Tangle-Free? What a Crock!
by
mmcphee
,
in Books at Epinions.com
,
May 12, 2008
Pros:
Lightweight, comfortable, decent sound quality
Cons:
The wires tangle the instant you take them off
The Bottom Line:
If the tangled mess of wires doesn't bother you these are decent, inexpensive headphones.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I am trying to convince myself that I like to run. It's not working. But it is a lot easier to pretend that I like to exercise when I can watch TV on the treadmill at the Y. Of course I always chose a machine with its own video monitor, thus necessitating some sort of headphones. Currently I am using the Sony S2 Sports Water-Resistant Headphones.
Where Marketing and Reality Clash
I knew exactly what I wanted in headphones. While I like the sound quality from my larger headphones with a head band, the foam speaker covers were drenched by the time I was done exercising. I had tried ear buds that just sit in your ear, but those never stay on while jogging. The Sony style appealed to me because the clips slip around your ear, similar to glasses, for a comfortable and stable fit. They are light weight so I hardly notice that I am wearing them and they stay put while walking or jogging. There is a clip to attach to your shirt, but I just find it gets in the way. I really wish the cord was about 1 foot longer for treadmill use, but when using an iPod the length is just fine. Sony claims that these headphones are water resistant and designed so that sweat does not drip into your ear or the headphone but down and off. That seems to work since I have never had the drippy sensation when wearing these.
The sounds quality is adequate. I have tried them with my CD player and they perform like the inexpensive headphones they are. You aren't going to pick up huge range of frequency with perfect clarity, but that isn't what I was looking for. My Sony S2 Headphones are used almost exclusively for television audio and for that the quality is exceptional. The design blocks out most of the outside noise at the Y allowing me to hear my television show without having to turn the tuner volume up. The one or two times I have used them outside I felt they offered a good balance between allowing me to hear outside noise and my music. The speakers actually faces forward instead of into the ear canal.
My big complaint is Sony's claim of tangle-free cord. I'd like really like to understand how. You have the main wire, ending in an L shaped mini-plug that then splits, one wire leading to each ear bud. There is a small adjuster that you are supposed to slide up to keep the two separate wires closer together when not in use and supposedly eliminate tangles. That doesn't work at all. No matter what I do I end up with knots in the wires and I spend the first 1-2 minutes of every workout untying these headphones. As soon as these headphones are out of my ears the wires seem to take on a life of their own and become a tangled mess.
Final Thoughts
I wouldn’t be so upset about the fact my Sony S2 Headphone wires tangle if Sony hadn't promoted these as being tangle-free. However I suppose deep down I knew there could be no such thing as tangle-free headphone wires, so I try to forget about that claim. Once I am able to finally slip the ear hooks on I am pleased with how these headphones perform.
