[lilmanmgf]

I just bought a pair of MDR-1000X. I've been bench marking it against the QC-35, and while the QC 35s are much more comfortable the sound is definitely superior with the Sonys.
 
Does anyone know how to replace the ear pads on the MDR-1000x? I know they sell the parts and it even says they are replaceable in the manual, but no instructions are provided. I called support, but they didn't have any instructions regarding this. If a wear and tear item like the ear pads aren't user replaceable I may return the Sonys and go back to the Bose.

 

[strider1391]

I just bought a pair of MDR-1000X. I've been bench marking it against the QC-35, and while the QC 35s are much more comfortable the sound is definitely superior with the Sonys.

Does anyone know how to replace the ear pads on the MDR-1000x? I know they sell the parts and it even says they are replaceable in the manual, but no instructions are provided. I called support, but they didn't have any instructions regarding this. If a wear and tear item like the ear pads aren't user replaceable I may return the Sonys and go back to the Bose.

Follow the links to Sony spares on the support section of their US website - its sony.encompass.com. Once you search by mdr-1000x you get all the parts. The black earpads are part number X-2593-517-1 and cost $66.99 + postage (& are out of stock for the next 30 days). Crazy money if you ask me, especially as they are simply direct replacements so will be no more comfortable. The BOSE QC35 replacements are only $34.99 and are much more comfortable - if only they (and the headband) could be retrofit to the Sony's!

 

[lilmanmgf]

Follow the links to Sony spares on the support section of their US website - its sony.encompass.com. Once you search by mdr-1000x you get all the parts. The black earpads are part number X-2593-517-1 and cost $66.99 + postage (& are out of stock for the next 30 days). Crazy money if you ask me, especially as they are simply direct replacements so will be no more comfortable. The BOSE QC35 replacements are only $34.99 and are much more comfortable - if only they (and the headband) could be retrofit to the Sony's!

I was able to find the replacement parts, but I'm still not sure how to replace them. It looks like there are some clips, but they don't easily disengage. Has anyone successfully removed their ear pads?

 

[Jezze]

  I wanted to like these soooo bad. I have wanted some nice noise cancelling headphones for a while now and I don't usually splurge on things like $400(+tax) headphones. I watched what seemed like a hundred different YouTube reviews and decided to take a risk last week and buy these Sony MDR-1000X headphones.  What a huge disappointment for me. They have some really cool features but they fall flat in several other areas.
 
1) They have super shallow cups so my ears are uncomfortable after like one song. I can't even stand to wear them for any more than about 30 mins because they hurt so bad. I don't have any bigger than average ears so my situation shouldn't be unique.
 
2) The connection with Windows is awful as well and there is constant cutting in and out. It's a similar effect to if you had a cord with a "short" in it and it kept crackling and cutting in and out. My Motherboard has built in Bluetooth but I even grabbed a BT dongle and got same results. There are LOADS of people complaining about this in various online places I found as well.
 
3) Bass is actually pretty awesome as long as you don't listen very loud.  As soon as you turn it up it just becomes phhhhbbbt phhhhbbbt phhhhbbbt. And I don't mean turned up to obscene volume levels, I mean just turned up a bit.
 
4) If the battery runs low you can't connect them to an iPhone 7 because there is no lightning connector cable. It only comes with a 3.5mm cable. I contacted Sony and they sent me a link for their parts affiliate called Encompass for a $50 cable (!!!) named "Sony Cable (with Plug)" and that's it. No description of what it is. No picture of the product. Nothing. Oh, and it shows it's out of stock for the next 3 months! Yay!  (this) All the ones on Amazon have terrible reviews so there's just no option to connect the headphones to the most popular phone on the market? Lame. Lame. Lame. These are getting returned tomorrow.
 
(edit: I contacted Encompass about the details of that cable and that's actually just the 3.5mm > 3.5mm replacement cable for $50. Not even a Lightning cable. Apparently they don't make/offer a 3.5mm > Lightning cable. So your only options are the cheap sketchy cables on Amazon/eBay.)

 
Why can't you use the Lightning-3.5mm adapter provided by Apple with your iPhone? The fact that Apple ditched 3.5mm in favor of only Lightning is hardly Sonys or the MDR1000Xs fault though. I'd rather critize Apple than Sony on that matter.
 
Anyhow I have to agree with the comfort part to an extent. They aren't really hurting me but they sometimes start to feel "nasty and sweaty" due to the pleather pads. I find myself readjusting the headphones occasionally which I normally don't do with other headphones. I'd rather have something more plush like on the Bose QC35. The pads are pretty much my only complaint with the MDR-1000X except for the occasional sounds that the construction of the headphones creates when one moves his head (I don't think it's the creaking issue on mine though).
 
These are my first pair of (Bluetooth) ANC headphones and so far I'm liking them except for the occasional comfort issues. Couldn't imagine going to a non-ANC pair anymore. And I'm really enjoying the features of these headphones. The fact that I can amplify voices for longer times with the ambient sound, quickly turn down the music and amplify all sounds with my palm or turn off the ANC with bluetooth is great. Sometimes you just want to hear what's happening around you and headphones like the Momentums don't allow you to do that as the ANC can't be turned off which is a real shame in my opinion, perhaps the worst part of the Momentums.
 
