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A tough and rugged studio aesthetic is what I see.
Nothing wrong with that in my book.
Amen... Sony has had huuuuuge problems in this department recently. Every single headphone Sony has built meant for any kind of pro/smi-pro work has had terrible QA problems. The 7509, like every monitor that isn't the v700DJ comes with pads that will begin to melt to your skin after a rather short time of use. A huge pet peve of mine. The v700DJ had actual pleather/vinyl, but it's joints broke after using them regularly, as in, not abusive, within a year or so.
Many of Sony's best have been away from the studio and in the consumer market, which is ok, however, to see the two philosophies merge onto one rugged, metal hinged/banded, leather padded, ultra sensitive for widest number of output devices supported, and what looks like a modular cable... I would love to have a longer cable on my XB700s sometimes that is native 1/4", or there are phones I wish I had a shorter tangle-free 1/8" cord that didn't take a voided warranty to obtain.
It's about the sound, certainly, and even if the driver is similar to current production, that doesn't mean it is going to sound anything like a current production headphone. The right materials, construction, and fit, and who knows how far this driver or that driver can be taken? The backs look like spun ABS, which is extremely dead acoustically, if that is the case, they can be light weight, offering the same dampening as a much heavier headphone. Supported by all metal hardware would mean they would last forever, really, since that kind of spun plastic is practically bullet proof. It is used all the time in pro-audio on speakers (nearfield, control, full range monitors), since it can be molded to fit computer modeled shapes and it is acoustically dead. It would actuallt be an advantage.
Being possibly so easy to drive could make this a real competitor when it comes to people that don't have a lot inveted in amps, or want to use a portable. It already looks like B/'W's entry into the market is being trounced in every possible way, I have a big Ha Ha for that one. If this headphone turns out the way I wish, as I described, with a good driver, we know Sony can make them, and such rugged and modular construction that would make your money last... tuned to sound accurate enough to monitor from, but musical enough to plug in at home or while out, I would consider them despite the price.
So many missed on the R10 because we thought it to be hype, then we learn it isn't and catch the last buys...
I also, however, agree that the PFR-V1 was/is a very interesting step in design, which should be explored further. I was meaing to pick up a pair, but they went out of stock everywhere about all at once, or they were being sold for the old MSRP, as in double the new MSRP. I digress.
Why *not* have a top of the line minimalistic, well engineered monitor, finally made to last... no more earpad flakes! No more broken joints! I would love this. There are a lot of Sony monitors with a legacy... to say Sony can't draw from it is silly. If they can make a TOTL headphone built using certain design elements of their monitors that have worked over the many years, why not?? I am a minimalist, so naturally I like, but the true test will be when someone gets their hands on a set. IF one can get the dynamic performance of an HD800, or a T1, but cost less, why so bad if it is 250-500 less instead of more? If it could do that, saving upwards of 500 bucks is a damn good deal.