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.
I suffer from eczema too. I know not everybody gets it exactly the same, so take this with a pinch of salt... but I have no problems at all with the pleather on the MDR-1A.
It's almost completely odorless. I know velour pads make me itch so maybe it's best to avoid those, but the pleather Sony use is not cheap or nasty. There's definitely some quality variation in pleather. It's not as cheap or sticky as entry level Sennheiser pleather, but put side-by-side, not obviously like real leather that a Sennheiser Momentum 2 has. Both have the same skin thickness and quality stitching.
Some say pleather has an advantage that it won't react to moisture as much as real leather. So while real leather does feel nicer to touch with your fingers, both feel the same on ears, and both still get warm after a while. I wouldn't take bets on one lasting longer than the other either.
I suffer from eczema too. I know not everybody gets it exactly the same, so take this with a pinch of salt... but I have no problems at all with the pleather on the MDR-1A.
It's almost completely odorless. I know velour pads make me itch so maybe it's best to avoid those, but the pleather Sony use is not cheap or nasty. There's definitely some quality variation in pleather. It's not as cheap or sticky as entry level Sennheiser pleather, but put side-by-side, not obviously like real leather that a Sennheiser Momentum 2 has. Both have the same skin thickness and quality stitching.
Some say pleather has an advantage that it won't react to moisture as much as real leather. So while real leather does feel nicer to touch with your fingers, both feel the same on ears, and both still get warm after a while. I wouldn't take bets on one lasting longer than the other either.
Thanks for sharing your experience. Hopefully it'll be the same for me as for you. Eczema can be a real burden on so many aspects of life, especially the constant recurrence is disenchanting.
Fingers crossed the pinch of salt was not needed =)
I have this MDR-1A and M50x. Just comparing the sound volumes on these and have found the MDR-1A much harder to drive than the M50x, even though its rated at 24ohms compared to the M50x's 38ohms.
I'm using a MacBook Pro 13" Retina 2012 and iPhone 6+ to compare. Have to jack up the volume on the Sony to get as much volume level as the M50x. Are my headphones broken?
I have this MDR-1A and M50x. Just comparing the sound volumes on these and have found the MDR-1A much harder to drive than the M50x, even though its rated at 24ohms compared to the M50x's 38ohms.
I'm using a MacBook Pro 13" Retina 2012 and iPhone 6+ to compare. Have to jack up the volume on the Sony to get as much volume level as the M50x. Are my headphones broken?
Yes, but sensitivity is also important. While the MDR-1A's sensitivity is 105 dB/mW, the M50x's one is 99 dB to an unknown factor. It's entirely possible the MDR-1A is simply not as easy to drive as the M50x.
Just got these bad boys. Overall I like them. Very comfortable, one thing I notice is that the bass sounds a bit boomy. I read some reviews that said something similar about a mid bass hump and flabby bass but I didn't really understand what they were trying to describe until I tried them on.
For me the bas almost feels like the sub your friend put in his crappy car that that made the doors rattle... it doesn't go quite deep enough but it makes a hell of a racket. Its not that bad but that's the best way I can describe it. I'm not even close to an audophile but I spend a lot of time listening to music and have gone through more headphones than I should have trying to find the "perfect" sound. These come pretty close so I'm going to hold on to them for a while it think.
I think they're a good headphone for rap and R&B which is what I mostly listen too. I also thought they sounded great with my jazz and funk tracks.
Just got these bad boys. Overall I like them. Very comfortable, one thing I notice is that the bass sounds a bit boomy. I read some reviews that said something similar about a mid bass hump and flabby bass but I didn't really understand what they were trying to describe until I tried them on.
For me the bas almost feels like the sub your friend put in his crappy car that that made the doors rattle... it doesn't go quite deep enough but it makes a hell of a racket. Its not that bad but that's the best way I can describe it. I'm not even close to an audophile but I spend a lot of time listening to music and have gone through more headphones than I should have trying to find the "perfect" sound. These come pretty close so I'm going to hold on to them for a while it think.
I think they're a good headphone for rap and R&B which is what I mostly listen too. I also thought they sounded great with my jazz and funk tracks.
