What Hi Fi Sound and Vision
Fri, 5 Oct 2012, 2:53pm
Sony XBA-2iP
Best in-ears £120-£200, Awards 2012. Great upgrade for iPhone users, for calls and music alike
Write your own reviewFor
- Open, airy sound
- excellent detail
- well-defined bass
- top-notch timing
Against
- Nothing at this price
Sony’s been grabbing headlines for its TVs, Blu-ray players and home cinema amps over the past few months. But what about its headphones?
The XBAs come from the company’s mid to upmarket Prestige earbuds. You can also buy a vanilla pair without the inline gubbins (the XBA-2) for around £20 less.
Sound quality is great. Spin Santigold’s The Keepers in 320kbps and they sound tuneful and exciting. Agility and precision is up there with the very best at this price, and the spacious delivery allows for plenty of detail all the way up the frequency range.
We can’t fault these buds – even call quality is good. Well worth a listen.
