[Hurin Thalion]

So I just recently bought a pair of Sony MDR-7506 and they sound like crap to me, the bass/low end are FAR too high and can sound very muddy/dirty, the highs are quite piercing and also sound just "bad" (sorry I'm no audiophile, I actually know next to nothing about audio besides "it sounds good to me", so I don't know a lot about the correct technical terms).

First audio file I tried is this bass test to compare to my trusty DT770 Pro (using the EDT-770SG softskin pads with tiny holes on the back, not the stock EDT-770V pads so they may lack some bass compared to the stock experience, I guess ?)



The bass was so damn high I immediately switched to my DT770s (on a FiiO K3 DAC, "old" version if that matters) to compare, and the bass is FAR more tolerable on those even if the song is bass boosted, like a LOT more tolerable, I didn't expect that, the DT770 are already supposed to be quite bass heavy but the 7506 are out of this world (at least my pair is).

I then listened to my small collection of FLAC songs (quite small, I don't really listen to music that much, if at all, the whole point of that purchase was to listen to music again with a controversial pair of cans, some people seem to love them, some hate them). I found the bass/low end was FARtoo present on a lot of songs, also feeling "dirty" quite often, if not most of the time, and so were the highs, the mids are actually pretty OK to my ears, nothing amazing but OK, even pretty good I'd say with my quite limited experience with mid-tier headphones.

The whole experience seems like listening to a cheap super bassy pair of cans (except the mids I guess) so I checked the box, they weren't manufactured in Japan but Thailand, I've heard the 7506 are sometimes manufactured in China nowadays and are lower qualities, but if those coming from Thailand all sound like mine they're a straight up scam. I don't think I received a pair of fakes, the seller was Amazon themselves (Amazon France to be exact, that might make a difference), the box and headphones seem genuine to me (although I've never used or saw them before so you know).

I'm waiting to see if a period of "burn-in" will improve this pair but I doubt so, at least not substantially, I know a lot of people like to change the stock ear pads for Beyerdynamic EDT250V (mostly for comfort as far as I understand, the stock ear pads are...OK, quite small but OK so far) but I doubt a change of pads will make those crappy cans sound that much different, I could try an equalizer, but like I said I know very little about audio so wouldn't really know what I'm doing, and I just think I've received a completely crappy pair to begin with.

Did anyone have the same experience ? I'll test them a few more days and probably return them and use the money when the DT770Pro X are released, I didn't expect much from those cans, but I didn't expect that for sure.

 

[HDGabe5636]

Sony cans made in Thailand and Vietnam always sound worse than the ones made in Japan. That's why I stay away from Sony headphones now and also the 7506's always sounded like crap, sure they always get defended by people saying they are meant for studio use and TV production but c'mon they sound like S*** only Youtube shills and Sony fanboys recommend them to death.

 

[dunring]

I had a pair of those and yep, they don't sound nearly as good as people say. They're on the ear so studios or DJ's will use them so they can have a conversation without taking them off. I'm also on the waiting list for the DT770 Pro X and can't wait. I've had every Beyerdynamic model and the DT900 Pro X sound great and I hope they're better than the DT700 which was way too boring. The Hifiman HE5xx would be a lot more fun (wearing those now) if you can't wait for the DT770 Pro X to come out.

 

[ApertureSilence]

I don't have an issue with the bass on the 7506 but I find the treble to be pretty ragged. I think it makes sense as a production headphone because it's reasonably good at highlighting flaws in recordings, and if the mix sounds good on the 7506, it will sound good on most gear. I wouldn't listen to it for enjoyment, though.

 

[Hurin Thalion]

Strangely I found another problem today, they have difficulty making a seal when I have my glasses on, almost all headphones do that for me, that's why I had to stop using the AKG 553MKII, never could get something approaching a seal with glasses on, even without my glasses they didn't have enough clamping force and I had to press gently on the cups to get them to sound just right, quite a shame because I really liked the sound of the 553, even if they lacked bass IIRC.

Yesterday I tried listening with and without my glasses and it seemed to make little difference sound-wise which surprised me, so far only the DT770 Pro with pleather pads do that for me, they sound almost the same whether I wear my glasses or not, but today I find that when I remove my glasses the 7506 sound very different, I must be leaking a lot of sound and I'm losing some of the bass for sure at least with my glasses on, which isn't a big problem for me since I find they have far too much of them, but is for my neighbors for sure since the walls are paper-thin and there is absolutely zero sound insulation between apartments, you could hear a fly farting one or two stories above or below you, it's that terrible.

I didn't know the DT770 Pro X were even a thing before I ordered the 7506, I found out a few days after, I wouldn't have bothered with the 7506 otherwise, it was just a dumb experiment to have a secondary pair of cans so I chose a relatively affordable and controversial pair just to see if they were as good or as terrible as people seem to think.

 

[Hurin Thalion]

After another day of listening to them I'd say that they have improved quite a bit, part of it is probably just my ears (more precisely my brain) getting used to the cans, but I do think the "burin-in" effect is doing something, the bass are still far too high but don't seem as dirty or distorted as they used too, the mids still sound fine, I think that's the only part which always sound fine, clean and crisp, the highs, well it seems to depends on the track, they're not as unpleasant or distorted as they were, but they can be still quite unpleasant or OK depending on the song, this is kind of weird. I'll give you some examples ;



This tune sounds terrible even though it sound perfectly fine on my DT770 Pro



This one sounds fine, there are too much bass but otherwise it sounds fine even when the chick goes into high mode, it is a bit piercing but I don't hear any distortion.

I don't understand those cans, and I don't understand audio, but this is nothing new, I can hear some songs that are quite pleasant to the ear and some that sound like absolute crap, the only thing that is consistent is that there are far too much bass.

 

[ricksome]

There are a lot of fakes out there. Not sayin' that you got one. Buyer Beware.

 

[Hurin Thalion]

There are a lot of fakes out there. Not sayin' that you got one. Buyer Beware.

Oh I know there are fakes all other the net, but did Amazon themselves sold me a fake, who knows those days, Amazon is complete crap while they used to be somewhat reliable and had good customer service (at least here in France). That's what Blackrock, Vanguard and State Street do to companies, good old DIE. Still can't comprehend why some tracks sound fairly enjoyable and others complete crap, I'm at the whatever stage, who really cares (my bank account does xD).