(NEW) Sony MDR7506 Wired Professional Stereo Headphones

First off, these were an impulse buy to use with the Orange Crush Mini guitar amp since the built in speaker kind of sucks. I wasn't really planning to use them for anything else, but curiosity got the better of me. I've had to edit this review a bit since my thoughts have changed with extensive testing and even some experimenting with two different DACs. The short version? Buy them. If you're on a tight budget and don't want to do any thorough research, these headphones WILL be revealing in ways that may not alway be appealing, which is precisely the point. They've been on the market since 1991 and easily beat a pair of modern hybrid IEMs that were twice the cost. First impressions: The Sony MDR-7506 seem well built for the price and are actually quite comfortable. They are lightweight with soft padding, and they don't seem to apply too much pressure at all. Your mileage may vary of course since I've got a smaller head, and some reviews have complained about their fit. I'm glad they include a 1/4" adapter but was surprised to find that it actually screws on. I've never seen that before, but it seems like a good idea since it won't come unplugged like a normal adapter, especially if the cable is stretched out. The adjustable band is marked with numbered shallow notches, but it seems there is not enough friction to keep the cans from sliding out of position with regular handling, so be sure to check the adjustment prior to each use. Bit of a letdown, but certainly not a deal breaker by any means. I love that the coiled cord is not too stiff or springy, but is quite flexible and will stretch out with great ease while still retracting to its original length when allowed. This is critical since the tiny guitar amp could otherwise tip over and get dragged right off the desk with a stiff cable. Every other coiled cable I've seen was so stiff it would pull the cans right off your head and would even retain a bit of stretch if pulled too hard for too long, but this one seems to be of high quality and should not put too much strain on the ends, which are weak points on any cable. Sound: Now for my entirely subjective and probably unreliable analysis of their sound. Apparently these do have some emphasis of the higher frequencies above 2kc according to frequency response graphs, which is good news for me. I should mention that I have severe auditory neuropathy which makes me deaf to everything from 10kc up, with severe loss starting at just 1kc. With the right set of phones and proper EQ, I can hear pure tones up to 8kc, but hearing loss is more complex than just boosting certain frequencies and there's not much more I can do without using some rather sophisticated DSP software on a laptop. With all that said, I've been using the Ikko Gems OH1S IEMs for the last four years, paired with the EarStudio ES100 MkII DAC which does have a built-in 10 band EQ but is sadly discontinued. Fearing the inevitable I've since upgraded to the Qudelix 5K DAC which is even more sophisticated with its 10 band true parametric EQ and was purchased just a day after these headphones. Settings on the Qudelix 5k are as follows with frequency, dB and Q values in that order. 31.5: 0, 1.414 63: -7.5, 1.0 125: -12, 0.7 250: -15, 0.7 500: -12, 0.7 2k: 2, 1.414 1k & 4k to 16k: 0, 1.414 I can hear quite a surprising portion of the highs, and it's remarkably smooth compared to the IEMs. This is unusual for dynamic drivers, but of course some detail is missing since balanced armatures are more suited to my hearing loss. Generally I'm leaning more towards the smoother sound of the Sony. There is no apparent emphasis in the lows or mids, which may be why I thought music was boring in these headphones. Over time as they're breaking in I'm finding this to be more than welcome. Nothing seems to stand out in a way that it shouldn't, unless the mix was made that way. The bass is simply phenomenal. Clean, clear and well articulated, it can be quite mild mannered or it can hit you like a hammer. The low end reaches quite deep but never sounds bloated or muddy. I've never heard so much variation in the bass between songs, and it really does make music more exciting. Overall clarity seems to be on another level compared to the IEMs. Instruments and vocals are all clearly distinct and well separated, and the sound stage can be kind of wild on some tracks, though I'm feeling this may be influenced in part by the DAC as well since there seems to be some difference between the ES100 and Qudelix 5k. Trying to do A/B testing is hard without two separate pairs of these headphones, but for the most part they appear to be even more capable of extracting musical details which otherwise might be lost in the mix. They can handle dense mixes with grace, keeping things well defined even when it gets pretty hairy. I thought using studio monitors for casual listening was supposed to suck, but if anything it's the exact opposite with these. Oh sure, they won't do any favors for bad mixes, I've heard it myself. But a good mix is actually more enjoyable on these phones with the right EQ settings. I just wish they had a balanced cable since the crosstalk on the Qudelix 5k is not the best for the 3.5mm port. Aside from that, I'm seriously considering buying a second pair just to have as a backup. They really are that good, even by my flawed hearing and limited abilities to correct it. I would highly recommend them for studios on any budget, and casual audiophiles who don't want to (or can't) spend a fortune on headphones.