Reviews by SonyMDRer | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

This is my review of the Sennheiser HD25-1 II Adidas Original headphone.

First of all, if I have to give a reward to the best looking headphone, I would grant the HD25-1 II Adidas Originals the award. They just look absolutely fantastic with the blue and black color combination!

Aside from the great looks, these are great sounding headphones for modern style of music where vocals are not the focus. With a good emphasis in the treble and bass region, these sounded really well with electronic music, hip-hop, rap, and even metal or hard rock. However, as I have mentioned in the video, these headphones are not so great for classical or soft pop due to their nature of being a closed back headphone with the speakers so close to the ears. What this results in is a very small soundstage, and decent instrument separation. Furthermore, strings instruments in general just does not sound very good on this headphone; there's something in the mid-range just took a lot away from classical music.

However, this headphone is famous in the DJ community for a reason, and it is the energetic sound signature, and in combination with the sound isolation that makes this headphone one of the best in the business; if not the best.

This is a definite recommended headphone for those looking for a very energetic and fun sound signature.
And if you don't dig the color scheme, Sennheiser will let you own one of these headphones for $100 less. Great deal

For a more detailed review, please see my video review located here:

Great write up!

Thank you for the kind words

Yeah ! I agree 100% !

First of all, I would like to thank Lachlan from lachlanlikesathing (Youtube Reviewer). Before I saw Lachlan's Sennheiser Momentum Over-Ear review, I was never really interested in reviewing headphones. However, after watching his video review, it inspired me to make my own headphone reviews. And now, half a year has gone by... I cannot help but say, thank you because it has been a really fun journey.

Okay, enough about where my inspiration comes from... Let's focus on the main topic, the review!

What can I say? I think this is a great example of what a good closed-back headphone should be! Let me start by saying, this headphone is not for everybody.

To begin, the build quality of this headphone is fantastic, it really showcases what one can buy with $299 as it demonstrates with excellent build quality and the material used for the headphone which included huge chunks of metal and leather padded on both the top of the headband and the earpads. I was surprised, with the combination of these materials, the headphone turned out to be so light and so very comfortable! I believe one can wear this all day long without having any neck fatigue. Furthermore, the headphone comes with a lot of accessories which included a very well padded hardcase for travel (although it is quite bulky, it appears to be very durable) and 2 cables (one of the cables have the Apple IOS controls, and the other is a place cable... both of which have locking mechanisms) and lastly, a 1/4" adapter.

Now... with all the nice features in this headphone, it does not make a good headphone unless it is combined with the sound quality, and here it is where opinions will differ. The overall sound quality of this headphone is rather dark (not in a bad way), relaxing, and very laid back which means that the headphone has a really smooth low-end bass region, and a rather huge treble roll-off (which may steer some people away from this headphone). I argued that it may steer some people away from this headphone because you would lose a lot of detail in the treble region, and it would provided a non-energetic sound signature that may not please everyone. However, if you are after a relaxing headphone, then look no further, the Sennheiser Momentum Over-Ear is here for you.

For a more detailed review, please see my video review located here:

This is my review for the Sony MDR-XB500 Extra-Bass Headphone.

My initial reaction to this headphone was just 'WOW' and not in a good way. I was amazed at how much bass a headphone can have! I should emphasis at the point that this headphone is not used / was not intended to be used for mixing and mastering, so you first have to understand that this headphone is made for those that love the fun sound signature of having a really bassy headphone and nothing else! However, I found this problematic as the headphone just provided too much bass and there was not much else to be enjoyed.

I made a note in my video review that this is still a headphone and therefore, it must be judged to be such. In other words, you cannot only judge only the bass region, but all the other regions must also be taken into consideration, and this is where the XB500 fell short of being a good headphone. All the other frequencies aside from the bass region was frankly.... not very good.

Therefore, I suggest to recommend a headphone for those that enjoy bass, but also at the same time wanted really good sound quality for the price, get the Logitech Ultimate Ears UE6000 ! What a great headphone that is for bass lovers and it even comes with an extra, which is the noise cancellation circuit! I hope I was not too hard on this review, but I really hope to share my thoughts on how I thoughts about this headphone!

