Are these the same ones I paid $75 for, or are there different grades of Fontopia? If they're the same, I may buy some more. Mine kick ass.

Buy.com Fontopia for $24

10% off coupon brings them to ~$22 shipped free.

There are two models, the 51 and the 71. The 51, which is the one you've linked to, is cheaper. It seems that Sony has lowered the MSRP sometime, as they list for $40 and $50, respectively, now. So no way to know which ones you purchased based on current prices.

Hmmm. One side longer than the other. The way mine work, and they're the 51s, is that the cable from the plug goes to a bead, sort of, where one line to one headphone goes straight on, and the other 'phone comes back the other way, in the same direction the main cable came from. Are the 71s the same way? If not, that'd be a way to identify them.

Oh, and these are the only earbuds I can use at all. Every other type is too big for my ears and starts to really hurt them after no more then ten minutes of listening. So sound reproduction quality is a non-issue for me, as it's this or nothing. At least until you get into the custom-molded earpiece range.

Okay; sounds the same.

Looks like the main difference between the two is the cord. The 51 has a right-angle plug. The 71 seems to have a linear (?) plug with an extensions cable that goes to a right-angle plug.

51:


71:


I don't think that the style of the bud itself is indicative, as I have a pair of 51s and they look more like the 71s pictured.

The model number is on the back of the little bead where the wires split to go to the earbuds... just FYI.

After comparing the photos, mine look like the 71s. But, mine didn't come with an extension. So, how much different/crappier are the 51s?

Like I said, mine are the 51s and they look just like the 71s pictured. I bet you've got the 51s, too. Besides, I don't think that there's any difference in the driver.

On the other hand, the beads on mine do say "MDR-EX70:.

Mine are 71's with the extension, the fact that your's are 71's without, may explain Cris's: his had no extension. I love the 71's and I dispute: The bass sounds much crisper than the Sennheisers.
Generally I only use the cheapest, because it's mainly spoken word I listen to in the night and I ruin them when I roll over in my sleep: 3.99 either currency is top whack!
Has anyone tried the noise cancelling version? I would have done, but Mrs.Boxer hasn't been bothering me so much lately. I can't help but think that the noise cancelling feature couldn't be built into some Rio software at some point: just a thought!

Last Sunday, while browsing in one of those "gadget" stores in the mall (you know, like Sharper Image, only this one wasn't a Sharper Image and I don't remember its name) I saw a set of Sony headphones which were just like the 71's except they also had active noise cancellation built-in. Nifty.

Brookstone?

I purchased these in Barcelona over Christmas at a silly price, which is just as well, because the amount of noise they cancel is little different from the ordinary ones: I think that the supplied, in ear, gaskets do more than the noise cancelling gizmo.

i received a set of etymotics for christmas. best present ever for the musically inclined. it rivals reference full ear headphones that djs use. i've had fontopias before, and the sound reconstruction on these blows the sonys away.