Sony MDR ZX-100 – Earphones/Headphones

Hello everyone! :)
Today I am going to review a wonderful pair of Sony’s on ear headphones, Sony MDR ZX-100. These black coloured beautiful headphones are loaded with bass and are light weight & comfortable.

Sony

Sony Corporation, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Kōnan Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified business is primarily focused on the electronics, game, entertainment and financial services sectors. The company is one of the leading manufacturers of electronic products for the consumer and professional markets. Sony is ranked 87th on the 2012 list of Fortune Global 500.



Sony Corporation is the electronics business unit and the parent company of the Sony Group, which is engaged in business through its four operating segments – Electronics (including video games, network services and medical business), Motion pictures, Music, Children's videos and Financial Services. These make Sony one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world. Sony's principal business operations include Sony Corporation (Sony Electronics in the U.S.), Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Mobile Communications (formerly Sony Ericsson), Sony Wonder, and Sony Financial. Sony is among the Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders and third-largest television manufacturer in the world, after Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.

The Sony Group is a Japan-based corporate group primarily focused on the Electronics (such as AV/IT products and components), Game (such as PlayStation), Entertainment (such as motion pictures and music), and Financial Services (such as insurance and banking) sectors. The group consists of Sony Corporation (holding and electronics), Sony Computer Entertainment (games), Sony Pictures Entertainment (motion pictures), Sony Music Entertainment (music), Sony/ATV Music Publishing (music publishing), Sony Financial Holdings (financial services) and others.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.sony.net/
SONY USA: http://www.sony.com/
SONY INDIA: www.sony.co.in
SONY AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND: http://www.sony.com.au/
SONY CANADA: http://www.sony.ca/
SONY IRELAND: http://www.sony.ie/
SONY UK: http://www.sony.co.uk/
SONY ASIA/PACIFIC: http://www.sony-asia.com/
SONY MALAYSIA: http://www.sony.com.my/
SONY SINGAPORE: http://www.sony.com.sg/
SONY PHILIPPINES: http://www.sony.com.ph/

TOLL FREE CUSTOMER CARE NUMBER (INDIA): 1800-103-7799
CONTACT US (INDIA): https://www.sony.co.in/section/contactus

On Ear Headphones

Sony MDR ZX-100 is on-ear headphone (also called Supra-aural earphones).
These ear pads on the ear models are designed to perch on the ears rather than to go completely around them. Supra-aural earphones are made with an adjustable band that can be worn over the head to secure the device. There is a pad between the speaker and the wearer’s ears that consists of foam. An example of these types of earphones would be the 1980s Walkman earphones. Many people still use this type of earphone. These earphones may have a closed design but they still sit atop the ear rather than encircling it completely which do have drawbacks.

A nice article about different kinds of earphones can be found here: http://www.ebay.com/gds/What-Are-the-Different-Types-of-Earphones-/10000000177629687/g.html

Attractive things about Sony MDR ZX-100

• 30mm driver unit for clear sound: Simply awesome when it comes to clarity, you don’t have to read the specifications when we are talking about Sony!
• Slim, folding design for easy portability: Wanna showcase these to some friends? These are so light-weight and portable that you won’t resist yourself for any reason!
• Resists high power input up to 1,000mW: What does that mean? BASS! Awesome, amazing, heart-throbbing, bass that will surely give you an eargasm!
• Gold-plated L-shaped stereo mini plug: For being more easy to connect you got your 3.5mm plug in L-shape with gold plating to increase conductivity, which implies better connectivity!
• Closed, dynamic (supra-aural): That means on-ear headphone. I already told you this thing in detail above.
• Y-type Cord: This helps in making the headphone comfortable
• 1.2 m long cord for easy going and untangled music experience!

Technical Specifications

Official Page of this product: http://www.sony.co.in/product/mdr-zx100

Type	Closed, dynamic (supra-aural)
Driver Unit	30mm, dome type (CCAW Voice Coil)
Sensitivity	100dB/mW
Power Handling Capacity	1,000mW (IEC)
Impedance	24ohms at 1kHz
Frequency Response	12-22,000 Hz
Cord	Y-type
Cord Length	1.2m
Plug	Gold-plated L-shaped stereo mini plug
Weight(without cord)	Approx. 120g
Supplied Accessories	Operating Instructions

Packaging

Not packed inside a box, which could have made it easy to gift-pack, but still the packaging is good enough to guard your headphones while in shipment to your house :)

The headphone is packed inside a transparent plastic package giving a lightly tough casing for your headphone.

The packaging is good enough and was easy to open.

What’s inside the package?

• Leaflet
• Sony MDR ZX-100

Leaflet

The leaflet is just a single paper, two-sided piece of information. It has Features, Specifications, and a small how-to-use guide printed on it which helps you understand your product better and get a closer look at it.

Look & Feel

As you can see in the pics, this pair of headphones looks just too stylish and cool. Moreover, these are available in 3 colours: Red, Black, and Blue. I own a black one, and they look awesome! Though I saw white ones on amazon, but well Sony doesn’t claim any white unit of this piece.

