| User Review | | Sound Quality | | 4 | | Ease of use | | 3 | | Features | | 3 | | Bang for buck | | 4 |
Overall:  3.5 |  SONY MDR-7506 Headphones
Published by asdfdsa
27th January 2012
| | SONY MDR-7506 Headphones
These phones are a common choice in the $100 and under price bracket, but I don't think they are the best choice. They are pretty reliable, but like most [cheap] headphones, are built kinda cheap. They don't feel very 'solid', though they'll work fine and can take fair amount of abuse and drops. One thing that really annoys me with these phones is that the muffs don't completely seal around your ear to your head, leaving the space open for sound to leak in or out. That for me is a definite reason why I prefer the Senheiser HD280 - way better isolation, and I prefer the sound, feel, and construction of them as well, overall better. Another thing I'm not such a fan of is the spiral/stretchy cord. It always needs to be stretched out, and it just adds more weight hanging off one side of the head phones when a straight cord doesn't do that. Both these and the 280's have that ''issue'', though it keeps it easy to 'roll-up' and stay neat.
The 7506's don't have a very full sound or very deep sound, but really, they are good for tracking or listening to tunes and aren't bad for the price, but like I mentioned earlier, I'd definitely get the HD280's over these everytime, as they're better for tracking, more comfortable for listening, and I think they sound better being bother wider in image and deeper in perception. The frequency response on the 7506's is 10hz to 20khz which is relatively flat, but don't rely on these for true monitoring, but you can check them for a cans reference and imaging.
The headband isn't very tight, and makes for a some-what sloppy fit, so opints off for ease of use. It comes with a 1/8 - 1/4 adapter, but the muffs don't spin or bend back or have any real features, so points off for features. Sound, eh they work but nothing great. Bang for buck, honestly I feel $100 is too much, $50-$70 is better (which is what I paid for mine new), especially when the 280's are $100. But the good thing about these is they are useful, simple, and you don't have to worry about them too much. | | | | | | | Sound Quality | | 4 | | Ease of use | | 5 | | Features | | 4 | | Bang for buck | | 4 |
Overall:  4.25 | | A standard reference point
These aren't the best cans in the market, but I have seen these in nearly every studio and live rig I've seen. They are reference cans. After a short break in time, the near flat response is consistent over time. While the ear can acclimatize to any headphone, the MDR 7506 provides a pretty neutral space for evaluating any mix. It is especially good for evaluating in-ear mixes and eq-ing live sounds, but they are also good for doing first mixes in a recording environment. If anything, the clarity of the harmonic extremes can be misleading. For example, guitars which sound full and balanced in the headphones will sound somewhat hidden in the studio monitors or the radio mix.
Regarding form factor, they're not completely enclosed, but for live use, they are great for clapping one ear and opening the other. The ability to flip the cans make them great for just holding one side up to the ear to do a quick check. This is much easier than trying to quickly listen with a more rigid fitting can.
Again, they're not perfect, but I think every engineer should have a pair because they are really versatile. They're also remarkably rugged. My first pair is going on 15 years and been through over a 1000 shows without problems. | | | | | | Sound Quality | | 5 | | Ease of use | | 5 | | Features | | 5 | | Bang for buck | | 5 |
Overall:  5 | | Love these phones!
I love my Sony MDR 7506s. My first pair is a hand me down that the previous owner had for years and thought would give out any day. That was almost two years ago. I still use them every session. They sound great. All of my other headphones would break after 1 year of use (right outside the warranty window). I couldn't be happier. They give a very fair representation of the sound in my opinion. | | | | | | Sound Quality | | 4 | | Ease of use | | 4 | | Features | | 4 | | Bang for buck | | 4 |
Overall:  4 | | First/best set of phones
They have a very honest sound and are nearly colorless. I used Yamaha NS-10's for my near field playback and used these phones to make sure that the mix was correct - comparing these two references. Ah; it was the way I did things at the time. But it worked. Very honest sound that I felt was reliable.
