Sony MDR-ZX110 Ultra Budget Headphone

As far as names go, Sony is a well recognised, well reputed name. We expect a level of quality from this brand. As we slide towards the lower end of the budget scale, from a manufacturing point of view I'm sure things get harder. Deliver that which we expect and cost less at the same time. This is where the MDR-ZX110 comes in. As I write this, the headphone is on sale in Amazon for about $15.
What can we expect?

Let's start with the packaging, the headphone is presented in this plastic retail pack. Apart from some paperwork there was nothing else. The overall build quality I would say serviceable for the price point, we will talk more about the price in a moment. While the construction is predominantly of plastic, there are some metal parts in the hinge that allows the headphone to fold for easier transportation.
Beyond that the headband is adjustable with an audible click and there is some movement in the angles of the earcups so it fits a bit more comfortably. The cables are same as that of MDR-XB250 that we reviewed earlier, that has this serrated texture to it, and the main cable has some heft to it that I certainly appreciate.
The connector is a 90 degree plug that has a slimmer flange which should allow it to be connected through various phone cases.

The headphone is on ear type, which means that the foam padding sits on the ear rather than around it. The material itself is synthetic, similar to what we had in the Audio Technica ATH-M30, however it does not have as much foam behind it. This is not too big of an issue, since the headphone is fairly light weight and thus it does not need as much clamping force to stay on. It kind of balances out.

So the overall construction of the headphone is reasonable, reasonable for the price tag of about USD15. Which brings me to the sound. Obviously I have to keep a modest expectation for the price paid. Let's separate treble mid and bass. Bass first, well, there is no other way of putting it, bass is lacking. If someone wants more bass a few more dollars will get us the XB-250 which had was tuned to give more bass. Next the mid, in general I found the mid to be well behaved. It is a little bit low in volume and distorts a bit if pushed to the limit. Again, for $15 the performance was not bad. The treble was actually nice. The separations was audible and sibilance was under control, overall in the treble department it exceeded expectation.

So who is this headphone for. Well, if you need to give a headphone to the little one, or a interim headphone for a day or two, or perhaps you have a room full of people for tutorials or conference of some description. These will do a good job of delivering content without breaking the bank.
So the MDR-ZX110 has a place, for a very low price tag we get a headphone that is not falling apart, the sound is at a minimum presentable. It is not perhaps the best headphone, but it is one of the best headphone that you can buy for $15.