Now that was about the colours. Apart from that, they look simply awesome. The ear pads are not too big, neither too small, thus they look quite nice and sleek because they are perfectly sized.

The foam padding on each ear pad makes it very comfortable to wear these.

The headband is adjustable and for better fitting, the part which should be on the right is marked red and has a letter inscribed “R” on it.

These don’t fall off like most on-ear headphones do, so the wearing experience is overall not only stylish/comfortable, but easygoing and lovable!

Portable & Lightweight

Lightweight, movable earpads along a vertical axis, and a long wire, all this makes this headphone very portable. I have shared the pic here to show you how can one rotate the earpads around a semi-circular region so that you fit them easily in your bag and carry them easily. Apart from that the long wire makes it easy to wear and carry along. The weight is so less that you don’t have to think about carrying it with you anywhere.

Sound Quality

The 30mm driver unit and the gold plated plug make the sound clear, clearer, clearest! When you talk about Sony you don’t have to worry about sound quality/clarity. Sony headphones are defined by these two things. Seriously, in this price range you won’t find a better headphone (unless you find some super-awesome jaw-dropping deal giving away Sennheiser HD headphones at this price!).

Bass

Really, you gonna have an eargasm wearing this headphone. I had an awesome experience with games like Call of Duty, and Need for Speed; Movies; Songs, both country and rock. I heard the song “Don’t you worry Child, by Swedish House Mafia” to test the bass, and I’d say I heard that song 5 times in a row, repeatedly because I enjoyed this headphone so much!

Bass is something you really need when you buy a headphone. Unless you pay a nice price, you’ll have to worry about bass. But Sony MDR ZX-100 leaves you thunderstruck with a bass awesomely amazing when we consider its price range!

Wire

Y-shaped, 1.2 m long wire makes you untangled and move around freely :) Y-shaped cord makes it easy to wear these headphones, and a long wire makes you roam around in style :D

The wire looks thick and promises durability. The place where the wire goes inside the earpad, the connection is tightly held in place by a rubberised tubing/casing making it more durable and tough.

Warranty

This amazing headphone comes with a 6 month warranty. Sony has got many service centres around so you won’t have to roam around for long searching for one. Moreover, since these headphones look quite promising on the durability part, I don’t think you’d have to go for availing your warranty. Mine is already out of the warranty period.

Price & Buying links

I bought these by applying some limited time coupon and got them for an unbelievable price of 580 INR. But if you can get it at anything in the range of 625-675 INR, you are paying a correct price. For a good deal you might need a coupon or something like that. Else since the MRP is 790 INR, I think the pricing I suggested 625-675 INR is good enough to resist.

Sony Store: http://store.sony.com/zx-series-stereo-headphones-zid27-MDRZX100//cat-27-catid-All-Over-Head-Headphones

Verdict: 4.5/5

The pricing is great, and so also the looks. So I’d given it a 4.5/5 stars. Why did I took back half-a-star? Well, how can I give something 100%? There is always something that is missing. As a human being, I always something more! Haha! Like? Umm, yea, microphone :P

The MDR-ZX100 is a perfect choice where it has a slim and folding design for easy portability, suitable for users who seek lightweight headphones to enjoy their music. Comes with 30mm driver units and a high power input of up to 1,000mW for unsurpassed sound quality, this pair is certainly a pocket friendly piece you must own!

Philips ActionFit SHQ1000 – Earphones/Headphones

Hello everyone!
Today I am going to review a great set of sports Earphones - Philips ActionFit SHQ1000. They look good, they sound great, and they are trendy & totally amazing!

Philips

Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Royal Philips, commonly known as Philips) is a Dutch diversified technology company headquartered in Amsterdam with primary divisions focused in the areas of Healthcare, Consumer Lifestyle and Lighting. It was founded in Eindhoven in 1891 by Gerard Philips and his father Frederik. It is one of the largest electronics companies in the world and employs around 122,000 people across more than 60 countries.

The sheer size of the company is enough to understand the brand value attached to the product. When you use a product from such a company you don’t hesitate showing it off in front of a group of people as you style symbol too!

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.philips.com/

SUPPORT: http://www.support.philips.com/support/

Types of Earphones

There are many different types of earphones. Each type of earphone is designed for a specific type of person who wants to get a particular quality of sound from the device. There are earphones that completely cover the ear when being used and earphones that are simply put inside the ear. The design of the earphone affects its sound and comfort. The following are some earphones and the pros and cons of each.

For more information please check this great article by ebay.com: http://www.ebay.com/gds/What-Are-the-Different-Types-of-Earphones-/10000000177629687/g.html

What’s so cool about Philips ActionFit SHQ1000?

