The following strengths only apply after you removed the rubber earbuds and replaced it with foam pads. -Strong bass, strong treble, low priced

Without the rubber earbuds, the earphones will not be as securely worn as before! No gold-plated plug. Treble may sound inconsistent sometimes.

For those who complain of muddy bass - here is a discovery I''ve made. You got to try this. If you remove the so-called rubber earbuds and replace it with the normal foam earpads, what you actually obtain is very good sound. There will be no more muddy bass or muted treble, in fact the resulting sound can be likened to the balanced quality of MDR-E888LP’s! Apparently, the rubber earbuds blocked the sound of the treble. SO by removing it, you allow the treble to come out. The earphones will, however, not fit as snugly as before. But the curved structure of the earphone still helps to provide certain resistance against the earphones from dropping out.

Similar Products Used:

Sony MDR-E888LP

Absolutely brilliant bass. Nice, clear sound. The actual earpiece is nice and flexible, so it will flex for comfort. Stays in the ear well. Compared to my old phillips ones (almost the same, but wit rigid earbuds) they are like a dream.

Not sure how easy to clean they are

Super-fantasic. Best I've heard yet. Comfortable, easy to wear, and sound brill. Get 'em

Similar Products Used:

Phillips SBCHE550
Same shape earbud

Louder (on portable equipment) than larger headphones

See below

I had tried both the MDR-ED228LP and the MDR-ED238LP "Groove" earbuds for a week now...but they have absolutely no low-bass response at all! Mid-bass is strong but muddy, and all the treble is muted! Plus, both models are PAINFULLY UNCOMFORTABLE to wear!!! And try putting foam pads on these contoured earbuds! You'll find that they either won't fit or stay on!

To refute my previous review of last week, even though I had broken them in for a few days, overall sound quality is mediocre at best. And I totally agree with Mr. Hoffman's review of these earbuds: They have a hill-shaped response curve--too much mid-bass, not enough low-bass or mid- and high-treble. Therefore, I am revising my rating to mediocre to poor.

Bass~~especially mid-bass~~souns less hollow than most other earbuds (but I might not have broken these in yet)

Highs are sometimes strained; uncomfortable the first few times that they’re worn

This is a review of both the MDR-ED228LP and the MDR-E238LP (both models are identical except that the latter has a neckchain-style cord and a gold-plated plug, while the former has a conventional Y-cord and a nickel-plated plug). The pair I bought today is the MDR-ED238LP.

When I was earbud-shopping today in Chicago’s North Michigan Avenue, I was looking for something less delicate than my MDR-E848LP’s and my MDR-E888LP’s but a tad larger than my MDR-E827G’s and my MDR-E837’s. I came across the MDR-ED238LP’s but had trouble deciding between these and the cheaper 228’s. When I opened the package I had trouble putting them on properly! Also, ear-wax tends to build up on these earbuds, and they are a bit painfil to wear for extended listening. As for bass, there are lots of mid-bass~~but not quite enough low-bass (but they may loosen up in a few weeks of playing music through them). The highs are a bit muted (that means less highs than I have been accustomed to in earbuds). Still, despite the flaws of both the 228 and 238, I would have to rate them better than my MDR-E848LP’s (which place way too much emphasis on the mid-bass) but lower than my MDR-E888LP’s (which sound clear, smooth and balanced after a week of listening). My value rating is for the 238~~but feel that the more widely available 228 is a better value.

Similar Products Used:

Non-"Groove" Sony earbuds (MDR-E827G, MDR-E837, MDR-E848LP, MDR-E888LP)

Err... it kinda looks cool.

NO treble. Overpowering muffled bass. Painful to wear.

I was fooled by these reviews posted on audioreview.com and purchased the 228s. I was very dissapointed because these earphones had absolutely no treble at all. The bass was all muffled and it dominated the sound of the earphones. It was extrememly painful to wear. Even after a week, the earphones induced pain and I couldn't get used to its stuffy sound. Don't waste your money this horrible set of earbuds. You'll regret it.

Similar Products Used:

A bunch of other earbuds.

The Sony MDR-228LPs are ear buds that have a extra bass booster piece connected to the phone. These don't only produce extra bass, but also help to fit the earphones in your ears better. You can even jog with these things and they won't move. The only flaw is that they don't come with pads to put over the earphones. Without the earpads there is no bass, but if you take earphone pads that you had from past earphones there is a ton of bass. With the earpads they sound unbelievably great. There only $19.98. Since they go in your ear they sound better than any type of over the head headphone. The bass is tremendous. I use them with my Sony minidisc portable mz-r50. Since over the head headphones don't supply much volume these babies do the trick.
Downside is that they don't have a gold tipped jack so the sound clarity isn't quite as clear, but still excellent compared to gold tipped ones. You won't realize a big difference.

great fit once you get used to it
perfect for outdoor activities such as skiing snowboarding because they dont fall out
great sound quality, good bass response
highs arent exactly as pleasing as sennheisers mx4's but they're clear enough

if you're not used to the bass booster design of the earpiece, it can hurt after listening for a while
no gold plated plug

great sound for 20 dollars
strong bass
extremely durable
this is the second pair i bought
the first one died after taking a year of abuse from snowboarding
considering the sennheisers broke when it accidentally got pulled from my ear(!)

Similar Products Used:

sennheiser mx4
other sony headphones

great fit once you get used to it
perfect for outdoor activities such as skiing snowboarding because they dont fall out
great sound quality, good bass response
highs arent exactly as pleasing as sennheisers mx4's but they're clear enough

if you're not used to the bass booster design of the earpiece, it can hurt after listening for a while
no gold plated plug

great sound for 20 dollars
strong bass
extremely durable
this is the second pair i bought
the first one died after taking a year of abuse from snowboarding
considering the sennheisers broke when it accidentally got pulled from my ear(!)

Similar Products Used:

sennheiser mx4
other sony headphones