[YamiKeiren]

can someone give me difference between 1AM2 and 1ADAC??

 

[AllenWalker]

Just tested the Sony MDR-1AM2 and paired with AK SE100. It sounded very good and I really like the pairing. The best part was the MDR-1AM2 is very comfortable and light to wear. Surprisingly, I enjoyed them as compared to Flamenco for certain tracks. Maybe I am leaning towards headphones now

 

[Luigi Milazzo]

While very satisfied, has anyone compared this to momentu 2.0 ae and beoplay h6 2nd?

 

[Luigi Milazzo]

And the price goes down: 149 euro! I’ve returned my silver pair because of a strange squeecky sound from the plastic on the right earpad, so i now have the wonderful black pair without issues and 20 euro as account to the earstudio bluetooth dac amp

 

[Rob49]

Can someone confirm, that these are "on ear headphones" & not "over ear" ?

 

[monsieurfromag3]

And the price goes down: 149 euro! I’ve returned my silver pair because of a strange squeecky sound from the plastic on the right earpad, so i now have the wonderful black pair without issues and 20 euro as account to the earstudio bluetooth dac amp

149? That’s good! Is that at Mediamarkt? Can’t find it for less than 169€ in France - pretty low already.

Your pairing with Radsone’s Earstudio is a great idea. It is a good enough source, and neutral enough, to show the limitations of the MDR-1A (not M2); in short the overall response is slightly too dark. The Earstudio still brings plenty of detail out of the MDR-1A, and showcases those satisfying bass and low-mid textures very well, without too much bloat. Power is dished out with remarkable control, especially given the source’s diminutive size!

I’m intrigued by the M2’s improvements over the first 1A. Better definition in the lows, a touch more brilliance in the highs, and the same general signature? Sounds pretty good indeed. Especially since the M2 is already aligning with the 1A’s recent price cuts.

Will you be using the M2’s balanced cables? If so how will you handle the connection? I don’t find a lot of balanced 4.4 female to 2.5 male adapters that inspire confidence or are produced by reliable brands.

 

[god-bluff]

Can someone confirm, that these are "on ear headphones" & not "over ear" ?

They are over ear. If, like me, you like on ears then the MDR-10RC is what you need to look for

 

[Rob49]

They are over ear. If, like me, you like on ears then the MDR-10RC is what you need to look for

Thanks for that info. Someone posted on an Amazon review that they were "on ear". ( I actually started the MDR-10RC thread & i gave these to my friend, i prefer "over ear", so i may very well buy them, to pair with my TA-ZH1ES, that i received yesterday. Frustrating, that earlier this week, i think they were in the region of £169, i think ??....and now they are back above £200.

 

[Rob49]

What's the cheapest price these have been ? Silver one's £161.20 on Amazon. Is this a good price ? Looking to pair with TA-1ZHES, to hear balanced connection.

 

[pierezque]

I bought these when they came out and I paid 235 euro and, to be honest, I don't feel they are worth the price I paid 3 months ago. The price at which they retail now IMHO it's not a steal it's just the right price for these cans. Considering they lauched at the official price of 299 seeing the price cut in half in less than 6 months is quite painful for those like me who preordered.
These sony mdr-1am2 are probably one of the most lightweight and comfortable closed cans you can buy for this price but it comes at a cost: the materials and build quality are really cheap from the fake leather, which I don't expect to last very long, to the crackling plastic of the cups.
The sound in my opinion is nothing to write home about, at least if you compare it with cans in the 250-300 euro price range. 150 euro is the price to which these belongs: the bass remains on the boomy side and here the source with which you pair them will play an important role in making it better or worse. The mids are a little recessed for my tastes and the peak around 10k becomes annoying at times. To conclude, at the discounted price you find these now they might be well worth it for a lightweight set of portable cans to use on the go (they are damn easy to drive from any source), they might even be great for you if you listen to a lot of hip-hop and pop recordings but I find they don't do so well in the "rock land" or in genres where voices play a major role. I paired them with shanling m1 (a good pairing), hiby r3 (need to play with the MSEB dsp to reduce bass weight) and chord mojo (makes them sound better thanks to its controlled bass and "upfront" mids).
So don't get me wrong these are not bad for a closed set, they are just not 250 euros good IMO.

