[Pillow]

So I've been looking for a decent upgrade for my three year old Philips Cityscape Uptown - I want a good headphone for both out and about and home use.

I also own the KRK KNS 6400 but I almost never use them. They are too detailed and sort of , well, joyless.

I'm looking for a good, detailed all round headphone for music listening and gaming. On the road and at home. This seemed like a good deal! Is it?

 

[invalid473d]

Isolation on the MDR-1As is pretty poor... I had to turn up the volume a fair amount to intentionally drown out surrounding sound. They also don't fold and only come with a soft sack. So for "out and about" usage, they're not the most portable if that's important. On the bright side, they are perfectly comfy to wear around the neck.

Sound-wise, they have decent detail, and a fun sound signature with nice treble and boomy bass (which makes them less good as all-arounders, depending on what genres you like). Mids feel a bit diffused and recessed, however, resulting in a slightly incoherently V-shaped sound signature to my ears. Soundstage and comfort are great- fantastic for gaming and generally pleasurable usage. Overall, if you're sitting still in not-too-noisy environments and like bass, they're a solid choice and are certainly fun to listen to. €140 is a good deal too haha.

If isolation, portability, and versatility are important to you, however, the Momentum 2s may be a better pick, though they're a bit more expensive. They still have boosted bass (a bit less thunderous), along with more tame treble and more forward mids. Soundstage isn't quite as wide IIRC, but I don't recall if the actual imaging is better or worse.