Good Idea or Bad? Sony MDR-V900HD's

[Bobsama]

So, I took <3 minutes to decide to buy some new 'phones. I found Sony MDR-V900HD's for $45 on fleaBay. Are they worth $45, though? I was looking for some full cans to make an at-dorm replacement of my Koss PortaPros. The PortaPros are great, but the folding part of it was annoying me (as I wear them on "light"). So, how are the V900's overall? I was looking at ATH-AD700's as well, but ~$90 was a tad too much for an impulse buy.

 

[Ishcabible]

Ooh, can you show me the link? They could be fakes though, but I'm not sure. The Sony DJ headphones are often faked though.

 

[Bobsama]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ishcabible /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ooh, can you show me the link? They could be fakes though, but I'm not sure. The Sony DJ headphones are often faked though.

If they're fake, he gets them right back and down the drain goes his good rating on eBay.
SONY MDR-V900HD V900 PROFESSIONAL DJ Monitor Headphones - eBay (item 180333473036 end time Mar-05-09 17:48:04 PST)
Anyone know how to check authenticity, other than having a confirmed real set of cans to compare drivers to? Heck--I know I'll ask my Chinese friend about interpreting what he the seller says--she naively speaks Mandarin. Other than that, I do hope it's not a fake.

 

[Ishcabible]

Well, since the only other headphones/well things actually, are V700s, which are faked like mad, I'd be a bit worried.

 

[Bobsama]

I know, so I steered clear of them entirely as it was. I'm guessing the best way to see if these are real or fake will be based on the same things as the V700's? That being, poorly molded Sony logo, no CE/Made in Phillipines marks on the band, lack of weight, and poor soldering? If anyone reading this has real V900's--I'd like if you could post good pictures of the box and headphones, so that I can figure out if these are real or fake (and do the full refund plus report to eBay). Here's Sony's specs page...
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...uctId=11033604

 

[dana789]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobsama /img/forum/go_quote.gif I know, so I steered clear of them entirely as it was. I'm guessing the best way to see if these are real or fake will be based on the same things as the V700's? That being, poorly molded Sony logo, no CE/Made in Phillipines marks on the band, lack of weight, and poor soldering? If anyone reading this has real V900's--I'd like if you could post good pictures of the box and headphones, so that I can figure out if these are real or fake (and do the full refund plus report to eBay). Here's Sony's specs page... MDR-V900HD | Studio Monitor Series Stereo Headphones | Sony | SonyStyle USA

This is my first post, so please be patient if I mess up a bit...
I checked the guys feedback on ebay, it seems all his customers are happy with the V900HDs. He's sold hundreds of them (fell off a truck? fakes?). Some complaints about shipping (I guess the world isn't completely flat...), but no one complains about the product. I'm a bit concerned just from the "too good to be true, you get what you pay for" principles. Could the seller have deleted all the complaints? Can the positive reviews be faked? I'm pretty sure eBay prevents that sort of thing. Not one buyer complained they got a knock-off.

Also, I couldn't find any really complete reviews of the V900HDs.

Does anyone know how well they isolate?

 

[pritiboi]

hi i must say it started out to be a good sounding pair of headphones,but right now one side has a serious high/low sound now and then and it's just three months old...

 

[Bobsama]

As best as I can tell, they're real V900HD's and they sound pretty good, if not a bit heavy on the bass. I have a Sony Style store opening up soon in the mall--so I will probably take them with me then and ask them to verify (to put my doubts to rest) their authenticity. I downloaded a few frequency tests for the first time I listened to them--and I noticed an audible loss in quality but only on the first play through. Everything else was good. I looked at the cups without the cushions and they looked the same as original cups, especially the casing. The cushions looked like original cushions as well. Other than that, there's a real "C E" mark on them as well as "Made in China". Too bad these aren't very popular: hard to verify the facts.

 

[Ishcabible]

PM Uncle Erik. He has a pair.

 

[Bobsama]

I left him a public message, but I've not heard back form him yet. I'm pretty sure these are real--from the LQ picture I could get of it, the drivers look the same as the original.







As I said before, these things sound pretty darn good (<$45!!!)and seem a bit heavy on the bass.

EDIT: I'm still breaking these in. A few days/nights playing my entire music collection on them should expose all the "normal" stuff I play.

 

[whatsthatringingsound]

I originally bought a pair of v900's from china knowing full well by the price I paid for them that they could be fake-and they really were. It seems that china, with all their maufacturing might, can buy molds and or parts to assemble these things and they fabricate what they don't have. I take that for what it's worth and although they aren't built too well, I can still use them.
Here's a few things I noticed about the v900's that solidified their fakedness:

1. The caps were made of plastic as opposed to metal.

2. The cord was quite a bit shorter and will NOT extend.

3. The soldering of wires was pretty bad.

4. The weight of the phones were substantially lighter than the real ones.

5. The vinyl cover on the phones isn't really held in place, it will shift and come off easily.

As for sound, my ears aren't what they used to be so I don't want to say anything pertaining to sound quality.

Lastly, I just ordered some v900hd phones and when I get them, I'll take pics and describe them in this thread, as I am sure that they are fony.

