[Sonywalkmanuser]

There's a bass vent on top of the ear cup. maybe some modding can be done to tame the bass.

 

[xeizo]

There's a bass vent on top of the ear cup. maybe some modding can be done to tame the bass.

Possibly, let's hope it tames itself with some hours under the belt. On the positive side of things, nothing nowhere is harsh, it's really a silky smooth sound!

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

I think Sony tuned more bass in so that when you use this headphone outdoors, the bass wont be drowned out by external environmental noises.

This Headphone is so much more detailed and smoother than it's brother the WH-1000XM3, which I believe uses the same 40mm LCP driver.

 

[xeizo]

Well, I tamed the bass a bit, it seems these cans really needs near zero output impedance from the headphone amplifier to not bloat the bass. Much like IEMs, it's sort of a gigantic IEM with it's extremly efficient 16 Ohms driver.

My Presonus HP4 has ca 30 Ohms output impedance, which apparently bloats the bass while the upper registers still sounds good.

Solution, I had a old original Topping NX1 from 2015 laying around, which do have near zero output impedance. So I put it inbetween the HP4 and the 1AM2, no more bloat, bass is pretty much like from a reference can. Midrange/voices also crept forward and closer, and the soundstage got even bigger. Overall THD is probably a little more, it's not as super clean anymore and a little less dynamic. But the frequency response is obviously much better. Still very smooth, silky treble.

Interesting.

So confirmed, these are very picky and probably scale well with the right gear. Personally I will probably use these mostly with the LG G7 when out and about and hence it's "Rock" sound.

But I will try the LG G7 with the Topping NX1, it may be a killer travel combo.

 

[xeizo]

Playing "Scarred" from the 1994 Dream Theater "Awake", sound stage is huge with well defined instruments, each at it's proper place in the soundstage using the NX1. Good cans for progressive rock.

 

[xeizo]

Well the Topping NX1 drives the MDR-1AM2 admirably, addictive sound, hard to stop listen. While there is still pretty much bass, it's very detailed, it's easy to hear everything going on in the bass tracks. Happy so far!

 

[Meshaboo]

Hi @Meshaboo,

Happy Holidays to you as well though I am not in the US.

Anyway, the others who already answered have it right, unless your DAP supports a 3.5 mm Balanced, the plug will not work properly so regular or unbalanced 3.5 mm is recommended.

Contrary to popular belief, 3.5 mm Balanced won't necesarily harm anything unless there is an improper ground in the cable &/or source device has high voltage & current.
The distorted sound you hear is due to the audio signal being misaligned by the extra pole or ring on the plug by high voltage &/or current, this is a definite no no as you will ruin your headphones & DAP by creating an electrical short.
Under normal circumstances, depending on how a 3.5 mm balanced adapter or cable is wired, if plugged into an unbalanced 3.5 mm socket, only one side should be audible, not the other, this is usually the left though sometimes it is the right.

As a final note, if unsure in future, just use an unbalanced 3.5 mm in future.

Hope you have a great day !

Aaaaahhh thank you SO MUCH for explaining this to me! Well, I don’t know if I should keep it or return it since it came all the way from Hong Kong. I now have the NW-A55 but it doesn’t have a balanced jack. I might just send it back since I have no immediate use for it. I just hope I don’t have to pay return shipping lol

I had a great day and I hope you do as well!

 

[Mhog55]

So I received my silver MDR 1AM2, can't use it on anything but my LG G7 at the moment as I don't have a proper adapter to 6.35mm. Using a normal adapter I get mono or out of phase because of Sonys choice to supply a cable with a built in microphone(probably why it is discounted, that mic is a discomfort for those interested only in the SQ).

I will try to find a solution for a adapter so I can use other sources.

Anyway, back to the LG G7 which is no slouch thanks to it's ESS DAC with a built in high power amp.