For a more detailed review, please see my video review located here:

What you no like the Fart Cannons ;3

also here's the worst part... years ago when those where in production the XB 700 could be had for about $80 new and sounded better imo than the UE 6000, now fast forward to today and the XB 700 might run you $200 if you can find one and the UE 6000 is really just a better b ang for the buck! Sony biggest mistake was discountinuing these to make their new even numbered line :/

Lol thanks for the funny comment

You are absolutely right. I think the XB700 is quite a good headphone, so different compared to the XB500! But as far as current generation of headphones goes, I think the UE6000 is a hard headphone to beat!

Introduction:
This is my 1st 5-Star Review.
I am a very picky reviewer and I am a true believer in 'every little bit counts' and honestly I have little to nothing to complaint about aside from the headphone being a little bit heavy.

Build quality:
The construction of the HD700 is very similar to the HD800. Just by looking at the headphone, you might mistake one from the other.

Sound quality:
The biggest difference in my opinion lies in the smaller earcup that houses a smaller 40mm driver, compared to the massive 56mm driver on the HD800. I think this affected the sound quite a bit. With the smaller driver, I found that it was less spacious and the soundstage was not as realistic as the HD800. However, what you do get is a very wide stereo effect. On to the sound signature of the HD700, I would say it is very similar to the HD800; especially the mid-range. I think the biggest difference for me about the HD700 compared to the HD800 is in the bass region. For me, I loved the HD800 and the low-end is beautiful. However, I could never feel the bass. With the HD700, you can both feel the bass and appreciate the beautiful qualities of the bass region. Another region I focused on was the treble region. I thought the HD700 did not have the 6khz spike that plagued a lot of the HD800. Instead, you are presented with a less detailed presentation, which could or could not be a bad thing, depending on what you are listening to.

Summary:
Overall, I loved the HD700 and it is one of my highest recommended headphones. For how much it does well, I would even recommend it over the HD800 in some instances.

For a more in-depth review, please take a look at my video review =)

These days, for $40, there's just not too many good choices out there.

I feel the UE4000 should be a role-model for all the companies wanting to win this market.

First of all, this headphone has an amazing set of features for $40 which includes a detachable cable (super rare), not fully plastic (metal sliders, good foam for the headband), a carrying pouch, a high-quality splitter! With all of the features, I instantly see Logitech won over the crowd.

However, one of the draw back to this headphone is that it is NOT MEANT FOR AUDIOPHILES. This headphone has overwhelming bass which seems to be essential these days in the under-$100 category of headphones and furthermore, it does lack some detail, clarity and soundstage. Therefore, for indoor use, I found the sound quality to be rather muddy.

Interestingly, these problems are solved when you go outdoor where detail, clarity and soundstage is not essential. Furthermore, thanks to the overwhelming bass, what was once muddy, has turned into a huge powerful sounding headphone in noisy environments that is very energetic and fun sounding. If this was not enough, a combination of a portable form factor, good isolation, slim profile headband and the fact that it is lightweight makes the UE4000 ideal for outdoor use. I should make a note here that, the isolation is good enough for most shopping malls and libraries, but they will not drown out lower frequencies such as engine noise.

Lastly, I should note that these are not the most comfortable headphone, due to the nature of an on-ear design headphone.

For a more detailed review, please see my video review located here:

This has got to be amongst one of those mysterious headphones out there... there just isn't too much information about it!

Overall, I found that the build quality of the headphone to be quite good.
Even though the headphone has a lot of plastic parts, I thought the fit and finish of the headphone was rather sturdy and I was confident that this headphone would last a while. However, a personal complaint that I have about this headphone, it is that the earcups are just too small for me (but if you got small ears, this could be a comfortable headphone!)
Lastly, you might find that the cable is rather thin and filmsy, which could be a deal killer.

Now for the sound, which is an interesting area for this headphone...
I really love the tight bass on this headphone, I thought it was very energetic, it had a lot of authority and overall I just thought the bass was 'just right'.
However, I found that there is a strange upper-mid range spike at around 2khz that just made the headphone sound nasally and it just took over some of the treble detail

Lastly, I should mention is that I look really stupid wearing this headphone. I certainly can not pull this headphone off, but I'm sure someone can

For a more detailed review, please take a look at my video review located here:

Personally, this is my favorite headphone.