These earphones come with 6 Months Warranty. There are various ‘cool’ features of Philips ActionFit SHQ1000 earphone which makes it worth buying:

• Constructed with water resistant materials coupled with an anti-bacterial agent that helps kill germs, these headphones have been designed for the fitness enthusiast
• Sweat Proof: Designed with a water resistant seal to protect your headphones from sweat related damage
• Cable Clip: Clip helps fix cable securely
• Ultra-soft silicon caps sit comfortably in your ears: The 3 sizes of ultra-soft silicon caps of these Philips earphones sit comfortably in your ears without adding pressure to them whilst blocking out unwanted noise.
• Keep track to your fitness regimen via free ActionFit app: Keep track of your fitness regimen with this smart, simple and free app - created by Philips just for you. The ActionFit app lets you create customized workouts that include time, distance and calorie goals - and you can even assign your favourite music to each target. Once you've completed your workout, use the app to share your results with friends on Twitter and Facebook. You'll need GPS for your distance and calorie goals, so download it for free from the App Store - and you're good to go!
• Bass thumping stereo sound - fuel for your workout: Acoustics finely tuned to enhance the sporting experience - fuel for your workout
• Ultra lightweight design: Ultra lightweight design for a comfortable fit - designed for sports
• A 1.2m long cable that is ideal for outdoor use: The ideal cable length to give you the freedom to put your audio device where you want.

Technical Specifications

Sound

Diaphragm	Mylar dome
Frequency response	30 - 20 000 Hz
Impedance	16 ohm
Maximum power input	10 mW
Sensitivity	110 dB
Speaker diameter	13.5 mm
Type	Dynamic
Voice coil	CCAW
Magnet type	Neodymium

Connectivity

Cable Connection	two-parallel, symmetric
Cable Length	1.2m
Connector	3.5mm
Finishing of connector	Gold-plated
Type of cable	OFC

Packaging

Packaging Dimensions:

Height	17.5 cm
Width	9.5 cm
Depth	3 cm
Nett weight	0.021 kg

The packaging is quite good. Actually the box looks cool. Makes a perfect gift-pack I can say with no need for extra covers, unless you wish to hide the contents.

It was easy to open the box and pack the material back again. On the back side you have features and serial number of your product in different languages.

The inner carton is cool enough and houses the earphones firmly.

What’s inside the box?

I have marked the various things inside the pack to show you what all’s inside the box.



So you got your Philips ActionFit SHQ1000 with 2 sets of extra caps for your earphones. It is bundled with a small carrying pouch which does look good. Though I guess girls would find that pouch more attractive than boys would.

Looks

The earphones have quite a trendy look and the colour combination is just amazing, White-Orange, it looks good. Also if you wear them with a black T-shirt and trackpants, you would certainly look cool! :D

Sweat Proof?

Well, kind of. Actually the caps for the earbuds of the earphones are sweat proof. The overall earphone as such is of course always sweat proof be it any company; it is the speaker which must be protected. In this Philips ActionFit SHQ1000 you will find that the caps do the job good, so yes it is sweat proof!

Sound Quality

If we compare it with the price, it is certainly good. Else, I’d give it a 3.5/5 since if you have ever used skullcandy, you’ll never go for Philips! :P

Bass

That neodymium driver unit does the job good. When you fit them firmly in your ears, well you’ll experience a nice soothing bass. As they say, add fuel to your workout with the bass of the music! :D

Wire Size

1.2 m is less for you? Come on! It is certainly more than enough. The wire length is appropriate. You can do running, walking, use the treadmill; do stretching too without worrying about the wire length being an issue. Of course I assume you keep the device you connect these earphones to in your trousers’ pocket/tied your shoulder. If you are some weird kiddo housing it in your socks, well I guess the wire length will be small for you! :P You got the joke, I suppose! :O

Pouch

Alright my photography ain’t so cool. The pouch doesn’t look as ugly as in the pic I have clicked here:



It looks quite nice and the size is good enough too. The best thing is that you can use it to prevent getting your earphones’ wire getting tangled to something else. Though it is a trendy pouch, but I guess girls are more likely to like it than boys.

Extra Caps

The above pic demonstrates how to replace the cap and how to fit the earphones well into your ears. The extra caps can come in handy if you tend to lose your regular ones, or if you need a bigger/smaller sized cap instead of the already attached one. They are easy to replace.

Philips ActionFit Application

I won’t say much about it since I didn’t use it as yet. But I guess you can find it on the App Store you use.

Price

I bought it at around 450 INR. But I guess if you get a deal anything below Rs. 500 it is a great deal. A deal below 550 is okay. And if you are paying more than 575, you are looted! :P Else the product is value for money till the time you buy it at around 525 INR or below.

Verdict: 3.5/5

Why not more? There are a couple of reasons:
1. While running they tend to fall off your ear.
2. The price is a little higher since it is generally available at more than 550 INR.
3. They could be better
Else, if you are considering to buy them and the deal as I said is priced at anything below 500, don’t think for a second more and buy it. Philips is a great company, and these earphones not only look good but the sound and bass is amazing too. But if you ready to pay around 650-700 INR, then you can search for a better product (NOT SKULLCANDY. BUYING SKULLCANDY BELOW 1000INR IS A WASTE OF MONEY)! I wanted to give it 4/5 for the looks, but well the opinion should matter to as many people as possible, right?! :D

With all that said I hope this review helps you :)