jaibautista
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2008
- Posts
- 322
- Likes
- 335
Joining the bandwagon!
Between the OEM all-pleather pads and the YAXI hybrid pads (alcantara + pleather), i very much prefer the latter as they offer more space between the drivers and my ears. When I first tried them on, straight from the box, I heard some channel imbalance, perhaps because the drivers were resting on my rather large ears at a sub-optimal angle (the audio image i was getting was non-centered, even though the track i used to test the headphones had center imaging); I even thought that maybe something was wrong with the drivers themselves. But after replacing the OEM pads with the YAXI pads, the problem was immediately solved.
I'm coming from a pair of MDR-Z7M2s and I feel like I am able to get 80-85% of the enjoyment/experience with the M1STs minus the weight and size. And since I also have the MDR-1AM2s, I can just use the supplied 4.4mm cable with my NW-WM1A when outside the house (and I thought they sounded okay, but not as dynamic/punchy when paired with my desktop setup, i.e., an RME ADI-2 DAC FS paired with a Tom Christiansen HPA-1 amplifier).
I also have the MDR-CD900ST, a modded pair c/o Cartonode Engineering (the ones I have are the CE-02, with detachable cables and the hinge system a la MDR-7506), and I don't think the M1STs improve drastically over the CD900STs. That said, I welcome the slight bass boost with the slight smoothening of the treble (the latter made the CD900STs a fatiguing listen for long hours). If you already have the CD900STs, then getting the M1STs might be redundant. Even so, if you have the budget to accommodate both headphones, why not?
I can't recommend the M1STs enough. I should've bought them sooner!
Between the OEM all-pleather pads and the YAXI hybrid pads (alcantara + pleather), i very much prefer the latter as they offer more space between the drivers and my ears. When I first tried them on, straight from the box, I heard some channel imbalance, perhaps because the drivers were resting on my rather large ears at a sub-optimal angle (the audio image i was getting was non-centered, even though the track i used to test the headphones had center imaging); I even thought that maybe something was wrong with the drivers themselves. But after replacing the OEM pads with the YAXI pads, the problem was immediately solved.
I'm coming from a pair of MDR-Z7M2s and I feel like I am able to get 80-85% of the enjoyment/experience with the M1STs minus the weight and size. And since I also have the MDR-1AM2s, I can just use the supplied 4.4mm cable with my NW-WM1A when outside the house (and I thought they sounded okay, but not as dynamic/punchy when paired with my desktop setup, i.e., an RME ADI-2 DAC FS paired with a Tom Christiansen HPA-1 amplifier).
I also have the MDR-CD900ST, a modded pair c/o Cartonode Engineering (the ones I have are the CE-02, with detachable cables and the hinge system a la MDR-7506), and I don't think the M1STs improve drastically over the CD900STs. That said, I welcome the slight bass boost with the slight smoothening of the treble (the latter made the CD900STs a fatiguing listen for long hours). If you already have the CD900STs, then getting the M1STs might be redundant. Even so, if you have the budget to accommodate both headphones, why not?
I can't recommend the M1STs enough. I should've bought them sooner!