I know I am a bit late to the party, as these cans came out at around late 2015... I think. I got these last fall, and after using them for 5 months, I wanted to give this a review since there were none here on head fi. A quick disclaimer, the price posted here is a sale price, I got it for C$ 150 instead of the regular C$ 249.
--BUILD & DESIGN--
Lets kick off with the design. This headphone looks simple and very modern, with more curves and slopes than sharp edges. The styling of these headphones remind me of Scandinavian design, which focuses mainly on clean, minimalistic design. The colors Sony decided to drench these headphones in might seem a little off at first, but it grows on me and I ended up happy with the color which I chose, which was Teal. The colors were matte and has a dark undertone to them (especially with the teal), which strips the glossy look away from these headphones. It does not pick fingerprints, but shows off scratches in exchange. Overall, these look elegant and subtle but still stands out from the crowd.
These headphones are considered as fashion cans, and most fashion cans these days are made out of plastic. The hinge, fork, and headband are made out of hard plastic, but I have no complaints since they are durable enough to withstand everyday life. The hinges, however have a metal strip inside which helps extend the headphones and features satisfying clicks for people who love to count em. It also helps prevent the hinges from snapping, as this headphone employs a folding mechanism much similar to the very popular Beats by Dre headphones. The best part about the build quality are the earcups themselves, since they are made out of aluminum instead of the same hard plastic used in the aforementioned parts. In my opinion, the aluminum housing helps reduce distortion from bass-heavy music, although people's opinions may vary on their actual purpose. The headphone overall feels light in the head, and sturdy in the hands. This headphone sadly comes with only 1 cable, but the cable quality is very good. Its thick, but flat and serrated which makes it tangle-free. Stress reliefs on both ends of the cables are nice, which protects it if u decide to store the headphones without taking off the cables.
--COMFORT--
These headphones are outright comfortable, mainly because they are an over-ear pair. The cushions although not memory foam are soft enough to not cause any pain around the ears, and the earpads themselves are made out of pleather. heat build-up is unavoidable especially during long sessions (4-5 hrs) or when listening in hotter climates. The earpads have an interesting design, which allows them to 'slope in' to ur ear, giving a much better noise isolation and prevents sound leakage.
--SOUND--
As for sound, this headphone sounds balanced with very good detail retrieval, especially for a headphone at a sub $200 price range. The highs in this headphone has just the right amount to provide us with detail and shimmer, but does not go overboard and sound sibilant. Extension is pretty okay but not the best, but then again for the price I cannot complain. The Mids imo hits that sweet spot in the center which provides us with natural and 'organic' vocals in the upper mids, and good body in the lower mids. The lower mids to me have a little less weight to them, but again it avoids any sort of 'thickness' in the sound. Detail retrieval is superb, and instruments have a good body to them without sounding hollow. Bass here sounds sublime, as expected from Sony headphones. The sub-bass is pretty weak however, with very little rumble to them. The mid-bass has a very good punch, and never bleeds to the mids. Bass quality is overall very good with fast, tight punch to them alongside good weight without overpowering the mids and highs. The bass here has better quality than the XB950s. As for soundstage, this headphone does an amazing job of providing us with a soundstage close to a semi-open pair of headphones. Instrument separation ad imaging is a lot more present here especially compared to other closed-back headphones in its class. However, the OVERALL sound of this headphone is what makes this review lose 1 star. Although it sounds balanced with lots of detail and good soundstage, I feel like the sound quality is a little boring at times, something that I feel is off from a headphone like this. Personally I enjoy the sound quality of these headphones cos I prefer a more linear sounding pair of cans than say, a bass heavy or a V-shaped can. However, if you are looking for a 'fun' sounding headphone, this unfortunately will not satisfy you as they just sound so linear and relaxed, which several people might think this headphones need a good dose of "energy" in their sound. I would say the sound has a good balance to the point where it makes any track sound good in these, but it will not make you dance in excitement.
--CONCLUSION--
To conclude this review, I would say that this is a solid pair of headphones, with amazing build and design coupled with very good sound quality which I believe will satisfy most people, but it lacks energy which might turn some people away from investing in these headphones. However, similar to all other reviews out there, take my review with a grain of salt, and go to a store which has these on display (most stores which sells these have em on display) and try them out before making a decision. Current MSRP is US$199, but sometimes it goes down to US$150 or probably even less now in 2017. Hope you guys enjoy this review and find this helpful!
