I received the Japanese market Sony MDR-1RBTMK2 on Saturday and I've been listening to them nonstop each chance I get (which is only about 3-4 hours a day unfortunately, but still a good amount).
Headphones can sometimes be a burden to me and I oftentimes find myself opting for a sound system to cut the cord and get some freedom at my desk at the office and home. This is despite the fact that I have a couple of decent wired cans. Wireless was a big deal for me but I went in to this knowing there would be compromises over a comparably priced wired set.
Well, now I'm thinking what compromises? I've never loved using a headphone set as much as these, ever. Wired or wireless but the fact they're wireless makes them that much more impressive.
They're incredibly comfortable and just the right size. There is metal in the construction but it doesn't weigh you down. They're surprisingly lightweight which adds greatly to the comfort factor. Convenience is a consideration of comfort as well. The playback and volume controls work via the AVRCP profile and are easy to use. There is a small volume rocker like you'd find on a smartphone and a combo play/pause push button that toggles up or down with a pleasant spring action for track skip/back. Much better than click buttons. Pairing was also convenient via NFC. I just pressed my Galaxy S5 back against the NFC logo on the headphones (the right ear cup I think) and my phone showed a prompt, "Pair with MDR-1RBT?". So easy.
They look great, too. I like sleek, modern styling and these have it. They're stealthy black but for the eye-catching red anodized aluminum strip. The micro USB and 3.5 mm input port have small attached rubber covers that help keep it sleek. The hinges are sturdy and the extensions have a positive click to them.
While they are not noise canceling, they are passively sealed and almost no normal level noise comes in at all. To clarify, I'm using them at a typical office which has phones ringing and laser printers going all day nearby me.
The sound quality is incredibly good. They have a beautifully balanced sound and have made all my music "come alive". I'm hearing little sounds I've never heard before and I'm finding myself scrambling for my old tracks to reexperience them. I go through phases with my listening, right now I'm focused on vocal heavy EDM but I'm throwing all kinds of genres at them and they're handling them all. Although, in fairness they're not the best fit for hip-hop or tracks produced with emphasis on bass and deemphasis on mids and highs. So bassheads should look elsewhere (the Logitech UE 9000 for example). Even so, the sound out of these is beautiful and I happily throw hip-hop at them because the sound is so damn good.
For being Bluetooth, the sound quality is unreasonably good (yes, unreasonably). One just doesn't expect any wireless cans to reach audiophile levels, yet these easily surpass the venerated Zik. I would rate them 10/10 for that reason alone. I've never heard wireless sound this good and I've tested a lot. I'm sure AptX has a lot to do with it as well. You have to have good input to get good output.
I haven't had a chance to test the battery performance much but I've yet to run out of juice after a full charge on the day I got them. I think that's about 25 hours playback at this point. The battery is rated for 30 hours. I left them on tonight on accident. I'll see tomorrow how the standby time affected the battery remaining.
I'm so very happy and I just love these wonderful cans. Haven't thought that since the last bachelor party I attended!
