CNET Editor's rating: 8.0 out of 10
Reviewed by
Jasmine France
Review date: 04/07/08
The good: The Sony MDR-AS50G Active Headphones feature an innovative design that spirals down for easy, compact storage, and it helps to ensure a secure fit. The modular cable is ideal for fitness and portable applications. The sound quality is good, and the price is fair.
The bad: The Sony MDR-AS50G's band tends to stick out from the sides of the head, which can make it hard to conceal under hair. The band is not adjustable, so not all users will be able to have it loop behind the ear.
The bottom line: The Sony MDR-AS50G Active Headphones offer an affordable price tag, a secure fit, and good sound quality--they're a fantastic option for gym addicts.
Although the headphone market continues to burgeon with new models, it can be surprisingly tough to find a decent, fitness-friendly pair. A few companies, such as Sennheiser, have stepped up to the plate with sport-branded earphones, which feature design attributes meant to keep them secured on the head during activity. Now, we can add Sony to the list. The company has released an impressive array of Active Headphones, the $50 MDR-AS50G among them. These excellent, uniquely-designed earphones are a perfect choice for the gym.
Sony hit the nail pretty well on the head with the design of the MDR-AS50G, but we're not without a few (very minor) gripes. Namely, the neckband is not adjustable, so it can have a tendency to stick out from the sides of the head. Also, not every user will be able to get the band looped over and behind the ear. That said, the design is such that the earphones will stay secure in the ears even without the band being looped over the ear. Moreover, they're actually comfortable regardless of the ear looping, although they can irritate the inside of the ear after several hours of wear. This is surprisingly rare, and it's no doubt because of the spiraling style of the neck band. Sony designed the twisting tendency of the band mainly to ensure the earphones compact down for storage, but it also serves to hold the earbuds in place by pushing them slightly toward the head. This seemingly simple trait is practically genius--it just works so well.
The Sony MDR-AS50G earphones feature a few other physical attributes worth noting. First, they're mainly black with some silver and a teeny bit of red accenting, so if the Sennheiser Sport line was a little too bright and flashy for you, the MDRs are a good alternative. Also, the cable is modular, which is usually ideal for active applications, as it keeps the main cable short enough (20 inches, in this case) to use with an armband without a lot of slack cord. Also, Sony was smart enough to include a clip on the cable for dealing with the weight added when you connect the included extender cable, which adds an additional 26 inches to the length--plenty for keeping your MP3 player in a bag or pocket. Sony also includes a rather clunky, but still useful, plastic case.
During our performance evaluation of the Sony MDR-AS50G earphones, we took a couple things into consideration, not the least of which was their ability to stay in place during activity. They passed this test with flying colors, failing to budge during a jog, a set of sit-ups, or a bout on the elliptical trainer. One thing to note: these earphones are not appropriate for cyclists, because they're not ideal for wearing just one earbud, which is the safe thing to do when riding. Also, they block out a reasonable amount of noise, so they may not be the best option for street runners. However, for general portable and gym use, the MDR-AS50Gs are great. They even sound good. Overall, we were impressed by the clear and mostly balanced audio response. Although the headphones definitely tend to be more bass-heavy, we didn't find it overwhelming. Mids were reasonably warm and rich, and the high-end detail was not muddled or lost.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular FINALLY, SONY did it right...FINALLY!!!!!
alright folks, I must have gone through 10 different sony "workout" designed headphones over the course of the past fifteen ...
alright folks, I must have gone through 10 different sony "workout" designed headphones over the course of the past fifteen years before coming across this one. I have to hand it to SONY on this one. Not only was this one affordable, but it met every expectation of mine for a workout headphone.
This is obviously different from the earphones that simply wrap around your ear (and then fall off after the first 3 steps in your jog), or the in-ear designs (that fall out of your ear and end up dangling against your chest or workout equipment). With this new spiral design, it makes sure that the earphones are pressed against your head with no chance of it falling out of your ear (this has been the biggest pet-peeve of mine)
The sound quality is pretty good. I'm not an over-the-top f-ing audiophile or anything, but I will have to admit the sound is very clear and crisp, even at the loudest setting of my iPod nano. (I hate it when some earphones output distorted sound when the volume gets to be too much)
In conclusion, I've found my one and only workout pair of earphones and won't be replacing this one any time soon.