I don't have these, but someone on here suggested cutting cutting a few db at 125, 250 and 500 hz as a fix to the issue you've described. Apparently, that makes all the difference.
Yes Sony's idea of bass on the MDR-1A is almost exactly like they put the sound of a subwoofer in an untreated room into the headphones (Sony's version of room feel) because you get that "pleasing" delayed resonance after the thump (room reflections) and it really warms up even the driest of recordings. [One of the graphs on Floyd Toole's lecture looks remarkably like the frequency plots for the MDR-1A]
The downside is, if the recording already is quite bass heavy you just end up with mud. So it's hit and miss on some music.
Saying that, I've had them for a while now, and I've been slowly reducing my cuts. Now all I have is -2dB cuts at 100hz and 200hz. I no longer cut anything at 500hz... I think some would say; the bass is tightening. I.e. the bleed has moved lower, away from the lower-mid-range... it does line up with what people typically say about burn-in.
I've also played around with the bass ports; covering them in various ways does positively reduce bass bloat, yes but! It also has a negative impact on airiness of the sound.
I decided I'm not better than the expert engineers at Sony and decided to leave them uncovered, as I want maximum possible unrestricted air in my sound. I think EQ cuts are a better way of solving the bass bloat if you want too.
And if you really don't like bass, a -4dB shelf cut at 250hz downwards takes a huge lot of pressure off the driver and will benefit everything, but then again, just buy a planar magnetic if you want that kind of sound. I've taken the approach of small tweaks being best.
I did find the best solution to curing the wind whittle though; that was cutting out some medium density foam and filling up the top insert. Inspired by the foam inserts they give you plug up the bass port on some hi-fi speakers. However, since I don't take these headphones outside I found no reason to do this.
I wouldn't sell them though, I knew they were keepers from the moment I heard them, fastest I've ever been through the "do I keep them" phrase lol. I've been down the neutral headphone route and done my A B tests. The MDR-1A is my end game headphone for at least, a couple of years.
While I often wish I could get rid of the boom in some vocals, I also know, out of all the headphones I went through, only the MDR-1A managed to make the music I love exciting again. I can't put these technical issues in the way of something that overall, is making a more substantial difference in my enjoyment.
The bass isn't necessarily a bad thing. It was just more of an observation.
If I run them through my Fiio E12 with the bass boost switched on I quite like the sound it evens out the bass a bit adding more to the sub bass. I listen to a lot of hip-hop and I find it gives you the nightclub feel. I don't notice the bass hump on my jazz or other genres so it works out fine for me. I'll be keeping these till they break.
I'm not an audiophile or anything like that but if anyone is considering these headphones and can't demo them I think its something that they need to watch out for. Like I said, reading the reviews, the description of the bass by reviewers didn't do a good job of describing that aspect of the sound profile (to my mind anyway).
The bass isn't necessarily a bad thing. It was just more of an observation.
If I run them through my Fiio E12 with the bass boost switched on I quite like the sound it evens out the bass a bit adding more to the sub bass. I listen to a lot of hip-hop and I find it gives you the nightclub feel. I don't notice the bass hump on my jazz or other genres so it works out fine for me. I'll be keeping these till they break.
I'm not an audiophile or anything like that but if anyone is considering these headphones and can't demo them I think its something that they need to watch out for. Like I said, reading the reviews, the description of the bass by reviewers didn't do a good job of describing that aspect of the sound profile (to my mind anyway).
I find these headphones to be a bit picky on music. Sometimes a bit loose and crossing to the mids, and sometimes punchy tight. Bass boost on my HA-2 makes it much boomier.
Is the DAC really the only difference (with the DAC disabled, it will sound identical to the regular 1A)? If so, having the internal DAC option isn't so bad I suppose (although the additional $100 stings a bit
So I was cross-shopping the MDR-1A/Momentum 2/M-100 when I noticed that the MDR-1A has been discontinued by Sony (yet the MDR-1ADAC version is still for sale)?
I was thinking the Sony sounded like a winner but it's odd they've already discontinued it. Is the DAC really the only difference (with the DAC disabled, it will sound identical to the regular 1A)?
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