[tr0n]

I was considering getting some of these phones from best buy, since I can put them on my best buy card. A friend of mine said he thinks they suck, and told me to go here and get some info. In the thread here with all the reviews the Sony MDR's don't seem like they're very appreciated. But some models are not as bad some say. I couldn't find anything on this one in particular, so if anyone had an opinion on them, I'd appreciate hearing it.

- best buy also carries some Sennheiser but nothing for more than 30$.

 

[afxdave]

V700 are garbage. The sound is mudded, and the construction is weak. For a few dollars more you can get the V900. Forget about Best Buy as they are a major rip off and charge more than most retailers do.

That being said, goto: www.etronics.com for the Sony headphones. They have the lowest prices you will ever find.

 

[kramer5150]

I'm not a fan of that phone.

Whats your budget?
what kinds of music do you listen too?
How important is portability?
Are you plugging it into a portable player, home hifi receiver, or dedicated headphone amp?
How important is isolation (the ability to block out ambient noise)?

Unfortunately there isn't much of value at BB... at least not my local store. They used to sell UR40s but that was over a year ago.

WTTFSAYW

Garrett

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Which Best Buy card are you talking about? The Best Buy gift card or the Best Buy-branded credit card?

If it's the Best Buy credit card, be prepared for relatively high interest rates compared to those of most third-party banks' credit cards (I think the bank controlling the Best Buy-branded credit card charges an APR of over 23%, compared to the roughly 17.5% charged by most banks), especially if you carry a revolving balance from month to month.

If it's a Best Buy gift card, on the other hand, I'd advise that you spend it on something else, such as DVD's and CD's. You see, very few (if any) of the full-sized headphones of any brand stocked at Best Buy stores are any good at all whatsoever. The Sony MDR-V700DJ, regrettably, isn't one of them (at least not for music listening): It simply costs way too much money for the sound quality that it delivers.

 

[tr0n]

wow, you guys are fast. thanks for help

-first off i checked out etronics.com and found the sae 700's for 89$ as opposed to 159$ at best buy. they didn't have any grados or some of the senns ive been reading about here but they def had a lot of sonys. thanks.

- kramer

im looking to spend between 100-150$.
mostly i listen to rap or rap-rock
portability aint a big deal, mainly theyll be on my head when theyre not at home. otherwise just stuck in my pack.
ill be using these in my ipod mostly.
and im still a newb as to whether i really need noise cancellation. i generally blast my stuff when ive got my phones on, so if the quality stays good loud i dont think isolation is a big deal right?

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tr0n im looking to spend between 100-150$. mostly i listen to rap or rap-rock portability aint a big deal, mainly theyll be on my head when theyre not at home. otherwise just stuck in my pack. ill be using these in my ipod mostly. and im still a newb as to whether i really need noise cancellation. i generally blast my stuff when ive got my phones on, so if the quality stays good loud i dont think isolation is a big deal right?

My advice is to turn the volume down. Every time you play music very loudly on headphones, there is a good risk that your hearing will be completely and permanently destroyed, leaving you permanently and totally deaf - sometimes after just one second of music listening.

 

[Meyvn]

I'm in definite agreement on turning it down. Blasting things that close to your ear can be very dangerous, especially with closed-back headphones like the ones you're talking about. As far as a headphone recommendation, I'd say order an Alessandro Grado MS-1s from their website, or off of here; they run 100 brand new. If you find the standard bowl pads uncomfortable to your ears, you can replace them with some cheap ones from Radioshack (which will actually increase the bass if you mod them like I did, by cutting around a quarter in the center), or a pair of Sennheiser HD414 replacement pads like many others as well. Honestly, another not-so-bad option would be the Koss KSC75, with the same HD414 pads put on them in place of their own pads. 20 dollars (15 for the phones, 5 for the pads) for a great compact introductory phone. They may not look like much, but the sound is stellar for the price, and being an owner of a very similar Sony model, I'd say better period. Additionally, the KSC75s will be very small and portable, and thus well-suited for iPod travel. Many would also probably recommend a pair of Sennheiser HD555s and a couple others, but I have no personal experience with those. Bottom line: don't get those V700s, and certainly don't blast them if you do.

 

[LedZeppelin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tr0n wow, you guys are fast. thanks for help -first off i checked out etronics.com and found the sae 700's for 89$ as opposed to 159$ at best buy. they didn't have any grados or some of the senns ive been reading about here but they def had a lot of sonys. thanks. - kramer im looking to spend between 100-150$. mostly i listen to rap or rap-rock portability aint a big deal, mainly theyll be on my head when theyre not at home. otherwise just stuck in my pack. ill be using these in my ipod mostly. and im still a newb as to whether i really need noise cancellation. i generally blast my stuff when ive got my phones on, so if the quality stays good loud i dont think isolation is a big deal right?

bass.. you want lots punchy bass and low impedance for portable to drive.
I bet you don't like carry extra amp with your portable..

grado 60, 80 are good, senn 580 .. but they are open cans.. think about those people around you.. no, you need close can..

sony mdr-v6 (Sony Pro MDR-7506), senn 280 pro, even senn px 100 are all good choice..
IEM: E3c, E4c, ER6i are solid choice too.

