john53
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 16, 2009
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This is a review I wrote for the Sony MDR 1R closed back circumaural headphones.
Everybody’s experience,taste and hearing is different,so this review is just my personal opinion on these headphones.
Music preferences: 60’s -70’s - 80’s - 90’s- 00’s pop,rock,electro/new wave,disco,ballads/love songs,Electronic Dance Music,some Greek popular and traditional music,and a bit Classical.
My equipment :
Sony DVP NS 705V dvd/sacd player ->monster interlink 200 interconnect cable-> Musical Fidelity X CAN V8 headphone amplifier (with stock tubes & power supply)
Apple ipod nano 5g.
Most of my music is from original cd’s,and some are mp3’s (various quality).
ipod files are in apple lossless and some mp3’s too.
So,let’s go to the review
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type:Closed,dynamic
Frequency response: 4 - 80.000 hz
Impendance : 48 ohm at 1 Khz
Sensitivity : 105 db/mW
Weight: Approx 240g (without cord)
PACKAGING/INCLUDED ITEMS
The Sony MDR 1R comes in a nice box,which reminds me the one of my sennheiser hd600,but is a bit smaller.Inside the box there is something like velvet fabric,which is nice.Unfortunatelly,you can put the headphones in the box,only if the cable is not connected to the headphones.
The box also have some space on the other side (the side you open up)which is covered with some paper,and there you can put the cables etc.
A nice carrying pouch is also included,which have a small socket inside for the cables.
Two cables come in the packaging,one with ipod/iphone remote/microphone control,and one without.The non remote cable is reffered as “limited offer”,at least that’s what is written in my packaging,so I’m not sure if it’s avalaible now with new 1R’s.Both cables terminate at 3.5mm jack.(and the other end where it connects to the headphones is 3.5mm too)
I would like the non remote cable longer,both cables have the same length (1.2 m),which is short for home use with an amp.
No 6.5mm adaptor is included.
Some Instructions and warranty papers can also be found inside the box.
BUILD QUALITY
I personally find the Sony MDR 1R to have good build quality overall. The headband and earpads are pleather.It’s good quality pleather though,it’s nice and soft.
The other parts of the headphone are plastic (I think) ,except the earcup with the sony logo,which I believe is metal,because sometimes it feels cold when I touch it.
The headband adjustment clicks very nice to the various positions.
(Jack Rattle Issue) :
My pair has the jack rattle issue.The jack is a bit loose where it connects to the headphone,and it’s making a little cracking sound there because of this sometimes.To be honest that’s not a big problem for me,but I guess somebody else may find it annoying.Otherwise,the connection there is quite secure.(sometimes I accidentally pulled the cord,and it stayed in place).
The cable is a bit microphonic,but not much.
LOOKS
The headphones are very beautifull and modern looking.
They also look nice on the head,so someone could use them outside without looking funny.
You can choose the silver/brown version instead of black/red,although I'm not sure about the availability in each country.
COMFORT
The Sony MDR 1R are quite comfortable,and the soft earpads cover the ears nicely,but if you have big ears that stick out a bit,then they may touch the driver and be uncomfortable after a while.
Anyway,if you have normal sized and shaped ears,I find these headphones to be very comfortable for a closed circumaural design with pleather pads.
ISOLATION
The isolation is decent,but it could be a bit better. For comparison,shure srh840 has better isolation.
PORTABILITY
The headphones are easy to drive straight out of portable devices,and also folds flat,which is a plus if you want to use it outside and put it in the carrying pouch,or in a bag etc.
But you have to be carefull,because when it’s in flat position,the plastic arms that hold the earcups touch to each other and you may get scratches there.This is a design flaw in my opinion,for a portable can.
(Wind Issue)
Another design flaw,is that when you use the headphone outside,the wind passes through the small holes on the earcups,and creates a noise that destroy the music enjoynment.This is unacceptable for a portable headphone.
I haven’t spent much time to see what happens to the sound if you cover the holes,if you have some info on this,please comment.
SOUND QUALITY
+ Warm and somewhat nicely colored sound signature,good for low/moderate volume listening,with decent overall balance and non sibilant,grain free highs.Although the highs could be a bit more present,detail is pretty good.Good all around performer,does not punish your ears when listening to not good /harsh recorded music.
+ Although soundstage is not that open/wide, the imaging and layering is very nice.The sound have good sense of depth,and a bit of 3d feeling.Instrument and sounds seperation is clear and precise,and combined with the nice imaging depth,gives an interesting and attractive soundscape.
