misterV6
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2001
- Posts
- 9
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Maybe "scandal" is too strong a word, but as a long-standing V6 fan I feel betrayed by Sony for their distribution of an inferior product masquerading as the legendary MDR-V6!
Here's the story: I bought my first pair of V6's about 12 years ago and loved them for what I considered to be generally flat response with especially prominent bass. Within the last couple years it seemed as though they'd lost much of that low end, so when they developed a short in the wiring last November, I thanked them for their meritorious service and ordered a fresh pair from Amazon.
The new pair picked up where their predecessors left off, but didn't seem to have the low end output I expected. Maybe I imagined those thunderous basslines! I carried on, using the new V6's five or six hours a day for music, TV, DVD's, and anything else I could plug them into, but the memory of that bass still nagged at me.
Then, I visited a friend who bought a pair about four years ago and barely used them. They were bascially new old stock and perfect for an A/B with my current pair. I popped "Owner of a Lonely Heart" into the CD player figuring that its explosive rhythm content would help me detect any difference that existed. It was no contest. The older V6's were like a good Sub/Sat system, and the new ones were like a Sub/Sat system with the subwoofer disconnected.
I don't know what Sony did to alter/neuter the sound, but they obviously did something. I did a quick check of the MDR-V6 user reviews on Amazon and the two most recent entries both lead with "where's the bass?" Certainly not a query one would commonly associate with the V6's.
The only visible difference in the two versions is the cord: the vintage model is shiny, and the new model has a matte finish. Also, the old one maintained its coil better; the new one slacks a bit over time. Would a different cord be enough to change the character of the sound so completely? Maybe. I had a friend rewire an old pair with the closest gauge we could find and the result didn't compare favorably to either V6 incarnation.
Another thing! As mentioned by other posters here, I now get shocked through the ear pads. The old ones never did that.
Sadly, I dragged my feet on researching this until well past Sony's meager 90-day warranty, so I'll keep them as backup. But to what?
Maybe, finally, there is a legitimate dfference between the V6 and the 7506. Have any of you acquired 7506's recently and find them to be as bass-friendly as the older models? Or have you compared a new V6 to a new 7506?
Or should I just move on?
Here's the story: I bought my first pair of V6's about 12 years ago and loved them for what I considered to be generally flat response with especially prominent bass. Within the last couple years it seemed as though they'd lost much of that low end, so when they developed a short in the wiring last November, I thanked them for their meritorious service and ordered a fresh pair from Amazon.
The new pair picked up where their predecessors left off, but didn't seem to have the low end output I expected. Maybe I imagined those thunderous basslines! I carried on, using the new V6's five or six hours a day for music, TV, DVD's, and anything else I could plug them into, but the memory of that bass still nagged at me.
Then, I visited a friend who bought a pair about four years ago and barely used them. They were bascially new old stock and perfect for an A/B with my current pair. I popped "Owner of a Lonely Heart" into the CD player figuring that its explosive rhythm content would help me detect any difference that existed. It was no contest. The older V6's were like a good Sub/Sat system, and the new ones were like a Sub/Sat system with the subwoofer disconnected.
I don't know what Sony did to alter/neuter the sound, but they obviously did something. I did a quick check of the MDR-V6 user reviews on Amazon and the two most recent entries both lead with "where's the bass?" Certainly not a query one would commonly associate with the V6's.
The only visible difference in the two versions is the cord: the vintage model is shiny, and the new model has a matte finish. Also, the old one maintained its coil better; the new one slacks a bit over time. Would a different cord be enough to change the character of the sound so completely? Maybe. I had a friend rewire an old pair with the closest gauge we could find and the result didn't compare favorably to either V6 incarnation.
Another thing! As mentioned by other posters here, I now get shocked through the ear pads. The old ones never did that.
Sadly, I dragged my feet on researching this until well past Sony's meager 90-day warranty, so I'll keep them as backup. But to what?
Maybe, finally, there is a legitimate dfference between the V6 and the 7506. Have any of you acquired 7506's recently and find them to be as bass-friendly as the older models? Or have you compared a new V6 to a new 7506?
Or should I just move on?
