[Greendriver]

It's quite possible the v7 sounded bad because the ring of foam around the driver was either missing or flat with disintegration. It plays a quite important role in the tuning. (Ear pads must be stock too, no deviation).

Whatever the reason, I believe a previous owner may have bodged a repair with a different or faje driver

 

[Feilong4]

I finally acquired a Sony MDR-V7!

Pictures

Measurements and EQ settings below.

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Babble:

I guess starting off, I’ve been collecting old and obscure headphones for about a year now. The Sony MDR-V7 caught my attention as its diaphragm material is fairly exotic (amorphous titanium, rather than PET/mylar on the V6 and on most headphones), and because there’s just a bit of info here and there as they're fairly hard to come by.

I’ve been searching for these for a while now. I’ve lost a few biddings on these already so I had to win when another pair showed up! After a number of hiccups along the way with the seller, I finally received these a few days ago. After replacing the earpads with new ones, I’ve been listening with them for quite a bit ever since.

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Information on the Sony MDR-V7:

Here’s some info on the headphones thanks to Harada Sound and nick n's listing on Head-Fi. Please do check out more info in the links!

• Design - Closed-back
  
  
• Driver - 40mm, Amorphous Titanium, Dynamic
  
  
• Sensitivity - 106 db/mW
  
  
• Power Handling Capacity - 1W
  
  
• Frequency Response - 5Hz-30kHz
  
  
• Cable Length - 3m straight oxygen-free
  
  
• Weight - 230g without cable

According to Harada Sound, it seems like production began in 1987 and may have ended around 1992. The V7 has golden “left” and “right” indicators whereas the V6 has blue “left” and red “right” indicators. The rear of the V7 earcup seems to contour a bit into the earcup whereas the V6 is just completely flat. Contrary to what some people say on various forums, the driver material on the V7 is amorphous titanium and is 40mm in diameter. The letterings on top of the headphone is in gold letterings whereas it is silver or white on the V6. As far as I know, these were only made in Japan and distributed all over the world. Again, more info on the links above!

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Preface:

So I guess as an "about my preferences", I like a warmer sound signature though I don’t like too much mid-bass emphasis. I generally like the 2-5 kHz range to be a bit laid-back - helps vocals and overall timbre to sound natural (or at least to me). I find emphasis in this area to make vocals sound shouty and unnatural sounding. I really dislike being drilled by any sorts of sharpness or peakiness. So basically, warm and smooth.

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First Impressions:

• Pretty bright
  
  
• Vocals sound pretty shouty
  
  
• I don’t like to throw this term around, but treble resolution seems to be very good - detailed not just because of emphasis, not too peaky or sharp though just a tad bit sibilant
  
  
• A fair bit of bass kick, not really “tight” bass but rather a bit of “bloom” - fun rather than technical performance; not boomy though
  
  
• Poor sub-bass extension - rumbles are nearly non-existent
  
  
• Some lower midrange recession?

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As of now, I still have the same thoughts as I did then, though I much prefer them with a bit of EQ in the upper midrange and in the treble. The following thoughts are of without EQ.

Bass:

As I mentioned, these have a bit of kick to them with energy centered around 70-100 Hz. A friend of mine also has a V7 who mentions that the bass texture on the V7 is very good. I believe this centered emphasis here explains a part of that. As I mentioned in my impressions, it’s not really a “tight” response but rather a bit loose sounding - I mentioned that it’s more of a “bloom”, in that the bass response seems to be just a bit emphasized to add some weight to instruments - pleasant rather than annoying; pleasure over technicalities. Sub-bass extension is poor - rumbles are non-existent or very quiet. EDM is not the best with this response.

Midrange:

Again, vocals are fairly shouty. Emphasis in the upper midrange makes instruments and vocals sound brighter and/or higher pitched than natural. It’s a bit like the Audio Technica’s house sound in some of their headphones (ex. AD2000X). On the plus side, these seem to sound highly detailed here. Acoustic guitars sound excellent with little nuances being immediately present. This heightened response sounds pleasant on slower tracks with piano, acoustic guitars, strings, woodwings, etc. Not so well with rock and pop, or at least not well at higher volumes.