 

[ojnihs]

Oooh boy, I'd also suggest against blasting your ears apart when you have headphones on. You are going to permanently destroy them or cause significant damage to them.

I've heard the MDR-V700's on several occasions and I'm also going to have to suggest going elsewhere. The mid bass bloat on these cans destroys music and completely covers up anything good from coming out. Use the card to get you some new music, look elsewhere for cans.

 

[Knuckledragger]

Funny, it was just yesterday that I nominated the 700s for worst headphone ever. I've owned a set for five years now and I assure you they are absolute crap. If you're looking for a DJ headphone, the Senn HD-280s are excellent for that purpose, and very good listening phones as well. Alternately, look for the Sony MDR-7506s. They are a true "pro" phone, and exponentially better souding (and built) than the horrific 700s. Both the 280s and the 7506s can be had for $100, which is usually less than the 700DJs.

 

[PaulRivers]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knuckledragger Funny, it was just yesterday that I nominated the 700s for worst headphone ever. I've owned a set for five years now and I assure you they are absolute crap. If you're looking for a DJ headphone, the Senn HD-280s are excellent for that purpose, and very good listening phones as well.

I would have to dissagree. A lot. I tried both the Sony 700's and the Sennheisser 280's, and my music sounded a lot better on the 700's. The 280's made everything very boring to listen to.

If I were you, I might try the Beyerdynamic 770's if there's a Guitar Center near you. They have a lot of bass without crossing the line into way-to-exagerrated bass. I also actually liked listening to my music on them! Go figure.

 

[jpelg]

I think the V700 gets a bad rap around here. I've heard them a few times in the past, and just tried them again the other day using my portable DAP. They sounded pretty good.

Assuming you are going to be using the headphones for portable, on-the-go use out in public, they have a lot going for them:

1. High efficiency - easily powered by todays portable sources w/o an amp.
2. Closed design - decent isolation outdoors
3. Bumped bass - increases isolation from external noises w/o the need to increase volume. Is effectively cancelled out when used in noisy environments where 'neutrality' actually works against a headphone.
4. Rolled-off highs - pleasant, not fatiguing.
5. Foldable design - easy storage when not in use.
6. Coiled cable - doesn't dangle freely when in use, easy storage.

Not bad for $89.

 

[acemcmac]

I own the 700's and they're crap. Most of my friends have owned the 700's and even under the most delicate of babying they have fallen apart. Mine have stress fractures in the joints that will eventually cause them to fall apart. The ergonomics are murder on your ears (hard pads, supra-aural design) and will make your ears want to bleed after half an hour. I've worn them for 12 hour stints at a time and wanted to cry through every minute. They were ****ign terrible. I have never folded them because it was so obvious to me the pressure and strain that that folding would have put on the joints in trying to cope with all of the tension. However, the coiled cable is really nice....

IF you really want to try them out, buy the MDR-Z700DJ from ebay as it's (AFAIK) the Hong Kong designation of the same headphone, just 1/4 of the price ($30 shipped?).

Trust me dude, it's crap. I bought them for $100 and got a $40, 2 year warranty that just ran out before the crack showed up.

Hell, the whole reason I'm even a member here is b/c I've been looking to replace them. Just ordered the ATH-A500 from audiocubes. **** SONY.

 

[Knuckledragger]

The 700s have flaws in three major areas, in order of severity:

Construction: They all break in the same place. I have never seen a set that didn't, and I've seen and awful lot of them in the time I've been working the DJ business. The sight of a DJ holding one 700 cup to his ear and attempting to cue not uncommon at all. I'd be much more willing to forgive their other faults if they'd at least hold together.

Comfort: They are actively painful. If you find HD-280s uncomfortable, than the 700DJs are going to be sheer torture. I've find them impossible to use for more than an hour, and that can be pushing it.

Sound: They do have very impressive efficiency, an iPod Nano can drive them to ear-bleeding levels. This SPL comes at a serious cost to ...nearly everything else. The bass is skull-crushingly present, but it's nearly as one-note as an isoberic subwoofer. Useful if you're a hard house DJ looking for a kickdrum, but exceedingly tiresome if you're anyone else.

There's also the issue that they're rather ugly, and lead to a legion of imitators. I'd liken the MDR-V700DJs to a Bose product: overpriced, under-performing, funny looking and troublelingly popuplar.

 

[Anarchy965]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tr0n I was considering getting some of these phones from best buy, since I can put them on my best buy card. A friend of mine said he thinks they suck, and told me to go here and get some info. In the thread here with all the reviews the Sony MDR's don't seem like they're very appreciated. But some models are not as bad some say. I couldn't find anything on this one in particular, so if anyone had an opinion on them, I'd appreciate hearing it. - best buy also carries some Sennheiser but nothing for more than 30$.

THEY SUCK!!!! STAY AWAY FROM THE MDR V*** SERIES. Try the Sennheiser HD-25-SP's (very similar style to the V150's with much better sound) or if you really like sony maybe try the V6/V7056?(This is coming me, who loved the V150's until he joined head-fi and tried cans like the Sennheiser HD-25-SP's {which I seriously recommend}, and the AKG K240's{even my really old pair of these is better than the MDR V*** series}.)But I do think the V150 pleather pads are more comfortable than HD-25-SP pads which is why I use them on my HD-25-SP's.