hard to come by so I plumped for the NX1's direct from HK. You may or may not have read reviews on the NX1's, I could not find any decent reviews so I am attempting to write my finds here. I will follow with a few photos later when get some time.
First impressions are mixed. The around the neck band is ot the rubbery plastic that I expected it to be made of, but more of a hard leather feel effect going on, which in my opinion makes it feel slightly more tacky than if it were rubber/plastic feel. Secondly, the band is not very heavy, so its weight does not keep it sat flush around the neck and it can have a tendancy to rise.
That aside, the earphones are very similar to the 71's to my ears. After my 71's broke, I went back to the vanilla Apple 'phones and boy do they sound pants after listening to my 71's. The NX1's are much better and the combined soundstage and isolation seems better than the 71's. The actual bud is a slightly different shape and feels lighter to me and more comfortable to wear. However they seem to be quiter than the 71's I had and the Apple 'phones. I have all my tracks at +20% volume correction and even with that these NX1's sound quite quiet in comparison. The actual sound quality is very similar to the 71's with perhaps slightly more refined treble, but that may be due to the better soundstage and isolation as previously mentioned. As a consequence finer details can be heard, but is hard to verify due to the state of my 71's.
In case it wasnt apparent by the pictures, the NX1's are short, probably a total length of 0.5m means they are ideal IF you have a remote. If not then you will probably need an extension, which incidentally doesnt get included in the package. These 'phones are designed for the flash players that can be hung around the neck and the string loop I presume is to be used to attach the flash player to the phones for security, and then the player hangs from the neck and keeping the neck band taut in the process. In hindsight the deisgn is much more suited to this type of mp3 player opposed to the mini that I have it attached to.
As for the cable split; the wires split about 10cm from the jack into two equal length sides. You can adjust how far down the wire the band can sit and for comfort and to avoid looking a fool, it is necessary to have the lengths on the left and right the same. So symmetry is recommended. This adjustment means you can change the fit of the band on the neck. As with the 71's 3 pairs of flanges are included.
In terms of everyday use, they may be more impractical for ipod users since you have to place the band over the neck like a necklace, although the phones to unclip away from the band. If you are fussy about messing up your hair or wear a hat or a cap, then these may not be to your liking.
Pics will follow and I will try my bets to answer any questions folks may have.
In the meantime I am still thinking about some er-6i's or a8's for the sheer quality sake, which as a current student is not my priority in earphone attributes, but soon may be.