My last MH1c recabling:
Ranko balanced plug + 7n OCC litz wire
Ranko balanced plug + 7n OCC litz wire
Sony budget earphone discussion thread (MH750, MH755, MH1C, EX300, etc)
- Thread starter Slater
- Start date
Looks really professionalMy last MH1c recabling:
Ranko balanced plug + 7n OCC litz wire
Gioacchino
100+ Head-Fier
Il mio ultimo ricablaggio MH1c:
Spina bilanciata Ranko + filo litz OCC 7n
Where you buy the cable?My last MH1c recabling:
Ranko balanced plug + 7n OCC litz wire
Star Mastering
100+ Head-Fier
IER-H500A, particularly on aliexpress, is actually a very good pairing with the A45/A55 Walkman, although many have expressed dissatisfaction with IER-NW500N, its noise cancelling brother model. Something loosely termed 'synergy' is at play here. At least, this pair is optimal and would have been tested by the engineers.
Star Mastering
100+ Head-Fier
Very insightful info on MH410c from Xperias!I don’t see much online about the Sony MH410c earbud, so I suppose this is as good a place as any for this post.
Tyll Hertsens wrote back in 2011 that “pretty much all earbuds suck.” As a group, they consistently have the most anemic bass and the worst distortion. Measurements of earbuds back this up. Tyll’s 2011 article actually concluded that the original Apple earbuds were the best of a bad lot.
Things have changed since 2011, but maybe only a little bit. The Earpods came out in 2012, and despite all the vitriol from the haters, it actually has some sophisticated acoustic engineering behind its design. It sucks much less than the category average.
To some degree, I think the same can be said about the unremarkable Sony MH410c, provided that you supply your own earbud foam covers. Speakerphone published detailed measurements of the MH410c over at Clarityfidelity. In short, it has no bass, and lots of distortion—i.e., yucky just like other earbuds. The page has other interesting tidbits, like screenshots of a Walkman app for the Sony Xperia Z3, with preset EQ settings for the MH1c, MH750, and MH410. There's even a measurement of the MH410c frequency response with this app's EQ.
What wasn’t measured is the effect of earbud foam covers. It makes sense. The pair I ordered from Amazon didn’t come with them either. The sound was indeed thin. But an earbud foam cover does two things: 1) It helps earbuds get into a better position closer to the ear canal’s opening. This coupling increases the response in the bass. 2) Earbud foam can act as an acoustic damper. Often, it reduces the severity of resonant peaks in the treble.
I used an attachment that came with my couplers to make the next measurement. It’s not a pinna simulator, so the result isn’t directly comparable to the ones at Clarityfidelity. The result, however, matches what I’m hearing from the MH410c.
Sony MH410c frequency response with earbud foam covers. Measurement repeated after reseat for each channel.Light gray: VE Monk Plus frequency response.
I suppose it’s not too bad for an earbud. To my ears, it sounds much better than the hyped VE Monk Plus, but that’s not really saying much. I’ve read that the original Monk was way better. My three pairs of Monk Plus all have a very prominent peak at 2 kHz. It’s too tall and it's in the wrong place. It makes vocals sound too much in your face. It obscures the other parts of the mix and makes the presentation sound even more bass-light than it already is.
The Sony isn’t as bad. The frequency response is closer to textbook. Vocals have better tone, and they play nicer with the rest of the mix. The earbud foam seems to have reduced the level of the 6 kHz peak, compared to Speakerphone’s measurement. Comparing the earbuds with speakers and a pair of HD600 made it clear that the Monk Plus is the one that is off. The MH410c sounded much more similar, with a frequency balance in the same ballpark. Switching to it from my speakers or my other headphones isn’t too jarring. But maybe that’s just me and my peculiar way of hearing things. YMMV.
So there you have it. Earbuds suck. Earbud foam makes them suck less. Even less so on these Sony MH410c.
Sony MH410c and VE Monk Plus
About the microphone: When I recorded my voice using the MH410c, the result didn’t sound noticeably worse than with the Earpods, which have good mics.
About the cable: Yes, it's a J cable like on the MH750. It's not as short as the one on the MH755.
One might consider both covering the buds and tweaking EQ at 20 Hz, 3 kHz, 6 and 9 kHz.
But yeah, these are one of the better buds and I think some tweaking would be good.
Star Mastering
100+ Head-Fier
Regarding the MDR-EX750/IER-NW750N, IER-H500A /IER-NW500N, IER-NW510N distinction, they are all Walkman A series specific earphones. Some could do binaural recording with Xperia. NW510N is the 6 mm driver IEM for NW-A100 series, with a strange shape that hides in the ear. MDR-EX750 is notable for its balanced circuit connected to a single ended plug. It is not clear whether later iterations had the same balanced circuit, or whether NW750N, its walkman version, had this. Or whether the sound improves due to it. But it is remarkable that my experience with using IER-H500A with A55 matched another user’s with their IER-NW500N. Perhaps due to A55’s incompetence, they’d stopped listening to it via other headphones, until they dropped into a Sony store and tried NW500N. Somehow the 9 mm driver IEM works well with A55, from a non-critical layperson’s perspective.
When would a person be able to tell that the combination is good? Perhaps it is no different to any other combination so long as it is also a 9 mm driver with similar specs. Perhaps it is the fit with the ear that differed. But overall, the effect is to allow A55 to playback sources without causing any dissatisfaction, and to have the user begin to feel that the A55 is really a music toy. Perhaps not outrightly fun or warm sounding but definitely something to play with rather than a professional sound.
Would all the effort be necessary, if an MH410c (free with old Xperias) with EQ to increase the bass and tame the peaks can deliver enough quality?
