Sony MDR-CD3000 headphone ' The Legendary Prince ' aka Baby MDR-R10
Feb 8, 2022 at 8:37 AM Post #46 of 69
Hey there - Wish i had the time to do a review and do these justice!!!! To cut to the chase though - I have heard these and the MDR R10 (Bass light) side by side - and you do certainly get a good tatse of the R10 in these.. The CD3000 are unbelievable for a closed back especially in soundstage and imaging..

Sorry if i have taken this thread off track by the way...
 
Feb 8, 2022 at 11:39 AM Post #47 of 69
Hey there - Wish i had the time to do a review and do these justice!!!! To cut to the chase though - I have heard these and the MDR R10 (Bass light) side by side - and you do certainly get a good tatse of the R10 in these.. The CD3000 are unbelievable for a closed back especially in soundstage and imaging..

Sorry if i have taken this thread off track by the way...
Did you rewire the CD3000 for balanced? They sound even better balanced.
 
Feb 8, 2022 at 5:53 PM Post #49 of 69
Yes they are rewired for balance..Definitely improved the performance..Even sound amazing just through a balanced DAP..
Yup. I second that. Wish I can wear them at work without looking super odd!
 
Sep 5, 2022 at 5:06 PM Post #51 of 69
Good day everyone, I'm sorry for google translation of my impressions written down on polish forum :

Sony - a Japanese brand, infamous for its cool, strictly corporate approach to customers, and yet I have always had a soft spot for it. I have always associated it with high-quality workmanship and above-average durability. The times of smartphones and PS3 consoles have severely damaged this opinion, but in general, you can still count on solid products.

Here, however, I went back in time quite a lot because the Sony MDR-CD3000 is a return to the 90s. Exactly 1991 was the year in which Sony released this model to the market, and it ended production only in 2004. My fascination with Sony headphones began with the accidentally purchased MDR-CD770. Back then, Sennheiser HD650 reigned supreme on my desk. These were two completely different schools of play. Sennheiser was calm and dignified and danced my favorite pieces and the CD770 was the energy needed to wake up from lethargy: D As popular music was dominant, I used Soniak more often. I do not know why I sold them to this day, or maybe just to return to those moments with nostalgia and then try something from the higher shelf, of course for those times :)

It started with an innocent borrowing of headphones from a nice friend :wink: With the first track, you can immediately hear the specific Sony tuning for this period. A balanced reference - that's how I hear it. Pretty bright, full and direct sound. It is quite sharp, there is a strong claw, a huge amount of details and a high emphasis on achieving the highest technical level, but not at the expense of a soulless, cold, only analytical message. At the same time, you can feel the flowing warmth, analogical in my understanding.

The execution here, unfortunately, does not suit me at all for the flagship of these years. I understand that Sony, after the unsuccessful sale of the MDR-R10, wanted to make up for the losses as soon as possible with the cost of materials, but here in my opinion they went too far, which can be seen with the next lower models, which were simply much better made. The mentioned CD770 model is a masterpiece. Just like plastic, rubber and silicone, but of such quality that these headphones still look like new today.

I was lucky that I found a super-well-kept copy, which additionally underwent professional restoration at a well-known Warsaw foreman :) Very good quality 3.5mm jack sockets were inserted, a completely new elastic leather band was sewn and the entire headband was completely renewed by a new filling with a hemming.

All I did was strengthen the place from the inside where the plastic is always cracking, right next to the headband. I bought leather pads, which are worth recommending because I have not met such a performance from Aliexpres in person: https://pl.aliexpress.com/item/4000327010322.html They were made of two types of natural leather. The part that is pulled over the headphones and adjoins the ears directly is made of very thin, probably calf leather. Inside the pads there is another, much harder, stiffer one with a smoother texture. The filling itself is full of memory foam. The height of the pads is appropriate because they were more or less so low in the original. The set also includes sponge inserts that I have not tested yet. Generally very pleasant to use, it is difficult to put them on because they fit tightly and natural leather is not as stretchy as synthetic leather, but I suspect that now it is calm for the next 20 years :) It is also worth noting that the CD300 completely hates velor or higher pads .

The visible cable was made from the Canare StarQuad l-4e5c guide, because the pure copper somehow sounded good with them, not only audibly but also visually. A 3.5mm jack plug with a 6.3mm screw-on adapter as it was in the original :) There is no point in going into balance because these headphones will play out of everything.
 

