[Roderick]

Because of less bright sound I think ma900's big soundstage is easier to notice than on hd800. All the shizzles and hisses and over emhasized microdetails on hd800 keep distracting me from music. Sure Hd800 is more transparent. It is obvious ma900 has one or two curtains over the music so to speak.

I'm not actually a big fan of k701 or dt880 so ma900 beating those would not be much of a surprise. I'm not yet familiar enough with onkyo a800 to say much about. Ollo s4's I know well. Those have a lot smaller soundstage than sony's, better bass extension and more neutral sound. To my ears sony's are also very close to what I consider neutral.

About comfort... I'm having a bit of an epiphany. I used to work on construction wearing a hard hat with earmuffs. In my current job I wear safety glasses over my normal glasses+earmuffs and sometimes a visor on top of it all. Very uncomfortable combination.

I have a very high discomfort tolerance for my head. I never cared much for headphone comfort because anything is more comfortable than things I have to wear at work.

With ma900 I really notice, well don't notice...anything. I've had 300 headphones and with this is the first time comfort really is a factor. I've of course had many comfortable headphones over the years... But like people have said before ma900 feels like it does not exist. Really special.

 

[Sp12er3]

Oh? Isn't the MDR F1 quite similar in comfort section? Or is the Headband much better on the MA?

 

[D3soLaT3]

My MA900s developed a creaking noise on the left side. Anyone know of a solution? It really bothers me when listening at lower volumes and I turn my head or open my mouth, which is basically all the time. I appreciate any and all help.

 

[dogears]

augh, sorry to ‘hear’ that
does it sound like a mechanical issue? i hope so...

 

[D3soLaT3]

Yes, definitely mechanical. Can't figure out if it's the little spring in the headband or what. All I know is to have creak free listening I have to leave the left side alone and fully extend the right side to fit my head. It's really annoying.

 

[racebit]

Oh? Isn't the MDR F1 quite similar in comfort section? Or is the Headband much better on the MA?

The F1 is the more comfortable headphone ever made I think. The MA900 is also excellent and comes second place.
The F1 wins over the MA900 both on the ears and on the head.
The F1 has a floating headband, which the MA900 does not. It is not a problem for the MA900 because it is so light.
The F1 is the more open headphone ever made. See the picture I posted on the previous page (164). With the F1 I can touch my ear with all 5 fingers simultaneously, with the MA900 I can't touch the ear even with the single small finger. That makes the F1 the perfect headphone for the extremely hot days/nights.
However the F1 has very little bass, so nowadays I only use it on extreme hot days/nights, and use the MA900 90% of the time.

 

[Sp12er3]

Yes, definitely mechanical. Can't figure out if it's the little spring in the headband or what. All I know is to have creak free listening I have to leave the left side alone and fully extend the right side to fit my head. It's really annoying.

That ain't spring, that's the cable coiled inside the thin Headband, please don't play around with it or it'd snap on you.. Can you be more descriptive on how it sound? Also, exactly where it's coming from? Should be easy to pinpoint as the whole headphone has a very simple mechanism.

 

[D3soLaT3]

That ain't spring, that's the cable coiled inside the thin Headband, please don't play around with it or it'd snap on you.. Can you be more descriptive on how it sound? Also, exactly where it's coming from? Should be easy to pinpoint as the whole headphone has a very simple mechanism.

That's the thing, I haven't been able to pinpoint where it's coming from. I tried holding the earcup in place where it swivels and it still does it. I tried holding the cup so it doesn't actuate up and down... Still no luck. Like I said, the only way to not hear it is to not extend the left side.

 

[Roderick]

Oh? Isn't the MDR F1 quite similar in comfort section? Or is the Headband much better on the MA?

The F1 is the more comfortable headphone ever made I think. The MA900 is also excellent and comes second place.

With F1 I had more pressure on top of my head despite the nice self adjusting headband. Something about weight distribution was a bit off. Could be the shape of my head or just worn out headphones.

 

[Sp12er3]

ah alright, good to know that the 2nd iteration of the design acrually fits you better, this shows more just how diverse people and their preference can be
how's your experience with your MA900 so far BTW? I have them on my head right now, after a week of only having my Denon on hand, man I was missing it quite a bit while I was on vacation.

 

[Sp12er3]

That's the thing, I haven't been able to pinpoint where it's coming from. I tried holding the earcup in place where it swivels and it still does it. I tried holding the cup so it doesn't actuate up and down... Still no luck. Like I said, the only way to not hear it is to not extend the left side.

have you tried tinkering around with the three screws that limits the headband movements? literally one screw handle the earcup swivel, the other 2 (smaller) on the extension. maybe loosen/ tightening it will change something?
sorry if I cant help much, I never dismantle mine,(and hopefully doesn't need to ever). maybe someone that has done modding to them can help./

 

[Roderick]

how's your experience with your MA900 so far BTW?

I have not compared Sony to Ollo, onkyo or dt880 yet because I loaned those to a friend. I also have not compared to k701 because I won't be selling akg's. Local market is saturated with used k701. I would not get more than 60€ for my pair so I'm keeping those.

About ma900... Still digging these but I'm not perfectly happy with the bass. Occasionally it has a hollow feel to it. I'ts not something that constantly bothers me but on occasion it leaves me wanting more. Propably just subbass lacking. Still ma900 has better bass performance than I was expecting considering the (very) open build. Also it must partly be my brain associating smooth sound with heftier bass and when it is not delivered I't sounds strange to me.

One funny thing... I red how position sensitive these are. That is definately true. When I yawn there is a drastic change in sound

 

[Sp12er3]

Yeah, change how it sit on your head to tamper on its sound delivery, I mostly put the headphone forward so my ear is touching the back part, it gives the most soundstage and most "speaker" like feel that way.
The earcup is quite roomy to be able to do that haha

 

[racebit]

With F1 I had more pressure on top of my head despite the nice self adjusting headband. Something about weight distribution was a bit off. Could be the shape of my head or just worn out headphones.

I guess that is why not all headphones use floating band. It seems it does not work well for everyone.
But if If it was for me, all headphones would use floating headband. As I see it there cannot be a comparison between an automatic adjustable with large contact area band and a fixed one with narrow contact area. My Focal Clear fixed headband is very uncomfortable and I can only use it with my custom padding on it.
Even so I am in line to buy the Z1R, as I did not hear people complaining about the headband.
As I said, on the MA900 the fixed headband is no problem at all, I think because of the extreme low weight, 195 gr. The Clear are very heavy, the only headphones I have that I notice the weight when raising my head.

 

[Roderick]

I have nothing against floating headbands. One one ollo s4's is supremely comfortable. Unfortunately earpads are not. I don't think I've had many too uncomfortable headphones in general. Superlux hd330 is one... Audeze sine... Sometimes hd800 is just too wide. Sometimes it feels comfortable, quite weird. Some vintage stuff is really bad as can be expected.