[xeizo]

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.

No, but it shouldn't be necessary as it's just a boost feature för high impedance cans. 1AM2 is very easy to drive. I'm more leaning towards the ESS DAC actually being subpar, 1AM2 is revealing enough to expose it's weaknesses.

The weakness being treble which lacks body and doesn't extend down in frequency on cymbals, mid is good, bass is good but a little raised in level.

On the PC I use the brand new proprietary Yamaha 32-bit DSP/DAC inside the UR22C, chances are it's much better sounding. It sounds very good on all my cans.

But I can't be sure until I've tested the G7 with NX1, haven't had the time yet, it will reveal if it's the DAC or the HP out on the G7 which really is subpar.

 

[xeizo]

Now I have tested the LG G7 with the Topping NX1, it's a fantastic improvement! It sounds almost identical as to how it does from the PC, and much better then the G7 headphone out.

Not bassy, only deep, powerful, tight and with great impact, mids remains well defined and not harsh, treble extends fully from bottom to top in frequency as it should, not tinny, and the soundstage is huge for being a closed can with imaging pinpointed.

So it isn't the ESS DAC of the G7 being the bottleneck. Obviously the G7 can't drive the 1AM2 right, only loud. The DAC in the G7 is much better than it's HP out. And the 1AM2 is a very picky headphone which scales hugely with different amping. I'm pretty sure a very low impedance of the headphone out is a necessity for sounding great, I would guess all HP amps with near zero Ohms output impedance will sound very good. I would also guess the G7 has more than 10 Ohms which seems to be too much for the 1AM2 to remain reasonably uncoloured.

Classic/Progressive Rock sounds fantastic with these!

 

[JON78]

Hi all.

These headphones need burn, the first time you hear them just out of the box, note that you had to raise the volume quite a thing that after a few hours did not need to climb much.

Another important thing that you notice, is that at first it sounds too warm, you do not hear so much the highs and middles, (I had to equalize to give it some high and high middles) it takes about 50 or 100 hours for the sound to open and Now I do not need to equalize, the sound that comes out is perfect and balanced.

The source to which you plug the headphones is also important, but that happens in general with all headphones, there are warmer sources and other cooler that you have to take into account when trying headphones because they can give the wrong idea of how they sound. I would try several sources just in case.

Grettings

 

[xeizo]

Some interesting observations, already established a pair of chains sounding great:

1. LG G7 > Topping NX1 > MDR-1AM2, portable rig sounding excellent!

2. UR22C > Balanced cables > Presonus HP4 > MDR-1AM2, desktop rig sounding fantastic, a little too powerful bass from the Presonus which can be tamed by inserting the Topping NX1 between the Presonus and the headphones to get to a lower output impedance.
(the headphone out on the UR22C sounds trash, the balanced line out is much better in exactly everything, using the Presonus for picking up the balanced line signal is essential)

But I have several computers doing different stuff and I may want to be listening when working on each of them; I have a USB 2.0 4-way KVM-switch, the UR22C sort of excludes itself because being High Speed USB 3.1. It is backwards compatible, but I have it connected directly to my DAW for the lowest possible latency which USB 3.1 improves. Good I still have it's older brother in the original UR22 connected to the aforementioned KVM-switch, and it is activated on all the PC:s.

So, I can use the old UR22 on all my computers without moving cables, bad thing is it's headphone out is even more trash than on the UR22C. The solution; as I always have it connected to my Yamaha-mixer, for being able to use active monitors on all the PC:s, I can use the headphone out on the Yamaha-mixer instead.

It has two advantages.
One is, the UR22 is connected to the mixer with balanced cables from it's line out, which is way superior to it's headphone out.
Two is. the mixer has a much better headphone out, sounding much cleaner.
The bad is, even though being very clean the mixer hp-out is not very powerful. So, the final solution for my "universal" headphone listening on all the computers is to use the Topping NX1 once again, this time from the headphone out on the mixer. Great move. It sounds extremely good, very balanced, very powerful and very clean. Like it should sound from a professional mixer. The old CS4270 DAC in the old UR22 isn't bad at all, it sounds amazing, coherent and full.

