[329161]

I never use the EQ. I don't listen to bass heavy music either but it still distorts. Like the other user mentioned, it could with the Sony's DSEE algorithm. 

I have several Sony products with this DSEE feature and there is no distortion. What makes you think this is the cause when I have not heard of this bass distortion in ANY other reviews, including 3 from well respected magazine publications and several others, including CNET etc? Please don't make assertions like this without hard facts. Not having a go at you, but Headfi is rife with potential misinformation like this.

 

[bossnass15]

A few people have been promoting the P7 wireless here. Seems a bit weird to me seeing it's a thread for Sony. Do you go to every unrelated thread and do the same? Serious question.
Anyway, I personally even prefer to listen to my 30mm drivered Soho Wireless rather than my P7 wireless. Will be selling the P7 very shortly. The sound is way better balanced on the Harmon Kardon. Bass is overblown, and mids recessed on the B&W. The treble is done pretty well, but the whole experience is ruined by the uneven balance and inferior definition overall. Just my take, natch.

No reason to promote. We all tell it as it is since we all have used the Sony MDR-1000x (thats why we end up in this thread) and have experience with other cans. It's the same on the P7 and B&O H9 threads where comparisons with the Sony MDR-1000x, Bose qc35 headphones are being drawn (noticed though that they draw comparisons with higher end cans ). This is to give prospective buyers with informed decisions and the possibility of a better sounding can. (I myself have not heard about the P7 till i visited this thread, saw GrussGot's comments and am thankful I did)
 
Personally for me, I bare no allegiance to any brand. I'm trying the B&O H9 next, and if they sound better than the P7W to my ears, my P7W will be on sale. (FYI, the B&O H9 thread is full of comparisons VS the P7W). 

 

[329161]

No reason to promote. We all tell it as it is since we all have used the Sony MDR-1000x (thats why we end up in this thread) and have experience with other cans. It's the same on the P7 and B&O H9 threads where comparisons with the Sony MDR-1000x, Bose qc35 headphones are being drawn (noticed though that they draw comparisons with higher end cans ). This is to give prospective buyers with informed decisions and the possibility of a better sounding can. (I myself have not heard about the P7 till i visited this thread, saw GrussGot's comments and am thankful I did)

Personally for me, I bare no allegiance to any brand. I'm trying the B&O H9 next, and if they sound better than the P7W to my ears, my P7W will be on sale. (FYI, the B&O H9 thread is full of comparisons VS the P7W). 

I get what you're saying but it's like people are trying to lure people into an alternate religion or something, but in this case it's another headphone. Just a bit bizarre.

 

[Gamergtx260]

I have several Sony products with this DSEE feature and there is no distortion. What makes you think this is the cause when I have not heard of this bass distortion in ANY other reviews, including 3 from well respected magazine publications and several others, including CNET etc? Please don't make assertions like this without hard facts. Not having a go at you, but Headfi is rife with potential misinformation like this.

I didn't conclude that it is with the DSEE. I only said that it "could be" which means I'm only guessing and it can be right or wrong.
I don't care about the magazine reviews, I paid my money for it, I bought it and I heard the distortion. So I guess I have the right to tell my experience to the forum members. Many (like you) may disagree or agree. 
 
BTW, Do you own the MDR 1000X's?

 

[329161]

I didn't conclude that it is with the DSEE. I only said that it "could be" which means I'm only guessing and it can be right or wrong.
I don't care about the magazine reviews, I paid my money for it, I bought it and I heard the distortion. So I guess I have the right to tell my experience to the forum members. Many (like you) may disagree or agree. 

BTW, Do you own the MDR 1000X's?

Yes I do own it. Of course you have a right to point your concerns out, I didn't say otherwise.
The point that I'm making is, the distortion could be caused by any number of things. Why would you make an assertion that this DSEE feature is possibly the cause? Are you a software engineer who knows how the software was coded, and you have inside info that it may cause distortion? It's not really a good idea to throw accusations around unless you have a good handle of what you're talking about. Headfi is a notorious place for this.

