Sony MDR-MV1 headphones evaluate



The MDR-MV1 are Sony's newest studio mixing and tracking headphones. They might be taken into consideration the spiritual successors to the legendary MDR-7506, that have been around for over 32 years and are still on sale.

Unlike previous Sony headphones supposed for studio use, the MV1 are open-returned headphones. Sony intends these for use extra particularly for learning spatial audio, which is turning into an increasing number of popular these days with the advent of Dolby Atmos (and less so due to Sony's own 360 Reality Audio).

In this evaluate, I may be checking if the MV1 are match for his or her intended reason and how they carry out for different obligations, including being attentive to song and playing games.

Design

The MV1 have a reasonably wellknown, unassuming layout in all-black. The steel earcups have mesh throughout, making the complete lower back porous. The plastic yokes hook up with the headband that adjusts with a simple sliding mechanism. The mechanism is smooth and there are markings so that you can get them even on each facets and make a note for exclusive customers.

The headband has a leather-based-like fabric on the top with sewing round the edges. The underside has gentle foam padding this is commonly focused around the middle of the scarf and does not go all of the way as much as the ends.

The earcups have huge foam pads with a soft velour-like texture. The earpads have a intensity of 2cm earlier than your ears touch the fabric grille at the interior after which some other zero.5cm earlier than they touch the hard plastic grill. The earpads are removable but as a ways as I'm aware Sony does not sell replacements. Getting new pads while those inevitably flatten out and trade the sound profile is going to be tough and all over again you can must depend on aftermarket dealers.

The headphones have a unmarried-sided connection at the left earcup. By default, the MV1 come with a single lengthy 2.5m cable with a three.5mm connector on one end and a 6.3mm connector on the other give up. The smaller one plugs into the headphones and there may be also a screw mechanism that secures it in place. You also get an adapter that converts the 6.3mm plug to three.5mm.

The best of the cable is outstanding and the use of metal for the connector ends on each aspects feels notable. However, I would have favored if there had been cables inside the box, the longer 2.5m cable with the 6.3mm cease and a shorter 1m cable with a 3.5mm end, some thing many different less expensive headphones come with. The supplied adapter is likewise needlessly cumbersome and heavy sufficient to pull your phone if you appear to plug it into one.

The normal construct pleasant of the headphones is good. Sony headphones will be predisposed to no longer sense specifically top rate in the beginning but emerge as outlasting their owners. I haven't any doubt the MV1 may even age well except you are in particular abusive.

The headphones also are very cushty. The pads feel cushty and have brilliant depth to them that most humans need to find accommodating. They also are not too heavy and feature simply the right quantity of clamping force. I wore them for hours gambling games and felt no discomfort or fatigue.

Being meant for studio use, the MV1 do not come with a number of accessories in the container. The box itself is straightforward and internal are the aforementioned cable and adapter along with the headphones.

Performance

The belief of open-returned studio headphones for mixing and getting to know in place of just monitoring is extremely exciting. If you ask studio engineers, they will inform you the handiest time headphones are used in studios is for monitoring the performers or as a secondary source for checking for problems in the mix. There is nearly no real blending or studying occurring with headphones, let alone open-again ones, as this is totally the domain of studio video display units, a.Okay.A. Audio system.

I gets again to that but first, let's speak about the sound. The MV1 do no longer sound like what I count on studio mixing and getting to know headphones to sound. Sony claims the sound is "neutral", "correct", and "uncolored" however it is none of these matters.

First of all, the sound is particularly bassy. The MV1 have a fairly huge-band bass increase within the mid and higher bass frequencies. It's not enough to call the headphones bass-heavy however there may be simply sufficient extra energy in those regions that the sound is consistently warm and rumbly. There isn't as a good deal low bass strength so there isn't a deeper thump accompanying the rumble, which feels a bit unsatisfying if you are in reality paying attention to track and no longer tracking. If you're monitoring you will be thinking why there's so much mid-bass at all and if you messed up by some means whilst mixing.

The mid-range is also a bit everywhere in the location. The lower mids are colored via the upper bass power spilling over, giving deeper vocals further intensity and heat not present in the blend.

Unfortunately, the higher mids disappoint the maximum. The MV1 are pretty lacking in the higher mid-range territory, which makes the sound a bit stupid, like an photo that is simply out of awareness. It coats all vocals with a layer of mush and, coupled with the bassy decrease mids, simply sounds dark and murky.

The treble overall performance is respectable in isolation. The upper treble can be a piece vibrant at times but standard the treble performance is surefooted and fulfilling with right extension and reproduction. Unfortunately, the suppressed upper mids can motive the treble to sound extra spiky than it is (a trough before a peak similarly highlights the height), which puts more focus at the top treble. This, coupled with the bass, can genuinely provide the sound a mild v-shaped leaning.

I'm sure Sony has a reason to tune the sound this way but I can not discern out what it's miles. Dubbing this as 'headphones for blending and getting to know' is just ordinary as it truly is not something headphones are typically used for in studio environment. The specific point out of spatial audio is likewise weird because you don't master spatial content material on headphones because the sound will turn along with your head, making any type of studying needless. Their open back nature additionally makes them unwell-perfect for tracking in a valid booth. You may want to use them for monitoring after the combination and studying is achieved however the sound tuning yet again works against them.

So they are now not suitable to be used in a studio but how approximately just paying attention to song? Here, the MV1 do not fare too awful. I wasn't specifically keen on the bass dropping off as it went further down the frequency range and the dearth of upper mid-variety readability continued to grind my gears. Still, for the maximum element, the MV1 are exciting whilst in basic terms getting used for being attentive to tune for the pleasure of it.

However, the excellent use I were given out of the MV1 become for gaming. Thanks to the spacious soundstage and brilliant imaging traits, the MV1 are as an alternative great in relation to gaming. As a person who performs for numerous hours every day, the comfort, correct audio positioning, and comparatively balanced sound in comparison to "gaming" headsets made those wonderful for gaming. The only aspect lacking is a microphone.

The MV1 are very smooth-to-drive headphones. You can basically strength them with something and nevertheless get sufficient extent. Even with a simple Shanling UA2, the MV1 could get very loud at around 50% extent. A laptop amplifier might be satisfactory as it method you wouldn't want to apply the clunky adapter however isn't always important.

Competition

There isn't any shortage of opposition inside the headphone space. For studio use, Beyerdynamic headphones have lengthy been the benchmark. The closed-back alternatives like DT 770 Pro are top for expertise tracking and the open-lower back DT 990 Pro are desirable for tracking post-blending to look for flaws. Their brilliant, nearly harsh tuning makes them perfect for this cause.

For listening to song, the HiFiMan Sundara, often taken into consideration one of the satisfactory pair of headphones you could purchase, are higher sounding. If you're on a price range, then the HE400se is a outstanding choice. For gaming, the Sennheiser x Drop PC38X is a fantastic option and in case you do not want a mic just get the 560s. And yes, all of those are inexpensive than the MV1.

Conclusion

At $400, the Sony MDR-MV1 are rather expensive pair of headphones. I think Sony has neglected the landing on the entire 'studio blending and learning headphones' attitude with a unusually coloured, v-shaped tuning. They are proper for being attentive to music or even higher for gaming however tough to advise for the ones use cases at the modern-day price when there are inexpensive and higher options available. But in case you come what may manipulate to get them for $250 or less then they're surely well worth considering.