[samplethief]

Ok

 

[Jonkai]

  Ok so they arrived. Trying not to get too carried away and give an honest opinion on these and I've got to admit, even as somebody who considers themselves extremely fussy when it comes to headphone sound, these are impressive. 
 
So far I have paired them up to wirelessly to both my HTC One M8 and Desktop PC using the Sehnheiser BTD 500 APTX dongle. The sound is crisp, just enough high and just the right amount of low. Very little extra emphasis on bass. They are relatively flat.
 
The volume in bluetooth mode is capable of deafening volume when attached to my PC. On my phone it is a little quieter but still too loud for comfortable listening at its highest volume so no problems there.
 
Touch controls on the right ear cup are very responsive and actually really convenient. Simple swipe and hold up or down to adjust volume. Swipe left and right for skip back/forward and double tap to pause. No more walking around clutching my phone in one hand.
 
They are really light, comfortable and fit my over sized head perfectly.
 
Even in Bluetooth mode I actually think I prefer the sound on them over my hard wired Shure SRH-840 and those are a really good sounding pair of headphones.
 
 
The Intro on Slipknot The Gray Chapter really showed these things off. Every instrument is present and detailed. The sound stage is very three dimensional..

How is the wired performance? Is it the same as when in Bluetooth mode or is it even a little better?

 

[smilemantts]

Please test on another LDAC device and compare to aptX. Thanks.

 

[DrMIS]

Do they sell any LDAC Bluetooth transmitters?

 

[smilemantts]

Do they sell any LDAC Bluetooth transmitters?

Yes, the new ZX2 Walkman

 

[elektron]

Yes, the new ZX2 Walkman

 
The more affordable A15/A17 also got LDAC support via a firmware upgrade in early April.

 

[musashi9999]

samplethief
can you give me the dimension of the product packaging (HxWxL)? I need it for the estimation of delivery fee

Weight would be nice too. Thanks!

 

[ravdo]

Xperia Z4 and Z4 Tablet also has LDAC support.
 
And I heard that Firmware 23.2.A.1.62 added LDAC support to Xperia Z3 (not 100% sure).
But I really hope that's true.  Still waiting for that firmware to come out for my Xperia Z2 to test it.

 

[elektron]

  Xperia Z4 and Z4 Tablet also has LDAC support.
 
And I heard that Firmware 23.2.A.1.62 added LDAC support to Xperia Z3 (not 100% sure).
But I really hope that's true.  Still waiting for that firmware to come out for my Xperia Z2 to test it.

 
AFAIK, neither the tablet nor the phone are currently available except for maybe in Japan.

 

[Riotstarterr]

I took mine MDR-1RBT and went to Sony to try out the MDR-1ABT.
 
My impressions:
Build quality and fit on the head is quite comparable. 1ABT seems to have thicker ear cushions, which some people may like and some may not. Anyway, it stands up for it's class.
I'm not really fan of the touch controls, it works somewhat OK, but I still think it's better to have real controls/buttons on something you control and cannot see it at the same time. Not a dealbreaker though.
 
Now to the sound, I played few songs over BT, using APTX (in ABT's case, RBT does not have it) and after a while, I switched the headphones and listened to the same song and same passage over again. At the beginning, headphones seemed too much similar and I could not justify the price (1ABT is damn expensive here, about 380 Euro). Anyway, as the time passed, I realized that ABT does really have noticeably better (sub)bass and they sound tad bit wider in the soundstage. On the other hand, the mids seems definitely more recessed than on 1RBT's.
After going few electronic music tracks and some rock/metal/core tracks, I realized that 1ABT's sounds really better than 1RBT while playing electronic music, but quite the same, or I'd even say worse than 1RBT while playing rock/metal music. The reason is that mids are more recessed and while playing music with a lot of instruments, it just seemed to me that every instrument is covering the other and it's one big mess. I may be exxagerating a little bit, but comparing 1RBT and 1ABT head to head, it was noticeable.
On the other hand, electronic music sounded really club-like and got my heart pumping, thumbs up to that.
 
I did not have opportunity to try any classic music or other genres.
 
After going through many songs, I realized and my opinion is: 1ABT's are GREAT, IF:
You don't own the previous model MDR-1RBT (especially MK2).
You don't care about it's price.
You prefer to listen to electronic music or the kind of music, where there are not many instruments playing at the same time.
 
P.S. I have also tried the lower end BT headphones Sony SBH-60 and let me tell you - for the price it got, the sound is really great, good build quality, comfortable, got option to plug them in via 3.5mm jack, got controls on the cup as RBT's do. I cannot think of better lightweight on the ear headphones, that are so convenient to use "on the go" - going to work, taking a walk, etc. At least you do not look like space monster, like you do while wearing RBT's. The sound is obviously not the same level as RBT's, but it's not night and day, even if you own both and switch them. I went to try out 1ABT's and I may end up buying SBH-60 for taking them outside for walks, going to work, etc. I take them as a smaller, on the ear, convenient version of RBT's.
IMO they are really underrated and deserve more credit, give them a TRY if you got the chance.

 

[ravdo]

   
AFAIK, neither the tablet nor the phone are currently available except for maybe in Japan.

Yes, you're right ^_^

 

[elektron]

  I took mine MDR-1RBT and went to Sony to try out the MDR-1ABT.

 
Thanks for sharing your impressions.  I guess I won't be in a hurry to upgrade my MK2's, especially considering that I got an exceptional deal on them last year and will have to pay about twice as much for the new model.
 
Having said that, as a die hard bluetooth nut I'm really looking forward to having an LDAC set up and start building up a hi-res library, at some point in the next 6-12 months - most likely an Xperia Z4 or Z5 phone + MDR-1ABT (hopefully they'll come down in price a bit by then).

 

[musashi9999]

  I took mine MDR-1RBT and went to Sony to try out the MDR-1ABT.

 
Hmmm.. I'm actually still deciding whether to buy MDR-1RBTMK2 or MDR-1ABT
I think the only main advantage of the MDR-1ABT are the:
1. Touch Controls
2. LDAC

Since i only own a Samsung Galaxy S4 and not planning on upgrading anytime soon, this stops me from buying MDR-1ABT right away.
decisions decisions

 

[samplethief]

How is the wired performance? Is it the same as when in Bluetooth mode or is it even a little better?

 

[DrMIS]

How many of you have MDR-1ABT? 
Where did you get yours? 
How much did you pay for yours? 
Is it worth the price?