[Mike F]

Having tried both, I certainly would not say the high-mid disappears. At all.
The texture of them is a bit different IMO, but they both are two amazingly clear headphones.

 
Yes, but the treble on the 7506 is soooo hyped that I can understand the 7520 seeming a bit muffled by comparison, especially out of the box as the bass tends to be a bit uncontrolled to begin with. 
 
Stich, give them a good burn in and then give yourself time to adjust to the sound, then report back.

 

[dudlew]

I briefly demoed the 7506, and remembered that they sounded brighter with more treble presence than the 7520. The 7520 did sound like it was lacking the sparkle of the 7506, but the mids and bass were much fuller leading to the conclusion that the 7520 lack the treble extension of the 7506. Give it a bit of time and see how it goes.
 
D

 

[dudlew]

You know a few days ago, I decided to break out the 1R and give it a whirl, as I decided, these would be my portable cans and the 7520 my home cans... wel let me tell you.... I hated it. The midrange spike just killed it for me. It sounded shouty and harsh and agressive. And bass light on top of it. This is one phone I am going to let go. The 1R just is not for me anymore. Tastes change as we go along I guess.
 
D

 

[Malfunkt]

  You know a few days ago, I decided to break out the 1R and give it a whirl, as I decided, these would be my portable cans and the 7520 my home cans... wel let me tell you.... I hated it. The midrange spike just killed it for me. It sounded shouty and harsh and agressive. And bass light on top of it. This is one phone I am going to let go. The 1R just is not for me anymore. Tastes change as we go along I guess.
 
D

I owned the 1r for a brief period. I thought they were good cans, with what I would describe possessing most of Sony's 'house' sound. However, they were missing the low-end response, and at the time felt my MDR-EX600s performed better in most respects. 

The 7520 is what I had hoped the MDR-1r would be. I like the ergonomics and comfort of the MDR-1r better than the 7520 - but the 7520 is markedly better sonically than the 1r.
 
I've had some more time to spend with the 7520, and I have to say I've warmed up to its sound even more. I really appreciate the low-end, and I don't feel like I'm missing too much coming from the LCD2s low-end. Actually, comparing the LCD2 and the 7520 right now. The 7520 is certainly more punchy and pronounced in the bass. The LCD2s signature overall being more open and expansive. The 7520 makes the LCD2 sound airy and bass light  
 
I ran some recent tracks from Tipper to test the lower end. If someone thinks these are rolled off in the sub-bass they must have measured wrong, have a poor seal or are listening to a different headphone. Even with robust bass, you can comfortable listen to classical, soul and jazz music without the bass being too prominent or bleeding too much into the mid-range. We all have our own ideas of natural, but if it is any testament to the 7520, it is the number of mix engineers who can compare these with their studio monitors, and who are creating the music to be heard as what was recorded in the studio. The 7520s name would be dragged through the mud if it didn't meet their criteria.
 
I'm hoping to find a magic combination of placement and headband settings that will improve the comfort on the 7520, but I'll probably be keeping these even if they give some discomfort. 
 
Any other recommendations for a dynamic closed can that is similar in technicalities to the 7520? 

 

[dudlew]

I have none unfortunately. Wish i heard more but i am buying blind, so have tobeither trust impulse and instinct or reviews.

I am hoping to bag a PM3 soon. If i get one ibwill see how it compares. Some heres say it is better than the sony...... that would be great if its so.

 

[Malfunkt]

I have none unfortunately. Wish i heard more but i am buying blind, so have tobeither trust impulse and instinct or reviews.

I am hoping to bag a PM3 soon. If i get one ibwill see how it compares. Some heres say it is better than the sony...... that would be great if its so.

I had a chance to listen to a PM3 at a recent meet. I was very impressed. From my recollection, it is much more of a smoother listen than the 7520, understandably with the Sony being more of a monitor. 
 
The PM3 still seemed to be below my LCD2 overall and not as stellar in the bass end but still very very good. They are certainly not as bass accentuated as the 7520, which could be a plus or minus. They will bring you that planar sound which if you haven't heard may be to your liking. They are very comfy too. Overall just excellent and could be a good second phone. I notice that you don't have any open headphones. Perhaps consider an open back planar (HE560, LCD2) or open back dynamic (HD800, HD650, Fidelio X2). 
 
I'd still put the 7520 up at the quality range of the PM3 and perhaps even more so. I'm more and more impressed as I listen to them (comfort is getting better too with glasses off and the cups pushed a bit further back). I know the 7520s were a bit brushed aside with Inner-Fidelity's measurements, but they sure sound better than 'mid-fi' in my opinion. I'm throwing a ton of test tracks against these and they perform well with everything. They are particularly yummy for electronic music though. 

What are you listening to dudlew?

 

 

[dudlew]

I listen to quite a few genres. Soul jazz rock alternative r and b classical electronic dance. Disco.... i have the 7520 with a burson soloist sl and a modi 2 uber. What improvements i am looking for over the 7520 is a smoother more extended treble and less upper bass bloat. l like the extension and impact off the bass. ... the mids are good... but not great. Maybe a bit richer and also smoother/cleaner.

 

[dudlew]

I had a chance to listen to a PM3 at a recent meet. I was very impressed. From my recollection, it is much more of a smoother listen than the 7520, understandably with the Sony being more of a monitor. 

