
Sony MDR-XB40EX
The largest tiny earphones ever.
Pros
- Strong and resonant bass
Cons
- Large and uncomfortable
Bottom Line
If you desperately want booming bass but do not want large headphones, the MDR-XB40EXs will serve admirably. The bass focus does come at the cost of overall musical fidelity though.
-
Price
$ 99.00 (AUD)
Sony’s MDR-XB40EX in-ear canal-phones are designed for lovers of big bass beats, with great isolation and very low frequency extension. While this makes them well suited to hip hop or drum 'n' bass, they are not as suitable as some other headphones for overall fidelity and sound quality.
Usually canal-phones are miniature and disappear almost entirely into the ear canal when worn — Etymotic Research’s ER6is are a good example — but these in-ear monitors (IEMs) are a similar size to full ear-buds like the Sennheiser MX Series. This means they’re easy to position when wearing, but the downside is that they are quite bulky. This can lead to discomfort when the canal-phones move around.
They look stylish. A brushed metal fascia with the Sony logo is what the outside world will see if they examine your ears. This fascia is around four centimetres long — we think this is too long by at least a centimetre. This is another contributing factor to an overall uncomfortable experience.
The main reason for the excessive bulk of the earphones is the "direct vibe structure" — a long stroke diaphragm which allows for a comparatively large amount of air to be moved — the secret behind the bass notes.
Sony supplies the earphones with three different tip sizes to allow for some adjustment. We found the most appropriate tips to be the standard, medium-sized ones, which offered a good compromise between comfort and noise isolation.
The MDR-XB40EX earphones are rated at 4-24,000Hz. We’re sceptical of such claims — see our review of Sony’s MDR-XB700 for more on this. There’s no question that the MDR-XB40EX earphones are incredibly bass-focused but they are not as dynamic as Sony claims.
Bass extends decently low and has a slow decay, leading to reverberating notes with a very impressive sound. This is best suited to synthetic beats like drum ‘n’ bass music, so you may find complicated music — classical compositions, for example — muddied by excessively persistent bass.
A very rich mid-range gives music a warm timbre with vocals sounding very earthy and husky — think Ella Fitzgerald circa 1945 in a smoky jazz club. Treble is let down by the powerful bass, with higher piano and brass registers lacking clarity and fidelity.
If you want bass and convenience, these headphones are hard to pass up. For a more well-rounded musical experience you may want to consider different canal-phones, though.
Brand Post

Most Popular Reviews
- 1 Miofive 4K Dash Cam review: This friendly road watcher is ‘here for you!’
- 2 Dell U3223QE review: A winning debut for an IPS Black monitor
- 3 Asus TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A review: This 4K monitor plays nice with consoles
- 4 Firewalla Gold review: Powerful home network security in a tiny box
- 5 Acer Aspire 5 review: An affordable laptop that’s enjoyable to use
Latest News Articles
- Huawei launches 2022 Mother's Day promotional offers
- Multitaskers can celebrate: Sony's LinkBuds promise to let you hear it all
- Telstra’s Black Friday sale includes tech and accessories
- New Belkin earbuds come with dual wireless charging pad
- Amazon’s new Echo Buds offer Alexa with much less noise
Resources
Business Centre
The latest business news, reviews, features and whitepapers

Videos
Watch our video news and reviews from around the world

Guides
Comprehensive buying guides, features, and step-by-step articles

PCW Evaluation Team
Pedro Peixoto
Aruba Instant On AP11D

Set up is effortless.
Cate Bacon
Aruba Instant On AP11D

The strength of the Aruba Instant On AP11D is that the design and feature set support the modern, flexible, and mobile way of working.
Dr Prabigya Shiwakoti
Aruba Instant On AP11D

Aruba backs the AP11D up with a two-year warranty and 24/7 phone support.
Tom Pope
Dynabook Portégé X30L-G

Ultimately this laptop has achieved everything I would hope for in a laptop for work, while fitting that into a form factor and weight that is remarkable.
Tom Sellers
MSI P65

This smart laptop was enjoyable to use and great to work on – creating content was super simple.
Lolita Wang
MSI GT76

It really doesn’t get more “gaming laptop” than this.
Featured Content
- Top 10 best Android and Apple phones for under $600
- 25 Essential Party Games On PC And Console To Play With Family And Friends
- Mesh Wi-Fi vs Traditional Routers: Which is better?
- Which flagship TV is best? Sony 4K HDR Bravia 2016 versus LG 4K HDR OLED 2016
- 10 Blu-ray movies / Best looking Blu-ray movies