[Kubernetes]

Wow, I just got these about 10 minutes ago! My god they are gorgeous phones, and their build quality is immaculate--all magnesium frame just looks damn classy. All plastic phones, by comparison, just look cheap.

I've just plugged them into my EMP, but I thought I'd make some preliminary comments.

Form and fit:
These are the super, uber full open-air phones--absolutely no isolation because there's no real "shell" to do any isolating.

The phones are incredibly light due to the magnesium frame. Because there's little heft and the "headband" is just two thin magnesium tubes, they seem somewhat flimsy.

The "earpads," which simply rest on your head around your ears are made with a material called "Escaine." It's about the softest material I've ever felt. The floating head pad is also made of Escaine, but is held in place by only two thin wires on either side that extend/retract--seems rather delicate.

And holy cow are these comfortable!!! They feel like nothing on your head. I finally understand why so many people think these are the most comfortable cans ever.

The cable is rather thin and flimsy looking. The housing also looks like the kind that can get twisted and keep its shape.

On the other hand, the plug looks like a very high class unit with a little clear plastic sleeve over it. It's one of those integrated 1/8" units whose 1/4" adapter screws on, a la the Senn280pros.

All in all, form and fit are just outstanding (as well they should be for $180!).

Sound:
Well, they're brand new and have been playing for about 15 minutes, but they sound... pretty good. They're plugged into an EMP with NOS tubes (a Sylvania 12at7 and a pair of sovtek 6922), plain Straightwire ICs, CAL Gamma DAC and CAL Delta transport.

In the player right now is Portishead's Dummy. Mids are fairly rich. Treble is not as extended as I'm used to, but detail is there (not as good as the W100s or RS-1s, but certainly still very good).

Bass? Funny, I expected them to be wholly bass deficient, based on others comments, but I definitely hear a good amount of bass. I'm not sure if it's because I found the "sweet spot" immediately, or if it's because the EMP throws out bass by the bucketful, but there is good bass. It's not as taut and clear as I'm used to, and it's definitely not punchy at all, but it's not absent either. Hopefully the bass will become better defined as they burn in more.

Soundstaging is *huge.* I just switched out the EMP for my Cosmic (I brought it to work today just in case my F1s came in

), and the soundstage is still huge. The EMP definitely expands it more than the Cosmic, but the F1s appear to have a huge soundstage by default. It's very natural sounding and is better than anything I've heard in any other dynamic phone (even the W100, which throws out a very wide soundstage). It's huge, but at the same time, the distinct parts of the music don't sound unnaturally distant (does that make sense?).

Sound is forward. Like you're on the stage rather than several rows back.

Ella Fitzgerald is now playing. Microdynamics are a little lacking. This could be a symptom of the treble not being as extended as could be. Macrodynamics aren't the best either. Hopefully these will improve with time.

Conclusion:
Still, despite the deficiencies, the F1's are just plain enjoyable to listen to. The midrange is pretty rich already, and the bass is strumming along rather nicely with the music. Although they're clearly not the most detailed phone, they're very musical, not dry at all. I can see what people mean when they say the F1's are great for listening to live performances.

Very cool!

[edit--for sake of completeness, I should mention that the F1's came with a rather nice headphone storage bag (kind of a pleather type material--pretty soft) and a nice illustrated manual in about seven different languages. The bag is big enough to hold even my W100's, which are rather large phones. Sweet!]

 

[Flasken]

sounds cool, take some pictures

Is it magnesium alloy or plastiC??

 

[redshifter]

congrats kubernetes,
the f1 has been on my short wish-list for a while now. great review and everything you said made sense.

btw, i don't know about you, but to my ears "dummy" is about 90% mono, with some stereo touches thrown in. i love the album, but to my ears it is mostly mono.

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by Kubernetes Conclusion: Still, despite the deficiencies, the F1's are just plain enjoyable to listen to. The midrange is pretty rich already, and the bass is strumming along rather nicely with the music. Although they're clearly not the most detailed phone, they're very musical, not dry at all. I can see what people mean when they say the F1's are great for listening to live performances. Very cool!

Nice review! You caught the strengths and weaknesses of this headphone perfectly, IMO. I bought mine used, so I don't know how much improvement will occur with burn-in.

 

[LTUCCI1924]

Kubernetes
HI: Congrats on your new cans. Good luck with them and enjoy.

 

[Kubernetes]

Magnesium, baby!

On second inspection, the "headband" tubes are wrapped in a plasticky sheath (it gives a little when pressed with a fingernail), but the material underneath is "super duralumin." (according to the manual). The rest of the frame is magnesium.