The quality of the build materials was first-rate at that time. They can get to feel a bit heavy after a few hours. But not cumbersome nor too heavy by any means. They could have made them a bit lighter. Solid build. But I would chose these because I could tell they would be honest and not let me down. Better materials and technology today haven't made them obsolete yet.
You can spend a lot more money and do better. But if I needed something reliable and accurate while not too expensive, they would be my first choice. Unless you could get a better deal for a better set or buying them used.
I have always considered Sony products with a great deal of respect and curiosity. Always been positively impressed to some degree. Never disappointed to any degree of significance. I did more than a little research before I spent my hard-earned duckets when I purchased these. When I first bought these set of phones back in the late 90's; they weren't selling for $100. More like $325; got mine for $275.
Get a pair if they are now ~$120. You can decide if you need more. At that current price, they are a bargain. | | |
By
DanH
on
10th October 2012
| | Sound Quality | | 2 | | Ease of use | | 2 | | Features | | 2 | | Bang for buck | | 4 |
Overall:  2.5 | | Boy, do I hate these headphones
Disclaimer: I have developed a healthy hatred for these cans over the last 3 years.
Where do I begin? For studio production applications, I hate these things so much that I make an effort to dissuade others from buying them. Here's a list of my grievances: - The isolation sucks. Hope you like lots of click in your overheads.
- There's a harsh presence peak in the midrange. Sibilance correction turns into ears bleeding.
- The ear pads either disintegrate or fall off, and replacing them is both a pain and expensive. This is a certainty.
- The coiled cable will turn into a rat's nets. This is also a certainty.
- Headband tension wears over time. In fact, a set of these flew off a drummers head 3 times last week.
- The cable on each ear cup gets crimped when you try to fold them up.
When an artist complains about harsh-sounding cans, I give them my DT-770 Pro's. After doing that, there are no more complaints. It's not an accident.
So I guess if you're looking to spend $100 on "industry standard" headphones for your own light tracking and editing, these are fine. But if you're looking for something you can actually have people do serious work on, you'd be better served by taking one step up the quality ladder. | |
Last edited by DanH; 10th October 2012 at 02:38 AM..
Reason: edited for more humor
| | | | Sound Quality | | 4 | | Ease of use | | 3 | | Features | | 4 | | Bang for buck | | 4 | |
Overall: 3.75 | | ive had mine for 2 years
one of the reasons why i bought a pair was that i can afford. i had very limited choices back then. it had good reviews so i decided on them. no regrets because they were very useful. although they are far from the very advanced ones in the market, you can still use it for listening to good music.
although i buy headphones from time to time, this has always been my back up. the most durable pair i have so far | | | | | | Sound Quality | | 4 | | Ease of use | | 5 | | Features | | 5 | | Bang for buck | | 5 | |
Overall: 4.75 | | Sony MD-7506 Headphones
This is basically a copy of a thread I started:
I know they have their issues that people don't like BUT:
I have been using Sony MD7506 headphones NEARLY exclusively since 1996 (I think) and I still love them.
I fall asleep on the airplane with them on, usually even before take-off.
They don't give me ear fatigue, even at decently high volumes (which we avoid of course) and don't find them harsh.
They have decent enough isolation for vocal tracking, provided the singer isn't a deaf doorknob.
The bass whump and hyped top are compensate-able.
They take abuse fairly well in the studio or on the road.
I've probably purchased some 20+ pairs for myself, the PA company or the studio over time.
You can get them realllllly cheap sometimes. Not $100, more like $40.
As long as you don't step on them, stretch the cord out or wear them in the rain (sweaty drummer?) they can last easily a dozen years. I can prove that.
I am seriously familiar with their response curve
There are some cans with better isolation but aren't as comfy and some cans that have better response that have less isolation. I think the 7506 is a nice balance of all the desired types of things you might want over-all. A good workhorse headphone. Maybe not the best for recording a whispering vocal from a deaf singer and maybe not the best to get an accurate sonic print of what you're mixing but somewhere in between. | | | |
|
Add Review 
