Solid performers for those wanting a bass-heavy aural experience and good isolation. The headphones can bring new life to some songs, but are often overbearing for those with sensitive ears.
Finding a good pair of headphones can be an lifelong vocation. In my short lifespan, I've probably given a good chance to about twelve different pairs, from earbuds to large cans used in professional/studio environments.
The holy grail is a pair of earbuds that are lightweight, comfortable, and give at least 85% of the aural experience of a large set of high-powered cans, for typical listening/music scenarios. Things like a nice design are optional.
In one word, are the Sony MDR-XB40EX earbuds this holy grail? No. But they're darn close, especially considering the price!
Comfort
In the box, you'll see the default/medium-size pair of ear canal inserts already installed on the earbuds. There are two other sizes (small and large) hidden in the box, but for my ears, the mediums were perfect.
Coming from open-ear headphones to typical earbuds is a somewhat unnerving transition—instead of having a nice air gap between the sound driver and your ear canal, the driver is stuck inside your ear. Going from earbuds to an in-ear headphone is similarly unnerving. These in-canal phones are no different—there's a bit of a dreamy sensation you can get while wearing them, where you feel like you're swimming in your head.
However, this sensation is easy to get used to, and after wearing them a few times, your ears will adapt.
Unfortunately, though, for many people, their ears won't endure this feeling for more than an hour or two (include me in that list). Depending on your listening habits, this may or may not be an issue. If you only listen to music sporadically, or watch a single movie on your iPhone or iPad, it's no problem.
The headphones are easy to insert into your ears, and they remain firmly in, as long as you use the appropriate size insert. be careful to not yank on the cord, though, as this can cause a little pain in your ear canal.
Sound Performance
The XB40EX's 'EX' stands for 'extra bass,' and these phones live up to that nomenclature. All music, whether classical, rock, hip hop, or techno, is infused with a lot of bass. For well-recorded audio, this is actually a good trait, in my mind. I love a saturated low-end—especially in orchestral pieces with a large bass section (1812 Overture comes to mind).
However, for a lot of modern music, especially pop and rock songs, your ears will start hurting unless they're already damaged, if you listen to music for more than an hour. Listening to songs with already over-saturated bass beats (like OK Go's This Too Shall Pass) made my head hurt almost immediately.
The rest of the range is pretty well-represented. I would compare the experience of listening to John Williams' Star Wars soundtrack on these headphones to listening on my much larger utilitarian cans, the Audio-Technica ATH-M30 Headphones [Amazon.com referral link]. It's a much better experience than listening on my stock iPhone/Apple headphones.
One added bonus is the ability for these phones to isolate you from the surrounding environment. One reviewer stated that he uses these earphones to block out the distracting sounds of surrounding cubicle workers. I can attest to the fact that the headphones can passively attenuate environmental sound pretty nicely—on an airplane ride, I could distinctly hear movie dialog and spoken song lyrics, even in quieter parts.
Build Quality
One common thread on Amazon.com reviews for these headphones is that the included cord is both durable and tangle-free. I found this to be very true. The cord is flat, with a bit of matted texture added for good grippability. It is easy to wrap up the cord or simply stuff it into the included hard imitation-leather case.
The headphones themselves are built of a blend of plastic and some sort of aluminum (the part that says 'Sony'). There's a little bump on the left earphone, for help identifying it when inserting the phones into your ears. The 'L' and 'R' are printed on, and I imagine they could wear off at some point.
The phones stick out from my ear just a bit too much for my liking, but I'm happier with better sound quality as opposed to high-fashion headphones.
Concluding Remarks
I finally decided to return the headphones, as they were a bit too bass-heavy for my liking and for my musical tastes. However, for the price, you can't beat these headphones if you can tolerate the bass. The headphones have an excellent build quality, and they can give new life to many songs.
A crêpe is a very thin form of a pancake. Crêpes can be made either 'savory' or sweet (basically, sweet crêpes are savory crêpes with sugar and (optionally) a little liquor). Instead of syrup, Crêpes are usually served with different kinds of spreads and/or fruits, veggies, or meats inside.
Mmmm... Tasty!
If you've ever travelled in Europe, you may notice small crêpe stands on many street corners, in malls, etc. They serve up quickly-made (but fresh!) crepes with nutella (a wonderful hazelnut spread), peanut butter, bananas, creme, strawberries, etc. Since my trip to Germany in 2005, I've been on the lookout for a way to quickly and easily make a ton of crêpes. This Christmas, my parents bought one of the best little inventions ever—a Crêpe skillet, from Cucina Pro.
