MDR-7520 early impressions and Amperior stand-off.
I’ll get it out of the way, the 7520 strikes me immediately as one of the best-closed studio cans. In this comparison while I enjoyed the lower depth of the 7520, I prefer the Amperiors ergonomics & comfort.
I thinks its important to preface why I purchased these. I do a bit of music production primarily piano and electronic, and I need closed-back headphones from time-to-time so I can focus and not leak sound to bother others. I’ve owned many studio cans (V6, K271, 7506, 7550, HD25, SRH840) so I’m familiar with them. The only one in my possession right now is an Amperior, which is more hyped than the HD25, but with greater clarity and precision. Its frequency curve is not as flat as I’m used to, but it seems to work pretty well for music creation. The 7520 has long been a recommendation among studio head-fiers and fellow gearslutz, so when the opportunity came up I grabbed a gently used pair.
Comfort, build and ergonomics
I’m a bit worried, as my ears are already slightly cramped in the cups. This isn’t the kinda of comfort I’ve had before with closed cans (AH-D600 being insanely comfortable, and Shure SRH-840 also very good). I remember my old MDR-7506 being not so comfortable, and these are better. Still, picking headphones is much like choosing a pair of shoes.
They can sit around your neck but not comfortably so unless you have a very skinny neck. They are surprisingly light, more so than the Amperior whose thicker aluminum cups weigh it down. Chord is built for utility and easy to replace, I like that, but it has to be said the chord is heavy enough to tug an iPhone down off the table if not careful. Its the standard coiled studio cable which has a real purpose as it gives it some slack while letting you know its about to knock down a mic stand, cup of coffee, etc. Easily replaced with a lighter cable though.
Headband, not so keen on. It is comfortable, but I get a feeling it may wear after a while. With the Amperior, this isn’t going to be a problem as you can just replace the padding strips if you need to. The 7520 is also too bulky to lie in bed with, whereas that is possible with the Amperior. Not a big deal. This headphone is really designed for studio use.
My ears also starting getting sweaty with the 7520, with the Amperior this is much less the case.
Sometimes you just have to adjust to things, like I did with my LCD2 and Emperor, both of which feel quite comfortable now.
Sound-quality
I was surprised that these were not as bright and lively as the Amperiors. There are actually some similarities between the presentation of these two headphones, but with the 7520 having noticeably more extension on the lower bass. This bass hump may be too much for some, and could be edging on mid-bass bloat. This type of presentation is closer to what one hears of bass presented in a room though, and so I think the 7520s achieved what they were looking for. (I think I need to hear the NAD HP50s and was interested in how they perform in comparison to the Harman Target Response Curve).
This is a deeper listen than the Amperior, mostly because of the greater bass presence. I’ve read a few comments where people thought the sub bass was rolled off, this is certainly not the case. The bass is very speaker-like. The low-end is sucking me in quite a bit and is one of the most compelling aspects of these cans.
Clarity is there on the 7520. No doubt about that. I could say that the overall presentation could be too sharp for many listeners. The MDR-V6 were like that too. Ear scalpels. Listen at lower volumes, and its fine. Low-level listening also seems to work better for its overall frequency curve. They do seem a bit rolled off on the highs though. Like they are lacking a bit of high-frequency extension. Now this can be deceiving as I’m just comparing to my Amperior right now which are noticeably brighter. If I was to put on my LCD2, I’d find they actually produce more information on the high-end but are not tilted as bright.
The Amperior are very clear too. They just have a more ‘agreeable’ presentation - one that could still be too harsh for some tastes (and for some HD25 fans included).
Again, immediate impressions, but I’m kinda scratching my head whether these are a worthy upgrade to my Amperiors as an entire package. This is a personal thing. Though I could see where these would be a worthwhile part of an engineering or production setup, I feel my Amperiors aren’t too far behind in this respect. In this little test was pretty surprised how well the Amperior performed in comparison.
I also have the MDR-7550 in-ears which are real performers. Clarity and performance may even be greater on the 7550 but I don’t have them in front of me to test. I always feel like I have a bit of channel imbalance with the 7550s, mostly because the sound isn’t hitting the outer ear and the way it is angled in the canal. For those wondering, at low-level listening on the 7520, they are really comparable to the 7550.
Putting them up against the LCD2, I’d be interested to compare the bass, but I can already tell these aren’t going to compete overall as they are more competitive with the Amperior. Now that’s not a knock, as the Amperior were in the same price bracket at one-time and got looked over.
The 7520, in my initial listening session are starting to win me over. They certainly have tightly controlled speaker like bass.
At a Glance
Amperior
+ fits over the ear, not as clampy as HD25, pad material is very comfy
+ audiophile grade high-range and mid-range. Very low distortion.
+ punchy sound, which is a bit accented by the rolled off sub-bass
+ looks - well I like them, the aluminum blue cups feel and look great
+ built for tank gunners - if you need a headphone for a battlefield get the HD25 Aluminums or an Amperior with a cable upgrade. The split band allow you to perform spinning back kicks while still wearing them (not just hyperbole, have actually done this).
+ portability and wearability
+ price (I got mine for $100 CDN! but they are regular go for around $100-150USD)
+ SPL - carried over from the HD25 design.
+ comes with mobile controls and mic that works very well.
- can still sound a bit congested, I feel this is partly due to its smaller size.
- missing some sub-bass extension. Its there, and the bass is really clean. Just needs more.
- doesn’t have the same ‘pro’ balance of the HD25. But its a trade-off.
- aren’t the worst with glasses, and depending on your frame you can optionally rest them above the pads.
- a bit of an odd chord design. But I’ve come to appreciate it. just not as clean looking as it could have been.
7520
+ bass and sub-bass. This is not your ‘flat’-neutral presentation. Tight, extended bass is there when needed, on the instruments that need them.
+ separation is really good.
+ easily removable cable, standard 1/8”
+ light weight for its size
+ incredibly efficient and can be powered well from an iPhone but sound even better from a good DAC and amp.
+ SPL - very high, and while not as efficient as the Amperior, the SPL here is greater with the bass pressure it can exert on your ears.
+ low-level listener. I know it may sound a bit lame to many who want to crank their music, but the 7520 sounds very good at lower volumes. This is a bonus some just haven’t realized yet. It can be sometimes hard to gauge the proper volume of headphones, as listeners are looking to feel the impact and excitement instead of listening for the details.
+ seems to work for wearing glasses
- bass may be too much for some. Its a bit weird, while not basshead levels, it actually makes me want to turn the volume down instead of up.
- medium size cups if you have large ears
- a bit on the pricier side but higher-quality than lower tier studio offerings from the majors.
- SPL - do not turn these headphone up. Holy crap, that will result in rapid hearing loss.
- studio presentation may not be agreeable for those looking for a smoother more laid-back sound.
- a little bit of creaking once and a while with head movements, nothing major (its not happening when I turn side to side) but it is present.
This is a tough choice. It's hard to overlook the Amperiors better fit, ergonomics, portability and relative value. I think comfort is going to kill it for me here unfortunately.
Edit: a day later - well, I'm starting to come around to these. The low-end response and detail retrieval is excellent and the overall sound is incredible. The negatives I posted above are more for particular tastes and depending on the needs of the listener. These could be someones end game closed headphones and they are shaping up to be mine. I'm even getting past some of the comfort issues by adjusting placement of the cups further back on the head.
