Sony Pro MDR-7506 Headphones

Manufacturer:	Sony
List price:	~~$130.00~~
Our price:	that is 100% off!

Sony Pro MDR-7506 Headphones

Average rating: Stars

Pristine sound

My internet research and experience with these indicates that they are at least as good, and probably better, than anything else for the price. The sound quality from these headphones is fantastic. You can pick out the individual voices of the backup singers. Things like the drummer's brushes sound vastly improved, and many other little details. I have created mp3s using LAME at the "insane" quality setting, 320 kilobits/sec, with optimizations, and I can distinguish subtle sounds in the original stream that are muted or altered in the MP3. Poor quality recordings, or overly compressed MP3s sound terrible compared to what these headphones are capable of. I find it most impressive compared to lesser headphones in pieces that have vocals and acoustical instruments.
The headphone has an ultra-low impedance, 24 ohms, which means it can be easily powered by portable players, and achieve more than enough volume. Since a 1/4" screw-on adapter is included, so this headphone can be used equally well on your portable or your home stereo. Both the base mini plug and 1/4" adaptor are gold-plated. If use this headphone on a portable player with a large disc, you may be tempted to keep your most listened-to recordings uncompressed (or in the FLAC lossless format, for the few devices that support that).
According to my research, the headphones have an extremely even response over the whole spectrum. That means that what you are hearing is pretty close to the original intent when the music was mixed. Some users have complained that the bass response is low -- but I think that's compared to headphones / earbuds / in-ear monitors whose bass response is too high. If you don't like the bass response, simply change the equalizer settings on your unit.
The headphone has a closed design, blocking out outside sounds. This is the best way to go in my opinion, because with outside noise you need to raise the volume higher to achieve the same clarity, and you risk damaging your hearing. These headphones can be played at low volumes and still sound great. The only other option for "closed-ear" is some of the ear-sealing in-ear-monitors, but the good ones are very, very expensive. The in-ear-monitors also have the disadvantage that the sounds of brushing the cable, and even sometimes your own breathing and heartbeat, is trasmitted to your ear.
The headphone can also be used as a monitor headphone, i.e. to hear what you are recording while you are recording it--that in fact is it's primary intent. There is basically no sound leakage so it works very well--also meaning your won't annoy those around you when you listen to music. I own a Sony Hi-MD (MZ-RH910), which I record voice audio with, and so this monitor ability is very welcome.
I find the headphone very comfortable. Like any closed headphone, it does make your ears warm, but I have not found this to be noticably uncomfortable. I believe this headphone is suppossed to be more over-the ear rather than on the ear (i.e. like Sennheiser HD 25-SP), but be warned that the opening for each ear is small -- my ears barely fit in them, and I do not have large ears. From a comfort point of view, I recommended that you try this set on before purchasing them. I tried mine on before buying and purchased them from a retail outlet. Another plus for this set is that only one cable comes out of the left side of the unit, the connection to the right channel is through the arch over your head. Furthermore, the cable drops out about 1 inch from your neck, so it usually doesn't touch you. I find this greatly preferable to having cables hanging out of both sides of your head that always seem to be brushing you somewhere. All earbuds, in-ear-monitors, and even many hyper-expensive headsets (i.e. Sennheiser HD 650), have cables coming out of both ears.
The Sony 7506 headphone is super-rugged, exceptional quality from start to finish.
The only possible negative I see is the cable -- it's a non-removable, long, thick, heavy-duty coiled cable. For use on your home stereo, it's great. But for use outside the home on a digital music player, it is inconvenient, as the bundled coiled cable probably takes as much space as your player. However, it's not unusable, from the left earpiece there is just enough straight cable to reach down to your waist -- where you can stuff the coiled cable in your pocket or in a case along with your player. But if you plan on using this mostly on a digital player outside your home, this alone could a be deal buster. It is also fairly bulky to carry around. You can probably forget about using this headphone on your bicycle, or while jogging, or anything where you are moving around outside.
Overall, this is a very well made set of headphones that will deliver beautiful and pristine sound at a reasonable price. Highly recommended.

Sony Pro MDR-7506 Headphones - Sony

Great Headphones

I used to be a professional cameraman for LOAD Media, and these were the headphones we used. They're not as stylish as some of Sony's consumer studio phones, but they're sturdier and sound terrific. They're the best pair of phones to be had for around a hundred dollars.

Sony - Sony Pro MDR-7506 Headphones

Quality Headphones from a name you can trust for performance

At the radio station where I work we use these headphones and well, they rock. I highly recommend them to any one who is looking for headphones for consumer uses. They are very comfortable and have relatively high quality sound.

I own a pair of the MDR-DJ 700's and I would rate these head phones higher for two reasons. First is that they are more comfortable. The foam ear cushions are ear shaped and made out of a soft material, that also isolates noise well. The second area is ruggedness. The two pairs of 7506's we have at the radio station are 3 years old and still work like new. They are rugged, and can easily stand regular and varied use.

As a DJ, I know that DJ's want superior sound quality from headphones. These headphones sound exactly the same as other industry standard headphones, with more reliability then the 700's and a significantly lower price then other models with similar specs by Stanton, and Pioneer. Did I mention that they were comfortable? I confidently give these headphones 5 stars, and I will by a pair this summer, to replace my broken 700's.

If I could sum up these headphones in a word it would be quality.

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