SonyMDRZX100 ZX Series Stereo Headphones (White)

I don't give 5 stars lightly, but this is about as good a deal as I've seen on headphones in a long time. I got these for a little under $16 (as Prime) and they were well worth that price. I do a lot of live sound work and I tried these because our videographer asked me for something low-end to monitor the audio feed I was sending him. He asked for "closed cans" because he wanted to isolate the feed from the ambient sound in the room. The Amazon description doesn't confirm that, so I went to the Sony site, which had them listed as "Closed supra-aural", so I took a shot. About the only negative thing I can say about these is that they are not true closed cup headphones, but with their noise canceling feature, they still served our purpose.The Amazon description is accurate, though lacking some information I would have liked to know up front. The answers to my questions were all pleasant surprises. The nicest surprise is that the 1/8" plug at the end of the cable is a 90-degree molded plug, with the typical crimp protection for molded plugs. If you work with as much live sound as I do, you know that 99% of all cable failures occur at the plug. The wires inside these cables are tiny, and repairing them is a major pain, so a failure usually means ditching the cable (or in this case, the headphones). A 90-degree plug goes a long way towards reducing the chance of failure because it keeps the cord in a low vertical profile to the jack it plugs into, and also reduces the amount of bend when the cable hangs down. The molded cover for the plug is slightly tapered where it meets the actual metal stem, which allowed it to fit securely into my iPhone jack without hitting the case. This is where I've seen many 1/8" plugs fail. Another pleasant surprise was that the cable, which is just under 4 ft long, has a nice, thick jacket, which can also be helpful in prolonging the life of the internal wires.The actual headphones were quite comfortable and light. These are "on the ear" phones because the cups are not large enough to be "over the ear", so if you need that level of isolation, these are not the ones for you. A few reviewers have mentioned the red band to help you quickly identify the right ear, but the headband also has a small "pimple" molded on the left side to help you identify the orientation by touch once you're wearing them. Not a big thing, but a nice touch.Audio quality was fine; especially for under $20. I often find the cheaper phones either over-accentuate bass (unnaturally), or are very bright. These seem to have a very accurate reproduction of the input. I was working with our videographer to chase down an annoying hum in the audio from the camera, and when we finally got it eliminated, he turned to me and said "These sound great. They'll do fine." Because I'm a bit obsessive about audio, I asked to hear, and they did sound just like the audio feed I was sending him. Since they aren't true isolation cups, I had to attribute the clean sound to the quality of the noise cancellation feature, since there was over 80db of ambient sound at the time. Keep in mind, these are less than $20.Some final tidbits for those who care about these things. The plug is a true 1/8" plug and it does NOT come with an adapter for 1/4" jacks. It also appears that the noise cancellation logic struggles when the input signal is low. This may be the "distant" or "muddy" sound cited by some other reviewers. I experienced the same thing with my initial tests before realizing the unit I had plugged into was actually sending a lower signal than normal. When I switched to other devices (including my iPhone) which put out stronger signals, the sound was crisp and clean. Some may also find the 4 ft cord a bit short, which would be true if you need to move around a stationary object while wearing them. For my specific need (in this case) or something like a mobile phone in your pocket, this is ideal because you don't have a lot excess wire swinging around. The unit also apparently has a lithium ion battery, but I did not see an obvious way to change it out. I'm sure this is to power the noise cancellation circuitry, so if it goes out, the cost of the battery will probably be about half the cost of replacing the headphones - and you'll probably have to tear them open to change it. Remember, $15. And finally, a curious statement printed on the back of the package: "If you use the headphones with WALKMAN that has a noise canceling function, the noise canceling function will not work." Curious, since Walkman is a Sony trademark.In conclusion, a great deal (in my opinion), with some nice touches. I've generally been happy with the Sony products I've used, but often found them a bit pricier than similar options. These headphones were a great value for the price.

I got these in December 2012 and have been using them on and off since. I often put these in a backpack or bag when I am out and about. They are compact, don't take a lot of space (the earcups fold flat), they are lightweight (4.1oz without the cable on the scale, close to 5oz with the cable on the scale) and if they get lost or break, it's not a big financial loss. They are very unassuming when you wear them, so you don't stand out at a coffee shop as "that guy" with the "giant headphones".BIG HEAD FRIENDLY: as a big head owner, this is one of the first things I check with headphones. Despite their compact on-ear size, these are very big head friendly. The slider on each side of the headband gives you up to an extra 4.3cm, independently adjusted. If I wear them at full extension, they are too loose. On the other hand, I can just barely fit into the Monoprice 8323 at full extension, even though they are much larger headphones.COMFORT: There is no padding at the top of the headband, but even with extended wear, I don't have any comfort issues (1.5 years after purchase; I don't recall the original out of the box experience). The earpads are still intact with no flaying. I don't use them in extreme situations but I don't baby them either. When in a bag, I just put them in a soft headphone pouch which can't protect them from impact (they fit inside this Shure HPACP1 Headphone Carrying Pouch for SRH240A, SRH240, SRH440, SRH550DJ, SRH750DJ and SRH840 Headphones). They survived a couple of falls from table height down to a non-carpeted surface.BANG for THE BUCK MUSIC: for modern music (rock, alternative, R&B, etc), these are great bang for the buck headphones. While they are not perfect and audiophiles and critical listeners can point out various issues with them, considering the price, they do a pretty good job of playing different genres of modern music without distracting you from the actual music listening experience. And that's all you can ask at this price range. I haven't used them with classical music.ISOLATION and LEAKAGE: they are better at limiting leakage (other people hearing your music) than isolation (other sounds getting to your ears). They do reduce outside sounds but they are about average at this compared to other headphones. If this is a big concern, you may want to try them first or check the return policy.CABLE: The cable is not removable and it is attached to both earcups. You can use it with smartphones and tablets to listen to music but there is no mic and no remote for phone calls or music control. The jack is 90 degrees, with two rings. I did not have a problem plugging it into any cased device, but I don't use big and thick cases. Random general purpose non-threaded 1/4" adapters work fine with this.LEFT and RIGHT: You can easily tell the left from the right earcup, the right side has a red mark. There's also a L and R on the inside above the earcup that's not easy to see. But you can also tell L/R by touch, on the outside, just above the earcup, the Left side has a dot, while the Right side has no dots. If you close your eyes and touch that area, you can easily tell them apart, so that's a plus for people with eyesight limitations.