GALLERY: MDR-MA300
Displaying the "floating dynamic angled driver" system. Also, the unpadded headband was a bit too much for Yours Truly, so I added a Beyerdynamic snap-on Padded Headband, which works out very well for these cans.
Hello Head-Fi'ers,
I've been intrigued by the new MA seris of MDR Sony Headphones since I read the press release about the MDR-MA900, -500, -300, and -100 from Sony Europe's site.
There's a thread going on about the MDR-MA900 which has some positive information, and leaves many questions.
That said, I was still very curious about them since I had tried to buy a pair of MDR-F1 (which was "replaced" by the MDR-MA900 during the month I tried to order the F1's from Japan, and the F1's were all recalled by the Distributors to Sony (according to Bluetin Japan, and GeekStuff4U, anyway).
That bit of preamble settled, there's a few differences that deserve mentioning.
The MDR-MA900 is made with Magnesium Alloy and Aluminum, with a Full Open system (there are ports in the rear back of the "cups" that allow for enhanced spatial cue information/imaging to be transmitted). All but the MDR-MA-900 share a open cup, non-rear-ported system but have the drivers in a floating PVC rubber surround.
The floating drivers and rubber surround act as a floating individualized angled driver fitting mechanism. As you can see in the pics I've included of the MDR-MA300 that I shot, the driver will smoosh down against your ear offering a customized angled driver position that precisely matches the position of your ear's angle.
This in itself is a neat trick and makes the headphones sound pretty nice. Aside from that, with an amp (E11, E17, or SENSE G3-T7 OTL Tube) I'm getting quite nice sound out of the MDR-MA300. More on SQ after a bit.
The MDR-MA500 & -900 use Neodymium Magnets that are more powerful than the Ferrite Magnets in the MDR-MA300 and -100. That said, the Ferrite Magnets in the MDR-MA300 are up to the task of sounding good with an amp, but are somewhat harder to drive than anticipated. I'd be curious to see how the MDR-MA900 (which is now very tantalizing after experiencing the MDR-MA300) will perform and sound.
I must agree with the prefailing consensus running in the MDR-MA900 thread regarding the cloth pads and the comfort level: these are quite simply possibly one of the most comfortable cans in a series of comfortable cans that I have had the pleasure of leaving on my head for hours at a time. Another note regarding comfort, for those of you that like the long cord experience you wont be disappointed, for those of you that try these cans and prefer the short cord experience I feel you may be reterminating the stereo plug to a more manageable length, or figuring out how to open the cups an recable. I havent bothered peeking inside the cups.
I did notice that this model did NOT have an "Acoustic Bass Lens" and so I crafted a pair of my own out of some material that works well to tone down high frequency in my DIY tuning efforts (a type of microfiber with thick pile, rather than felt) and gave them a whirl. I'm not so convinced it made much of a difference on these 40mm drivers, but then, it really wansn't necessary to begin with. Bass was plenty adequate when it was in the song.
On to some notes about Sound Quality and Sound Signature. Well, I have to say I'm MORE than pleased, especially at this price range. I like them more than most of the phones in my current stable, including the ESW9A (though that particular phone is special for reasons every ATH-ESW9 owner knows).
The MA series has a very very pleasing sense of space, and a really nice positioning of note. Best of all is the generalized how to say this... "tone" you get from the songs and notes in the songs. There is also a refreshing sense of dynamism I think MuppetFace described as "notes appearing vaporously" which I connected to as a sense of certain segments of the songs decreasing and increasing in a more correct proportional volume to where they'd be in space in a real venue. Anyway that's the best description I have for an effect I consider special with this set of phones, and, MuppetFace; if I have misinterpereted what you intended while describing your experience with the MA-900 I apologize, feel free to expand on it and correct me.
That aside, I'd like to mention the "dynamically angled driver" system. It works very well, its like the drivers are suspened on airbags/airbag-pillars/pillows of PVC (or some kind) of rubber that are air cushioned and just softly conform the driver's angle to your head. No annoyance, no grating, nothing like that. The fabric material Sony chose for the MA series really is soft and comfortable, with no itch, thankfully. I think it's pretty ingenious to get angled drivers (along with the enhanced acoustic positional cues) in a dynamic custom fit that will adjust with your head's position.
I've listened to quite a wide genre variety from Ambient to Rock to Jazz to Electro, Fidget, Dubstep, Pop, and some Movies with the MDR-MA300, and they are good for almost everything I throw at them. I'm impressed by that versatility. Definitely not picky. And for fifty bucks you could do a LOT worse.
That said, if you wanted the MDR-MA900 (top of the MA Line, I believe they are finally stocked in places like Sonystyle.com, bhphotovideo.com, jr.com), but if you want the next model down, which is similar to the MDR-MA300, however does have the Neodymium Magnets for the drivers, I've seen them listed on eBay, or you could try pricejapan.com or another forwarding service. I haven't seen the MDR-MA500 too widely listed.
There hasn't been too much information posted about the MA series, so I thought I'd share.