[Argramemnon]

Agree with the comfort issue:

1. I always need  to adjust the headphones properly to prevent them touching the driver. In order to achieve this I must push my ear on the utmost edge on the back of the earcup and "under the padding". It somehow works because the driver is angled, but as a consequence the ear heats up more than it should. This wouldn't happen so much if I wasn't required to shove my ear under the padding. But I am, because the depth within the opening of the earcup is too shallow, so the ear would touch the driver! It's only getting deeper under the padding. Even worse the driver hasn't any padding at all. Maybe that's even on purpose, maybe it is supposed to be that one needs to put his ears under the padding... but...

 
I hoped I could do that: simply putting the headphones on and it's done. But no -  I always need adjust their position adequately first. Somehow annoying. Own them for only 2 weeks now I'm also afraid the comfort will get worse once the padding gets smaller due to pressure.
 
A point about the signature:

1. I find the sound signature too smooth / too warm. I would say it's almost boring because everything sounds the same / coloured. The Sennheisers HD 5xx signature is much more natural and clearer - liked that much better. Now even though the Sony seems EQ friendly at first, I think this "advantage" is mistaken. It really seems the sound gets easily distorted even though only slightly changing the sliders. I always found myself reverting the sliders back to the default values. And you cannot EQ away from this pre-colored smooth/warmness either.

 
A matter of taste:

1. I found the headphone noticeable less comfortable in comparison to open headphones. I previously tried the headset QPAD QH85 and the open cup design was just more comfortable because the sound had less pressure against your skin. It just felt better.

 
 
Now I can't do anything about, because stupid me hasn't bought them from amazon, but a local shop with no return policy. Meanwhile I'm sure the Sennheiser 5xx+ are better in sound and comfort. Regarding comfort you really can just put the Sennheisers on without tweaking around. Their earcup depth is constant and deeper. They don't look as good as the Sony's though, and you cannot fold them and some of the 5xx have no detachable cables. Everything has its price...
I'd still value the Sony above average, and the comfort is still better than most other headphones in the pricerange which I tried, but I can only urge to really compare sound signature and comfort unbiased and without pink glasses (which I might had on myself) to prevent disappointments.

 

[Trunks159]

Yeah, with pretty much every pair of cand I find that most of the time i'm just adjusting them. I could take the pads off and put my mdr 7506 valours on them but that would add a whole new problem.

I agree and think that a bunch of Sons sound boring but they all seem very eq friendly. Maybe it has to do with the insane frequency response (4-80kh!). I was thinking about getting some hd598 or mdr ma900s, or sr225i. Comfort is my main priority because that's basically that makes me dislike a pair of cans

 

[Noir7]

ok since i've already see someone here mod their 1R, i might jump into the wagon
 
i don't have a dynamat but just experimenting with this damping material lying around the house.
 
 

 
1st impression, it sound more cleaner than stock while A/B ing it for a while but not a major improvement overall

 

[GoudenKever]

Quote:

My main reason is portability. The E11 is quite transparent for an amp so, it doesn't really change the sound signature of the MDR1r which is a good thing. The only benefits I noticed from the E11 are a slight punchiness in bass, a bit more soundstage wideness, and a tad smoother highs. Pls take note that these are only noticeable upon critical listening in a quiet environment. That is why I think amping is unnecessary if one is just a casual listener who wants to enjoy a decent sounding music.

If you have a different amp the results may be very different from mine.

 
Much appreciated! I'm still debating whether or not I should give an amp a try. Maybe I'll need to find someone with an amp, to give it a try.

 

[KElyas]

Quote:

Agree with the comfort issue:

1. I always need  to adjust the headphones properly to prevent them touching the driver. In order to achieve this I must push my ear on the utmost edge on the back of the earcup and "under the padding". It somehow works because the driver is angled, but as a consequence the ear heats up more than it should. This wouldn't happen so much if I wasn't required to shove my ear under the padding. But I am, because the depth within the opening of the earcup is too shallow, so the ear would touch the driver! It's only getting deeper under the padding. Even worse the driver hasn't any padding at all. Maybe that's even on purpose, maybe it is supposed to be that one needs to put his ears under the padding... but...

 
A point about the signature:

1. I find the sound signature too smooth / too warm. I would say it's almost boring because everything sounds the same / coloured. The Sennheisers HD 5xx signature is much more natural and clearer - liked that much better. Now even though the Sony seems EQ friendly at first, I think this "advantage" is mistaken. It really seems the sound gets easily distorted even though only slightly changing the sliders. I always found myself reverting the sliders back to the default values. And you cannot EQ away from this pre-colored smooth/warmness either.

 
Luckily I rarely feel the driver on my ear but my freind found it very noticible. I agree with the dull sound when set with a flat EQ. When I boost the highest frequency a little it defenitly fixes that and I hear no distortion whatsoever, only when bass is boosted a lot but that's expected. What source are you using? Maybe an amp would improve it without distortion if your experiencing that.

 

[KElyas]

Quote:

I do absolutely love them for hip hop and rock, the fast type of rock plus I think they're great with electric guitars.. I like the, soooo much but they're uncomfortable...

Imma probably keep them though.

 
I find that for a lot of hip hop, it doesn't improve much over my XB500s. Well recorded and mixed albums that are in stereo are an absolute joy to listen to though.

