Sony’s MDR-M1 Are Glorious Wired Studio Headphones

Sony’s authentic MDR-7506 mannequin might as effectively be etched onto the Mount Rushmore of wired studio headphones. The straightforward black cans with the blue sticker are comparatively impartial sounding, constructed to take a beating, they usually’re shockingly inexpensive at solely $100 retail. These items have mixed to make them a staple of studios world wide for many years. I’ve been rocking the identical pair for about eight years and, aside from having to interchange the earpads a few years again, they’re nonetheless going sturdy.

What the 7506s usually are not, nevertheless, are premium studio displays. They’re a bang-for-your-buck proposition. Ok for many conditions however usually outclassed by costlier {hardware}. With the brand new, $250 MDR-M1, Sony is seeking to play on the increased finish of the market.

These are pro-grade studio headphones via and thru, however they borrow closely from what has made the 7506s so enduring. When you’re a musician, audio skilled, or simply somebody seeking to get extra out of your music, the brand new mannequin take all the things we love in regards to the cheaper mannequin up a notch.

Correct Studio Headphones

Taking a look at a frequency response chart of the MDR-M1s subsequent to the MDR-7506s doesn’t instantly reveal a lot; they each have barely boosted low finish with a dip round 4K within the midrange. When you’re conversant in the nice and cozy however nonetheless shiny sound signature of the unique mannequin, these try this factor however with much more readability.

The largest distinction is that the M1s have a a lot larger general vary than the 7506s. The M1s will share much more audio at each the excessive and low ends; The place the 7506s have a frequency response of 10 Hz to twenty kHz, the M1s declare a variety of 5 Hz to 80 kHz, which is effectively past the vary of human listening to in each instructions.

This prolonged vary interprets into higher sound at both finish of the spectrum. A port helps management bass and hold issues from getting too muddy within the low finish. I discover transients on devices within the decrease register a contact sharper with M1s, and on the excessive finish issues are crisp with out ever getting overly shiny—a criticism I’ve heard lodged towards the 7506s every now and then.