The PM3 still seemed to be below my LCD2 overall and not as stellar in the bass end but still very very good. They are certainly not as bass accentuated as the 7520, which could be a plus or minus. They will bring you that planar sound which if you haven't heard may be to your liking. They are very comfy too. Overall just excellent and could be a good second phone. I notice that you don't have any open headphones. Perhaps consider an open back planar (HE560, LCD2) or open back dynamic (HD800, HD650, Fidelio X2). 

I'd still put the 7520 up at the quality range of the PM3 and perhaps even more so. I'm more and more impressed as I listen to them (comfort is getting better too with glasses off and the cups pushed a bit further back). I know the 7520s were a bit brushed aside with Inner-Fidelity's measurements, but they sure sound better than 'mid-fi' in my opinion. I'm throwing a ton of test tracks against these and they perform well with everything. They are particularly yummy for electronic music though. 


What are you listening to dudlew?


 

The part that u stated about the bass is one of my misgivings. How did you find the highs compared to the 7520.... another area of concern for me. I would like smoother cleaner and more extended highs.

 

[Malfunkt]

The part that u stated about the bass is one of my misgivings. How did you find the highs compared to the 7520.... another area of concern for me. I would like smoother cleaner and more extended highs.

I don't think I can give the best appraisal of the PM3, as it was at a meet. I'm still evaluating the 7520 too, and will eventually get around to doing an in-depth analysis like I did for the LCD2 (as seen in my sig). One test I will do is to do a bandwidth isolation tests, where I will evaluate how much information I can actually hear in certain frequency ranges. I'd compare the 7520 to the LCD2, which so far has the best detail of the headphones I have owned (surpassing the HD650). The LCD2 even outperformed the HD650 I had. The weak link in all of this though is my own perceptions.

My brief impression of the PM3 was that it was capable technically, meaning it brings to the table the type of transient detail planar magnetics are capable of including the high-range. It did not strike me as me as being as bass forward as the 7520 and its frequency charts back that up. It goes deep, with a slight overall boost to the lower range. 
 
I think it may be hard to find a competitor or successor in the bass range that presents in a similar fashion. The basshead cans tend to also boost the sub-bass instead of rolling it off like the 7520 (which seems more natural). Many reference and higher-tier cans have a more linear bass extension. 

Another thing, is that the pad depth is much different many higher-tier. Intentionally so, for comfort but also for soundstage reasons. With the MDR-7520, the drivers are very close to the ear, lending to a completely different sound.
 
You may want to keep an ear out for Sennheiser's new HD630VB. 

On a cheaper level, you may want to check out the Denon AH-D600. If you can get one used for around $150, take the chance. Way more comfortable than the 7520, larger soundstage, bass is very good though looser and more sub-bass but linear on the low-end. More high-end emphasis. Comes with two cables, one for mobile, and the other a high-quality 10ft one to connect to your home entertainment system. Doesn't require an amp. Actually I miss this headphone and it's a steal for the used price. If this appeals to you then you may consider upgrading to AH-D5000 or D7000, TH600 or TH900. Head-fi member Oregonian has a lot of experience with these headphones and might have some feedback.
 


 

 

[Malfunkt]

I've spent some considerable time with these over the last week. Bottom-line they are keepers. I've written a rather lengthy review including comparisons to an Audeze LCD2 rev 1 as well as some bandwidth isolation tests. 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/sony-mdr-7520-professional-headphones/reviews/13891
 
These are awesome headphones! 

 

 

[starfly]

  I've spent some considerable time with these over the last week. Bottom-line they are keepers. I've written a rather lengthy review including comparisons to an Audeze LCD2 rev 1 as well as some bandwidth isolation tests. 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/sony-mdr-7520-professional-headphones/reviews/13891
 
These are awesome headphones! 

 

 
Thanks for posting a review.  As for one of your cons, that they're creaky, I fixed that by using very thin rope (I forgot how they call it) to tighten up the area where the headbands connect to the cups (the two arms that attach to each cup which allow the cups to rotate along the x-axis).

 

[Mike F]

  I've spent some considerable time with these over the last week. Bottom-line they are keepers. I've written a rather lengthy review including comparisons to an Audeze LCD2 rev 1 as well as some bandwidth isolation tests. 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/sony-mdr-7520-professional-headphones/reviews/13891
 
These are awesome headphones! 

 

Yes, thanks for the review! I totally agree with your assessment of the sound. IMO studio headphones are/should be, made for a purpose, and the construction appearance and most important, sonics of the 7520 are absolutely designed to meet those requirements. 
 
Just another comment about the creaking. This is obviously a real issue as there are enough reports to assume that it is, but it's worth noting, I think, that not everyone's 7520's have this problem. I have two pairs and neither have ever creaked. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I suspect that more people will report that their phones creak than that their phones don't creak!

 

[jackson1]

Mike, maybe you never eat while wearing the 7520?

 

[groovyd]

My T1 creaks more then my 7520 does.

 

[dudlew]

I have had the creaking issue, and still do, but just not as bad as at first, put some lubricant on the joints and that seems to keep most of it down. This is a great headphone. the bass in particular is the strong point of this phone. I just got a PM3 and am putting it through its paces. Even though I am loving the sound of the PM3, I am missing the bass of the 7520 for its impact and presence. Extension is about the same, just that the 7520 has more of it, while not letting it intrude on the music in any way. i will give my thoughts on the PM3 vs the 7520 later, but I like them both.