Looking through the manual, there's an interesting section on a feature of the F1's called an impedance compensator:

"In full open air type headphones, impedance around f0 fluctuates, thus, the output impedance of the audio player affects the sound reproduced by the headphones. Low frequency sound reproduction is affected by as much as 6dB+. The sound quality of connecting to low impedance preamplifier and the sound quality connecting to high impedance pre-main amplifier can differ a great deal. Conventional full open air type headphones need to be connected to speaker output terminals or to be driven by a special amplifier in order to reproduce intended quality sound. The MDR-F1 does not need special connections because they have impedance compensators which eliminate the variation of sound quality created by amplifier output impedance."

Interesting. I'm no EE, so can someone explain how this might be implemented. And would it be problematic in any way, i.e. might an impedance compensator create problems with dynamics and large changes in volume? (I am totally ignorant about these things, so please have mercy, o knowledgeable ones).

 

[Kubernetes]

Quote:

btw, i don't know about you, but to my ears "dummy" is about 90% mono, with some stereo touches thrown in. i love the album, but to my ears it is mostly mono.

Never noticed that before. Mostly I enjoy the album for its mood and Beth Gibbons.

I will give it another listen after Ella is through (to tell you honestly, it seems that most pop/rock recordings these days have far less channel separation than older recordings like the Beatles...it wouldn't surprise me if it sounded mono to you).

 

[RickG]

I really dig the F1/EMP combo but I can't listen as much as I would like because of ambient noise in my bedroom. I have some air cleaners w/fans and such running 24/7 due to respiratory problems. Sometimes I just shut everything down and enjoy the comfort and "air" of the Sony F1s...I find it magical...even if just for a little while!

 

[JML]

I've been wearing the F1 all afternoon while grading papers. You captured the essence of them very well.

The treble is deceiving -- it goes out very far, but it's so smooth that it does not draw attention to itself. They're forgiving of bad recordings, too, and the more you listen, the better they get as you adjust and forget you're wearing them. They will improve somewhat over time, as they burn-in, but nowhere as much as the ATH-W100.

Every once in a while, put your hands over the outside of the drivers, and change the angle of your hands, just to hear what happens to the soundstaging and the top end! Some well-recorded live rock concert recordings can be scary with these -- such as some of the Dead's music. And try a binaural recording for a truly amazing experience. (If you send me a PM with your address, I'll e-mail you some very small binaural MP3 files that are no longer available on the web.)

The angling of the drivers is one of the keys to the soundstaging, just as it is with the AT cans. What it does is make more use of your outer ear to reflect and diffuse the sound.

 

[redshifter]

Quote:

Originally posted by Kubernetes Never noticed that before. Mostly I enjoy the album for its mood and Beth Gibbons. I will give it another listen after Ella is through (to tell you honestly, it seems that most pop/rock recordings these days have far less channel separation than older recordings like the Beatles...it wouldn't surprise me if it sounded mono to you).

i know what you mean. lots of new music is mixed like a "wall of soundstage", where the soundstage is filled up, but homogenized. i've done a lot of home recording and some production, so i am very aware of stereo effects and soundstage. to me, most of "dummy" sounds like the classic mono sound, with the music firmly in the center and little activity on the edges.

right now i'm listening to "yes" and to me this is what stereo should sound like: interesting pans, nice spread of drums across the soundstage, instruments positioned evenly across the soundstage, not just center/left/right.

 

[Kubernetes]

Ever notice that there's a small but significant contingent of Head-Fiers who simultaneously dig the EMP, the W100s, and the F1s?

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers... we unapologetic midrange sluts..." [sic]

 

[Duncan]

I've just once again dug my F1s out...

My mini conclusions... The bass really isn't bad at all ~ certainly not thunderous, but not a timid little shrew either...

The one thing I can't quite handle though (but these only have about 20hrs on the clock from new) is the treble... a little too dark for my liking...

How much does this improve the more aged the 'phones become?

 

[raymondlin]

I want to see photos!

 

[Kubernetes]

Sorry, don't have a digicam right now. You can find pictures all over the place if you look around (especially from storefronts that sell the F1 and there are other threads on the F1 here at Head-Fi w/ pictures).

It's only been a few hours and I've been steadily feeding different kinds of music through the F1's. I must say, they do sound GOOD! Ella Fitzgerald sounds very nice. Wilco (YHF, Mermaid Avenue) is very good. Pixies (Bossanova) is very good. Tanya Donelly (Beautysleep) is way fricken good. The Shins (Oh Inverted World)--which by the way is hard for most cans to do well--sounds way excellent. Portishead was, on reflection, a poor choice for initial listen--it certainly does not show off what the F1's are capable of. Sarah McLachlan (Surfacing) is tres excellent.

I'm going to let them burn in for the weekend and take them back up Monday. In the meantime, Vive le F1!

 

[wallijonn]

Kube,

could you tell me if the transducer touches your ear or earlobe, and if it does not, what is the distance before it touches. Thanks.