edit: oh, and the cable! Sony, why putting that stupid remote with mic on a set which pretends to be audiophile, even though the material of the cable is not bad the remote causes it to pick up a lot of microphonics when moving around and interferences from mobile phones

 

[AllenWalker]

I bought these when they came out and I paid 235 euro and, to be honest, I don't feel they are worth the price I paid 3 months ago. The price at which they retail now IMHO it's not a steal it's just the right price for these cans. Considering they lauched at the official price of 299 seeing the price cut in half in less than 6 months is quite painful for those like me who preordered.
These sony mdr-1am2 are probably one of the most lightweight and comfortable closed cans you can buy for this price but it comes at a cost: the materials and build quality are really cheap from the fake leather, which I don't expect to last very long, to the crackling plastic of the cups.
The sound in my opinion is nothing to write home about, at least if you compare it with cans in the 250-300 euro price range. 150 euro is the price to which these belongs: the bass remains on the boomy side and here the source with which you pair them will play an important role in making it better or worse. The mids are a little recessed for my tastes and the peak around 10k becomes annoying at times. To conclude, at the discounted price you find these now they might be well worth it for a lightweight set of portable cans to use on the go (they are damn easy to drive from any source), they might even be great for you if you listen to a lot of hip-hop and pop recordings but I find they don't do so well in the "rock land" or in genres where voices play a major role. I paired them with shanling m1 (a good pairing), hiby r3 (need to play with the MSEB dsp to reduce bass weight) and chord mojo (makes them sound better thanks to its controlled bass and "upfront" mids).TTru
So don't get me wrong these are not bad for a closed set, they are just not 250 euros good IMO.

edit: oh, and the cable! Sony, why putting that stupid remote with mic on a set which pretends to be audiophile, even though the material of the cable is not bad the remote causes it to pick up a lot of microphonics when moving around and interferences from mobile phones

True, I bought the new MDR-1AM2 at around $185 and considerably cheaper than other places. It was a good bargain and certainly dependent on sources. Using the WM1Z and SE100, it sounded super good and lively. Of course, it won't reach Denon level but I feel it is better than the previous gen. Hard to find good ones at this price

 

[Luigi Milazzo]

I think that the mids aren’t recessed at all, and in a direct comparison with pinnacle p1, it fleshes out the voice with meaty presence and texture, not smooth like a hd650 but more textured. The 10k peak is so subtle the it can be heard as additional air, never scratchy sound. I payed 149 on italian amazon, and for this price the m2 doesn’t have any competitor. Can you list better option under 400?

 

[superuser1]

I think that the mids aren’t recessed at all, and in a direct comparison with pinnacle p1, it fleshes out the voice with meaty presence and texture, not smooth like a hd650 but more textured. The 10k peak is so subtle the it can be heard as additional air, never scratchy sound. I payed 149 on italian amazon, and for this price the m2 doesn’t have any competitor. Can you list better option under 400?

Bob Seager and Chris Cornell would sound just about right then.

 

[pierezque]

I think that the mids aren’t recessed at all, and in a direct comparison with pinnacle p1, it fleshes out the voice with meaty presence and texture, not smooth like a hd650 but more textured. The 10k peak is so subtle the it can be heard as additional air, never scratchy sound. I payed 149 on italian amazon, and for this price the m2 doesn’t have any competitor. Can you list better option under 400?

If you pay attention to my post my impressions are expressed in light of the intended price positioning by sony and the price I paid (probably bought them too early). There's no doubt that, at the price you paid, these are a good bargain but that's half the MSRP at launch! Also if they price has settled down to around 150 that's IMO where they belong. They can now be bought on amazon.it for even less (125 euro used) which is great.

We could argue for days about the sound as different sources, tastes, music preferences and reference headphones imply different opinions and expectations. I listed my sources so that people with similar setup might find it useful.

In the end I have little experience with closed cans and my reference open headphone (sennheiser hd 660s) is IMO in another league and price to be compared to this sony.

That said for the purpose I bought it I find it more than adequate though I feel I paid it too much even more in light of the price cuts it experienced (I'm sure you can understand my frustration) and of the build quality which, as good as it is, remains cheap. Also, I agree that it's hard to find a good set of closed cans at this price (that's why I bought it) but honestly I doubt that it can kill closed headphones close to 400 euro.

All things considered I think its a good package overall but I see no miracle from sony here.

 

[Rob49]

Silver one's now £151.20 on Amazon.