The specialized skillet is ideal for making crêpes, but any old skillet or flat pan will do, as long as you can easily flip the crêpes as they cook.
In this article, I'll guide you through the process of making crêpes; my recipe will give you somewhere between 6-10 crêpes (depending on the diameter), but you can double the amount of each ingredient to make more crêpes.
Preparations...
Ah, so back to the actual process of making a Crêpe.
To start, we'll need the following ingredients (for a sweet crêpe... what's the point of a savory crêpe?):
1 Large Egg
1/2 Cup Milk (I use skim, for thinner crêpes)
1/4 Cup Water (a little less if your crêpes break while flipping)
1/2 Cup Flour
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tbsp Butter, Melted (I melt mine in the microwave)
(Optional) 1 tbsp liquor/brandy (I usually skip this)
Take all the above ingredients, stick them into a Magic Bullet blender (or a regular blender), and blend for 30 seconds, or until the mix is consistent and has many tiny bubbles.
Put this mix aside for an hour. If you will be waiting any longer than that, put it, covered, in the fridge. You can store it for up to a day.
Making the Crêpes
A motley crew.
Crêpe Batter (see above for how to prepare). You might want to use something with a pouring spout... I just use the blender's cup.
Crêpe Skillet (from Cucina Pro - you can get one here). You can also use a crêpe pan, or even a normal skillet, if you'd like. Something that's flat and gets hot.
Crêpe Spreader (I have the basic T-shaped spreader, which came with the crêpe skillet). This is highly important in the making of a nice, flat crêpe.
Large Plastic Spatula. Needed for flipping the crêpe.
After the skillet is warm (should be pretty hot - enough to melt butter), spray on a little Pam, or spread on a little butter from a stick). Pour the crêpe batter onto the crêpe skillet; you can probably start relatively small (3-4" diameter of poured crêpe batter).
This is the most important part of the process: IMMEDIATELY set down the batter, and spread the batter you just poured onto the skillet so it is very thin (thin enough that you can almost see through it to the skillet surface). It helps to moisten the batter spreader before you do this (and then again after you've spread the batter, to clean off any excess batter from the spreading).
Let the batter cook for about 20-25 seconds (you'll see little bubbles come to the surface, and the surface will have a 'dry' look. Work your spatula around the edges, then quickly flip the crêpe to cook the top for about 5-10 seconds. Finally, slip the crêpe off the skillet, and put it on a plate.
Repeat this process until you run out of batter.
You can either eat the crêpes immediately, or set them in stacks of 3-5, wrap them, and store them in the freezer for a couple weeks.
Enjoying the Crêpes
This is the best part... take a crêpe, stick something on it (see below for ideas), fold it over itself (or roll it up), and then enjoy!
Nutella: my spread of choice.
Some 'somethings' to stick on your crêpe (be creative!):
Strawberries and creme
Blueberries
Bananas and Nutella
Nutella alone
Peanut butter alone
Strawberries and Nutella
Butter and/or Chocolate (melted)
These are just a few of the wonderful possibilities (for sweet crêpes, at least). You can always dust your crêpes with a little powdered sugar. Eat them with either your hands or a fork and knife.
Anything I'm leaving out? Any other great ideas for toppings? Please leave them in a comment!
Are you OCD about your soap dispenser? Are you lazy? Do you like having all of life's conveniences? This is definitely the soap dispenser for you! The only thing holding me back from recommending it to everyone? The price.
Isn't it beautiful?
Soap. It's something that all human societies have a need for. There are thousands of ways you can transfer soap to your body, though. Many people have these crazy blocks of soap with which they can make some suds to clean their hands and bodies. Others use a new form of soap—so-called "liquid" soap, which is a little easier to transport and apply. Of course, both types of soap have advantages and drawbacks.
But as technology has progressed, hand soap has become increasingly convenient to store in liquid form. As a testament to liquid hand soap's strides in acceptance in human society, as well as the American ethic of laziness and convenience in all things, Simplehuman has designed a soap dispenserwhich requires so little effort to use that even an unsuspecting animal could figure out how to get soap out of the thing. Continue Reading »
[Amazon.com referral link]. It's a much better experience than listening on my stock iPhone/Apple headphones.
on Amazon.com [referral link], and help a friend!
which requires so little effort to use that even an unsuspecting animal could figure out how to get soap out of the thing. 
