[Skooter]

I broke the first pair trying to bypass the resistors.
 
Kept the foamy stuff but unfortunately tossed the frames in the bin...

 

[Tony51]

not sure, can there be a batch that can distort more, than the others?

wondering a bit as some of the elements, are a bit prone to distort

what are your terms on how the SQ is, considering distortion, or not a pure signal, om the 900?

may be that there is more a SQ rather, still i find it a bit distorted in some elements, especially when Tony mentioned it 
will probably get better

what are your burn-in time, is there any that you feel is necessary, if there are some distortion or driver compression, that doesnt work flawlessly?

I unfortunately returned my ma900, I told the seller in japan that I would take a refund or a replacement. He chose to give me a full refund. I left at that but I'm still desiring to repurchase from another seller but they went up slightly. I know something was not right with my set. They were so comfortable. In the meantime I did purchase the new philips A5pro by Armin vann Bueren at 129.00. Close cans.
Tony

 

[nlse]

I unfortunately returned my ma900, I told the seller in japan that I would take a refund or a replacement. He chose to give me a full refund. I left at that but I'm still desiring to repurchase from another seller but they went up slightly. I know something was not right with my set. They were so comfortable. In the meantime I did purchase the new philips A5pro by Armin vann Bueren at 129.00. Close cans.
Tony

the a5pro are excellent with the larger ear pads

 

[Tony51]

They sure are, the A5pros came with the medium size ear cushion, I went to Armin V Buerens website and asked for the largest set of cushion because they were not shown on their website. He responded by saying they were in back order. They are excellent built and posses a great sound. But they are heavy.
Tony

 

[thesmokingman]

  Has anyone tried using the MDR-Z7 drivers in the MA900 open frame?
 
I had owned two sets of the MA900 and am listening to them now. They are very durable and still sound good.
 
The MDR-Z7 seems to have a fantastic driver and excellent clarity but the closed form factor and perhaps an odd bass port made the low end sound discombubulated every time I tried them.
 
Sony sells the drivers for about $100 each and I think the part numbers follow:
 
https://docs.sony.com/release/MDSM/989605201_sm.pdf
right driver is X25905151
left driver is X25905141

 
The Z7 just needs some damping to control the loose bass. I used sound damping foam sheet, the stick on kind for pc cases. I don't think it's worth it to swap in Z7 drivers, as you'd lose the glorious bass that they have and all told out the door, you could have just bought a set of Z7 to begin with. I own modded pairs of both the 900 and Z7.

 

[Skooter]

Thanks smokingman.
 
I tried those Z7 a bunch of times. Using the matching Sony amp, they sounded much better with the "balanced" cable. That was a surprise. But maybe the amp was optimized to encourage people to buy the expensive balanced cable...
 
I'll revisit the Z7 page...

 

[justvinh]

Guys do you think the MA-900 pair better with Solid State Amp or perhaps something like the Vali 2?

 

[Sp12er3]

Only managed to demo the Z7 once on a local Jaben store... Build is amazing, but I only can do a 1 song demo as I need to go elsewhere, my impression of it is Good though.
Recently Jaben have the demo of the MDR Z1R, now THAT, Is the one I lush for...

 

[Arzach]

For those EQing these, care to share please?

 

[vcmusik]

  Guys do you think the MA-900 pair better with Solid State Amp or perhaps something like the Vali 2?

I happen to have an MA900 and a Vali2+Modi Multibit. It's pretty amazing, I must say. I don't do any EQ but I find that your choice of tube will affect how much bass you get. Also, I did the resistor mod and it sounds much better than stock. 

 

[mgunin]

  Guys do you think the MA-900 pair better with Solid State Amp or perhaps something like the Vali 2?

 
I do feel the improvement with Meier Corda Rock. Please note, however, that you need to choose a model suitable for low-impedance and sensitive headphones, so not any amp will do as a good pairing.

 

[amigomatt]

I just revisited my MA900s last night after a few weeks/months away from them and they are spectacular with orchestral music, lending a big open wide soundstage with real life and movement in the treble.  A gorgeous sound picture through my Chord Mojo.

 

[Sp12er3]

Agree with that, MA900 give something special for orchestral music, especially the sweetness it gives to the instruments and some weight are given by the bass also.

On that topic, Sony's new Flagship, MDR Z1R, is also quite something on orchestral song, people here that likes MA900 need to check out the Z1R.

 

[DooberKnob]

I live in the US and I'm interested in buying a pair of these.
 
Would it be cheaper to buy from an Amazon seller, or from a Japanese website and forward through Tenso?

 

[fade2blak]

  I live in the US and I'm interested in buying a pair of these.
 
Would it be cheaper to buy from an Amazon seller, or from a Japanese website and forward through Tenso?

Check eBay.. I bought mine from eBay.. Lots of Japanese sellers there as well...