[elwappo99]

Quote:

Have any of you compared the MA900 to the new 1R? I'm curious about both.

 
 
I owned the MA900 and have recently heard the 1R. Wasn't a super big fan of the 1R. Loved the design of it, but the sound was very bassy, with a very unnatural sounding mid bass hump that really hollowed out the midrange and made it feel thin. The MA900 had a much fuller and warmer midrange that really sounded nice. I agree with others that the design of the MA900 just didn't do the sound justice. 

 

[sofastreamer]

closed back portable can vs open air @home cans --> simply not comparable.

 

[Amarphael]

@elwappo- How does a midbass hump can make the (lower) mids sound thin? It should sound exactly the other way around, Make them lush and (if hump is too uncontrolled) congested.
 
Regarding MA900's design, Personally i think it's a brilliant design as it supports the very concept of this model as described by Sony:
 
"An open-air design delivers not only a lightweight, comfortable, and airy feeling, but also creates a natural sound field that mimics listening to music without headphones."
 
These come the closest to the "wear without feeling of wearing" ideal that i've come across in headphondom, Even more so than MDR-F1(!), as it feels slightly less cubersome, espcially when worn to the front of the head. And the filmsy-ness, It's there no doubt, but it also makes them have a certain flexible chararcter the enables to fit on the head like a glove and somehow maintainn a good grip with just barely a clamp, if you could call it that in this case.
 
Yep, I'm loving these more and more as i have them, such a pleasure to use on a all-around basis.

 

[Noir7]

overall i've only got problem with the clamping force, they keep falling off my head everytime i turn around.
 
soundwise and comfort got no complaint for it.

 

[elwappo99]

Quote:

@elwappo- How does a midbass hump can make the (lower) mids sound thin? It should sound exactly the other way around, Make them lush and (if hump is too uncontrolled) congested.
 

 
Ooops, sorry getting the two mixed when writing. To clear up: The 1R has a bass bump, which causes the midrange to sound thin, the MA900 have a slight mid bass bump that gives them a little warmth overall. 

 

[AnAnalogSpirit]

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[Katun]

Quote:

I have a question to the current MA900 owners... 
 
Has anybody done any "surgery" on the driver PCB to remove the SMD Resistor Network and see if the MA900 SQ improves at all??
 
I know it did on my MDR-F1. I'm curious to see if it will "unrestrain" the MA900 before bothering with it.

 
Only you would ask that...

 

[AnAnalogSpirit]

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[Amarphael]

Here:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/637168/sony-ma900-resistor-mod
http://www.head-fi.org/t/637267/sony-ma900-vs-sony-cd900st#post_8885356

 

[AnAnalogSpirit]

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[a_recording]

Quote:

Have any of you compared the MA900 to the new 1R? I'm curious about both.

 
I should get my 1R's tomorrow, so I can write some notes for ya :3
 
Since they're such different phones I'm guessing you want to know from a 'whats Sony's line up now' perspective.
 
I haven't been in this thread for a while but honestly I'm so weirded out that the MA900's are not more popular here. I guess the initial reports of flimsy build really killed off any hype, but then they are so darn comfortable I feel like they would make a lot of people happy....

 

[NaturalMelody]

I should get my 1R's tomorrow, so I can write some notes for ya :3

Since they're such different phones I'm guessing you want to know from a 'whats Sony's line up now' perspective.

I haven't been in this thread for a while but honestly I'm so weirded out that the MA900's are not more popular here. I guess the initial reports of flimsy build really killed off any hype, but then they are so darn comfortable I feel like they would make a lot of people happy....

C'mon tell us already! I'm very much willing to know about imaging. Which one does have more accurate instrument presentation? As I personally very much hate when Instruments wonders around and aren't at place they rly should be. And also that when they doesn't separate from each other enough. So if you have anything to tell about soundstage differences, other than MA900 has wider one, I'd like to know.

Sry my english sucks, hope u understood!

 

[a_recording]

Oh, oops, I forgot to update you guys on this!
 
They are very, very different.
 
The MA900 is much dryer, with more treble and less bass / mid-tone thickness. Bass is much looser and bass extension is a lot less. The soundstage is much wider, but also more diffuse. It's also more comfortable.
 
To me, the MDR-1R sounds more natural, but your mileage may vary. If you are a big fan of open sounds or do not like warmer cans, the MA900 is undoubtedly the better choice, though it is definitely the more fatiguing listen.
 
I honestly don't think its terribly useful comparing them because they are for different use scenarios. The only thing they really share is the brand name.

 

[NaturalMelody]

Yeah, it's okay. Thank you for your impressions! I'm now very much leaning to MDR-1R's, seems to more of a my liking from what I've read.. Already found Amp/DAC for them

 

[oopeteroo]

how its the mid/vocal compare to hd598 or hd650? which is better ma900?