This is the official thread for the Sony MDR-MV1
This thread is for discussion and reviews.
- Type: Over ear
- Amp needed: Yes
- Open Back 40mm DD
Sony Link
Some graph from SuperReview, review coming soon I guess. Impressive bass shelf for how open they claim them to be. Actually got weak and ordered them 2 days ago, should arrive soon.
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Soooo here they are.
Very cheap / basic packaging, headphone and cable are wrapped in some foam foil inside a thin paper box.
The cable with 6,3mm plug is from good quality, especially the connectors have a nice look and feel. As you can see the headphone side has a 4 pole 3.5mm. Like the MDR 1AM2 or the sennheiser hd500 series these can be used with a balanced cable which is only plugged into one ear cup.
My main source for the moment is the qudelix 5k so I didn’t even try the stock cable and just used a generic UGREEN 3.5mm to 3,5mm audio cable. A 2,5mm balanced cable from aliexpress is on the way though.
Picking these up the first thing everyone will notice is the light weight with just 220g. This ultra light build doesn’t give them a premium feeling though.
Pads are just big enough with 70x40mm. I am used to hd700 / hd800 / hifiman egg-shape pads so I wish they would be a little bigger. Material of the pads is soft but not as smooth like the harmonicdyne Zeus or the brainwavz suede pads. Ordered brainwavz cooling gel pads too and see how they react to pad swapping. Ear pad depth is average with 30mm, there are moments where my ear will touch the driver cover. After mostly using ear buds the past months my ears warm up after 30 min or so under these pads.
On the qudelix they are quite easy to drive. I am on low gain (1V output) and still have like 10 to 15dB of headroom.
Sony like these are a little bassy, especially for an open back, but not overdone with a touch of warmth.
Upper mids are a little recessed, what I like actually. If a headphone follows the harman target between 1kHz to 3 kHz I tend to find them a little shouty.
There are some treble spikes that can get at you on higher volume at times. In the beginning of my headphone journey I had cans like the DT990, X2 and HD700 so I guess I am not sensitive anymore.
Sony advertise these for spatial audio. Soundstage wise these are definitely no HD800 killers. From memory the MV1 are wider than the Meze 109 that I had for like 2 weeks some months ago and then sold again.
Playing around with EQ. Adding some bass but not as much as with most other open backs I had. Filling the 4k gap from the graph and on top some extra sparkle. (Work in progress)
Overall I like them but probably you get something as good for cheaper.
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