I gave this headphone a conservative 4/5 because I simply have not had the chance to try all the headphones in the world, so I'm sure there are some headphones that can hit 5/5.

First of all, these are closed back headphones with a good amount of isolation. With that said, it is amazing how 'airy' these headphones feel. They offer tight bass with punch which is quite unique to its class. Furthermore, this headphone has a beautiful treble region which gives tons of sparkle giving you the feeling that this headphone reveals a lot of detail.

The only negative thing I can say about these headphones, it is that some people have complained that the spike in the treble region becomes bothersome. With that said, I personally love the treble spike so it does not bother me at all!

For a more detailed review, please see my video review located here:

I really liked your review, I am not currently looking for a pair these I was just browsing around but it is always nice to see some one with a headphone they are really happy with.

Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm glad I made an impression on you

For a headphone that is now celebrating it's 6th birthday (in the technology world, it is already outdated), it is surprising how well the NC still performs, even compared to today's standard.

When the headphone was first announced in August of 2008, it had a whopping MSRP of $499 in Canada. However, a few years after that, it was discontinued at a final sale price of $199.

I do share some disappointment with these headphones and it is that there appears to have a digital artifact in the bass region. Furthermore, the treble seems to roll-off which made the headphone lacked sparkle and detail.

With all the complaints that is said and done, I believe this headphone excelled greatly in the mid region all the way up to the upper mid region. And more importantly, I thought the NC circuit was very well done, especially how well the 3 modes compliment each other. I would argue that the MDR-NC500D's NC circuit is very well made, and I would place it above the Bose QC2, but not above the Bose QC15.

For a more detailed review, please take a look at my video review located here:

Good review. I appreciate the placement of the noise cancelling between the qc2 and qc15. Sounds like Bose had to better this can very quickly.

I bought a pair of the Sony NC500D headphones in Tokyo in 2009 - simply because they were the only ones that were using digital noise cancellation, and when trying them in a busy and noisy Tokyo electronic store, they really stood out as being uncannily quiet. Frankly the NC circuit blew me away.
I'm pleased to report that they've been in frequent use ever since - mainly by me.
I have also used a pair of Bose QC3's and QC15's for a number of long flights and train journeys, since these are owned by family members too.
Probably the best comment I may make is that there is always a challenge in my "finding" the Sony NC500D's since they seem to be preferred by all here. I'll try and be as objective as I can in why I think that might be, but both the Bose QC's are very good too. We are talking fractional differences between the QC15 and the NC-500D in my opinion, bearing in mind that they are of the same over ear design...
The 'on ear' QC3's are OK, but cancel less external noise in my view, and are my least preferred.
Sound wise the QC15's are good, as are the Sony NC-500D's though they may be slightly lacking in bass punch in direct comparison.... My view on this however is that you don't buy NC headphones for audiophile quality - you buy them to isolate background noise and get as good a sound as possible once that's done....
This noise cancellation is where in my view the NC-500D's really excel. The dramatic reduction in external noises (there are two manual settings and an automatic) is eerily quiet, so much so that one of my family can't wear them since they make them feel uneasy/queasy with so little noise - especially in a relatively quiet environment. It is from that base quietness that the perfectly good sound quality can then come though. In my view and that of the 2 members of my family I've actually asked, we'd place the three NC headsets in this order:
1.Sony NC-500D
2.Bose QuietComfort 15
3.Bose QuietComfort 3
To be clear, I tend to use these Sony NC-500D when I just need a bit of peace and quiet, or listen to something when other stuff/noise is going on. If I want to listen to audiophile quality, then I use the closed back Denons or the open Sennheisers depending on need.
The Sony's really get used with my iPad (travelling or at home) or the TV when I want to watch films, or listen to the 256k AAC tracks on the iPad. When briefly travelling away for a few days, I use the Sony NC-500D's with my solid state drive iMod (all Apple lossless tracks) for music. I tend not to use the Graham Slee Voyager with the Sony NC-500D's (more to carry) but if I'm away for a bit I'll pack the Voyager and the Denons in my checked baggage so I have half decent sounds in my hotel/base in the evening.
In short, I'd recommend both the Sony NC-500D's and the Bose QC15's - but if I could only have one, it'd be the Sony's - for the peace and quiet they bring.

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