Sony MDR-V6 Monitor Series Headphones

I wouldn't trade anything for my Sony MDR-V6's, including Bose or even some of the other higher end units.  I have owned these for well over 27 years and have never had anything go wrong with these headphones.  I have over driven them, thrown them around like a $10 set expecting them to break so I could justify going to get another set, and they just continue keeping on.  The only thing that needs any attention is the ear pads which I am now replacing for a measly $10.  I use these for all listening situations including music, and gaming.  I just happened to add up some of my gaming times and I came up with over a 100 days of gaming over the last 10 years (ps3) which equated to over 2400 hours of those same headphones beating out mind numbing explosions, rapid gunfire, while still able to sound harmonic while playing symphony, country, blues/jazz, country or rock.  They still sound as crisp as the day I bought them 28 years ago.
 
Funny thing, i remember the day I bought them and the turmoil I went through to justify spending the $85 dollars (mind you $85 back 25 years ago was like $400 today) and wondering if they would sound as good as I hoped, and last long enough for me to feel like I got my monies worth.
 
I am contemplating buying my next set (MDR-10BT) for travel and again wondering if they will be justified.  They don't make things like they used to, but I feel comfortable always going back to these if there is any question.
Regards,

I don't really want to talk about the use of these for music.  They were once the king under $100, and still are very good for the price -- but the best low-end headphones today would give all but a few midrange headphones of a decade or two ago a run for their money -- so it's impressive how well these have held up.  But there is just better out there for under $100 now.
 
That being said, over the years I've tried many popular headphones from the major brands while gaming -- and for gaming these are still by-far the best in terms of 3D positional accuracy.  If you play games like CS:GO where audio cues are absolutely vital I cannot recommend these highly enough.  Sony really needs to produce a version of these with a mic and market to the pro gaming community -- they would be incredibly well received.

This was my first step into higher-end audio, and I recommend it to anyone in this position as well.  Never had comfort issues (especially if the cups are replaced), and the price is very reasonable.  I had great success when listening to music such as classical to R&B.  The only issue I had with the headphone was the coiled cable, which is long and prone to becoming tangled. 

I reviewed the Bravo V3 amp with these headphones here , which in part ended up being a review of these headphones. I recommend reading that review as well. Here I will elaborate on how they sound outside use with the Bravo V3.

Before the V3 arrived in the mail I was using the Fiio E5 to drive the headphones. I found that while they can be driven without them well enough from my laptop, they needed a boost in order to open up the soundstage and give the bass proper impact. This is likely due to them being 63 ohm headphones, meaning they take a little more power to drive well compared to common headphone impedances like 32 ohms. I did not find that I needed the FiiO when using them with my desktop, as it has a fairly high end sound card more than capable of driving them. 


As for the sound, the frequency response is amazing. Previously the two pairs of headphones I used were the Panasonic RP-HTX7 and Sennheiser HD202s. The Sennheisers are the superior of thos two headphones all around, but the Sennheiser is a little lacking in the high end. These headphones have a powerful high end. Some have found it overbearing and report sibilance, but with my set up and to my ears I heard no such thing and it did not sound overbearing, although the Fiio E5 can exaggerate the high end a little much. When using the bass boost with the E5 it can help that, however, anything bass heavy will be very distorted. This is a problem with the E5, not the headphones, which led to me buying the tube amp mentioned at the beginning of the review. In short, when using with the Bravo V3 I found these headphones to have completely wonderful sound quality. 


I have read that these do not have a good sound stage. I have even read that if you try those 3D sound/binaural videos like the virtual barbershop that they won't give you the 3D illusion. This is not true. When being properly driven they have a good sound stage which replicates 3D effects. 


As always, the quality of the headphones in part depends on the sound sources. I went into detail on my set up in my Bravo V3 review, so I suggest examining that in order to get an idea of how these might sound with your set up and musical preferences. However, considering I have used these with a laptop both with and without the FiiO E5, desktop, and from my AT-LP120 w/ART DJ pre ii preamp with the Fiio E5, and finally, a Sansa Fuze Mp3 player with and without the FiiO E5, I believe I have ascertained that these headphones have superior sound quality and are quite versatile, but need a little more "juice" than lower impedance headphones in order to get the best quality. 

These are also very comfortable to me. The only downside is that the ear pads seem kind of thin. However, replacement pads are cheaply and easily available, and Beyerdynamic offers more expensive but nicer pads to upgrade/replace the stock ones. In time I likely will get some of these. 

