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Features:
Product Description
Step in style with Sony's MDR-G52LP Street Style Stereo Headphones featuring Sony's Street Style Design, a Behind-the-neck Headband, a Non-slip design for active sports, and 30 mm Drive Units for deep bass. The MDR-G52LP also includes Sony Acoustic Turbo Circuit, High-energy Ferrite Magnets, and a Gold-plated Stereo mini plug.
These Street Style headphones employ the comfortable and stable behind-the-neck design. They have a non-slip design, making them ideal for exercise or for a walk to the corner market. This style also allows you to wear a hat while wearing the headphones: an essential option for many listeners. The headphones have a folding mechanism which allows them to be stored in a backpack or purse. The MDR-G52LPs were designed for extended wear, and, weighing in at under two ounces, you may indeed forget you are wearing headphones.
Sony has installed several technical features to the headphones to ensure a quality listening experience. The thirty millimeter drive units are large for portable headphones, and deliver deep bass, low distortion and a wide frequency response range (16 - 20,000 Hz). Sony's Acoustic Twin Turbo circuit achieves high sonic output by utilizying sound chamber and duct technology. Neodymium magnets give the headphones maximum energy at a minimal size and weight, while the oxygen-free copper cord provides high conductivity and minimum noise. The gold-plated stereo mini-plug makes sure that sound is transported fully and accurately. The gold-plated treatment also helps resist corrosion and supports the headphones' high conductivity and low noise. The five foot long, single-sided cord is plenty long for active pursuits.
What's in the Box
Sony MDR-G52LP headphones
Customer Reviews:
Stock garbage
These headphones come standard ("stock") with most of Sony's new CD player sets, and I must say- they are frustrating. Not only is the entire premise racist and retarded ("street style" headphones) but these headphones are very poor.
Sound Quality: The only saving grace of the MDR-G52LP, the sound quality is only medicore (with some decent highs but very poor lows and mids). The bass response is simply not enough for most types of music and as said prior, the lows are poorly performed- giving you stagnant, high-trebble, poppy sound quality.
Quality and Design: Perhaps the worst designed headphones I could forsee being created. Not only are they painful and unbearable for long periods of time (And only usable while sitting and standing up, dont even try to use these laying down or leaning against something) but the cheap clothe like material on each phone is susceptible to damage, producing a painful grind on your ears. The non-flexible plastic design produces some major upper back and neck pain for use for longer then an hour or so and I often found the headphones literally falling off my head. They are designed for one head archtype, obviously not mine. All in all, you will find your set either damaged or dead by the end of a year- mine are 2 years old and are basically garbage (although i have a set of Sennheiser HD-212s coming tommorow!), the plastic bent, scratched up and the ear coverings destroyed.
Using the Sony MDR-G52LPs: Like Sony claims, they are very effective for exercising (Especially jogging or power walking, benching and kung fu) but are not exactly a tight fit and have to be readjusted every 20 or 30 minutes of movement. The headphones offer a medicore gaming experience audio-wise but are unbearable for durations longer then 2 hours. Most of the time you will not want to listen to music while sitting or lounging about through your MDRs simply due to the uncomfortable posture you are forced to be in (With your neck straight at all times). THe MDRs are ideal for traveling- easily compacted into a small, thin space and taking up little weight. I ussualy use them for situations in which I dont want my studio headphones to be damaged or dirty, for trips, riding around, hanging out with people etc.
All in all the Sony MDR-G52LP racist style headphones have some serious flaws and unless you are using them just as a cheap pair to jog/exercise with, their basically a paperweight.
Fashionably Uncomfortable 
I consider myself something of an expert on Sony's MDR-G52LP Street Style headphones since I've gone through four of them. That's part of the joy of inexpensive headphones, that they're like pencils - you use one until it's worn down, then you go get another.
There are joyful elements to the G52s, namely the use of Sony's tried-and-true 30mm drivers, here again providing a reasonably well-balanced performance with adequate bass inexpensively. High frequencies are slightly dulled, but it's still better overall than anything from competitors in it's price range, and a huge improvement over the cheap units included in-box with portables.
But then comes the wearing down. Across many reviews, the chief complaint against the behind-the-head design in general is pinching of the ears. Despite the headphones being a comfortable fit otherwise, the ear-rests, which sit on the ear like glasses, somehow always manage to tweak the top of the ear. I used the G52s for many months hoping that either the headphones or my ears would eventually yield, to no avail; even to this day, putting on a pair of Street Style headphones is an irritating experience.
Should you choose to grin and bear it over the long-term, the foam padding covering the drivers will begin to crumble roughly a year out. Having the foam start to fail after a long while on headphones isn't too uncommon or such a big deal, but in this instance, it literally *crumbles*. You won't have much Street Style when you take off your headphones and it looks like topsoil is coming out of your ears.
In the end, the G52s are just a bit too much style over substance. Judging by the somber reviews of the new generation of Street Style headphones, plus the fact that the portable revolution is being heard through earbuds, the design is most likely headed for extinction. There'll always be a place in the future for Sony's venerable 30mm driver, it just won't be behind the ear.
Uncomfortable, poor sound
I purchased these headphones to replace the cheap stock earphones that came with my CD player. Their design looked interesting, and knowing that Sony was a reputable manufacturer, I picked them up.
The design is somewhat different from your usual headphones, with a unique, "behind the head" design so as not to mess up your 'do. Unfortunately, despite their stylishness, these headphones provide generally poor sound reproduction and worse, are very uncomfortable after even a short while.
The sound: Naturally, for $20, I wasn't expecting audiophile-quality sound, but I was still disappointed. The bass response was notably weak, although this could be remedied by increasing the bass on the CD player. The midrange and highs were neither too loud nor too quiet, but that's not the problem. The problem is that the headphone driver is weak, and the headphones themselves leak a lot of sound, which means you have to turn up your player in order to achieve a decent volume level. At this point, their weakness becomes apparent, as they can't handle higher volumes without introducing horrendous distortion. Bass intrudes into the midrange, and the sound becomes crackly and blaring, particularly noticeable when listening to opera records. Furthermore, higher bass levels caused the right phone to begin rattling, which I was unable to remedy and it became extremely irritating.
Comfort: These headphones have a pair of rubber molds that fit behind your ears in order to hold snugly against your head. Unfortunately, this resulted in my ears becoming extremely irritated, and using them for upwards of an hour (required to listen to a CD all the way through) became quite painful. The design seemed to favor style over substance, which is a big minus in my book.
Verdict: These are a decent pair of headphones, but you'd be better off spending a little bit more and buying some portable headphones from a company like Sennheiser.
save your money
Sony is definitely trendy and known for its quality products and this is a quality product but only for a short time. After a while you are going to run into problems. Whether that be the sound cutting in and out or the earmuffs deteroirating. If you don't mind spending 20 dollars on headphones every six months I guess you should go with this product if you are like me who is looking for a headphone set that you can use today, a year from now, and can use it not just for portable devices (i.e. your computer) - then pass on these.
Excellent Item, Horrible corporate policy
This is a great sounding, excellent fitting, durable pair of headphones. Which is why when the foam that surrounds the earpieces wore off I looked around for a replacement. From Sony those little foam pads cost 15.95 A PIECE... Did I also mention that you have to pay 6.95 in shipping? Ridiculeous...They have not heard the last of me ;-)
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