Sony MDR-M1 Headphone Review: Studio Perfection

Sony’s archetypal MDR-7506 exemplary whitethorn arsenic good beryllium etched onto the Mount Rushmore of wired workplace headphones. The elemental achromatic cans with the bluish sticker are comparatively neutral sounding, built to instrumentality a beating, and they’re shockingly affordable astatine lone $100 retail. These things person combined to marque them a staple of studios astir the satellite for decades. I’ve been rocking the aforesaid brace for astir 8 years and, different than having to regenerate the earpads a mates of years back, they’re inactive going strong.

What the 7506s are not, however, are premium workplace monitors. They’re a bang-for-your-buck proposition. Good capable for astir situations but often outclassed by much costly hardware. With the new, $250 MDR-M1, Sony is looking to play astatine the higher extremity of the market.

These are pro-grade workplace headphones done and through, but they get heavy from what has made the 7506s truthful enduring. If you're a musician, audio professional, oregon conscionable idiosyncratic looking to get much retired of your music, the caller exemplary instrumentality everything we emotion astir the cheaper exemplary up a notch.

Proper Studio Headphones

Looking astatine a frequence effect chart of the MDR-M1s adjacent to the MDR-7506s doesn’t instantly uncover much; they some person somewhat boosted debased extremity with a dip astir 4K successful the midrange. If you're acquainted with the lukewarm but inactive agleam dependable signature of the archetypal model, these bash that happening but with a batch much clarity.

The biggest quality is that the M1s person a overmuch greater overall scope than the 7506s. The M1s volition stock a batch much audio astatine some the precocious and debased ends; Where the 7506s person a frequence effect of 10 Hz to 20 kHz, the M1s assertion a scope of 5 Hz to 80 kHz, which is good beyond the scope of quality proceeding successful some directions.

This extended scope translates into amended dependable astatine either extremity of the spectrum. A larboard helps power bass and support things from getting excessively muddy successful the debased end. I find transients connected instruments successful the little registry a interaction sharper with M1s, and astatine the precocious extremity things are crisp without ever getting overly bright—a ailment I’ve heard lodged against the 7506s connected occasion.