Sony has new headphones, MDR-1R - Page 57

MDR 1R sound change drastically thru burning process.

my new unit sound ugly initially till i can't stand with it, just put it to white noise burning over night, after abt 10 hours now looks better, bass sound recess from over dominant and become smoother(better taste)+volume down. yet still sound odd this point of time. will put it to more noise burning to see the SQ.

to my ears the shure has not significantly more treble than the sony. but much more refined.

 

Because the harmonics that make a tone more than a sine wave generally start falling into the treble range of things (which is typically the range people classify as "bright"). A rolled off treble means you start to lose your shaping harmonics and then you're just listening to homogenized tones rather than music. 

 

This is just a generalization of course. 

HOLY BRIGHTNESS!!!!!

(just got them...)

Id never question another listener's ears. I would put forward a contrary view though.
I'm sensitive to brightness and its a main reason I lone these. For example I owned a sold a T70P because of its known, measured treble spike which translated to brightness for my ears.
These are neutral to me so consider your source etc. and the signature you were used to prior to the Sony's.

None of these guys are really "neutral" (at least NOT what I consider neutral...). I've had "bright" headphones before, the Shure SRH940s was one of my favorites and my Denon D5000s are also quite "bright" (if you need a basis for comparison). Right now, listening side by side against the V-Moda M100s. The Sony's are definitely brighter, more forward upper mids and highs, no doubt! Listening to Circa Survive doesn't really sound too good to me on these at the moment.

 

Also listened to Kaskade (Fire in your new shoes, Room for Happiness), Damian Marley (Welcome to Jamrock), Fernando Madera (Aquellos Tiempos), JKing y Maximan (Que Cojones, Ella me pide something), Skrillex (Right In, Amplifire, All I ask of you), etc.

 

Quick impressions: Bright, but with bass presence, comfortable, great looking! ;-)

 

Of course, I need way more time to test, I just got them, but I doubt these initial impressions will change.

 

 

P.S. I was actually "scared" that these would be bass heavy due to the "promotion" behind it. Nope. Not so. They DO have bass though, just not overkill bass like the Denon D600s or the V-MODA M100s.

 

P.P.S. Listening with HiSound Studio V + Leckerton UHA-6S MKII.

So do you consider them to be brighter than D5000s?  I didn't find them to be bright at all, but if the 1Rs are brighter, I don't think that'd be a bad thing....

 

I agree with this.

 

It's the same argument for why low frequency realism is affected by treble response.

 

Can't answer this at the moment (I'm at work, D5000s are at home ;-)).

Will check in the evening though.

Just got these as a gift from my girlfriend.  If I get some time later, I'll do a full review and comparison between these and my HD595, HD650, Grado SR-80, and my Sennheiser PX-100.  So far: signature is simlar to Sennheiser.  Closest to the HD595 but with much better bass.  They sound much better than I expected.  Build quality is also excellent and are extremely comfortable.  No glaring problems with these headphones whatsoever.

Edited by Audio18 - 11/13/12 at 1:12pm

I look forward to your review!

Some of the digititis or brightness I heard initially disappeared when I used a proper dac (macbook air to audioquest dragonfly).  I think they are neutral and accurate and pass along/amplify any poor recording or processing information.

If the R1s are really a HD598 with much better bass then they would be a very nice pair of headphones.

 

Now that I have them and I'm listening to them at the moment, even if the M100s hadn't come out, I wouldn't say these are bass heavy though. Denon D2000, Beyer DT770 Pro80, M-Audio Q40, etc. those ARE bass heavy!!! :-p

 

These Sony's... man... I'm having a hard time leaving them on!! I thought it was my MP3s or source but on most/all of the songs they are just TOO forward and.. sound even shrill on some songs! Piercing to the point that I have to lower the volume even more and I don't even listen to music that loud. Don't know if owners can try this track:

 

Ben Jorgensen -- The Color of your Eyes

 

The Song going to the end gets a bit "crowded" (the production is not the best I would say! ;-)) but AB'ing with the Mad Dogs with Dog Pads, the Mad Dogs just sound fuller, more natural, great extension without sounding shrill! Tonally, the Mad Dogs are walking right over the MDRs. I know I still need to go a few weeks using the Sony's but... not sure if they are keepers yet! Maybe I'm liking the warm-ish, laid back sound a bit more? (having listened to the Mad Dogs and especially the Signature Pros a lot more these past few weeks)

 

That said, I find the MDR-1Rs to have good speed and they do resolve very good. Details are there! But... those highs... (could be boosted upper mids btw...)

Edited by gelocks - 11/14/12 at 9:10am

BTW, another online review:

 

http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/6044/sony-mdr-1r-over-ear-prestige-headphones-review