 

[ricthaman]

I don't think people are trying to lure anybody to another headphone. I agree with bossnass15: some people just want to share their experiences of the Sony MDR-1000X versus other offerings. I could imagine that more people are in the same position as I was, contemplating between several offerings. By sharing your findings (based on experience with both headphones), other people might be more informed while making a choice.
 
Regarding the distortion in the low-end of the MDR-1000X: I can't remember this distortion, and I tested some very bass-heavy tracks. On the other hand, the slight 'white noise' while ANC is turned on is something I did experience (I believe it was mentioned a few posts back). It bothered me a bit, in the sense that it made it less 'hifi' to me (if that makes any sense). I must admit that I can't test anymore, as the MDR-1000X's are gone.
 
Kind regards,
 
Ric

 

[Gamergtx260]

Yes I do own it. Of course you have a right to point your concerns out, I didn't say otherwise.
The point that I'm making is, the distortion could be caused by any number of things. Why would you make an assertion that this DSEE feature is possibly the cause? Are you a software engineer who knows how the software was coded, and you have inside info that it may cause distortion? It's not really a good idea to throw accusations around unless you have a good handle of what you're talking about. Headfi is a notorious place for this.

That's a bit rude. But anyway, I said in my previous post "I didn't conclude that it is with the DSEE. I only said that it "could be" which means I'm only guessing and it can be right or wrong." 
 
I never made an assertion that it is with DSEE. Maybe you should read my post again before you start flaming. Good day!
 
P.S: I'm a software engineer but that doesn't mean I do know about the algorithm or I do not hear the distortion.

 

[329161]

That's a bit rude. But anyway, I said in my previous post "I didn't conclude that it is with the DSEE. I only said that it "could be" which means I'm only guessing and it can be right or wrong." 

I never made an assertion that it is with DSEE. Maybe you should read my post again before you start flaming. Good day!

P.S: I'm a software engineer but that doesn't mean I do know about the algorithm or I do not hear the distortion.

My apologies. I should've used the word speculation instead of assertion. Either way I think it was a very uneducated wild guess. Not trying to be rude mate, but as I said , distortion in headphones can be caused any no. Of things. Many other headphones distort, and they don't have DSEE. It seems as though you've picked out some random feature of the headphone to lay possible blame. Also I didn't say you don't hear the distortion.

 

[329161]

I don't think people are trying to lure anybody to another headphone. I agree with bossnass15: some people just want to share their experiences of the Sony MDR-1000X versus other offerings. I could imagine that more people are in the same position as I was, contemplating between several offerings. By sharing your findings (based on experience with both headphones), other people might be more informed while making a choice.

Regarding the distortion in the low-end of the MDR-1000X: I can't remember this distortion, and I tested some very bass-heavy tracks. On the other hand, the slight 'white noise' while ANC is turned on is something I did experience (I believe it was mentioned a few posts back). It bothered me a bit, in the sense that it made it less 'hifi' to me (if that makes any sense). I must admit that I can't test anymore, as the MDR-1000X's are gone.

Kind regards,

Ric

Ok, so white noise is technically distortion. ALL headphones with ANC will exhibit audible white noise to some degree.

 

[Gamergtx260]

My apologies. I should've used the word speculation instead of assertion. Either way I think it was a very uneducated wild guess. Not trying to be rude mate, but as I said , distortion in headphones can be caused any no. Of things. Many other headphones distort, and they don't have DSEE. It seems as though you've picked out some random feature of the headphone to lay possible blame. Also I didn't say you don't hear the distortion.

Again, it is not "a very uneducated wild guess" nor "I've picked out some random feature of the headphone".
 
If you had read my previous post which I paste below.
 
"1. The bass distorts in some songs on near-high volume from my iPhone. It is clear that the headphones cannot handle the low end smoothly and starts to distort when the bass goes very deep. This happens only in the wireless mode though."
=> DSEE is only turned on in the wireless mode, so it is not a problem with the drivers themselves but "something else" and my guess for this was the DSEE, could be right or wrong. I'm not an expert in that, neither are you. 

 

[ivorpad]

  I noticed this too. But only on few songs at near-max volume from my iphone. Wired works flawlessly.

