Sony MDR-MV1

[justsomesonyfan]

Does anyone use a much better cable on the MV1? I used a quality copper cable that's cheep and that improved the instrument separation and details.
Brise Audio makes a very nice cable but I heard it is quite stiff.

I have a modded one with dual sided black dragon cable (thicccc copper), wired directly into the driver. sadly could not a/b, but my modder ( @purk ) had his modded mv1 vs my stock mv1 and said that the mod brings significant benefits.

 

[purk]

I have a modded one with dual sided black dragon cable (thicccc copper), wired directly into the driver. sadly could not a/b, but my modder ( @purk ) had his modded mv1 vs my stock mv1 and said that the mod brings significant benefits.

Yes, direct wiring mod bring immediate and very noticeable improvements. For the MV1, we are bypassing up to 3 solders joints and the signal no longer having to go through that thin gauge OFC wire connecting from left to the right driver, so there are less losses on the audio chain. I hope you are able to compare yours to stock MV1 one day to hear how much improvements one can get by doing a direct wiring mods.

 

[musicday]

Nobody heard this and K812? The bass on MV1 is fantastic but sadly the clamping was too much for me. Maybe I should have stretched the headband.

 

[nc8000]

Yes, direct wiring mod bring immediate and very noticeable improvements. For the MV1, we are bypassing up to 3 solders joints and the signal no longer having to go through that thin gauge OFC wire connecting from left to the right driver, so there are less losses on the audio chain. I hope you are able to compare yours to stock MV1 one day to hear how much improvements one can get by doing a direct wiring mods.

I had the Ultrasone Signature Pro and APureSound rewired that direct to drivers and that was a hit though if it was the wire or the direct to driver that made the biggest difference I don’t know

 

[purk]

I had the Ultrasone Signature Pro and APureSound rewired that direct to drivers and that was a hit though if it was the wire or the direct to driver that made the biggest difference I don’t know

The mod I did bypass all the connectors (solder joints) including the thin gauge OFC wire from left to right driver and solder directly the upgrade wire onto each driver. Even if you upgrade to better cables, you are still limited by all these bottlenecks especially those stock thin gauge OFC wires. See below for some pictures of of the modification that I did on my pair.

 

[nc8000]

The mod I did bypass all the connectors (solder joints) including the thin gauge OFC wire from left to right driver and solder directly the upgrade wire onto each driver. Even if you upgrade to better cables, you are still limited by all these bottlenecks especially those stock thin gauge OFC wires. See below for some pictures of of the modification that I did on my pair.

Yes that’s how my Ultrasones were wired as well, seperate wires through new holes in the cups directly to each driver bypassing all stock internal wires etc. and it was Whiplash Audio that did it, not APureSound

 

[musicday]

I like the simplicity of the mod. Now they should be even comfortable. For 4.4 mm balanced you soldered only two wires per cup. Left and right?
Where did you get the wire or you made it yourself. What did you use as strain relief for the inside? A knot of the cable is what some headphones use.

 

[purk]

I like the simplicity of the mod. Now they should be even comfortable. For 4.4 mm balanced you soldered only two wires per cup. Left and right?
Where did you get the wire or you made it yourself. What did you use as strain relief for the inside? A knot of the cable is what some headphones use.

Yes, two wires for each driver, one for left and the other for the right channel. I used Moon-Audio Black Dragon for one mod and another Moon-Audio Blsck Dragon IEM for another. I just have unused cable laying around so I just cut them up and did the mod. You can buy FiiO Silver cable, remove the connector, tin the wire and solder onto the driver. I use regular heatshrink for strain relief but and use the zip tie to tie-off inside the cups. The left side I just use a grommet to seal off the hole.

 

[justsomesonyfan]

4.4 to 3.5 bal arrived, tried mv1 with my qls qa361, gotta get some pads to experiment with, the treble is too strong, it's stopping me from playing at louder volumes like with the hd660s, I suspect the mv1 full potential is higher, just needs to lower the treble and up the mids.

will probably get a bunch of brainwavz pads to check

Update: ended up buying suede, velour, and hybrid from brainwavz. did not go for leather due to price and feeling odd about having animal skin around my ear, and did not go for pleather due to it's flakeyness

 

[musicday]

4.4 to 3.5 bal arrived, tried mv1 with my qls qa361, gotta get some pads to experiment with, the treble is too strong, it's stopping me from playing at louder volumes like with the hd660s, I suspect the mv1 full potential is higher, just needs to lower the treble and up the mids.

will probably get a bunch of brainwavz pads to check

Update: ended up buying suede, velour, and hybrid from brainwavz. did not go for leather due to price and feeling odd about having animal skin around my ear, and did not go for pleather due to it's flakeyness

How is your MV1 now? Are you happier, still experiencing with pads and cables?

