Sony MDRPQ5/YLW PIIQ Headphones

 (25 customer reviews)

I recently bought a refurbished Philips mp3 player on eBay for $14, which is more or less what I had hoped it would be (it could make better use of playlists), but the headphones it came with were also Philips, and they needed upgrading. Thus I began the search for the best cheap headphones available at stores in my area. I was able to audition 4 sets of earbuds, and in the end these Sony PIIQ Exhales came out on top. They exhibit decent bass and an overall quality sound, all for about $15. They also fit without pressurizing the ear canal, something I don't find comfortable.

The runners up were also from Sony - the $7 MDR-E10LP Fashion Earbuds. They have an airy quality which is quite appealing, much like open-air headphones, while delivering an excellent level of clarity. They are slightly bright at times, though this may be due to the mp3s themselves - this may also be a sign of small amounts of distortion. They also lack substantial bass, though they are well balanced in...Read more

What can I say, I was not in the market for cheap earbuds but when I saw these in the store they immediately stood out. The packaging was fairly simple but for $15 I wasn't going to pass on these. Enough chitchat, let's talk about what really matters and that's sound quality. To give you a reference point I've owned the following:

Denon D2000
Grado SR60
Grado RS2
Sennheiser PX100
Sennheiser HD600
Sony MDR-V6

I've also auditioned many cans under $100 like the PortaPros. I don't dabble in earbuds much but these surpass the value of stock earbuds by 4 or 5 times. Although these are marketed as Bass Earbuds, I'd rate the bass as just about balanced in volume (perhaps it's because earbuds normally have poor bass quantity). The bass goes surprisingly low but that all depends on the "seal." These don't really go into your ear canal but sound much better when properly fit snug to the ear canal opening. The upper bass and mids are prominent. The...Read more

I was really skeptical at first - 6 bucks for a headset?.. what kind of crap this item can possibly be? Bought it anyway, based on the previous reviews. And boy what a great purchase it was! Where else can you get 12-20,000 Hz frequency response for this or, for that matter, any anywhere close kind of money? I gave 5 stars to the sound, and 4 to the comfort, even though, i think, it's just a matter of time before I find out how to best position them in my ears. But even the first shot at them was really amazing! Excellent.. Excellent buy! Go for it, you won't regret.