[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]I've had 2 pairs from 2013 and they both had the same problems.[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The moving parts of the headband make clicking and knocking noises. It's super annoying and I couldn't find a way to permanently fix the issue. It's a design oversight.[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The pleather covering of the earpads flake, badly, as many reviewers have pointed this out. It started after a year on mine. Replacing them costs more than half the price of the headphones, and would have to be done every year. No thanks.[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The sound is alright, but because of the above intolerable issues, they're useless to me.[/color]

      I got these in the mail 2 days ago. I got a pair of Sony XB800s last week and was blown away by the sound but the soundstage and comfort weren't there. I read about the MDR V6s on this site and ordered them to compare. I was pretty sure that I'd be keeping the 800s. They sounded that good.
     I plugged in the V6s expecting less. Wow they blew away the  800s except for the bass. It's not as strong in the V6s but tighter and cleaner. (The way I like it) I've been listening to my music collection all over again so I can hear all the little things that I missed before. Everything is so clear, never cluttered, and is reproduced with such ease. The soundstage is great, like I said above no clutter, just great separation and effortless space. Crank 'em and they won't miss a beat. They are the best
      I don't usually write reviews, but I'm just so happy with these I had to.
PS They sound OK with my phone to. The price above includes s/h and tax.
 
Important
     I don't listen to these without an equalizer. The sound is reproduced so perfectly that it's, ...well flat. I like to have a little punch in my music. These are a PERFECT match for an equalizer, because of the even reproduction, with the equalizer that PERFECT sound you want is there for the taking.
      Pure BEAUTY!! I can't get enough of these beauties. In my first 3 days I've logged in OVER 20 hours. Every chance I get I listen to them. I'm listening to them right now. Enough said.
 
Update
      I recently got the EQ app for my phone. Now they sound GREAT with the phone, not just OK.

These are my first pair of serious headphones if you can call it that. I am not a professional in the field , but i appreciate good detailed audio. Sony MDR V6s give u exactly that . These cans are brilliant at giving you some details that you might have never noticed with the stock headphones that most people buy out. The sound is true and very detailed . It may not be the thumpiest cans out there , but thats only because thse are studio headphones , and hence deliver flat audio. Great for appreciating how music gets produced and recorded. Very easy to tell good records using this , especially since it gives unadulterated outputs.

Well, I've had these for 2 months or so, and they've served me well. Compared to my JVC's, these were crystal clear. I won't go into sound-stage and all of that, simply because I can't understand it at the moment. 
 
These are my impressions after using them for some time, so I can't say much about burn-in. Although at first, they did sound a bit weird when switching over from my JVC's. 
 
Highs & Mids:
Ever since upgrading from my $10-20 JVC's, I was awe struck when I did some A/B testing. These were a lot clearer. The muffled voices that heard on my JVC's were crystal clear on the V6. Tracks I'd once thought were good were actually bad. It was like bringing color to black and white TV (no, not literally, just using it as a figure since I'm not that old ). Vocals (jpop) sounded like they were supposed to. With my JVC's, I'd always thought that the singers had some pretty deep voices. 
 
Lows: 
I'm not by any means a bass-head. Bass hurts my head if it's too much or something like in rap or current day American pop. Well, they already hurt my head from the bad lyrics, etc, but the bass and synthesized stuff hurts it even more.
 
The bass on these cans are clear. Or refined if that's what you prefer They've pretty much handled all the bass that I've thrown at them. 
 
Build:
Nice stuff. Cups are magnesium or some metal/alloy. The extenders are made of metal too, so I'm pretty pleased with the build. Dropped them 2-3 times within the past 1-2 months, and they're still fine! I've yet to take them on a trip (which should be within the next few months). There's also a neat pouch that comes with it  something I wasn't expecting at all. 
 
This is also my first phone to have a coil cord, and man, I love it. It's not too long or too short! It's long when you need it, and it retracts when you don't need the extra length. 

I had high hopes for these headphones. Heard so many good reviews and i had to get my hand on them. They're good, but not as good as i expected. Some songs sound better on some of my cheaper headphones ex: klipsch image s4's. Good thing i got them for 50 dollars at Fry's. If i bought them at retail price which was $109 at the time, i would've returned them.

Let me begin by saying that this was my first foray into quality headphones. Previously, I would use crappy earphones that have been passed down or that I'd find here and there, I've never paid much attention to the quality of my music. I've tested out different ones at B&H - best place to go to if you want to actually listen to headphones before buying them. I guess J&R is the same but I haven't been there yet. And after a long search, I am so, so glad that I chose these headphones. 
 
I'll preface by saying that these headphones require burning in. However, it's not a mechanical burn-in that I'm talking about, as I've had a set for a couple weeks, and then I returned them to get a better price from Amazon, so I've tested a new set with a "burned-in" set and they actually pretty much the same in terms of overall quality (I was surprised, since I expected some change in sound - I'll get to that in a bit). No, the burn-in is for the most part psychological. Expect about a week of listening before you get to the good stuff. But what a sound they create after getting used to them.
 