What I don't understand is, why all non audiophile gear even professional stuff has such subpar headphone outs. Barely better than for for checking if the unit actually works. Line outputs are usually balanced and sounds as good as it can, but there is no love at all for headphones. Everything is set up for the use of active studio monitors, not for cans.

In conclusion: It's safe to say I believe the MDR-1AM2 now sounds great from all my PC:s, and from Android. And the burn in looks to have started by now, bass is clearly more balanced than it was from the start, and treble is even more silky smooth. But, by using "the wrong" headphone out, the sound collapses. These phones are VERY picky, but they also scale unbelievably well and can sound like totally different cans depending on what's driving.

At it's best for me, it now reaches maybe the best sound I have ever heard from a pair of cans. Can't stop listening. It sounds much like a closed version of the Sennheiser HD600. Same type of sound, which is to be expected, if the goal by the designers is "natural". But more fine grained in the details and even more smooth. Bass is also more powerful and certainly cleaner.
Additional benefit is, these cans are very light, very comfortable and are portable.

But being driven by subpar gear, the sound IS subpar. Possibly a lot of people out there not realizing the potential of these cans, because they haven't had a chance to.

 

[egg1111115]

Been following along with the recent discussion but am pretty nooby about audio gear...I currently use a 2019 MacBook Pro 13" ...would an affordable DAC with balanced out be any sort of significant upgrade from just using the jack? Like something like the ifs Zen or iBasso DC01.

 

[xeizo]

Been following along with the recent discussion but am pretty nooby about audio gear...I currently use a 2019 MacBook Pro 13" ...would an affordable DAC with balanced out be any sort of significant upgrade from just using the jack? Like something like the ifs Zen or iBasso DC01.

I do not know those exact DAC models but I'm pretty sure they are a big upgrade, since laptop outs even on a Mac are nothing to write home about. They can play back, and that's about it.

What you should look for in the specs on what you will be buying, is the output impedance of the headphone out. It should be close to zero for driving the MDR-1AM2 in a great way. If it's 10 Ohms or more it means the sound will be colored as the frequency curve can't stay straight anymore. These Sony's have a unusual low impedance of 16 Ohms for a full sized can, a old rule of thumb is the impedance of the amp should be 8 times lower than the impedance of the cans. That is 2 Ohms or below. The NX1 I'm currently using is measuring 0.2 Ohms which is safe.

 

[egg1111115]

I do not know those exact DAC models but I'm pretty sure they are a big upgrade, since laptop outs even on a Mac are nothing to write home about. They can play back, and that's about it.

What you should like at the specs on what you will be buying is the output impedance of the headphone out, it should be close to zero for driving the MDR-1AM2 in a great way. If it's 10 Ohms or more it means the sound will be colored as the frequency curve can't stay straight anymore. These Sony's have a unusual low impedance of 16 Ohms for a full sized can, a old rule of thumb is the impedance of the amp should be 8 times lower than the impedance of the cans. That is 2 Ohms or below.

I don't know much about them either, but I was looking for the cheapest ones with a balanced out (either 2.5 mm where I'd need an adapter or 4.4 mm) that still have decent reviews.

I've heard most people online say that Macs have pretty decent sound card and that you most likely won't need a DAC ( Example: https://drop.com/talk/341/if-you-have-a-mac-you-dont-need-a-dac). Or at least you won't see any significant improvement with it. I'm listening right now on Apple Music and it sounds pretty great to my ear (significantly better than a Dell XPS I had to use for work a few months ago at least).

 

[xeizo]

I don't know much about them either, but I was looking for the cheapest ones with a balanced out (either 2.5 mm where I'd need an adapter or 4.4 mm) that still have decent reviews.

I've heard most people online say that Macs have pretty decent sound card and that you most likely won't need a DAC ( Example: https://drop.com/talk/341/if-you-have-a-mac-you-dont-need-a-dac). Or at least you won't see any significant improvement with it. I'm listening right now on Apple Music and it sounds pretty great to my ear (significantly better than a Dell XPS I had to use for work a few months ago at least).

