[Slackboy72]

If you want earphones that don't leak then these aren't the earphones for you.
Otherwise they're great especially when plugged into an iPhone/iPod.

 

[money4me247]

  MDR-1A black is 699kr (90USD) from dustin dk store. amazon us is selling 299usd.
how can it be so cheap there?
too bad dustin wont ship internationally. 

DAMNNN!!! What... does someone who leave there wanna buy & ship to meee???

 

[dumerqi]

  DAMNNN!!! What... does someone who leave there wanna buy & ship to meee???

It's about 135 USD if you include shipping, and the product won't be in stock until the 26th of January. 

 

[money4me247]

  It's about 135 USD if you include shipping, and the product won't be in stock until the 26th of January. 

still a steal. probably $20ish shipping to the states so $155 is cheaper than I've seen the old MDR-1Rs.

 

[AUDIOBREEDER]

Don't think the price will ever come down so low considering 1R never went that low even now.
This price us great for such a great product

 

[money4me247]

wld someone who lives where that dustin website ships to be interested in purchasing a mdr-1a for me when they are back in stock & shipping it to the states? please pm me

 

[nahk]

Ok, so I read all positive feedback and decided to give it a try... 300 bucks for these? really? it's a joke...
 
First of all, I never thought I have big ears until I got these - my ears won't fit into the cups, and if you will force it in - headphones will tend to slide backwards, because ears will push them to. Compared to my old HD555, I'd say Sennheiser's are a bit more comfy in terms of in-cup space, but push more on your head.
 
Sound quality? Well, to be honest, my 10x-cheaper Yuin's sound better. Don't get me wrong, they are good, but for 3 hundred you expect a bit more, than what cheap pair of ear-buds can do, don't you? Yuin's by themselves are just old Sennheiser MX350 in different form, which, by the way, was the best headphones I've ever had, and only cost $10. I had 3 pairs, until they got discontinued.
 
I were not able to try these out before ordering online, because it's hard to find them anywhere in the store around here, but I checked out B&W P7's, which was even worse than Sony's. Actually, now comparing Sony's to B&W, I don't quite understand why would they call these headphones HiFi at all - they obviously sound very different, so which one has more fidelity in it, I guess, everybody will decide for himself, but for me it just don't worth $300.
 
By any means, I would recommend to try it out before ordering based on the reviews.

 

[Neo Zuko]

Mine sound and feel like $300 headphones. It all depends on what you are looking for.

 

[dazzerfong]

@nahk: What were your headphone/IEM preferences before this? It's a pretty big statement what you're making so far, and it's not making me feel good about the purchase that's still waiting to be shipped. Though, about your commetn on the P7: I hated it at first when my friend lent it to me. After a week, using any other headphone was an atrocious experience.
 
I struggle to see how even high-end earbuds can even come close to matching headphones, even headphones that aren't high-end at all. The worst headphones I've ever tried (some Razer ones) easily bested earbuds for me. Do you mind delving into a bit more detail about why you said that?

 

[nahk]

  I struggle to see how even high-end earbuds can even come close to matching headphones, even headphones that aren't high-end at all. The worst headphones I've ever tried (some Razer ones) easily bested earbuds for me. Do you mind delving into a bit more detail about why you said that?

 
Regarding earbuds: did you try old MX300/MX350 buds back in the days? If you didn't like them, then there is no point spending money on Yuin's, but if not - try Yuin PK2/PK3. Pick one matching your sound tract (one is 16 ohm, one is 32) and give it a shot. 
 
For the Sony's - I can't call them HiFi, bass is too pumping, I'd say. Sometimes I barely can hear anything except for the bass, if frequency is too low. I don't really know if it's just my ears trying to save themselves or the driver is doing some low HZ, so no way to reproduce high frequency.
 
After I finished that post, I decided to plugin my old HD555's, and... oh dear, it so clear, crisp and flat, can listen forever. I don't really remember, but I believe they are old 120's. I primarily use 'em with Kawai digital piano and definitely will not be replacing them with bassy Sony's.
 
