So,as requested, i write my initial impressions on the MDR-1R that i got yesterday from Sony Online shop Ireland.
I couldn't spend much time with them yesterday evening (maybe half an hour,then i had to go out for a dinner) so my impressions will be general,short and please take them as a grain of salt
.
Package:
They are very well packaged and i could feel the "Premium quality" unboxing them. I would say the Packaging is almost as good as Apple Products. They come with 2 cables (one with mic/remote for Apple products) and one straight (by the way it was written on a sticker on the box that the second cable was "exclusive and limited"), a carrying pouch and few manuals.
Look and build quality:
They look Awesome,serious and modern at the same time. I think these cans are one of the most beautiful cans i have ever seen. My girlfriend was with me when unboxing and although she is not very interested in headphones ,she said "Hey,these headphones look amazing!" They are not too big (as i was afraid of) and just good size to be portable.
The build quality is good as well although no fancy new zealand leather as the B&W P5.They are made of metal and very good quality plastic and they don't feel cheap and too delicate.
Accessories:
The cables feel sturdy and i actually really like them,not too thick and not too thin like the one you get with the B&W P5. The remote is very nice too. Sony claims that they designed the cables to not tangle and,as far as i could see,i'm prone to believe it.
Now the disappointing part:The carrying pouch.
For such Premium pair of headphones i would have expected an hard case or a better pouch. The pouch instead,although doesn't look cheap,just disappointed me as i feel it will not protect the headphone when carrying them in a bag.for a 300 EUR Headphones Sony could have given a better case, i will look if i can find and buy online the hard case they give with the Mdr-1rNC but really Sony,this was disappointing!
Comfort:
These are the most comfortable headphones i have ever tried,even more than the B&W P5.Period. The clamping force is very light and they are nicely padded (very soft pads). Having small ear they are circumaural for me more than supra-aural. Anyway, people with bigger ears will not have any comfort issue with these as the pads are soft and nice.I can see myself wearing them for hours without any problem or fatigue. They are light too.
Isolation:
They seems to isolate well but less than,for example, "isolation champions" like the beyer DT1350. As for the sound leakage i don't really know as i couldn't measure it but it should be ok.i will make tests for sound leakage this weekend.
Sound:
Warning - Impressions from 30 mins listening.
Ok,yesterday evening i didn't really have a lot of time to try these headphones but my initial impressions are really positive. They are balanced and detailed headphones,not bass cannons but the bass it's there and hits.They are not coloured to my ears and more detailed and not as fat sounding as the B&W P5.My iPhone 4 was driving them fine and with good volume.
I'm afraid i can't give more details just with 30 minutes of listening, i will spend for sure more time with them this weekend though.
I can say that at the moment they are candidate to be my favourite pair of portable headphones (and i have quite of few headphones in my collection)