+I find that they scale nicely with better equipment.When I use them with my home rig,the sound quality improves a bit,with better dynamics,clarity,control and air to the sound.I believe that these headphones will benefit from analytical/dry sounding equipment,because of their somewhat warm/colored sound,and non emphasized highs.My home rig helps a bit with the technicalities,but my amp is hybrid with tubes,and I think the already warm midmass/midrange doesn’t help these headphones much.
- I would like a slightly less coloured/warm midrange,sometimes they sound a bit strong to my ears at higher volumes,(with some vocals and instruments),and maybe a bit more airy/emphasized highs (although treble opened up a bit after many hours of burn in)
-I prefer a more neutral frequency response,they sound somewhat veiled and colored (although not too much,after burn in.) But I have to admit that I like a more neutral sound with a bit more energy at the higher frequensies.Maybe I will try to find a custom silver cable to see if it improves things a bit.
END WORDS
In my opinion,the SONY MDR 1R is not that good for portable use,because the somewhat colored midrange may sound a bit full and strong at higher volumes,so it can be a bit fatiquing.Maybe it’s just me,but I hear them that way…There is the possibility to use EQ of course,if you find them this way too.
Some other reasons I find them not so suitable for portable use (although styling and comfort are very good,and they are easy to drive),are the wind issue mentioned above,as well as the average isolation and the chance to get scratches at the plastic arms that holds the cups,when you store the headphone in flat position.
I believe that Sony MDR 1R,is a great headphone for low volume,home listening,or at quiet places.They sound sweet and warm,nicely detailed,without being harsh/sibilant,with good imaging,nice sense of layering/depth and good overall balance,even if it is a bit colored.At lower volumes I don’t have this problem with the midrange to be strong to my ears.
I thing this is their strongest point,low-to-moderate volume listening,at quite places.
I paid for it almost 200 euro some months back,and although I think they worth it for their build/looks/supplied accessories,I think their sound could be a bit more balanced and natural at this price point.They have their own warm and colored signature which I find interesting and attractive at low volumes as I mentioned above.
Sony also made some mistakes with the design,and IMO these are not so good for mobile applications.And judging from the looks,cables etc,they are meant to be used as mobile phones.
Thank you for reading this review,sorry for my English because it is not my native language,and feel free to comment.
And some photos of course…
Everybody’s experience,taste and hearing is different,so this review is just my personal opinion on these headphones.
Music preferences: 60’s -70’s - 80’s - 90’s- 00’s pop,rock,electro/new wave,disco,ballads/love songs,Electronic Dance Music,some Greek popular and traditional music,and a bit Classical.
My equipment :
Sony DVP NS 705V dvd/sacd player ->monster interlink 200 interconnect cable-> Musical Fidelity X CAN V8 headphone amplifier (with stock tubes & power supply)
Apple ipod nano 5g.
Most of my music is from original cd’s,and some are mp3’s (various quality).
ipod files are in apple lossless and some mp3’s too.
So,let’s go to the review
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type:Closed,dynamic
Frequency response: 4 - 80.000 hz
Impendance : 48 ohm at 1 Khz
Sensitivity : 105 db/mW
Weight: Approx 240g (without cord)
PACKAGING/INCLUDED ITEMS
The Sony MDR 1R comes in a nice box,which reminds me the one of my sennheiser hd600,but is a bit smaller.Inside the box there is something like velvet fabric,which is nice.Unfortunatelly,you can put the headphones in the box,only if the cable is not connected to the headphones.
The box also have some space on the other side (the side you open up)which is covered with some paper,and there you can put the cables etc.
A nice carrying pouch is also included,which have a small socket inside for the cables.
Two cables come in the packaging,one with ipod/iphone remote/microphone control,and one without.The non remote cable is reffered as “limited offer”,at least that’s what is written in my packaging,so I’m not sure if it’s avalaible now with new 1R’s.Both cables terminate at 3.5mm jack.(and the other end where it connects to the headphones is 3.5mm too)
I would like the non remote cable longer,both cables have the same length (1.2 m),which is short for home use with an amp.
No 6.5mm adaptor is included.
Some Instructions and warranty papers can also be found inside the box.
BUILD QUALITY
I personally find the Sony MDR 1R to have good build quality overall. The headband and earpads are pleather.It’s good quality pleather though,it’s nice and soft.
The other parts of the headphone are plastic (I think) ,except the earcup with the sony logo,which I believe is metal,because sometimes it feels cold when I touch it.
The headband adjustment clicks very nice to the various positions.
