Over the past 15 years I have purchased only Sony Headphones (MDR-W08, MDR-A35) and I have always viewed these phones as excellent and cost effective. However, I recently purchased the Sony MDR-AS35W headphones (replacement for the MDR-A35) and found them to be the poorest sound quality of any of Sony's past headphones. I am a perfectionist when it comes to listening to my Sony Walkman and my Apple iPhone with headphones; my old Sony MDR-A35 headphones are excellent. When I recently purchased the new Sony MDR-AS35W, I anticipated that the quality would be at least equal to the MDR-A35, however I found the sound quality to be the worst of any headphones I have ever owned. I tried these headphones on many different high-end players and they always sound the same ...... terrible. The MDR-AS35W cannot reproduce clear/clean high-end or midrange frequencies, they sound muffled by the low range (bass) frequencies. I listened to all different types of musical content and it was always the same..... terrible sound quality. Sony needs to take these off the market immediately and replace them with their older model MDR-A35. Sony MDR-AS35W Sports Headphones Lightweight with Powerful Bass
Although I have only had this product for a few days, I wanted to share my thoughts on them, because it seems there have only been 2 reviews as of 8/10/10 on this product, and both have been negative. I wanted to be different, and provide my thoughts on them. I bought these headphones at best buy, and I am glad I did. The reason is because for $5.00 more, you get the geek squad warranty, which says it will replace your headphones if they break for up to 2 years. I strongly recommend this and here is why: sports headphones at prices like these break easily because they use cheap materials. If you really want good quality sports headphones you will be paying $50.00 and upwards for them. These might be worth it for avid runners, but for people like me who go to the gym and just want to run on the treadmill the Sony Mdr-AS35W headphones will do the job. The headphones are also pretty comfortable, and stay in the ear while running as well. Their are only 2 major problems with them, and one is opinion. For me, the bass is too much. It makes it sound a bit muddled down. But,some people love bass. This doesn't really pose a problem as I just use the treble booster on my Ipod. You have to be forgiving of the sound because they are only sports headphones. These are not Bose QC15's! You will get used to it in time. The other bigger issue is that the headphones are not that portable. They bend where the earpieces are but not at the top, creating a problem as they lose any purpose Sony might have had in putting the bends in. it comes with a case, however being realistic here nobody wants to use a big case. The older headphones I had before they broke (Mdr-A35G)had 2 bending points making them extremely portable. However, that design is also what caused them to snap in half. This is why Sony chose not to incorporate that design into these headphones. I have solved this problem by taking the 2 sides and criss-crossing them. Then I wrap the cord around them. One other thing you should know is that the cord is very short for people who use armbands, but comes with an extension cord. My advice is to tie a knot in the extension cord so that it isn't very long but long enough to reach your pocket. Nevertheless, these headphones are great for the money, and if you can forgive the bass and the not so extreme portability, these will be a winner.
Just purchased these and I will be returning them shortly. I'd had a set of Sony MDR-A30's for many years and I'd hoped these would be a suitable replacement. Sorry, no such luck. While I give Sony big points for the rubberized and sweat-resistant earpieces, the folding design, and the lightweight feel, the sound is horribly muddy and muddled. The Offspring, which normally are full of treble, sounded like they were being muffled. Definition of any song is terrible - it's hard to hear the difference between the different musical instruments within a song. When listening to DMB his guitar did not sound very different from the strings in his band. Drum beats were muffled thuds, not sharp cracks. As Sony claims these have definite bass in them but either by terrible speaker design or by accident the sound of the headphones is like it has a rubber glove over the speaker...which it kind of does. I at first thought the rubberized capsule the actual speaker elements were in was a great way to keep sweat and ear gunk out. But I'm willing to bet it's to blame for the bad sound. I know that if I try and listen to these while working out I'll be too distracted by the muffled sound of my favorite songs. So...very well-designed headphones, except for the most important part - the sound-producing elements. I would suggest avoiding these.
reviewer Norm the Perfectionist was exactly right, but i wanted to add another one-star review to pull the rating downwards.
1)terrible terrible redesign of this product makes it the first failure in sony's low cost, w-shaped over the head 'phones. previously, an awesome value for about 20 bucks. now, the new rubber "hood" over the earpiece (to keep it dry) muffles and muddles the sound. terrible, and unlistenable.
2)disgracefully, amazon has used the WRONG PHOTO in the product description. what were formerly hinges (and are hinges in the picture) are now bendy-rubber joints. and there is nothing bendy or hingy on the top, so they no longer fold into a W shape.
miserably unhappy customer. sent them back.
The model shown has a "W" formation. The one sent to me does not fold compact as in the picture.
I own the one shown in the picture and was disappointed to get a different model. I'm guessing maybe there was an upgrade to the product but the manufacture kept the same product numbering system . Both have similar Model number of MDR 35 but it is definitely different in the way it folds,the way it "stays folded", the cord size, the clip and the sound.
The sound is just okay but not great.
The short cord is more for upper pocket storage, unless you use the extender.
It comes with a nice unit for storage but it is troublesome for every day usage. I prefer the older "W" fold up style (Also noted by another user who thought they were ordering a replacement unit but received a different style). The older style can be compact enough to fold into an upper knit shirt pocket while the one sent to me cannot stay compact to fit in my shirt or pants pocket.
My order was placed last week and I received my product today. When I went back to the web page that was offering the product, there was a notice from Amazon saying that customers have indicated they are receiving different product than what is offered in the picture and Amazon is investigating the error. I am grateful that Amazon is very responsible and so are their resellers. I am sure it is just an honest mistake since the two models have almost identical numbers. I think in a few days or week, this situation would probably be corrected by Amazon and its reseller. - Headphones - Sport Headphones - Sport - Running'
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