The Cult of the Cool Mac: Made with 100% USDA real meat!

I picked up some new earbuds last week. I've been on the lookout for a sale on this specific model for awhile as a replacement for a set of buds that has served me well for ages.

The MDR-EX81LPs retail for about $50 dollars (but who buys retail?) and Amazon has them for $33 dollars right now. Even $33 dollars seems a little extravagant for a pair of buds to to exercise with, doesn't it? Well, maybe it's just me who's that thrifty...

The earbuds are available both in traditional black and iPod white. I'd like to take this opportunity to remind you that anyone who wears white earbuds is TOTALLY lame. Using the cheap buds that come with iPods marks you as a sucker and buying a color-coordinated replacement marks you as a fashion-zombie. Just don't do it, mmkay?

Long ago, I noticed from browsing the shelves that the Sonys generally have a better frequency response than most buds in the same price range. Most buds have a range of 16~20,000Hz where the Sonys have a range of 5~23,000Hz. While the response is only a modest guideline in buying buds, the soft silicone in-ear canal inserts supposedly also add the kind of pressure akin to what most people experience with real headphones, which I gotta say from experience is pretty close to the truth and it definitely enhances the listening experience.

Lets start from the beginning: These buds are attached to an over-ear loop and as I mentioned, they're the kind that have silicone rubber ear canal inserts. They also come with extra inserts in two different sizes and a hard carrying case which has little slots that snag the cord, making it more trouble than it's worth to use regularly. The cord is in the new style where one bud has a shorter length of cord than the other, which supposedly discourages entanglements.

The first time that I tried using these buds, I failed. They popped right out of my ears. The over-ear loops are small and unlike my old buds, there's no obvious way to rotate the buds to angle them into the ear or to brace them so that they won't fall out. I can see how this might eventually infuriate some people to the point of violence. Nevertheless, I fought on and discovered that with a little coaxing, the soft plastic stems could be twisted just right and the loops could be positioned in just such a way that the fit was snug and comfortable and the buds no longer leapt out of my ears every time that I twisted my head. From that point on, it took no extra time to fit them in my ears than it would any other pair of buds. YMMV.

The soft, light over-ear loops that are largely responsible for the initially awkward fit are also a great advantage when I'm on the move. While it was almost beneath my notice at the time, my old buds had rigid loops that poked me and rubbed at the back of my ear. These loops are so light as to be unnoticeable.

The listening experience is excellent. Bass thrums and treble flies. Good stereo tracks flit from side to side just the way that they should. I have yet to encounter a track that causes a crackle in the speaker. Because of the higher fidelity over my old buds, the defects in MP3 tracks are more pronounced, but that's par for the course.

The silicone inserts block out a lot of ambient noise, and that can be both good and bad, depending on how aware you're supposed to be of your surroundings. I could barely hear the tv from 10 feet away, I could only just hear the phone ring from a room away, traffic and wind noises were almost completely blocked out when I walked and biked. Meanwhile, my own breathing and gum-chewing were very audible. It's a lot like wearing ear plugs or swimming under water in that I hear a lot more of my own bodily processes than otherwise.

Here's a neat thing: I notice that when I have the slightest bit of congestion, the sound gets markedly worse in at least one ear. I don't know if it's something to do with distorting the shape of the insert with a little swelling in the ear canal or what. I mean, I don't notice a difference with regular buds, but with these things I think I could tell when a cold is coming on a week in advance.

Weird, but cool. I like them!

4 out of 5 happy Macs.