 

[justsomesonyfan]

How is your MV1 now? Are you happier, still experiencing with pads and cables?

I toyed with qa361 settings and found something I enjoy quite a bit.

I also did a direct comparison with the hd660s and both are a sidegrade to each other I would say. The mv1 is really up there in terms of quality imo, more comfortable too.

It really depends of one wishes to have more mid emphasis or more bass/treble extension. The mv1 is only mildly more V shaped, in actuality the extension just extends more both ways imo.

I think that if one were to tune down the midbass it would have a similar sound to the hd660s.

However there is some part on the hd660s in the upper mids/treble that is recessed that I only noticed in a direct A/B.

On the mv1 there were sounds in that area that were much more forward and present while on the hd660s I could barely hear them unless I knew they were there and was actively trying to hear them (they were in the very back)

I did not get my pads yet sadly so I still haven't padrolled, but even if all 3 pads pair badly, I'm quite glad with the sound I get out of them now.

Also have an onix xm5 that was sent to npaudio for mods. Might pair very nicely with the mv1.

 

[Hinomotocho]

I toyed with qa361 settings and found something I enjoy quite a bit.

I also did a direct comparison with the hd660s and both are a sidegrade to each other I would say. The mv1 is really up there in terms of quality imo, more comfortable too.

It really depends of one wishes to have more mid emphasis or more bass/treble extension. The mv1 is only mildly more V shaped, in actuality the extension just extends more both ways imo.

I think that if one were to tune down the midbass it would have a similar sound to the hd660s.

However there is some part on the hd660s in the upper mids/treble that is recessed that I only noticed in a direct A/B.

On the mv1 there were sounds in that area that were much more forward and present while on the hd660s I could barely hear them unless I knew they were there and was actively trying to hear them (they were in the very back)

I did not get my pads yet sadly so I still haven't padrolled, but even if all 3 pads pair badly, I'm quite glad with the sound I get out of them now.

Also have an onix xm5 that was sent to npaudio for mods. Might pair very nicely with the mv1.

What are the XM5 mods you're having done?

 

[justsomesonyfan]

What are the XM5 mods you're having done?

honestly, no clue!! He'll open it up and see what he can upgrade

 

[Hinomotocho]

honestly, no clue!! He'll open it up and see what he can upgrade

It is almost the perfect dap for me, exceeding the Walkmans in a few aspects (USB-C, instant boot to player, drop-down menu). I purchased on holiday in Japan with the possibility of selling my 1Z, but based solely on sound the 1Z is a head and shoulders above the XM5 - and the XM5 is excellent.
I'll be interested to see what he may be able to achieve. Please update on the XM5 thread.

I had taken the more travel friendly Shanling M1 Plus and hadn't purchased my XM5 when I demoed the MV1. How do you find the pairing? I can sometimes find the XM5 a tad bright depending on the pairing and recording.

 

[justsomesonyfan]

It is almost the perfect dap for me, exceeding the Walkmans in a few aspects (USB-C, instant boot to player, drop-down menu). I purchased on holiday in Japan with the possibility of selling my 1Z, but based solely on sound the 1Z is a head and shoulders above the XM5 - and the XM5 is excellent.
I'll be interested to see what he may be able to achieve. Please update on the XM5 thread.

I had taken the more travel friendly Shanling M1 Plus and hadn't purchased my XM5 when I demoed the MV1. How do you find the pairing? I can sometimes find the XM5 a tad bright depending on the pairing and recording.

I did not try the xm5 before sending it actually, I traded my wm1am2 for it and asked the xm5 to be sent directly to npaudio.

I will say, the modded m1 is the best source I have but I sent it to a friend and don't have it for quite a while now.

IDK about xm5, but the qls qa361 is a sidegrade/maybe a small downgrade from the modded 1a. with QA361 the synergy with the mv1 is far far better than with the 1am2.

If xm5 is 2 notches below then I just might be disappointed, and the qls qa361 might just beat it

If it doesn't then we end up having a paradox of preferences haha.

Did you play with mrwalkman mods?