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by jonthn523 (see profile) -
April 13, 2008
3 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Solid Sound and VERY well thought out
Absolutely great for running and working out. Provided my first and only completely unincumbered run with tunes (no cord bouncing, ...
Absolutely great for running and working out. Provided my first and only completely unincumbered run with tunes (no cord bouncing, buds falling out, cord tugs, etc.). I read one reviewer that had bass and other sound issues. I assume they didn't realize or understand that these are ear buds and have to be inserted in the ear as such.
4 out of 10 - Mediocre Not for small heads / ears
The tension on the neckband is pretty much set and that means that if you have a small head and ...
The tension on the neckband is pretty much set and that means that if you have a small head and tiny ears, all you feel is the tension wanting to pull the headphones off you. also, one side tends to pull out of small ear canals regardless of the size of the fittings you use, and the neckband sticks way out on either side of your head looking rather ridiculous. Also, the cable sticks UP from the channel in the neckband instead of DOWN toward your music player.
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by MagicTentacle (see profile) -
May 15, 2008
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
2 out of 10 - Terrible They stay positioned properly for about 10 seconds.
I'll be returning these to the store today. I bought these looking for a good set of headphones for ...
I'll be returning these to the store today. I bought these looking for a good set of headphones for the gym, walking etc... Unfortunately these don't do the job. The headband is a flexible material that puts enough tension on the earbuds to pull them out. I spent my whole workout adjusting the damn headphones...
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by metaljohn777 (see profile) -
June 23, 2008
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Solid Sound, Stays Put, Feels Goooood
Good sound at the gym, I watch the flat panel TVs while I go through my workout. This fits my ...
Good sound at the gym, I watch the flat panel TVs while I go through my workout. This fits my ears, I guess I don't have the type of ears engineers spec when designing earphones, but this version of Sony works, and I've tried several, some falling apart because of wear, or sweat just breaks them down. The coil spring design wraps around the ear and keeps the earphones snug and in place. Also, I like how they coil when you remove them, easy to store, fits in my pocket, although I still wonder the best way to coil the long cord. Long is good because it is easy to pull the plug out of the socket on others, I use a plastic mini "barbell" shaped storage device for it.
I've tried (e.g. sennheiser *pinches*, ear clips *slip and pop-out*, over the head, back of the neck *sweat more, uncomfortable* Nike? fell apart *dang* $50, yes a bit steep, but a small price compared to all of the failed experiements.
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by gregothegeek (see profile) -
May 22, 2008
8 out of 10 - Excellent Awesome design, average sound quality
Just got these today. I really wanted some in-ear earbuds for working out. These are stable, stay on, look good. ...
Just got these today. I really wanted some in-ear earbuds for working out. These are stable, stay on, look good. Nice that it came with three different earbud sizes, the large one worked for me.
I own a lot of earbuds, including Sony's old Fontopia line (around $35). I also have purchased both of Sennheisers new "active" earbuds, which bug me because they're not in-ear. Comparing sound quality, the MRD-AS50G have good high and mids, but are really lacking on the lows. Now, some of this is to be expected, but even Sony's old Fontopia low's sounded better.
I've tried to compensate their lacking bass with the iPod's EQ (bass, hip hop mode) but they just add noise. For $50 I was hoping for a little better bass response.
Still, I'll keep them. They block out sound good, look good, work good, stay put, and sound OK.
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by ryanjg11 (see profile) -
April 26, 2008
2 out of 10 - Terrible Terrible sound
I have some earbud Jlab headphones I paid $20 for and compared these two one after the other, back and ...
I have some earbud Jlab headphones I paid $20 for and compared these two one after the other, back and forth. Sonys sound dreadful, cannot, recommend them and whoever is saying spectacular has NO idea what decent head phones sound like. The Sonys have NO bass, sound very thin with no depth. Don't buy these. I am sending mine back this week after just receiving them from Amazon tonight. Sony makes some great products like the PS3 and TV's but pass on these headphones.
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by mark956101957 (see profile) -
April 22, 2008
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