The trebles are sharp and sparkly. Some complain about sibilance. They are right - there is sibilance, but it does not take anything away at all from the overall quality of the sound, and when the music calls for it, you hear it well - as you should. The mids are pronounced and easily discernible from one another - it's easy to tell between mid range instrumentation. And the bass is exceptionally clean and warm. It isn't boomy or muddy and it doesn't bleed into the upper registers. Depending on the track and how it was recorded, I've heard instances where I didn't so much hear the bass but felt it coming from within me. The soundstage is pleasingly large and airy for a closed headphone. Speaking of that, when music is playing, it doesn't leak out. That is, you can use these in a quiet library without bothering anybody.
 
However, to be fair I will have to point out some cons in these cans. And they exist. First, if you are going to use these headphones outside, do yourself a favor and spare yourself the hassle. The card is super long, coiled, and somewhat heavy. You won't find a place to put it unless you have really large pockets. The way these are built, even though you can fold them, there really isn't a very neat way of storing them. They come with a pouch, but to be honest it's not very useful as I find it isn't big enough to contain the entire set. These are indoor headphones, plain and simple. Second, the ear pads may tend to hurt after some time of listening as the drivers are pretty close. But hear me out here. If you do go ahead and get these, do yourself a huge favor and get the Beyerdynamic Velour Padded Earcushions. Not only do these improve comfort as well as appearance (the headphones really do look like they would cost at least $30-50 more), but they also add some EQ to the sound for those who don't like a flat monitor sound. The only thing is they reduce the bass a little bit, but I didn't find this to be a huge letdown. Otherwise, sibilance is improved, mids are tighter, cleaner sound as the velour considerably dampens any lingering sound. This is a good thing. When the music calls for an abrupt stop, there is actually silence. When there is too much going on in the music, it helps to differentiate between tonality and timbre. Installation of the velour pads was somewhat aggravating, but with a bit of patience, you can get them on.
 
Ah, one more thing. I've mentioned I had a pair of these for about 2 weeks before getting a replacement to get a better price. I have found through testing both that the sound was only somewhat different. Now, I can't be too sure whether it was burn-in or just differentiation between the two, and I've read other reviews that mention that each V6 sounds different. The burned-in pair had more sibilance, the new one has more bass. Could be that the bass went away - however, my impression is that burn-in improves rather than removes bass. But your mileage may vary. Between the two though, after installing the velour pads, they sound equally amazing.
 
I can safely say that these headphones redefined my listening experience. I am enjoying music I've heard before so many times, but now in a new and different light. If you are going into quality headphones, I highly, highly recommend these. They will not break your wallet, and have been around for 2 decades - there's a reason for that. (There's also a reason for when you go to Wikipedia and search for the term "headphones", the first picture are the 7506 - the V6's twin.)
 
GET THEM!

This headphone was my first high quality one. It sounds extremely neutral with good bass that is in proportion to the other frequenciencies. The midrange and treble also sound natural. What this headphone lacks and what you get by stepping up to the Sony V900HD(aka 7509HD) is a higher level of midrange detail. For the price though, this is an excellent value, however this is not on the level of the 7509HD or CD1000.

These make everything sound huge, loud, big & boomy. But its an artificial bass sweetening that is not right for mixing, monitoring, vocals or classical music. You can decrease the bass by removing the cheap weak foam, but it still won't be flat enough for mixing. I suppose its nice for bass players, drummers or djs that want the rhythm section of a song maximized in noisy environments for beat matching and such. All the harmonics and overtones of middle and high frequencies are lost though, making vocals and strings sound like they are compressed or cut short with a pass filter or parametric eq. You'll never hear anything with reverb or spacial stereo properly either. They are very rugged and loud but not good for proper listening.

One of the best investments I've ever made.
 
I picked these up in B&H New York to replace my previous set, Sony MDR V150.
 
It's been six months since then, I can safely say that these headphones won't be leaving me anytime soon. The sound quality is neutral, as expected from Studio Monitors. The build quality is sturdy, with a thick coil for durability.

Although purely subjective, I found that burning these headphones in changed the sound signature dramatically in comparison to their coming out of the box sound.
 
Pick these up, whether you're for a new set of cans, or if you just want a backup pair.

One of the better ways to get addicted to the audiophile community cheaply. Neutral and beautiful. A bit hard to power with an mp3 player, but if you are using an Ipod to start with, you probably don't care about clarity. Build quality to last, I mean they have been around forever.

Great for studio work or anything requiring accurate sound and isolation. Not the most musical of headphones, these are pretty much flat through the frequency charts. Cheap, sturdy and reliable.

Thats right they are 23 years old, and still sound great .I have taken good care of them over the years. They are everything the sony discription says they are.