[bixby]

I've decided to sell my 7520's so if anyone's interested please pm me.

you might want to list it in the for sale forum, not here

 

[Mike F]

I wasn't particularly bothered that these didn't measure very well,I still think they are excellent sounding headphones but I have just bought a pair of Oppo PM3's and while the sony's are the better sounding hp they don't beat the pm3's by much and the oppo's are a lot more comfortable and have better isolation.

Well, my post was tongue-in-cheak (just in case you didn't realise!), and I understand your reasons for selling. Having said that, I wouldn't be at all surprised if some folks DO sell their 7520's as a result of the measurements!
 
Interesting though that you still think that they sound better (albeit not by much) than the Oppo PM-3's................... Tyll clearly didn't think so.............. http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/innerfidelity-april-2015-update

 

[naimless]

I

Well, my post was tongue-in-cheak (just in case you didn't realise!), and I understand your reasons for selling. Having said that, I wouldn't be at all surprised if some folks DO sell their 7520's as a result of the measurements!

Interesting though that you still think that they sound better (albeit not by much) than the Oppo PM-3's................... Tyll clearly didn't think so.............. http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/innerfidelity-april-2015-update

I did realised, but I thought an explanation would help.And you're probably right ,there will be some who'll sell because of those measurements,I don't really understand the measurements myself if I'm honest and the sony's just show that maybe measurements shouldn't be taken to seriously any way.Of course that's imo.

 

[naimless]

you might want to list it in the for sale forum, not here

I will if anyone's interested.

 

[pcf]

If I didn't already have two pairs of these I would be interested.
They are great headphones and haven't sounded very worse to me since the measurement came out.
 
I think we should respect what Tyll does but at the end of the day it is up to you to decide whether you like how they sound or not.

 

[Mike F]

  If I didn't already have two pairs of these I would be interested.
They are great headphones and haven't sounded very worse to me since the measurement came out.
 
I think we should respect what Tyll does but at the end of the day it is up to you to decide whether you like how they sound or not.

 
Absolutely! I think what Tyll is doing with headphone measurements is extremely interesting research, and it's certainly great fun looking up headphones that you have and seeing how they measure! However, I think that there's still a lot to be learned about what the measurements indicate and how we should interpret them, and indeed, what exactly constitutes a 'good' measurement. I have both headphones that measure 'well' e.g. HD650, HD800, and headphones which measure 'badly' e.g. Sony 7509HD, Sony 7520. IMHO, 'flat' is not always good, but more importantly, not even always correct. Extended listening on both the HD800's and 7520's has shown me that. And, FWIW, I'm a professional musician who is used to how things sound live (both acoustically and amplified) and recorded (both rough mixes and final production).
 
I think it's also worth noting with regard to the 7520 (as I and a few others have already done) that Tyll has liked other Sony headphones which don't measure notably better, and which are also universally regarded (at least I don't remember ever reading anything to the contrary) as sounding inferior to the 7520, i.e. the MDR-1R, and the MDR-ZX700. The 1R was even on the wall of fame for a while, so I find it hard to understand Tyll's dislike of the 7520.

 

[pcf]

I also have ZX700, which is a poor man's 7520 with no bass. Tyll liked that very much. It really shows how subjective these opinions can be. I can go and on...


Okay, just one more- Beat solo 2: My daughter has a pair. They have boomy, muddy mid bass and a congested; grainy top end. A mess to my ears really. Tyll likes them too.


 


This is definitely not a dig at Tyll. He is my (and lots of people's ) hero and has done more for our hobby than most people. I just want to point out the obvious- you should be your own judge. Mark Knopfler like 7520 too.

 

[Mike F]

  This is definitely not a dig at Tyll. He is my (and lots of people's ) hero and has done more for our hobby than most people.

 
Agreed!  

 

[chintu]

Just bought MDR 7520. Really nice sounding phone. Only one complain stock pads are not comfortable and too thin. Can any one suggest better earpads ?? I am interested in alpha pads, Does they fit on MDR 7520 ??

 

[groovyd]

Alpha pads are a mistake, totally tilt the entire spectrum toward heavy bass... too heavy.  I'll sell you mine if you really want that.  I highly recommend the Beyer pads.

 

[FortisFlyer75]

  Just bought MDR 7520. Really nice sounding phone. Only one complain stock pads are not comfortable and too thin. Can any one suggest better earpads ?? I am interested in alpha pads, Does they fit on MDR 7520 ??

I have to second Groovyd below on the Beyer pads although I found it tricky to get them to fit on but then I am not the best at that kind of thing where one's dexterity and patience is needed to get these pads on but have to say I was shocked how they much they actually changed the sound... for the better, from memory now to stock pads as I am now used to this as the norm now it has been a while was sound opened up with a slightly wider soundstage and the bass was better defined with top end also improved a little bit also.  
 
Oh, and the fit is primarily why I decided to change to another set of pads as the Sony's where to shallow with my ear touching the drivers and they would get to hot with the material Sony used... the Beyers are much deeper so my ears do not touch and the velour material is more comfortable for longer listening sessions.  So got them for the fit after taking a punt on them from two others on this thread who got the Beyer pads and was pleasantly surprised how much of a positive change they made to the SQ.
 