Then impedance is 24 ohms... I have 7g classic which has standard sound tract for 32 (stock buds are 32 ohms), so it's not a fit also, unless I want to crack the pod open again to put some heater in it to match the impedance to what amplifier circuit was designed for.
 
Again - these headphones are not HiFi/reference gear, you either like them or not, but for 300.. you'd better do.

 

[heishiro]

   
For the Sony's - I can't call them HiFi, bass is too pumping, I'd say. Sometimes I barely can hear anything except for the bass,

 
I have the same evaluation about this 1A, a couple of weeks back i was looking for a close back HP.
Tried the 1A with ZX1(demo unit) and i find the bass too boomy, V shape sound. but good sound stage.
not that bad but i still do more prefer the tight bass punch of the Denon AH-D600.

 

[dazzerfong]

   
Regarding earbuds: did you try old MX300/MX350 buds back in the days? If you didn't like them, then there is no point spending money on Yuin's, but if not - try Yuin PK2/PK3. Pick one matching your sound tract (one is 16 ohm, one is 32) and give it a shot. 
 
For the Sony's - I can't call them HiFi, bass is too pumping, I'd say. Sometimes I barely can hear anything except for the bass, if frequency is too low. I don't really know if it's just my ears trying to save themselves or the driver is doing some low HZ, so no way to reproduce high frequency.
 
After I finished that post, I decided to plugin my old HD555's, and... oh dear, it so clear, crisp and flat, can listen forever. I don't really remember, but I believe they are old 120's. I primarily use 'em with Kawai digital piano and definitely will not be replacing them with bassy Sony's.
 
Then impedance is 24 ohms... I have 7g classic which has standard sound tract for 32 (stock buds are 32 ohms), so it's not a fit also, unless I want to crack the pod open again to put some heater in it to match the impedance to what amplifier circuit was designed for.
 
Again - these headphones are not HiFi/reference gear, you either like them or not, but for 300.. you'd better do.

To be fair, no-one here as far as I could see really promoted them as hi-fi or reference grade, just great headphones. Now that you elaborated on it, I kind of understand what you're looking for. You're looking for that hi-fi, crystal-clear flat sound that, unfortunately for you, isn't what mid-range Sony's seem to feature, nor does it really boast that. Sorry to say that it wasn't what you're looking for nonetheless.

 

[purk]

@ nahk,
 
I suggest you get the Senn HD-580 and a decent amp for it.  The 1A is a fun sounding headphones and is very efficient and sound good/fun out of portable device.  It is v-shape no doubt but it is executed very well.  I enjoyed mine when I had it but choose to return it due to buying/preferring the Z7.

 

[nahk]

Sennheiser for life!
 
One good thing about Sony's is that cable with 1-button remote actually works with iPod classic as a center button (1 click = play/pause; 2 clicks = forward; 3 clicks = previous). No volume rocker though, but still better than nothing. I already ordered cheap cable with 3 button remote, will mod Sony's stock cable with that one. Also planning to change this r-shaped jack to a straight neutrik, that plugs best to my jeans-pocketed iPod. Not sure if I will ever use it though... sticking with Yuin ear-buds, that have clearer sound and less head pressure.

 

[dazzerfong]

One good thing about Sony's is that cable with 1-button remote actually works with iPod classic as a center button (1 click = play/pause; 2 clicks = forward; 3 clicks = previous).

Nowadays, practically all phones use CTIA (or Apple, which is slightly different) standard, which most headsets adopt. Two reasons: no. 1, CTIA and the Apple standards are interswappable (minus the volume button), and no. 2: you can plug CTIA into non-headset jacks without any problems minus the remote (unlike OMTP). The only difference between CTIA and Apple's is that Apple included a patented volume control, hence why you can't use Apple volume controls on anything but Apple products, but the centre button remains functional. I'm not surprised that the button supports Apple products: if anything, they'll be suiciding themselves if not.