 

[Bobsama]

I'm going to assume you're correct, because when I filed a dispute with eBay/PayPal, the seller immediately refunded my money. For a fony, though, they're pretty good. $0 goes a long way towards justifying a purchase.

 

[jscottmsc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobsama /img/forum/go_quote.gif As best as I can tell, they're real V900HD's and they sound pretty good, if not a bit heavy on the bass.

OK...so I went on eBay 4/22/09 and purchased a set of "SONY MDR-V900HD V900 PROFESSIONAL DJ Headphone NEW" for [size=large]$41.99[/size] (see auction at link that follows)

SONY MDR-V900HD V900 PROFESSIONAL DJ Headphone NEW - eBay (item 120409553402 end time Apr-22-09 17:29:23 PDT)

Seller was yuancaiting a PowerSeller with 772 Feedback 100% Positive

I bought the MDR-HD900V to replace my 10+ year old MDR-7506 headphones that I paid??? ~$169 to $200 back in the day?

SO...it took a month to get them...but my first impressions are in agreement with "Bobsama"...seem like the real thing (and even has "ORIGINAL" stamped on the picture on the eBay listing...hehe

)...and a bit heavy on the bass...which is probably why Sony calls them a "DJ" and not "Studio" model (MDR-7509?).

I will try to compare the Sony MDR-HD900V directly with my Senn HD650...however, I must issue this disclaimer (I play the bass...and therefore may tend to prefer a slightly emphasized bass)...that said... I knew, in advance of either purchase, that "a bit heavy on bass" was expected on either headphone.

So far...I have been using my $179.95 Korg PX5D (guitar/bass FX box) as a UBS DAC and headphone amp to play apple lossy files 44.1/320kbs to compare the 2 cans...(I would love to know what DAC and opamp are in the PX5D...just may have to take a peak inside).

I hope to do some more head-to-head comparo this weekend (wife out of town) and am going to take the following steps to attempt to better differentiate the sound quality.
A.) ordered a RSA SR-71A portable head amp (shipped today)
B.) ordered 99.9% Silver re-cable wires for the HD650
C.) re-ripping source files to FLAC
D.) ordered Dock-Line-Out connector for 5G iPod
E.) connected PC to my networked Denon 3808CI to play FLAC files through the 24-bit/192-kHz DACs (Burr-Brown PCM-1791)
F.) pulled out SACD and DVD-A discs for hi-rez source material
G.) ordered various interconnects

Bottom Line: what is the difference between Low Buck vs High Buck?
1.) Low Buck = $41.99 SONY MDR-V900HD Headphone plus $179.95 Korg pseudo head amp with USB DAC = $221.94 total investment
2.) High Buck = $449.99 Senn HD650 Headphone plus $477.92 RSA SR-71A Head Amp = $927.91 (before re-wire cable, etc.)

Can I appreciate the differences enough to justify spending 4.2 times the dollars?

If yes, then shouldn't I up the ante, again, and get the Senn HD800 plus RSA Raptor with tube upgrades?

(Isn't that why we are here?)

 

[BareAss]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobsama /img/forum/go_quote.gif I left him a public message, but I've not heard back form him yet. I'm pretty sure these are real As I said before, these things sound pretty darn good (<$45!!!)and seem a bit heavy on the bass. EDIT: I'm still breaking these in. A few days/nights playing my entire music collection on them should expose all the "normal" stuff I play.

Hate to break it to you, but the headphones you have are most definitely fakes.

When I was looking to buy these headphones for ~$50 off eBay, I went out to Fry's and bought the real set so I could compare the real ones and the eBay ones.

Take a look at this picture. Compare the headphones on the right -- those are the ones I bought off eBay (fake) -- to that first picture you posted.

You see how the REAL headphones aren't purple under bright light? Yeah. The fakes on the right aren't even quite the exact size and shape of the real ones. They seem to not stretch down as far and curve off more at the bottom. There definitely isn't any part of them that is the same color as the corresponding parts on the real set.

There are some other differences. Here you can see that the materials used are just different -- the real headphones have some sparkles in them.

And just for good measure, here are a few more pictures of the real deal, immediately after purchasing them from the store.

Overall, they're just much cheaper headphones, including the sound they produce. The cord is cheap. The silver base of the connector is plastic and lightweight whereas it should be metal and rather heavy. The real ones display a "Made in Thailand" emblem on the inner-left side, whereas the fakes said "Made in " somewhere else, but I think it may even say China -- I can't remember because I sent my fake set back. I can also remember that the fake bag was just pure crap, whereas the real bag feels much more thick and sturdy.

The main thing, though, is the sound. The real MDR-V900HDs are bright, clear, clean and crisp. Very detailed. The fakes are EXTREMELY muddy, especially compared to the real deal. The sound from the fakes is warmer and somewhat deeper, but again, nowhere near as clear and detailed.

I really wish someone would make a sticky thread warning people about buying $260 headphones for $40 from an eBay seller in China. Then again, you ought to know it's too good to be true.

Anyway, you're definitely not listening to the Sony MDR-V900HDs, but fakes that are far inferior.

 

[charlie0904]

abit off topic. but how does the real V900HD compared to others?

I tried a V500HD at my local sony gallery and i quite like them. looking to get the better 700 or 900.