Treble:

It’s pretty heightened in response which emphasizes sibilant notes but even so, it’s not too sharp or bothersome. It could definitely be because that the treble is heightened along with the upper midrange for a seemingly smoother transition. However, these will sound like a mess with hotly mastered tracks or heavily compressed music, so these are unforgiving in that way. On the plus side, this response helps aid strings to have this sort of I guess “airiness” to them. This also helps with the headphone sound seem perceptually spacious though not like the DT770 which impressively wide for a closed-back.

In a quick comparison to the MDR-V6, the V7 has more bass kick; is brighter, but better treble control. It just sounds like a much “higher resolution V6”. It’s also more fun to listen to than the V6.

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Measurements

Measurements done on a MiniDSP EARS with the default headphone compensation.

The measurements seem to show a quite a bit of imbalance in the bass, but I can’t say I notice it while just listening to music. I am consistently getting the imbalance during various measurements.

In the measurements, the Sony MDR-V6 seems to look “better”, but the V7 sounds like the higher performing model with less sharpness in the treble (contrary to what the measurements show); more resolution throughout the midrange and treble; and more “bump” in the bass.

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EQ Settings:

• -5 db @ 2500 Hz, Q: 2
  
  
• -5 db @ 3000 Hz, Q: 2
  
  
• -3 db @ 4800 Hz, Q: 4.32
  
  
• -6 db @ 9000 Hz, Q: 1

The EQ settings here are not necessarily final but are to my liking at the moment. Because of very high inconsistency in the bass in measurements (very seal dependent), I have not tried any EQ in the bass. May experiment some more someday.

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Conclusion/TL;DR:

Surprisingly, very impressive. Bit of bass kick for some fun. Upper midrange is a bit too emphasized which makes vocals and instruments sound unnaturally bright. Treble though bright is well controlled and well-integrated with its brighter upper midrange response. Highly detailed sounding and not just because of the brighter response. Great for slow and easy-going tracks, not so much for highly compressed and hotly mastered tracks. It is quite a bit too bright for my tastes. With the EQ above, it's pretty damn great!

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Some songs I listened to:

• Chico with Honeyworks - “Nostalgic Rainfall”
  
  
• Daft Punk - “Get Lucky”
  
  
• Daft Punk - “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”
  
  
• Fuchigami Mai/Karen Hojo - “Hakka -Hakka-”
  
  
• I Hear Your Voice OST - “Breaking Moment”
  
  
• Maaya Sakamoto - “DIVE ft. Gontiti”
  
  
• The Weeknd - “Reminder”
  
  
• Toyama Nao - “Rainbow”
  
  
• Tsuki ga Kirei OST - “陽暮れて家路近くありせば”
  
  
• Violet Evergarden: Automemories OST - “Always watching over you”
  
  
• Yanagi Nagi - “Aqua Terrarium”

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DAC - ifi Nano iDSD

Amp - Gustard H10

 

[CKT1138]

I want to love the MDR V6s but I'm absolutely shocked at the sheer harshness of them.
The shrillest headphones I've owned. The treble is so overaccentuated that it's staggering, and the bass is almost non-existent by comparison. I know it's actually High quality bass, but you can't hear it over the extremely loud high end.
Maybe it's the perforated Brainwavz pads that I'm using, but most reviews I've read of those seem to indicate that they really don't affect the sound, and I've had similar gripes about the mdr v6 regardless of what pads are on them. Very bright, very fatiguing, and zero width.
Maybe something is wrong with me or my headphones...

 

[Greendriver]

I want to love the MDR V6s but I'm absolutely shocked at the sheer harshness of them.
The shrillest headphones I've owned. The treble is so overaccentuated that it's staggering, and the bass is almost non-existent by comparison. I know it's actually High quality bass, but you can't hear it over the extremely loud high end.
Maybe it's the perforated Brainwavz pads that I'm using, but most reviews I've read of those seem to indicate that they really don't affect the sound, and I've had similar gripes about the mdr v6 regardless of what pads are on them. Very bright, very fatiguing, and zero width.
Maybe something is wrong with me or my headphones...

Never regarded my v6 as fatiguing although there are a lot of fakes around. Prefer my v7, however.