--BUILD & DESIGN--
Lets kick off with the design. This headphone looks simple and very modern, with more curves and slopes than sharp edges. The styling of these headphones remind me of Scandinavian design, which focuses mainly on clean, minimalistic design. The colors Sony decided to drench these headphones in might seem a little off at first, but it grows on me and I ended up happy with the color which I chose, which was Teal. The colors were matte and has a dark undertone to them (especially with the teal), which strips the glossy look away from these headphones. It does not pick fingerprints, but shows off scratches in exchange. Overall, these look elegant and subtle but still stands out from the crowd.
These headphones are considered as fashion cans, and most fashion cans these days are made out of plastic. The hinge, fork, and headband are made out of hard plastic, but I have no complaints since they are durable enough to withstand everyday life. The hinges, however have a metal strip inside which helps extend the headphones and features satisfying clicks for people who love to count em. It also helps prevent the hinges from snapping, as this headphone employs a folding mechanism much similar to the very popular Beats by Dre headphones. The best part about the build quality are the earcups themselves, since they are made out of aluminum instead of the same hard plastic used in the aforementioned parts. In my opinion, the aluminum housing helps reduce distortion from bass-heavy music, although people's opinions may vary on their actual purpose. The headphone overall feels light in the head, and sturdy in the hands. This headphone sadly comes with only 1 cable, but the cable quality is very good. Its thick, but flat and serrated which makes it tangle-free. Stress reliefs on both ends of the cables are nice, which protects it if u decide to store the headphones without taking off the cables.
--COMFORT--
These headphones are outright comfortable, mainly because they are an over-ear pair. The cushions although not memory foam are soft enough to not cause any pain around the ears, and the earpads themselves are made out of pleather. heat build-up is unavoidable especially during long sessions (4-5 hrs) or when listening in hotter climates. The earpads have an interesting design, which allows them to 'slope in' to ur ear, giving a much better noise isolation and prevents sound leakage.
--SOUND--
As for sound, this headphone sounds balanced with very good detail retrieval, especially for a headphone at a sub $200 price range. The highs in this headphone has just the right amount to provide us with detail and shimmer, but does not go overboard and sound sibilant. Extension is pretty okay but not the best, but then again for the price I cannot complain. The Mids imo hits that sweet spot in the center which provides us with natural and 'organic' vocals in the upper mids, and good body in the lower mids. The lower mids to me have a little less weight to them, but again it avoids any sort of 'thickness' in the sound. Detail retrieval is superb, and instruments have a good body to them without sounding hollow. Bass here sounds sublime, as expected from Sony headphones. The sub-bass is pretty weak however, with very little rumble to them. The mid-bass has a very good punch, and never bleeds to the mids. Bass quality is overall very good with fast, tight punch to them alongside good weight without overpowering the mids and highs. The bass here has better quality than the XB950s. As for soundstage, this headphone does an amazing job of providing us with a soundstage close to a semi-open pair of headphones. Instrument separation ad imaging is a lot more present here especially compared to other closed-back headphones in its class. However, the OVERALL sound of this headphone is what makes this review lose 1 star. Although it sounds balanced with lots of detail and good soundstage, I feel like the sound quality is a little boring at times, something that I feel is off from a headphone like this. Personally I enjoy the sound quality of these headphones cos I prefer a more linear sounding pair of cans than say, a bass heavy or a V-shaped can. However, if you are looking for a 'fun' sounding headphone, this unfortunately will not satisfy you as they just sound so linear and relaxed, which several people might think this headphones need a good dose of "energy" in their sound. I would say the sound has a good balance to the point where it makes any track sound good in these, but it will not make you dance in excitement.
--CONCLUSION--
To conclude this review, I would say that this is a solid pair of headphones, with amazing build and design coupled with very good sound quality which I believe will satisfy most people, but it lacks energy which might turn some people away from investing in these headphones. However, similar to all other reviews out there, take my review with a grain of salt, and go to a store which has these on display (most stores which sells these have em on display) and try them out before making a decision. Current MSRP is US$199, but sometimes it goes down to US$150 or probably even less now in 2017. Hope you guys enjoy this review and find this helpful!