 
How is that even possible? I have two units (Amazon sent two MDR-1000x by mistake and let me keep it) and I've tested both cans on iPhone 6 Plus, iPad mini, iPad Pro 12.9" and I can say bluetooth volume is low. When I use the wire they sound very loud though, on full volume bass start to distort a little. My question is: How can the bass distort on wireless if the sound produced is not as loud as wired? I'm using Spotify Extreme Quality + flat EQ.

 

[329161]

Again, it is not "a very uneducated wild guess" nor "I've picked out some random feature of the headphone".

If you had read my previous post which I paste below.

"1. The bass distorts in some songs on near-high volume from my iPhone. It is clear that the headphones cannot handle the low end smoothly and starts to distort when the bass goes very deep. This happens only in the wireless mode though."
=> DSEE is only turned on in the wireless mode, so it is not a problem with the drivers themselves but "something else" and my guess for this was the DSEE, could be right or wrong. I'm not an expert in that, neither are you. 

Ok seriously man, this is such an insignificant topic to debate (for me anyway). So I'll finish up by saying there is no reference on Google with respect to DSEE causing bass distortion on the 1000x (or any other device with this feature). I don't hear any kind of distortion on this can, so it's a non issue for me, sorry that you experience this. However, "uneducated wild guess" is absolutely what it appears to be.

 

[Gamergtx260]

   
How is that even possible? I have two units (Amazon sent two MDR-1000x by mistake and let me keep it) and I've tested both cans on iPhone 6 Plus, iPad mini, iPad Pro 12.9" and I can say bluetooth volume is low. When I use the wire they sound very loud though, on full volume bass start to distort a little. My question is: How can the bass distort if the sound produced is not as loud as wired? I'm using Spotify Extreme Quality + flat EQ.

Well, this was exactly my experience but our other friend @dcfac73  says it is an "uneducated guess" while he googles for "DSEE causing bass distortion on 1000X" - very much educated search  
 
"Sony DSEE HX™ software upscales your existing sound source (those lossy MP3s or AACs) to near high-resolution sound quality. This means that the technology injects more life into your music by upscaling compressed files." 
 
The above statement is from Sony. It upscales your music so maybe (guessing) it has something to do with it. DSEE works only in bluetooth mode so it doesn't matter if the volume wasn't loud enough. 
 
I'm not against these headphones, I didn't buy them so I can post negative comments on it. To people who enjoy them without any distortion, then I say congratulations, to others maybe you can find a fix?

 

[Gamergtx260]

Ok seriously man, this is such an insignificant topic to debate (for me anyway). So I'll finish up by saying there is no reference on Google with respect to DSEE causing bass distortion on the 1000x (or any other device with this feature). I don't hear any kind of distortion on this can, so it's a non issue for me, sorry that you experience this. However, "uneducated wild guess" is absolutely what it appears to be.

Well "mate", I have sold them yesterday so it is an insignficant debate to me as well. You don't have to google because there are lot of users posting about the distortion in this thread already. 
 
You don't have to be sorry, as you don't represent Sony or?

 

[aboom]

   
Its not a problem with the left or right side, that I have. It's the distortion threshold. It breaks up too easily. Try Daft Punk - "Giorgio by Morodor". Put a slight fun smiley V-shape EQ on it. These headphones will distort before you get to max volume. I don't think its a defective unit. However, if someone that has used both the QC35 & 1000x, can chime in, that would be helpful. I just think that the 1000x can't handle bass very well. As a matter of fact, the QC35 goes deeper and has a stronger Bass than the 1000x I have. If multiple sources can claim this to be abnormal, I'll exchange for another set. - However, I still don't like the recessed treble of the 1000x. I think that this SQ characteristic is consistent in all reviews. 

I should have been a bit more clear on my wording. While I had the problem just on one side, perhaps you had both sides defective. Though this is not a widely reported issue, then that would require very bad luck. Another thing is that using the EQ simply might get out of the range of the DSP, source (when using wired) or Bluetooth (when using wireless). You should be able to eliminate any DSP problems by only damping the mids and at most very moderately boosting the high/low frequencies and then increasing the volume.
 
All that said, I tend to listen to music with quite moderate levels and I don't use bass boosting, so I cannot of course say for sure that it is not a problem with the 1000x. But if it was a general issue with the design of 1000x, then I'd expect more reports on that.