Using Tidal Masters on the "Master" setting, no eq and a slow digital filter it sounds silky smooth and with impact/slam. Really good sound. There is no big soundstage, it's a intimate but very detailed sound with great separation. It's definetely less colored than my WH-H900N but the sound signature is similar. WH-H900N uses a 40mm Titanium coated driver, 1AM2 uses a 40mm Aluminium coated driver, it's not the exact same driver while It's the same house sound, but 1AM2 is less boxy. The bass is very deep and very clean, but the mid bass misses some texture sounding a bit too smooth. Drums hits hard, it's a fun sound. Midrange is also smooth, not too aggressive, heavy metal fares well as the distorted guitars doesn't gets too in the face. It's not a totally natural sound, but rather painted in some flattering colors. These will not do as monitor cans, but they seem to do very well with Rock and Roll! Bass is clearly too heavy to be of reference quality, but it's not totally off the mark as when visiting live concerts the bass is often way too heavy as well. These sound much like a large rock PA. Very comfortable as far as I can tell, I have large ears and a large head but no problems. Gets a lot hotter than velour pads though.

Oh, and the Treble, it's fine grained but geared too much towards higher frequencies, Cymbals doesn't reach down in the upper midrange as they should and so misses some meat. Probably great for EDM but not natural.

Overall a great addition to the stable, the latest incarnation of MDR-V6 if you like. I have the MDR-ZX700 as well, which also sounds nice, ZX700 has more reference like bass levels but both midrange and treble is a bit more harsh and there is some resonance from the cups while MDR 1AM2 sounds way better damped.

It's easy to drive, the LG G7 can get to absolutely ear deafining levels.

Any advice on how/where to get a proper adapter for a normal 6.35 mm(1/4") out?

I'm still considering picking these up. I like moderately forward mids, especially for heavy guitar work. Hopefully they aren't too tame or laid back. I hate attending rock concerts where the bass over powers everything else. These cans can't be quite that bad, can they?

 

[xeizo]

I'm still considering picking these up. I like moderately forward mids, especially for heavy guitar work. Hopefully they aren't too tame or laid back. I hate attending rock concerts where the bass over powers everything else. These cans can't be quite that bad, can they?

With the wrong amp I can see these having too much bass all the time, but as I said the bass was tamed to reasonable levels using the NX1 which has very low impedance. Also guitars regained grit, and cymbals regained the upper midrange. If you have a very low impedance amp like ODAC/OD2 I would say there is a chance you will like these. Very hard hitting and dynamic, so fun for rock.

On a more normal amp these has too much bass, are too soft and has too thin treble.

 

[Mhog55]

With the wrong amp I can see these having too much bass all the time, but as I said the bass was tamed to reasonable levels using the NX1 which has very low impedance. Also guitars regained grit, and cymbals regained the upper midrange. If you have a very low impedance amp like ODAC/OD2 I would say there is a chance you will like these. Very hard hitting and dynamic, so fun for rock.

On a more normal amp these has too much bass, are too soft and has too thin treble.

I would be using them on the go / at the gym with my dap. My Opus#1s has pretty decent power. 3.2 vrms on the single ended side, and 3.4 vrms from the balanced side. I think I'm gonna grab a pair, especially if they sound as good as you say with rock music. I'd like a secondary portable to my Msr7b.

 

[xeizo]

I used them out and about today with only the LG G7: I can confirm what was said earlier in the thread: bass levels are probably adjusted to fit in public with continuos low frequency background noise. Using them outdoors, the bass seems pretty much right, while it's too heavy for home use. I listened to the full album by TOOL "Fear Inoculum" and it sounded pretty impressive. Outdoors, with the LG G7, the only weakness is the slightly tinny treble which by all means disappears on the PC producing a full treble. It's the G7 which is insufficient to drive the cans fully without help. Haven't tested the NX1 on the G7 yet, but I'm pretty sure it's an improvement.

edit. confirmation about PC sound, same album on the PC sounds much better. The Topping NX1 is a small beast for low impedance cans!(never impressed me on high impedance cans)

 

[Fickle-Friend]

okay I just got these in, I'm running them from the Airist R2R and THX AAA 789 and i'm very pleased so far. They sound better than my 1000xm3s. I shall be running these balanced soon with the awesome Fiio Q5s. So for the THX 789 do I get the fiio 4.4 to 2.5 adapter then get the 2.5 to XLR adapter from Massdrop? How have you guys found the sound in balanced mode?

