[Jackson 6]

Sony are bass bleeders, both with the H3 and 1A; they have addressed this issue with the 100. At some point 1 of their junior tech's spent 5 mins with a Senn and noticed the fleeting phenomenon of a mid range quark and the bosses listened.

 

[FYLegend]

Best Buy flyer says "All Sony headphones on sale!" but the price is still the same for the MDR-100AAP online. What's more annoying is in-store availability is inconsistent as my local Best Buy service has been poor at tracking stock (waited 30 minutes for them to search for Super Smash Bros 3DS, and in the end they couldn't find it!)
 
Has anyone tried the Sony h.ear on IEMs? EX750AP  and  EX750NAR

 

[peterdc]

  Thanks for sharing that , 2:25 onwards sounds especially great so far. Would love to hear  finalized .

Not finalised but now with some guitars.  2:25 is the easy bit.
 
Same link, whatever that was. http://www.slunq.com/temps/Mayhap.wav.zip
 
Vocals (if any) won't arrive for about 3 months, or never.

 

[indieke]

 
Personally I hear more clarity/transparency from the 100AAP than I did from the 1A.

Clarity, yes, transparency, no. That is what I prefer in the 1 A, musicality and the transparency that still make you hear small details, without being over bright.  This said, With my ATH, I feel I got best of both world.  I repeat, the 1 A sounds good with the Fiio X 3ii. I can also understand though, that the bass, can be too much on some music.

 

[gelocks]

Quick impressions: Good sounding at low volumes. At higher volumes it makes my ears bleed... Something might be bumped in the 5-8khz area, maybe ridges between 3-8KHz. (i.e. they get as fatiguing to me as the old MDR-1R did...) Bass is definitely not as boosted as the MDR-1A.
 
But man are they comfy, and light. TRULY portable headphones! Haven't yet compared it to anything, hopefully next week.
 
Definitely not bad for a "low" price!

 

[goodyfresh]

  Quick impressions: Good sounding at low volumes. At higher volumes it makes my ears bleed... Something might be bumped in the 5-8khz area, maybe ridges between 3-8KHz. (i.e. they get as fatiguing to me as the old MDR-1R did...) Bass is definitely not as boosted as the MDR-1A.
 
But man are they comfy, and light. TRULY portable headphones! Haven't yet compared it to anything, hopefully next week.
 
Definitely not bad for a "low" price!

When you say "higher" volumes, just how loud do you mean?  Because I have very treble/upper-mids sensitive ears and don't really find the sound of these fatiguing at all!

 

[dweaver]

Clarity, yes, transparency, no. That is what I prefer in the 1 A, musicality and the transparency that still make you hear small details, without being over bright.  This said, With my ATH, I feel I got best of both world.  I repeat, the 1 A sounds good with the Fiio X 3ii. I can also understand though, that the bass, can be too much on some music.

I actually can understand this statement. I find the 100AAP clear but at times not as transparent as I like. In my case my gold standard is my Z7/Z5. But in all fairness to the 100AAP they do as good a job and usually better than anything else I have tried or own in this price range.

As for my Z7/Z5 they really are both very special but at their price plus my Pono (so I can maximize their balanced cable configuration) the difference in cost is a whopping 5 times higher!

 

[Kabonfaiba]

  Quick impressions: Good sounding at low volumes. At higher volumes it makes my ears bleed... Something might be bumped in the 5-8khz area, maybe ridges between 3-8KHz. (i.e. they get as fatiguing to me as the old MDR-1R did...) Bass is definitely not as boosted as the MDR-1A.
 
But man are they comfy, and light. TRULY portable headphones! Haven't yet compared it to anything, hopefully next week.
 
Definitely not bad for a "low" price!

 
This sounds remarkably close to the sound signature of the Momentum 2.0 over ears. The main issue I had with it; it simply isn't made for loud listening with that blazzing hot upper midrange.
I was going to try the 100AAP once the price dropped, but I'm ever so slowly being convinced they aren't for me.

 

[waynes world]

 
This sounds remarkably close to the sound signature of the Momentum 2.0 over ears. The main issue I had with it; it simply isn't made for loud listening with that blazzing hot upper midrange.
I was going to try the 100AAP once the price dropped, but I'm ever so slowly being convinced they aren't for me.

 
I don't know. I listen to them at various volumes (never tooo loud, but sometimes fairly loud), and just like goodyfresh, I am sensitive to hot upper midranges and I've never discerned that with the 100aap's.

 

[FastAndClean]

I tried them today, my 1A was with me for comparison, i don't like them, less bass more upper mids, they look nice in person, but i like my 1A because of the smooth non fatiguing sound,100aap is out of my list for that reason.

 

[fish1050]

  I think you greatly underestimate the markup on a stock headphone cable.

Yeah I can tell you from my experience that most profit on consumer electronics is on accessories like cables, cases etc..  Markup on a headphone cable for example from Sony through the supply chain to the retail floor is typically 800% or more.  The fancier the cable the higher the markup!!

 

[goodyfresh]

I actually can understand this statement. I find the 100AAP clear but at times not as transparent as I like. In my case my gold standard is my Z7/Z5. But in all fairness to the 100AAP they do as good a job and usually better than anything else I have tried or own in this price range.

I'm nto sure about that, I'd tend to say that the AKG K553 has even better clarity and transparency.

 

[indieke]

  I tried them today, my 1A was with me for comparison, i don't like them, less bass more upper mids, they look nice in person, but i like my 1A because of the smooth non fatiguing sound,100aap is out of my list for that reason.

 
Yes, I agree with that. When I purchased my headphones, I liked them because my old one's were dull, not high's enough.  I got a brighter signature, but well balanced, with a solid, but fast, natural bass.  The A 1, were a bit softer sounding, but the bass can be a bit overkill on some recordings. They are more comfortable on the head though, and I have the impression I could have no fatigue easy with it, still prefer the balance of  my ATH ES 7. But like you, the  100 aap the brightness is overkill for me. Over brightness is not detail.
 
BUT, they could sound better with a good headphone amplifier. Some I heard, are softer then most players and telephones, so just like very expensive cans, they could benefit from that.
 
But I have to find a new headphone now. My ATH may sound fantastic, the cable, is ****. Broke my third pair now in 3 years exactly the same way. Bullocks, I have this one for only two months!

 

[dweaver]

I'm nto sure about that, I'd tend to say that the AKG K553 has even better clarity and transparency.

where I am from the 553 costs more than the 100aap but I quibble . Yes that model would give 100AAP a run for its money sound wise as would several models I haven't heard I imagine. Assuming the 553 sound like the 550 anyway as that and the 545 are the last 2 AKG products that are closed I have tried. I don't think the k550 had the same amount of bass though.

 

[goodyfresh]

where I am from the 553 costs more than the 100aap but I quibble

. Yes that model would give 100AAP a run for its money sound wise as would several models I haven't heard I imagine. Assuming the 553 sound like the 550 anyway as that and the 545 are the last 2 AKG products that are closed I have tried. I don't think the k550 had the same amount of bass though.

The K553 has less fatiguing, more realistic and smooth treble than the K550 and 551 had, which is very nice   I'd really want a pair if it weren't for that obnoxiously long non-detachable cable! >_<
 
I'd say the bass from teh K553 is more than enough for MOST audiophiles' tastes