Sony Ear buds Review MDR-EX81LP

Throughout my youth, I usually had jobs which required a decent amount of exercise. I was a lifeguard for 2 summers, worked in Alaska during the Salmon run, and was a waiter/bartender through college. (On a completely separate note---what use is a 16 year old, 105 pound lifeguard? Suppose a 300 pound dude starts sucking down water in the deep end---what would I have done? I was so skinny, I would have disappeared in his back hair and asphyxiated on his butt-hawk before we sunk to the bottom).

Once I graduated from school, I promptly got a job which required me to sit in front of a computer the entire day, and basically haven't moved for 8 and a half years. My ever increasing waistline, and a penchant to achieve rigor mortis while still alive are a testament to how much sitting I do throughout the day. I don't even like to walk down to the candy machines for a late (and early) afternoon snack of Ding Dongs as they too far away, and I'll need to climb a set of stairs on my return trip.

Alas, there are positives to constant sitting.
I now believe that I can sleep with my eyes completely open.
My peripheral vision has increased 10 fold as I don't bother turning my head to see who is walking by my cubicle.
Walking to the bathroom counts as my daily exercise.
I listen to music throughout most of the day.

I am lucky in that most of my work is done on my pc, and I can freely listen to my Ipod. (I call it an Ipod, but it is actually a Zune. Never heard of it? Yeah...that's why I call it an Ipod. I don't want to have to explain what a Zune is, and who makes it. Even better...I have the original toaster-size 30GB Zune. I'd strap it to my arm, but don't have enough bungee cords)

Unfortunately, throughout my life, I have had trouble with ear buds. I have very small ear holes. This is bad as my ear hair can easily span the ear-hole gap, block all noise and collect wax at an alarming rate. It's also nice, as I don't have to worry about insects rooting around in my ear canal searching for a place to nest.

I tried the over-the-ear headphones until my coworkers started calling me DJ Nerd and C&C loser factory.
Standard ear buds shaped liked a large Lima bean didn't fit well, and after wearing them for 30 minutes, it felt like someone was trying to squeeze a racquetball into my ear.
I really wanted the form-fitting Shure ear buds, but these COMPLETELY block out all noise. I did not want to be rocking out to Chumbawumba while the fire alarm blared at work.

I perused Amazon.com until I found the Sony MDR-EX81LP ear buds. Affordable, not completely sound-proof, and they came with multiple sizes of squishy ear buds.


I've put these things through the ringer over the past couple of years, and they are still going strong. The sound is very good, and the bass is acceptable. There is also the same model of ear bud which does not have the over-the-ear thingy. I thought I'd use these while exercising, and wanted them to stay on while qualifying for the Boston marathon.
I've found that the ear holders are unnecessary as the buds fit snugly in my ear, and don't fall out. The ear holders are also unnecessary as I have not exercised since Cheers and the Cosby show headlined the Thursday night NBC lineup.

I do have a couple complaints. There is no practical carrying case for the ear buds. There is a case, but winding the buds into the case is cumbersome. I also don't like the Y-connection to each ear-bud. It isn't a Y. You'd think that there would be equal wire to each ear bud, but not so. The right ear bud has 4x the length, and the left ear bud has just enough to reach your ear. It's fairly annoying.

All in all, for 30 bucks you can't go wrong. I would ignore many of the negative reviews on Amazon. Some complained of defective ear buds...but got an instant replacement from Amazon. Some stated that the wires don't last multiple years. I say that their sweat is acidic, and these buds weren't meant to withstand sulfuric acid deposits.

I'm a happy, fat, chair-ridden who idolizes Sparks on Sealab 2021....but one who can listen to music anytime he wishes. Harvey Danger, Neil Diamond, Phil Hendrie??? It's a surprise...I'm on shuffle baby. (Yes the Zune has shuffle)

The Sony MDR-EX81LP ear buds rock snugly to a 4 star rating.