When would a person be able to tell that the combination is good? Perhaps it is no different to any other combination so long as it is also a 9 mm driver with similar specs. Perhaps it is the fit with the ear that differed. But overall, the effect is to allow A55 to playback sources without causing any dissatisfaction, and to have the user begin to feel that the A55 is really a music toy. Perhaps not outrightly fun or warm sounding but definitely something to play with rather than a professional sound.
Would all the effort be necessary, if an MH410c (free with old Xperias) with EQ to increase the bass and tame the peaks can deliver enough quality?
Star Mastering
100+ Head-Fier
No doubt there are people who never take any interest in audio, for whom the cheapest earbuds and random audio jacks in phones etc are sufficiently satisfying and capable of delivering good sound. They are likely the main adopters of the wireless boom. Generally, the most rare sight is a person with big headphones on, the next is the person with IEMs on, and finally, wireless headphones/IEMs/buds. Despite the IEM’s small size, the cable is still an unnecessary obstruction. And because most standard IEMs tend to be weak at recreating ‘air’ and distance, the IER-Z1R, M9, M7 were created. Of course, we can find exceptions in IEMs which don’t simply recreate details ‘up close’ and lack the ‘air’. The question is whether full size headphones have ‘air’ and distance. Whether every piece of gear needs to be pushed to its design limits and whether consumers truly need the variety. There probably never was a need for WM1Z, but that need was created after the product was unveiled.
The IER-Z1R is for consumers. It has one 12 mm dynamic driver just like MDR-EX255/650, except it has ‘magnesium alloy inside’ it, requiring it to be made in Japan. Then it adds a BA driver and another 100kHz 5 mm dynamic driver. Zirconium alloy housing, unique design, and hefty price tag. The talk session notes contained interesting explanations from one main designer. Like others, he claimed that IEMs lacked air and that IER-Z1R achieved it. He gave an answer that IER-Z1R is good paired with WM1x, even PCM-D100, acknowledging that the famed DSD recorder actually plays excellently, and DMP-Z1. He claimed that there is no need for ageing, unlike large speakers. And he knew that the way it is worn affects the sound in much greater ways. He also wrote after the session that 100 people will have 100 views on what constitutes good sound. But he, and the New York mastering studio involved in testing, believed that the sound heard in the New York mastering studio was achieved by IER-Z1R. And that consumers can trust Sony when it asserts that this is one of the ideals they have achieved. They don’t intend to make large profits from this, but wish to share the fruits of their creation. Sounds great of course.
IER-M9, M7 are penta and quad BA arrays respectively, designed for on stage pro use, seemingly making the 16 mm driver MDR-EX800ST (2010) obsolete. Strangely EX800ST is becoming favoured by those sick of BA and multi driver IEMs. Thus, variety is created.
The IER-Z1R is for consumers. It has one 12 mm dynamic driver just like MDR-EX255/650, except it has ‘magnesium alloy inside’ it, requiring it to be made in Japan. Then it adds a BA driver and another 100kHz 5 mm dynamic driver. Zirconium alloy housing, unique design, and hefty price tag. The talk session notes contained interesting explanations from one main designer. Like others, he claimed that IEMs lacked air and that IER-Z1R achieved it. He gave an answer that IER-Z1R is good paired with WM1x, even PCM-D100, acknowledging that the famed DSD recorder actually plays excellently, and DMP-Z1. He claimed that there is no need for ageing, unlike large speakers. And he knew that the way it is worn affects the sound in much greater ways. He also wrote after the session that 100 people will have 100 views on what constitutes good sound. But he, and the New York mastering studio involved in testing, believed that the sound heard in the New York mastering studio was achieved by IER-Z1R. And that consumers can trust Sony when it asserts that this is one of the ideals they have achieved. They don’t intend to make large profits from this, but wish to share the fruits of their creation. Sounds great of course.
IER-M9, M7 are penta and quad BA arrays respectively, designed for on stage pro use, seemingly making the 16 mm driver MDR-EX800ST (2010) obsolete. Strangely EX800ST is becoming favoured by those sick of BA and multi driver IEMs. Thus, variety is created.
Star Mastering
100+ Head-Fier
ICD-UX533F (JP) came with E706 earbuds
They were incredible sounding when I tried them with WAV files in 2015.
Of course, it was short lived. E706 only sounded good at loud volumes, and it was too easy to drive. ICD-UX533F, unlike its predecessors in the UX family, had an unfortunate audible hiss during playback. They basically took backward steps in the audio division.
MDR-EX0300 came free with walkmans and SX1000
They were incredible sounding when I tried them with WAV files in 2015.
Of course, it was short lived. E706 only sounded good at loud volumes, and it was too easy to drive. ICD-UX533F, unlike its predecessors in the UX family, had an unfortunate audible hiss during playback. They basically took backward steps in the audio division.
MDR-EX0300 came free with walkmans and SX1000
Bought an original Sony Bluetooth SBH24 headset which includes the mh755 IEM. The sound is very good, but I still prefer the punch of my Blon BL03 by little, so I'm willing to spare them. If someone is interested in an original mh755, I can sell mine brand new for 15€.
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excursions
New Head-Fier
Hello everyone, I'm looking for a mh755 mod if anyone is willing to sell me it. 
assassin10000
Headphoneus Supremus
I have a mh750 mmcx modded (sounds the same to me, just a newer version), if you're interested pm me.Hello everyone, I'm looking for a mh755 mod if anyone is willing to sell me it.
brianforever
100+ Head-Fier
hmmm this looks genuine to me.. it's the new version with the straight 3.5mm Jack
Could you pop open the shell for further investigation?
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