The 7520's are underrated cans that scale well with any good source but found out how stella they are when I listen to them with the Chord Hugo I have and then realized what potential they do have for the money although another part of that is because I had a custom cable hard wired into both cups on mine which make a big difference if you fall in love with these long term.   
 

    I highly recommend the Beyer pads.

 

[dudlew]

You know,
 
I have seen some recent meet coverage  over the last year and all, but never heard of anyone going with their 7520 or stating that they listened to it and were impressed or disappointed...
 
This would have been great to read about or hear. Always hear people talk about the Mad Dogs, the HifiMans the HD800s and $800+ cans, but not where I guess most people will probably spend their hard earned cash... between $100 -$500... at least in my opinion.
 
The 7520 is not the only can mind you, but it would have been rather interesting to hear how these compared to other headphones of similar price from people who would have never heard them or compared them to anything else.
 
I was asking in the Denon MM400 thread if anyone had heard and compared both and the sound of silence to that question is so deafening....

 
D

 

[Koolpep]

  You know,
 
I have seen some recent meet coverage  over the last year and all, but never heard of anyone going with their 7520 or stating that they listened to it and were impressed or disappointed...
 
This would have been great to read about or hear. Always hear people talk about the Mad Dogs, the HifiMans the HD800s and $800+ cans, but not where I guess most people will probably spend their hard earned cash... between $100 -$500... at least in my opinion.
 
The 7520 is not the only can mind you, but it would have been rather interesting to hear how these compared to other headphones of similar price from people who would have never heard them or compared them to anything else.
 
I was asking in the Denon MM400 thread if anyone had heard and compared both and the sound of silence to that question is so deafening....

 
D

I understand what you mean. I do have some high end cans but a lot of listening is done with mid-fi gear in exactly the range you mentioned. MDR-V6, MDR-1A and others. I think the Sonys are awesome at their respective price points. But - now comes one of my feared car-analogies, nobody talks about the late Honda Accord and how they pitted it versus a VW Passat at the racetrack and boy you should see a drag race between the two.... Solid middle class offerings are just not as entertaining than talking about the big guns (sports cars, super cars, etc.) there IS talk about them but just not as attention grabbing.
 
I would also see more comparisons of these cans for sure. I always wondered why for example my V6 doesn't get much coverage, it's such a great headphone for the money. I guess the 7520 as well...
 
cheers,
K

 

[FortisFlyer75]

 
I understand what you mean. I do have some high end cans but a lot of listening is done with mid-fi gear in exactly the range you mentioned. MDR-V6, MDR-1A and others. I think the Sonys are awesome at their respective price points. But - now comes one of my feared car-analogies, nobody talks about the late Honda Accord and how they pitted it versus a VW Passat at the racetrack and boy you should see a drag race between the two.... Solid middle class offerings are just not as entertaining than talking about the big guns (sports cars, super cars, etc.) there IS talk about them but just not as attention grabbing.
 
I would also see more comparisons of these cans for sure. I always wondered why for example my V6 doesn't get much coverage, it's such a great headphone for the money. I guess the 7520 as well...
 
cheers,
K

I like to continue or extend on the car analogies as I usually use such comparisons myself but yes going to a car show is the chance for normal folk to see Ferrari's, Lambos, Aston's, Mclarens close up and sit in them which they would not usually get to do especially under one roof.... Not often in Head-Fi land we all get to go and listen to the top line Senn's, Beyers, Hi-Fi Mans, Grado's, Stax, etc, etc under one roof so my 7520's get overlooked by peeple at meets apart from current Sony mid range can owners but I know from experience to listening to enough open/closed mid range/ top end  cans with same top end sources as I've heard my 7520's to know where they lay in the littered battlefield of mid range headphones. Never world beaters but in their price tier get very overlooked and with a very good source scales really well.   Some of or most of this is the seed sown by Sony in the first place as the Z1000 was marketed in Europe as the consumer model which did sound different and had two major shortcomings which the 7520 corrects and the latter was meant for the pro market so marketing on release was never invested in been made a big thing of to the public so never would of been sold in masses like you see Senn's up and down the land at every major retail stockist.  So this are a gem that some will eventually stumble on and either get a better bargain the older these eventually get or due to them getting rarer in next several years could actually go full circle into a bit of a cult status and be in demand at some stage as there won't be many floating about, well I will dream about the last bit anyway! 

 

[cdsa35000]

  I also have ZX700, which is a poor man's 7520 with no bass. Tyll liked that very much. It really shows how subjective these opinions can be. I can go and on...

 
The drivers are very good sounding only ruined by the cup design to sound like AM Radio mids overdrived, caused by those 3 big front grill.
Without inner dampening the mids are enhanced back to the front.
Transplanted into SA3000, they sound very overall pretty good balanced without extra headamp.
 

ZX700 Mids front grill reflectors.
 
 

Into SA3000 they become hifi sounding.