My one caution with the MDR 1A is that as it approaches higher volumes which I typically use it at, it does start to sound like it is being pushed a little. I find a slight raspy edge creeps in, it is slight, but in my mind there. Keep in mind that I typically listen quite loud by most people's standards, but I would say to test it at the highest volume you might ever use just to be sure.
It was the reason I got rid of 1A, a slight raspy edge or overly digital sounding highs. I guess it sounds fine at lower volume levels but the highs limited my listening volume (sibilance) so kinda wished it had been a bit smoother in the highs still. Bass could have been tighter/faster too.
It was the reason I got rid of 1A, a slight raspy edge or overly digital sounding highs. I guess it sounds fine at lower volume levels but the highs limited my listening volume (sibilance) so kinda wished it had been a bit smoother in the highs still. Bass could have been tighter/faster too.
Agree with the last part particularly. most noticeable 'flaw' of the mdr-1a to my ears is the bass has a bit of bloat compared to my orthodynamic headphones. something like the k553 pro also seems to outperform the mdr-1a in that area as well.
I think rasp is a good word for it too.
I discovered this having put them on recently after "last nights listening" with an EQ profile to match.
The good news is though, none of my tweaks are that drastic when I look at it. The MDR-1A always benefits from cuts at 125hz and 250hz for dat bass, but I cured the rasp with cuts at 4k and a little either side. If I bothered to use a Parametric EQ I could fine tune it, but I'm happy enough.
But my Momentum 2.0 profile was much worse; I ran much larger cuts to try take out the blazing upper mid-range, and large excess of bass boost with the LFE low pass added on top - of which I control the quantity of, using the mixer.
Yet I still couldn't get that driver to excite me, like the MDR-1A does.
But the point is, all the headphones I've tried tend to have something go wrong at high volumes. But at least it feels like I'm making tweaks this time, rather than forcing a flat signature into a V-shape the driver isn't designed for. Better to have the bass, and cut it, than need the bass and not have enough of it.
The same way voicing a headphone at lower volumes would cause inherent danger at high volumes, with all that extra energy a flat signature puts on your ears. Sony compromises on the right things to get where they are now, which is a bass boosted v-shaped signature, that gives you as much high fidelity information as they could manage out of "that type" of sound, in the form factor, and weight it is too.
It was the reason I got rid of 1A, a slight raspy edge or overly digital sounding highs. I guess it sounds fine at lower volume levels but the highs limited my listening volume (sibilance) so kinda wished it had been a bit smoother in the highs still. Bass could have been tighter/faster too.
Found these on sale bout a week ago and couldn't resist. I have to agree, the highs sound a bit artificial to me for some reason.
This was the reason why I got rid of my MDR-1RBTMK2s last year, didn't make my music sound right.. Having said that these are much better overall, although I am not used to it just yet.
Primarily an IEM guy, been using FX850s for a while so this is a change, in a good way. I definitely love the 3D-ness of these and other than some odd sounding highs on some of the live recordings I listen to, I'm definitely enjoying them and they're so comfortable!
It's strange how different headphones and iem can sound when you listen to the same music. It's like I'm sitting in a completely different seat in a concert lol
Unfortunately I got rid of them so quick I never managed to test that but I do believe it helps for the bass since I played around with the bass ports the same way on Panasonic HTF600 and it did make a difference by decreasing the vents. Still I personally preferred the sound of M-Audio Q40 particularly for the the smooth highs so didn't see any point of keeping them. (I hate digital/edgy/raspy highs with a passion). Open headphones tend to do highs better (generally more gentle/smooth/velvety character) but I need closed for my bass needs.
Hello there... I've received today from Amazon Spain a pair of mdr-1ab but while reading the specifications on their box i've noted that is actually 48ohms instead of 24ohms as described on the sony's website... why? Thank you!
Hello there... I've received today from Amazon Spain a pair of mdr-1ab but while reading the specifications on their box i've noted that is actually 48ohms instead of 24ohms as described on the sony's website... why? Thank you!
Hello there... I've received today from Amazon Spain a pair of mdr-1ab but while reading the specifications on their box i've noted that is actually 48ohms instead of 24ohms as described on the sony's website... why? Thank you!
hey woof can you pls tell me comparing mdr1a and hd595/598 which one is better. i am planning to buy one of these.my use is only in indoors only.my gear is a cowon c2 and fiio e6. files are all 320kbps/16.44 flacs
hey woof can you pls tell me comparing mdr1a and hd595/598 which one is better. i am planning to buy one of these.my use is only in indoors only.my gear is a cowon c2 and fiio e6. files are all 320kbps/16.44 flacs
others seem to have asked this but i couldnt find a clear answer. How does the 1ABT sound compared to the 1A or even past sony models? Really interested in owning a good wireless set.
Maybe it's mentioned here before but given the length of the thread and the vague descriptions in reviews I'm just going to ask it here: are the earpads of the MDR-1A made of real leather?
Reviewers mention leather, however some interchangeably use leather and pleather in reviews so I just want to be sure. It's just that I think my skin is oversensitive to synthetic materials.
Maybe it's mentioned here before but given the length of the thread and the vague descriptions in reviews I'm just going to ask it here: are the earpads of the MDR-1A made of real leather?
Reviewers mention leather, however some interchangeably use leather and pleather in reviews so I just want to be sure. It's just that I think my skin is oversensitive to synthetic materials.
Thanks. Let's hope I won't have to return these when they arrive. It's annoying that even Sony isn't transparent about this, on their sites they clearly mention 'leather' without 'protein covered' or 'synthetic' or anything like that.
I've had a worsening of some type of eczema earlier when I was using cheap Klipsch Image One headphones. I think the material is also pleather. Or maybe it's some kind of rubberized foam, in any way they had a cheap synthetic smell when I sniffed them.
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