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

On the ZX507 walkman, there's a very noticeable jump(speaking from my audiophile point of view) in sound quality for MDR-1AM2 switching from single ended(50mw) to balanced output(200mw).

Soundstage is the biggest improvement, now It feels more natural to the ears(single ended feels too closed in), especially noticeable in Live recorded music
Transients attack at a faster rate
Bass has more impact
Mids has improved clarity, easier to notice micro details
Treble tonality is improved to a notch brighter, not as dark sounding
Overall I would say balanced mode makes a great improvement to the overall musicality of the headphone.
1AM2 does get shouty if you increase the volume pass 85 out of 120 on high gain.

The thing about this 1AM2 is that even with non-audiophile sources like mobile phones, it already does sound really nice. But once you pair it up to a decent audiophile equipment, it does scale very well. It's not top-tier audiophile sound but given it's price, I would say you are already getting sound quality that can rival cans that cost 5 times more. Even against the MDR-Z7M2, the 1AM2 has sonic qualities that is better than Z7M2, like a more exciting mid-bass and not as dark sounding.

To be very honest, I prefer the sound signature of the 1AM2 over HD800/700/650/600, Audeze, Hifiman and Audiotechnica MSR7/M50. The 1AM2 just works excellent across every genre of music you throw at it, the other headphones I mentioned all have weakness that make them perform poorly in certain types of music.

There's something very special about the vocal reproduction on this headphone with the ZX507 Balanced mode. It's so intimately lush and warm and smooth sounding. Your ears and brain just enjoys the naturalness of the music without having to "process" anything as the musical element doesn't move/jump too much around your ears as the imaging is pretty focused. It's so relaxing to listen to this headphone.

 

[xeizo]

The NX1 has 100mW at 32 Ohms, it's certainly powerful enough I can't even max out the low gain setting before it gets brutally loud. There is no clipping whatsoever. The NX1 is much much better than HP out on the LG G7, tighter bass at more normal levels, much larger soundstage and a correct sounding treble.

Strange the NX1 works so well with these, I found it no more than ok with higher impedance cans.

What's powering the NX1 is totally unknown, it's a Chinese black box. The original procuct page from 2015 stated it is a OPA1611 but that can't be true as it is the wrong pin number on the chip. I saw one forum suggest it's a Soundmaxx chip commonly used by Creative. Anyway, the marking is erased on the chip capsule. Fishy as anything. But it do sound very good, and has extremely low noise.

Still happy, it's one of the most powerful /dynamic sounding cans I've heard. Really hard hitting, no fluff.

 

[Mhog55]

I used them out and about today with only the LG G7: I can confirm what was said earlier in the thread: bass levels are probably adjusted to fit in public with continuos low frequency background noise. Using them outdoors, the bass seems pretty much right, while it's too heavy for home use. I listened to the full album by TOOL "Fear Inoculum" and it sounded pretty impressive. Outdoors, with the LG G7, the only weakness is the slightly tinny treble which by all means disappears on the PC producing a full treble. It's the G7 which is insufficient to drive the cans fully without help. Haven't tested the NX1 on the G7 yet, but I'm pretty sure it's an improvement.

edit. confirmation about PC sound, same album on the PC sounds much better. The Topping NX1 is a small beast for low impedance cans!(never impressed me on high impedance cans)

Did you have the phone in high impedance mode? That phone should be more than capable of bringing out the full potential of these cans.