If you want a lightweight, value-focused on-ear pair that folds flat and disappears into a bag, choose Sony ZX110; if you need a slightly more sensitive, wider-range over-ear with a color-matched cable and a compact folding hinge, choose Sony Headphones MDR-ZX310. Both are wired, both are built for everyday listening, and neither one is a bulky flagship — so if you're hunting for comfortable headphones for big ears, the real question is which shape and spec sheet fits your head and your habits.
• Sony ZX110 — biggest strength: A genuinely light on-ear build (6.4 oz) with a swivel design and a long 47.25-inch tangle-free Y-cord that gives you room to move.
• Sony ZX110 — biggest trade-off: On-ear cushions sit on the ear rather than around it, and the enclosures are plastic, so it's a simple everyday tool rather than a plush one.
• Sony Headphones MDR-ZX310 — biggest strength: An over-ear, sealed dynamic design with a 30mm driver, a 10 Hz–24 kHz range, and a quick-folding hinge that packs down small.
• Sony Headphones MDR-ZX310 — biggest trade-off: It's the heavier of the two at roughly 125 g, and its 3.5mm cable is a fixed 1.2 m — no swivel, no extra reach.
• Who each is for: Pick the ZX110 if you want the lightest possible on-ear with a long cord; pick the MDR-ZX310 if you prefer an over-ear fit, a wider frequency range, and a compact fold.
The ZX110 is Sony's straightforward on-ear wired headphone. It runs 30mm dynamic drivers with a 12 Hz–22 kHz frequency range and a low 16-ohm impedance, which in plain terms means it's easy for a phone, laptop or cheap dongle to drive — you won't need a headphone amp to get usable volume out of it. The swivel design lets the earcups lie flat, so it travels better than a rigid pair would.
How We Research
We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-10-09 · 6 min read · Independent comparison
Who should skip it? Anyone who specifically wants an around-the-ear seal. The ZX110 is on-ear: the pads rest against your ears rather than enclosing them. If your ears are large, that means pressure points can show up over a long session, and there's no active noise cancellation to fall back on — the closed-back design does some passive isolation, but that's it. It also doesn't fold into a tiny square the way the other model does; it swivels flat, which is a different thing.
The MDR-ZX310 is the more "spec-forward" of the two. It uses a sealed dynamic 30mm driver with a 10 Hz–24 kHz playback range — a slightly wider spread at both ends than the ZX110 — plus a 24-ohm impedance and a stated 98 dB sensitivity. Higher sensitivity with a higher impedance generally points to a headphone that still plays loud off modest sources while handling a bit more input power (the sheet lists up to 1000 mW), which matters if you ever plug into something with a bit more output.
The design story is what separates it. It's an over-ear, sealed enclosure finished in metallic red, with a groove-patterned cable that's shaped to resist tangling and a color-coded body-and-cable scheme. The quick-folding mechanism is the headline feature: it collapses into a compact shape for a bag or a jacket pocket, and it's the reason I'd hand this one to someone who commutes or moves between desks. It weighs about 125 g and the cable is fixed at 1.2 m.
Two things to be honest about. First, despite the "noise control: Active Noise Cancellation" field in the listing data, this is a wired, sealed headphone with no battery and no ANC hardware described — I'd treat the sealing itself as the only real isolation you get, not powered cancellation. Second, the shorter 1.2 m cord is fine at a desk but tight if you like to wander. And the fixed cable means no swapping it later.
• Best for the lightest fit → Sony ZX110. 6.4 oz and an on-ear design that you barely notice clipping on.
• Best for a wider frequency range → Sony Headphones MDR-ZX310. 10 Hz–24 kHz versus the ZX110's 12 Hz–22 kHz.
• Best for a long cable → Sony ZX110. 47.25 inches / 1.2 m of Y-type cord gives you more slack than the MDR-ZX310's fixed 1.2 m.
• Best for compact packing → Sony Headphones MDR-ZX310. Its quick-folding hinge collapses smaller than the ZX110's flat-swivel layout.
• Best for easy driveability → Sony ZX110. The 16-ohm impedance is the friendlier load for weak phone outputs.
• Best for a sealed over-ear fit → Sony Headphones MDR-ZX310. Around-the-ear cups rather than on-ear pads.
• Best for a pop of color → Sony Headphones MDR-ZX310. Metallic red body with a matched cable, versus the ZX110's plain black.
• Best for big ears → Sony Headphones MDR-ZX310, in my opinion — the over-ear enclosure wraps the ear instead of pressing on it.
If I were buying one of these for myself, I'd take the Sony Headphones MDR-ZX310. The over-ear sealed fit is the deciding factor for me, especially for anyone shopping with big ears — the cups sit around the ear rather than on it, and the wider 10 Hz–24 kHz range plus the compact fold make it the more versatile daily headphone. I'd only steer you to the Sony ZX110 if weight and cord length matter more to you than enclosure style, because it is the lighter, longer-corded, lower-impedance pick. Whichever way you lean, check the current price on Amazon before you commit — the button on this page will show you the live figure, and these two often sit in different spots on the value ladder.
FAQ
Based only on the described hardware — a wired, sealed dynamic headphone with no battery — I'd treat its isolation as passive, coming from the sealed cups. The listing data includes an ANC field, but nothing in the design supports powered cancellation, so don't buy it expecting that.
The Sony ZX110, on paper. Its 16-ohm impedance is a lighter load than the MDR-ZX310's 24 ohms, so weaker sources will reach usable volume more easily. The MDR-ZX310 counters with a higher 98 dB sensitivity, so in practice both get loud — the ZX110 just has more headroom on modest gear.
The Sony Headphones MDR-ZX310. Its quick-folding mechanism collapses into a compact shape for a bag, whereas the ZX110 uses a swivel that only lays the cups flat. If pocketability is your priority, the MDR-ZX310 wins.
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