[subxeon]

Hey I have a question, I got the MDR-7506.. and They seem to make my ears hurt

not like from pressure or anything , but the actual hearing hurts.. I dont know if it's from too high pitch or what, but I've tried adjusting it to lower Fidelity and it still seems to hurt or sound like crap.. any ideas how i can tweak them, i use them mainly with my computer.. is there any settings you guys know of or any custom trick u use to make them not hurt/ sound crappy.. thanks

have any of you experienced this?

 

[darkclouds]

Turn the volume down or get another set of cans. I didn't particularly like the V6/7506. I find their treble/highs to be piercing and at times, painful.

 

[ian]

I have V6's (the same thing), and they do this to me as well. They're a tad agressive (the treble is a bit harsh at times). You can try using an EQ on your computer (you can use Winamp's I guess, if thats what you're using). Just turn the high frequencies down a bit.
Another thing that can help is crossfeed. I get less listening fatigue with crossfeed enable (I prefer Headroom's process).
All in all, if its really a problem you may want to look into some better phones.

 

[Steve999]

I'd put them in the microwave for 20 minutes.

 

[gloco]

It could be your soundcard, what kind do you have?

 

[JZC]

It's not the treble that's hurting you, it's the bass.

The 7506s always hurt my ears after a while because they've got too much bass! Turn the volume down, and take the bass down a few bumps.

I don't use my 7506s much for that reason. They sound brilliant in short listening sessions, but keep 'em on for longer and my ears say ouch!

 

[Eagle_Driver]

subxeon, the only solution for you is to have a pair of headphones that have no treble response at all whatsoever (or a high-frequency response that's severely recessed in relation to the other frequencies).

JZC, this implies that you love 'phones that reproduce nothing but upper mids and highs (that is, the response range extends from only 2,500 Hz to 20,000 Hz). I find my MDR-V6's (same as the 7506's) to not have quite enough mid-bass and upper-bass response for my musical enjoyment. And the upper mids/lower highs tend to be a bit coarse and abrasive.

 

[JZC]

Eagle Driver,

I'm not sure how you gathered that I love bassless phones from my post. I was telling subxeon that the bass is what's hurting his (and my) ears, not that I dislike bass.

I spend about 3-4 hours each day with my headphones on, and while I'd love to have the bass pumpin' all those hours, my ears simply can't handle that.

I allow myself small windows where I turn up the bass and volume to my heart's content and rock out, but the other times when I'm "casually" listening, I cut most of the bass out. That's the only way I can keep my ears from hurting.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

JZC, subxeon actually said it was the highs (treble) that bothered him/her/it. And the MDR-7506 has been known to slightly overboost the upper mids and lower treble, to begin with. I'm sorry to say this, but maybe 'studio-monitor' headphones aren't right for subxeon.

 

[JZC]

You're not doing a very good job reading any of the posts tonight, Eagle Driver.

S/he/it said that s/he/it's NOT SURE what's causing the pain. It MIGHT have been the highs, but s/he/its ears are still hurting even after cutting the highs out.

So how can it be the highs that are causing the pain?

 

[Eagle_Driver]

And if cutting the highs didn't do the job, and raising the highs actually make the problem worse, and there's no way to cut the bass... Maybe he/she/it isn't using Winamp at all, and he has a sound card whose software drivers permanently fix the bass level (that is, the drivers have no bass or treble adjustment control at all whatsoever other than the choice between 'normal fidelity' and 'lower fidelity'). If that's the case, then he/she/it (subxeon) has been listening to the 7506's WAY too loud.

My solution for you, subxeon, is to try a different pair of headphones at the same loudness level (not volume setting). If they still hurt you badly (or sound like crap to you), then I know that it's not your 7506's (it's your hearing). If the latter's the case, then back off headphone listening for a while (or see an ENT specialist).

 

[Toe]

Couple of suggestions...

1) The aformentioned EQ adjustments. Use Winamp or whatever and try cutting some regions a bit. Try cutting just the lower third (bass), then just the middle third (midrange), and then just the upper third (bass). Don't boost anything, obviously.

2) Even though you say it's "not from pressure or anything", it could possibly be something physical with the headphones. The V6/7506 has a rather small space for your ears, try moving them around a bit (up, down, forward, backward) and see if you notice any changes. The normal ideal to have your ears completely inside the ring of foam on the earpiece, but for you it may be different.

3) You may have an aversion to the nature of sealed headphones like the 7506. You may want to go with something open, like Sennheiser's HD497s.

4) It could be a crappy source that's making you play things at volumes you shouldn't be listening at. What soundcard are you using? Try the headphones from other sources. You may soon be in the market for a new soundcard or dedicated headphone amp. Sorry about your wallet.

5) Ian suggested using crossfeed, which wouldn't be a bad idea to try. If you're using Winamp, look around for a DSP plugin that says something like "crossfeed" (not to be confused with crossfade) or "stereo delay".

Hope one of these helps, and you get good use out of those excelent headphones.

 

[j-curve]

subxeon, I'm with gloco. I think it is highly likely that your soundcard is throwing out high frequency digital hash (noise), even when there is no music playing. I have the same problem, which can be tackled with an external in-line volume control set really low, compensated by a higher volume setting on the computer.

 

[Magicthyse]

You're amazingly literate for a 3 year old.

It might be helpful to know what soundcard you have.

 

[jlo mein]

ya a lot of cheap sound cards arent manufactured well.

I have a Hercules Fortissimo II and when i tried using my grados with it, it always has this high frequency background noise.