(Jack Rattle Issue) :
My pair has the jack rattle issue.The jack is a bit loose where it connects to the headphone,and it’s making a little cracking sound there because of this sometimes.To be honest that’s not a big problem for me,but I guess somebody else may find it annoying.Otherwise,the connection there is quite secure.(sometimes I accidentally pulled the cord,and it stayed in place).
The cable is a bit microphonic,but not much.
LOOKS
The headphones are very beautifull and modern looking.
They also look nice on the head,so someone could use them outside without looking funny.
You can choose the silver/brown version instead of black/red,although I'm not sure about the availability in each country.
COMFORT
The Sony MDR 1R are quite comfortable,and the soft earpads cover the ears nicely,but if you have big ears that stick out a bit,then they may touch the driver and be uncomfortable after a while.
Anyway,if you have normal sized and shaped ears,I find these headphones to be very comfortable for a closed circumaural design with pleather pads.
ISOLATION
The isolation is decent,but it could be a bit better. For comparison,shure srh840 has better isolation.
PORTABILITY
The headphones are easy to drive straight out of portable devices,and also folds flat,which is a plus if you want to use it outside and put it in the carrying pouch,or in a bag etc.
But you have to be carefull,because when it’s in flat position,the plastic arms that hold the earcups touch to each other and you may get scratches there.This is a design flaw in my opinion,for a portable can.
(Wind Issue)
Another design flaw,is that when you use the headphone outside,the wind passes through the small holes on the earcups,and creates a noise that destroy the music enjoynment.This is unacceptable for a portable headphone.
I haven’t spent much time to see what happens to the sound if you cover the holes,if you have some info on this,please comment.
SOUND QUALITY
+ Warm and somewhat nicely colored sound signature,good for low/moderate volume listening,with decent overall balance and non sibilant,grain free highs.Although the highs could be a bit more present,detail is pretty good.Good all around performer,does not punish your ears when listening to not good /harsh recorded music.
+ Although soundstage is not that open/wide, the imaging and layering is very nice.The sound have good sense of depth,and a bit of 3d feeling.Instrument and sounds seperation is clear and precise,and combined with the nice imaging depth,gives an interesting and attractive soundscape.
+I find that they scale nicely with better equipment.When I use them with my home rig,the sound quality improves a bit,with better dynamics,clarity,control and air to the sound.I believe that these headphones will benefit from analytical/dry sounding equipment,because of their somewhat warm/colored sound,and non emphasized highs.My home rig helps a bit with the technicalities,but my amp is hybrid with tubes,and I think the already warm midmass/midrange doesn’t help these headphones much.
- I would like a slightly less coloured/warm midrange,sometimes they sound a bit strong to my ears at higher volumes,(with some vocals and instruments),and maybe a bit more airy/emphasized highs (although treble opened up a bit after many hours of burn in)
-I prefer a more neutral frequency response,they sound somewhat veiled and colored (although not too much,after burn in.) But I have to admit that I like a more neutral sound with a bit more energy at the higher frequensies.Maybe I will try to find a custom silver cable to see if it improves things a bit.
END WORDS
In my opinion,the SONY MDR 1R is not that good for portable use,because the somewhat colored midrange may sound a bit full and strong at higher volumes,so it can be a bit fatiquing.Maybe it’s just me,but I hear them that way…There is the possibility to use EQ of course,if you find them this way too.
Some other reasons I find them not so suitable for portable use (although styling and comfort are very good,and they are easy to drive),are the wind issue mentioned above,as well as the average isolation and the chance to get scratches at the plastic arms that holds the cups,when you store the headphone in flat position.
I believe that Sony MDR 1R,is a great headphone for low volume,home listening,or at quiet places.They sound sweet and warm,nicely detailed,without being harsh/sibilant,with good imaging,nice sense of layering/depth and good overall balance,even if it is a bit colored.At lower volumes I don’t have this problem with the midrange to be strong to my ears.
I thing this is their strongest point,low-to-moderate volume listening,at quite places.
I paid for it almost 200 euro some months back,and although I think they worth it for their build/looks/supplied accessories,I think their sound could be a bit more balanced and natural at this price point.They have their own warm and colored signature which I find interesting and attractive at low volumes as I mentioned above.
Sony also made some mistakes with the design,and IMO these are not so good for mobile applications.And judging from the looks,cables etc,they are meant to be used as mobile phones.
Thank you for reading this review,sorry for my English because it is not my native language,and feel free to comment.
And some photos of course…