If only there were headphones with the sound and build of Momentums, BT-connectivity and comfort of QC35, ANC and features of the MDR-1000X. But since there aren't the Sonys tick most of the boxes for me.

 

[lilmanmgf]

The Ear Pads are user replaceable! Sony support was unable to help me, so I starting messing around with them to figure out how they attached. I think these are actually easier to replace than those on the QC35s. I've inculded a link to my photos, and I'm uploading a video showing how to take them out.
 
There are 6 plastic clips that hold the ear pads in. I used a collar stay, but you could use a flat head screw drive to push the clips in towards the center of the Ear Pad. Once one un-clips the rest should follow. It looks like these are pretty much standard ear pads with holes cut in the back to allow the pins/clips of the plastic retaining ring to pop through. I think you could take the ring out and put it in a standard size ear pad pretty easily. To install them you just need to line up the clips and push in.
 
http://imgur.com/a/m9wTB

 

[sampson]

The adapter Apple provides is surprisingly absolute junk. Or maybe I just got a bad one. I use it with my earbuds at times and it very frequently stops working. As in the music starts playing loudly out of my phone and not my earbuds. This happens so regularly that I simply dont trust it. I won't even try to play music using it if I'm in public for fear it won't work and I'll look like an ass blaring music out of my phone. 

 

[lilmanmgf]

Here is the link to the youtube video I made showing how to remove the earpads:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReYi2EkT8qM

 

[Mortalcoil]

Quote:

  Here is the link to the youtube video I made showing how to remove the earpads:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReYi2EkT8qM

 Very handy...good effort 

 

[Sause01]

Hey everyone, I am a long time lurker but I've decided to finally post something. I bought both the Bose QC35's and the Sony MDR-1000X's with the intention of seeing which one I liked best and returning the other. 
 
 
Build: The Bose win due to the creaking the in Sony's
 
Controls: Sonys win hands down. The three buttons work fine on the Bose but the touch controls on the Sony's have nailed the cool and usability factors.
 
Connectivity: The Bose win this one hand's down. While neither was perfect, connecting to two devices at once and being able to use the app to switch devices is very good. I also notice more cutting out from the Sony's.
 
Sound: I've listened to both in various situations using my iPhone, Kindle, Samsung TV, and Dell Laptop. My ears thing the Bose win this but I have no data to back this up.
 
Noise cancelation: The Sony are better but the Bose close.
 
Taking Phone Calls: The Sony's win. I am told I sound like a robot with the Bose and like a God with the Sony's
 
 
I had the Bose for a week prior to receiving the Sony's and based on my initial impression (mainly Noise Cancellation and My Voice quality) I returned the Bose the next day. After living with the Sony's for a similar period of time I have decided to go back to the Bose.

 

[Nocturnx]

Anyone know how well these would work while push mowing my lawn? I've been using IEM's with triple flange tips and they work well but maybe some actual noise cancelling phones would work better? Would they block out the mower? Would wind noise be an issue?

 

[rkw]

Anyone know how well these would work while push mowing my lawn? I've been using IEM's with triple flange tips and they work well but maybe some actual noise cancelling phones would work better? Would they block out the mower? Would wind noise be an issue?

Yes, wind noise is a problem with noise cancelling headphones. For outdoors with wind, IEM's are the best you could do.

 

[lilmanmgf]

Has anyone else noticed a large amount of static with the MDR-1000Xs compared to the QC-35s? When ANC is enabled and no music is playing there is a pretty audible static hiss, primarily in the right ear cup. The QC-35 is almost silent by comparison.

 

[MacedonianHero]

  Has anyone else noticed a large amount of static with the MDR-1000Xs compared to the QC-35s? When ANC is enabled and no music is playing there is a pretty audible static hiss, primarily in the right ear cup. The QC-35 is almost silent by comparison.

 
Side by side, I found them almost the exact same in this regard.

 

[aertus]

If sony gets it right maybe the sucessor of this model will really do it for them and kill the competition. it seems liek from reading this thread some improvements are needed. 

but i'd still pick sony over bose for the sound quality and ANC which is their main purpose. 
 
Is it true that ANC anything tends to make the music sound artificial compared to non-anc headphones?

 

[MacedonianHero]

  If sony gets it right maybe the sucessor of this model will really do it for them and kill the competition. it seems liek from reading this thread some improvements are needed. 

but i'd still pick sony over bose for the sound quality and ANC which is their main purpose. 
 
Is it true that ANC anything tends to make the music sound artificial compared to non-anc headphones?

 
I'm amazed how some can get that from 1 or 2 posts. You can't make all people happy all the time! I strongly suggest you try them first hand. The MDR1000X do "kill" the competition already in SQ, NC and options for portability (including the QC35s) to my ears.