Attachments

  • 20220905_185713.jpg
    20220905_185713.jpg
    365.4 KB · Views: 0
  • 20220905_185729.jpg
    20220905_185729.jpg
    244.3 KB · Views: 0
  • 20220905_185749.jpg
    20220905_185749.jpg
    260.4 KB · Views: 0
  • 20220905_185811.jpg
    20220905_185811.jpg
    914.7 KB · Views: 0
  • 20220905_190101.jpg
    20220905_190101.jpg
    261.8 KB · Views: 0
  • 20220905_190137.jpg
    20220905_190137.jpg
    361.7 KB · Views: 0
  • 20220905_154632.jpg
    20220905_154632.jpg
    373 KB · Views: 0
Sep 7, 2022 at 7:21 AM Post #52 of 69
Was MDR R10 unsuccessful? I know they are priced exorbitantly at the time, equal to nearly 5K in today's money back then is quite a huge expense, but as a Halo product, I think it serves its purpose quite well, no?
 
Jan 31, 2023 at 9:26 PM Post #54 of 69
Finally joining the CD3000 club :beyersmile:
I was able to get the original box with it too and the presentation made me feel a little special. 1st impression, holy crap! I expected a headphone from the early 90s to sound really veil, but no! This headphone clarity is amazing! How can something from 30 years ago still sound more amazing than a lot of the current headphones in the market? I tried the CD3000 on a dap and tube amp. On the DAP, I wasn’t too impress. The sound reminded me of my CD player days, meaning the vocals sounded too unnatural to me, but gave me a little nostalgia vibe for some reason. Then I got home and plug them up on my tube amp. The clarity jump to a high level. Vocals sounded real to me again and the CD3000 was singing in my ears :L3000:. Really enjoying these headphones already. So far, I recently got the MA900 and CD3000 for Sony headphones. Old school Sony and Audio Technica headphones are top! Both old school Sony and old school Audio Technica are my favorite brand of headphones even with today current market. I guess the MA900 don’t count as old school, but it got some magic in it!

9BE4E008-5780-4C9A-A6D1-75597C3CD0FC.jpeg

46E15B28-87C9-4CEC-A2B7-B33E41F947A2.jpeg


A7FCDB19-2011-41BA-9F36-212CCAE7096D.jpeg


4F6D249E-ED3A-4F60-870F-830F23808F42.jpeg
 
Jan 31, 2023 at 9:31 PM Post #55 of 69
Finally joining the CD3000 club :beyersmile:
I was able to get the original box with it too and the presentation made me feel a little special. 1st impression, holy crap! I expected a headphone from the early 90s to sound really veil, but no! This headphone clarity is amazing! How can something from 30 years ago still sound more amazing than a lot of the current headphones in the market? I tried the CD3000 on a dap and tube amp. On the DAP, I wasn’t too impress. The sound reminded me of my CD player days, meaning the vocals sounded too unnatural to me, but gave me a little nostalgia vibe for some reason. Then I got home and plug them up on my tube amp. The clarity jump to a high level. Vocals sounded real to me again and the CD3000 was singing in my ears :L3000:. Really enjoying these headphones already. So far, I recently got the MA900 and CD3000 for Sony headphones. Old school Sony and Audio Technica headphones are top! Both old school Sony and old school Audio Technica are my favorite brand of headphones even with today current market. I guess the MA900 don’t count as old school, but it got some magic in it!

9BE4E008-5780-4C9A-A6D1-75597C3CD0FC.jpeg
46E15B28-87C9-4CEC-A2B7-B33E41F947A2.jpeg

A7FCDB19-2011-41BA-9F36-212CCAE7096D.jpeg

4F6D249E-ED3A-4F60-870F-830F23808F42.jpeg
Welcome to the club! Yours are minty!
 
Oct 20, 2023 at 4:55 PM Post #56 of 69
@purk @protoss @GREQ

Hi, I have found a really nice Sony CD 1700, possibly the first revision as in the rear of the box it's written "Sony Corporation 1996 Printed in Japan"

Immagine666.jpg


There is a layer, too, maybe is possible to de sure that this is a first 1996 edition?

Immagine2222.jpg


It seems in really excellent conditions, except the headband that is like this:

what do you think of it?

thank you!

Immagine4444.jpg


Immagine44445.jpg
 
Last edited:
Oct 20, 2023 at 7:10 PM Post #57 of 69
That’s very very cool! How do you liking the sound?
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top