 

[ricksome]

Never regarded my v6 as fatiguing although there are a lot of fakes around. Prefer my v7, however.

I agree ... Lot of fakes out there. I believe you may have one.... There is nothing wrong with you.

 

[CKT1138]

I agree ... Lot of fakes out there. I believe you may have one.... There is nothing wrong with you.

I don't know how I'm even supposed to determine that. They don't have any obvious signs, they also sound similar to my friends pair.
They definitely don't match the traits I've seen online for knockoffs.

 

[CKT1138]

Also, I do have the original packaging and documentation for them, and they don't seem similar to the typical counterfeit models either

 

[Greendriver]

Maybe the V6 is not for you then...we are all different and our hearing response is individual. The V6 is normally a good listen for me, but the 7506 is smoother and may be preferred by you. See if you can find some to try.

 

[astroid]

I love Sony, I have had several pairs from z1000 to 7506 to new noise cancelling ones I really appreciate their design standards. I am in a grado phase right now so my daily driver is a Sr325e or 80e but I got the opportunity of a cheap deal on the mdr-cd900st and couldn't resist.
Benn using them last two days at the office and on the move and I must say they are a very natural sounding headphone, bass is more abundant than I am used to but the balance of these against the mids and soft treble is very seductive. I don't think I have heard a set of cans that sound more like speakers ever. Lovely....

 

[TheSonicTruth]

My updated MDR 7506 EQ based on the new Harman target:

What software is that in????

I found this image on line(neither its site nor the image are available any longer):

REMOVED BECAUSE IT WAS FOR SRH-440!

- for the MDR-7506 - probably around the same time you did the above, but I was not able to duplicate the curve in this attachment until I inserted a super low-Q adjustment around the 3944 Frequency adjustment(Step 5).

 

[Cho Worsh]

Pre-owned V6 prices are going up on eBay. This doesn't surprise me at all. I think they clobber a lot of higher priced current production headphones. If you own them, feel fortunate.

 

[Greendriver]

Just purchased a 2nd pair of 7506 from Amazon. Side by side, they sound much louder (more sensitive) than my earlier pair, and came with the newer fabric bag. I carefully inspected the box, which has everything in the right place.
They sound more like a V6 to me. I hope they improve after burn-in. Any comments, anyone?

 

[atarione]

I own the V6's and have listened to 7506's on some occasions... personally near as I can tell they are the same .. I can't really tell any difference other than production variances on a give set **maybe....

I mean the housings are identical the part numbers for the drivers are the same (afaik) .. the only real difference is the color of the sticker far as I can see/ can't hear any..

my removable cable mod V6's in ad-hoc Bluetooth headphone configuration with a elecom bt headphone (quite professionally???) velcro'd to the hinge.



edit: yeah the driver part number is the same:
1-542-491-31

I officially degree V6 == 7506 .. but RED stickers > Blue stickers =p

 

[TheSonicTruth]

Just purchased a 2nd pair of 7506 from Amazon. Side by side, they sound much louder (more sensitive) than my earlier pair, and came with the newer fabric bag. I carefully inspected the box, which has everything in the right place.
They sound more like a V6 to me. I hope they improve after burn-in. Any comments, anyone?

My first instinct is to suggest you visually compare the box, the bag, and the phones themself to make sure you did not receive a knock-off. The V6 and 7506 are two of the most imitated headphones in the history OF headphones. Beware!

 

[TheSonicTruth]

I own the V6's and have listened to 7506's on some occasions... personally near as I can tell they are the same .. I can't really tell any difference other than production variances on a give set **maybe....

I mean the housings are identical the part numbers for the drivers are the same (afaik) .. the only real difference is the color of the sticker far as I can see/ can't hear any..

my removable cable mod V6's in ad-hoc Bluetooth headphone configuration with a elecom bt headphone (quite professionally???) velcro'd to the hinge.



edit: yeah the driver part number is the same:
1-542-491-31

I officially degree V6 == 7506 .. but RED stickers > Blue stickers =p

Measure the diameter of the V6 and 7506 please? (the part to which the drivers are screwed and the earpads are stretched over). I have a reason for wanting to know this.