It could be the Mac actually has a very low impedance already, in which case it should be sufficient for the Sony cans. You should try to find the specs. And you should always trust your ears, if it sounds good enough it is good enough. Upgrading is done because something is wrong and can be made better.

About the DAC itself part of the equation, differences between different DACs are miniscule unless something is fundamentally wrong with one of them. Differences between how different amps matches a pair of cans are much larger than between different DACs. The important part to know about your Mac is not what DAC it uses internally, but how it's integrated headphone amp is configured. It can potentially be well done, as you say it sounds good. Or rather, if it sounds good it is well done.

 

[egg1111115]

It could be the Mac actually has a very low impedance already, in which case it should be sufficient for the Sonys cans. You should try to find the specs. And you should always trust your ears, if it sounds good enough it is good enough. Upgrading is done because something is wrong and can be made better.

Hm...interesting. Thanks for the reply.

I guess I'm just trying to find a use for this extra balanced cable rather than just tossing it to the side when I might not even need to use it.

 

[xeizo]

Hm...interesting. Thanks for the reply.

I guess I'm just trying to find a use for this extra balanced cable rather than just tossing it to the side when I might not even need to use it.

If it sounds good already, you certainly have no need for it. I suppose Sony supplies it as they also market DAPs with a fitting socket on them

edit. Here's measurements from a old Macbook Air:

http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/12/apple-macbook-air-5g.html

output impedance is 0.31 Ohms, and everything else is pretty good. It seems unlikely a 2019 model would be worse.

 

[PaganDL]

Hm...interesting. Thanks for the reply.

I guess I'm just trying to find a use for this extra balanced cable rather than just tossing it to the side when I might not even need to use it.

@egg1111115,

An easy way to use that balanced cable is simply to get a 4.4 mm to 3.5 mm adapter from penonofficial.com

Just remember, to choose regular or unbalanced 3.5 mm, not the 3.5 balanced as that won't work unless your source is balanced.

Benefits to use the balanced cable this way are subjective & personal so keep that in mind, so really the only obvious thing to you may be just the audio signal being stronger & perhaps a lower noise floor.

Hope this makes sense for you.
Feel free to ask more.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[faivecr]

Hello. I used to change headphones twice a year, always looking for the "better sound". Since I bought these headphones I just stopped doing that because I thought they sound perfect for my listening, being all from my iPhone with Spotify at BEST and Tidal at MASTER/HI FI. Unfortunately, last week while playing with my daughter I accidentally seated on my headphone and broke them. Before buying them again, for my hardware listening (no amp), is there a BETTER option, better meaning the same timbre/voice/sound of these headphones bust just better without needing external amplification? Thank you very much for your insight!

P.S. I bought some years ago the Sony MDR-Z7M but the sound didn't impressed me and I returned them. I see now there is a M2 version. Does this version provides a different sound signature? Thank you.

 

[PaganDL]

Hello. I used to change headphones twice a year, always looking for the "better sound". Since I bought these headphones I just stopped doing that because I thought they sound perfect for my listening, being all from my iPhone with Spotify at BEST and Tidal at MASTER/HI FI. Unfortunately, last week while playing with my daughter I accidentally seated on my headphone and broke them. Before buying them again, for my hardware listening (no amp), is there a BETTER option, better meaning the same timbre/voice/sound of these headphones bust just better without needing external amplification? Thank you very much for your insight!

P.S. I bought some years ago the Sony MDR-Z7M but the sound didn't impressed me and I returned them. I see now there is a M2 version. Does this version provides a different sound signature? Thank you.

Hi @faivecr,

Subjectively & personally, 1AM2 would still be what I suggest & recommend for your needs, hard to go wrong with that.

While I haven't heard the Z7M, I have demo the Z7M2, honestly, as far as overall sound quality is concerned, I just stick with 1AM2.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

Z7m2 requires better amplification. Smartphones won't make the cut.
I suggest getting 1am2 as the Z7M2 cost significantly more but doesn't sound significantly better out of portable devices.

 

[symo]

Hi all

Have anybody tried 1am2's with Ruizu a50 or
Sony NW-A20 Series walkmans?

Are those players able to power these cans sufficiently for a great sound?

Thank you.