Tech Reaction

Normally, a pair of cheap, dollar-store headphones might last you at best a few months. And that’s true. I’ve gone through at least five pairs of cheap, low quality brands of headphones that were less than five dollars a piece. They break, they’re uncomfortable, their sound quality is horrible, and most importantly, they break! You might find that a wire breaks off, or some padding falls off after a few days of use. Or if that doesn’t occur, the sound quality degrades into unlistenable atrocities. I decided to settle for something that was somewhat decent, a pair of ten dollar Sony MDR-410LP Headphones. This was in July 2007, by the way. These… are retro headphones.

Now, I don’t have the original packaging anywhere, (didn’t see a reason to keep it for three years) but the contents included the headphones and manual only. No other accessories, just the bare necessities (although a manual isn’t exactly needed).

The looks of the headphones are decent. Nothing fancy, but it does look a tad retro. The headphone jack is of pretty standard quality. As shown in the second picture, you can adjust the sides to fit your head length. Also, there is a stencil of the letters L and R on the left and right sides respectively so you know which side to wear. If you see the manual, it explains that quite bluntly.

The manual, a fold able flimsy piece of paper that I stored for some unknown reason, warns against a couple of basic things in over ten languages that I’ll go over. These could apply to headphones in general I suppose. Don’t store them in a deformed shape (see example A in the second picture), don’t sit on them (common reason for having your headphones break, of course), don’t listen to deafeningly loud music (though if you want to, you can. Don’t blame me if you become deaf in the next twenty to thirty years!) and most importantly, don’t catch your fingers as you fold them (this is very difficult to pull off, even intentionally, and it won’t hurt much) and don’t dispose of them in your standard garbage can; they should be treated as electronic waste. Remember: Think of the environment!

Also, some technical info: Mass 52g (1.84 oz), cord length:1.2m, Plug: gold-plated L-shaped stereo mini.

Now, for quality, these are better than your throwaway dollar earphones and headphones, and to the average Joe, these are great. But if you’re looking for true quality, or are an audiophile, you’ll definitely want to stay away. Internet reports and reviews will give you mixed results. Then again, if you were looking for quality, you should probably spend more than ten dollars. Otherwise, this will not disappoint.

These headphones are relatively comfortable, I can wear them for two to three hours without feeling irritated. Like most headphones, you can rip off the foam covering to acquire better sound at the expense of comfort. With their foldable design, they’re semi-portable; but it’s pretty easy to store them incorrectly and deform them.

On a final note, the Sony MDR-410LP that I have was used quite extensively over a period of three years; they’re still in excellent condition, and I’m still getting the great sound quality I was getting for the past years. I would recommend these if you’re looking for extreme budget, longevity (3 years and counting), and don’t care about quality.