 

[Trunks159]

Quote:

 
I find that for a lot of hip hop, it doesn't improve much over my XB500s. Well recorded and mixed albums that are in stereo are an absolute joy to listen to though.

I i love the xb500s for hip hop eq'd but i won't say i like them more than the MDR1rs eq'd.  I listen to a whole lot of lupe fiasco who really tries to get his vocals across.  The xb500s still sound great though, just a little to dark for my liking.
 
Would anyone suggest any mods for these? Would the mdr 7506's valour pads make them sound better?  How does the fiio e11 effect them?

 

[KElyas]

Quote:

I i love the xb500s for hip hop eq'd but i won't say i like them more than the MDR1rs eq'd.  I listen to a whole lot of lupe fiasco who really tries to get his vocals across.  The xb500s still sound great though, just a little to dark for my liking.
 
Would anyone suggest any mods for these? Would the mdr 7506's valour pads make them sound better?  How does the fiio e11 effect them?

 


What I really like with the MDR-1Rs with hip hop over the XB500s is how tight and punchy the kicks are in comparison.

 

[roguegeek]

Quote:

Here's some short impressions:
Bass
I personally feel that the bass is almost at the perfect level, maybe a tiny bit too much for rock. The bass is nice and tight with plenty of impact, though it to me does lack speed. It is fast enough to handle rock eq'd though, just not the best. The bass isn't muddy or anything, it just sounds great.

Highs and mids
Now these are my favorite parts about these. With hip hop and rock, the vocals are just great. The balance between all of the frequencies is phenomenal, but the problem lies in ...
Soundstage
These don't really have a large soundstage. They have a soundstage that can't really even compete with the likes of the dt770, and seems to be a little smaller than the Uptowns. Now what they do have is a great sense of where exactly the sound is coming from.

Build
These things look just as great as they look in the pictures. They don't have the best build and I do have the headphone rattle and cable noise. Very annoying.

Comfort
At first I was like "omg, these are the most comfortable cans ever!", but now that I've worn them a little bit, they aren't nearly as comfortable. (I know I have them on right), my ears are cramped and smashed a little by both the drivers and ear pads. This problem seems to go away a little while being used portably though. Still, they aren't as comfortable as the citiscape Uptowns.

Overall, I prefer the DT770s in the comfort and well everything compartment, except styling. To me, I MUST like how the cans look if I'm going to like them . They don't have to be overly flashy, I just have to like something about it. It's not really even that hard to make a pair of cans that i like the look of.

They are a little better than the Uptowns, though they do seem to suffer from the same things that most other portables suffer from (soundstage, instrument separation, speed). I was probably expecting too much because I'm not using an amp or anything, so they're potential hasn't yet been reached.

The sound isn't really my main problem though, it's really the comfort. I can where them out and about, but when I sit down and actually listen too them it isn'tt the best experience. I thought that the dt770s were relatively comfortable to other cans, but that velour was a little itchy. The Uptowns would be perfect if it wasn't for the pressure, the k167s weren't comfortable at all, and neither were the grados.

It sounds like I really don't like them, but I really do, it's just this comfort/soundstage issue.

I've only had them since the 14th (march), so I haven't burnt them in completely. I only believe in 10-20 hour crucial burn in, and the other 80 hours are just very small improvements, and your ears adapting to the sound. But who knows, I think the MDR 7506s aren't comfortable but I've still kept them.

Only time will tell...

Oh, and I'd say the k167 and these are directly comparable so the price on the MDR 1rs definitely should decrease along the likes of $200, but the momentum , m100, etc should too IMO.

I do absolutely love them for hip hop and rock, the fast type of rock plus I think they're great with electric guitars.. I like the, soooo much but they're uncomfortable...

Imma probably keep them though.

 
Nice impressions. I generally agree with you on all of your points, although the comfort is definitely not a problem for me compared to my DT770. Although the DT770 is nice, the clamping pressure does get to me after a while. I do prefer velour pads, though.

 

[Trunks159]

Yeah, for me its kinda a love hate relationship with valour, but the dt770 pull it off nicely while the mdr 7506 valors are a but itchy.

 

[acti0n]

4th unit arrived today from Amazon. It also has jack rattle. This was after Amazon had taken it down for a couple of days to investigate the complaints -- I guess they did nothing.
 
It seems like the majority of units have the defect, and there's only a slim percentage of actually getting one without it. 

 

[roguegeek]

4th unit arrived today from Amazon. It also has jack rattle. This was after Amazon had taken it down for a couple of days to investigate the complaints -- I guess they did nothing.

It seems like the majority of units have the defect, and there's only a slim percentage of actually getting one without it. 

Can you throw up a video on YouTube of this jack rattle? I still have no idea what everyone else is experiencing here.

 

[acti0n]

Quote:

Can you throw up a video on YouTube of this jack rattle? I still have no idea what everyone else is experiencing here.

Just gently wiggle the base of the cable where it plugs into the headphone. It should feel pretty loose and make a clicking sound if it has the defect.
 
The connection itself is tight, but the female end is loose inside the casing.

 

[Trunks159]

The rattle is pretty common. Its more like a internal defect like the cracking on the sennheiser hd55x. You might have gotten lucky.

 

[acti0n]

Quote:

The rattle is pretty common. Its more like a internal defect like the cracking on the sennheiser hd55x. You might have gotten lucky.

Are you experiencing the rattle as well? If so, did you apply any mods to deal with it?